The public defence will be held as a video conference over Zoom.
The defence will follow regular procedure as far as possible, hence it will be open to the public and the audience can ask ex auditorio questions when invited to do so.
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An electronic copy of the thesis may be ordered from the faculty up to 2 days prior to the public defence. Inquiries regarding the thesis after the public defence must be addressed to the candidate.
Digital Trial Lecture – time and place
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Senior Research Fellow Gershon Spitz, Monash University
- Second opponent: Assistant Professor Eleonore Bayen, Sorbonne University Medical School
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Jon Berg-Johnsen, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor II Angelika Sorteberg, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor II Marianne Løvstad, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Summary
This thesis describes a combined cognitive and vocational intervention aimed at improving work participation after mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Work participation affect the individuals’ self-esteem and quality of life after injury, in addition to the societal costs of TBI.
The aims of this thesis were to (1) describe a sample of patients who sought medical rehabilitation due to post-concussive symptoms 8–12 weeks after injury, (2) to evaluate the effect of a combined cognitive and vocational intervention on work participation and (3) examine the predictive value of work-related factors on work participation.
The study included 116 participant who were employed when sustaining a TBI and still sick listed due to post-concussive symptoms 8–12 weeks after injury. As a whole, the sample were 60% female, 94% had a mild TBI and most worked fulltime positions in a white collar occupation. Sixty patients were randomized to the combined cognitive and vocational intervention, while 56 received multidisciplinary follow-up at a specialized TBI rehabilitation outpatient clinic. Significantly more patients in the combined cognitive and vocational group had returned to work after 3 months. There were no differences in work participation between the groups after 1 year.
In addition to demonstrating the value of a combined cognitive and vocational intervention, this thesis found that work-related factors, as psychosocial work environment and sector of employment, predicted work participation after 1 year. This highlights the importance of considering work-related factors when aiming to return to work after a mild-to-moderate TBI.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.