Vocational rehabilitation and future sick-leave.

The aim of the present pretest-posttest study was to examine and compare the impact of vocational rehabilitation on future sick-leave for employed and unemployed people, respectively, on long-term sick-leave. The study is based on 416 registered long-term sick-leave cases that were initiated during 1992-94 in the city of Stockholm, and that became objects for vocational rehabilitation. The hypotheses were (1) that the number of sick-days and levels of benefit for both employed and unemployed would be less after rehabilitation than before and (2) that rehabilitation would affect employed people more than unemployed people. The hypotheses are supported in that both employed and unemployed have less sick-days and lower levels of benefits after vocational rehabilitation than before and that unemployed people have more sick-days and higher levels of benefits than employed people after rehabilitation. However, since unemployed people also have more sick-days before rehabilitation, the proportional decrease is about the same. Another finding was that men, especially among the unemployed improved more than women.