Employment status and its associated factors for patients 12 months after intensive care: Secondary analysis of the SMAP-HoPe study

• Published in: PloS one 2022-01, Vol.17 (3), p.e0263441
• Main Authors: Takeshi Unoki, Mio Kitayama, Hideaki Sakuramoto, Akira Ouchi, Tomoki Kuribara, Takako Yamaguchi, Sakura Uemura, Yuko Fukuda, Junpei Haruna, Takahiro Tsujimoto, Mayumi Hino, Yuko Shiba, Takumi Nagao, Masako Shirasaka, Yosuke Satoi, Miki Toyoshima, Yoshiki Masuda, SMAP-HoPe Study Project
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263441

BackgroundReturning to work is a serious issue that affects patients who are discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU). This study aimed to clarify the employment status and the perceived household financial status of ICU patients 12 months following ICU discharge. Additionally, we evaluated whether there exists an association between depressive symptoms and subsequent unemployment status.MethodsThis study was a subgroup analysis of the published Survey of Multicenter Assessment with Postal questionnaire for Post-Intensive Care Syndrome for Home Living Patients (the SMAP-HoPe study) in Japan. Eligible patients were those who were employed before ICU admission, stayed in the ICU for at least three nights between October 2019 and July 2020, and lived at home for 12 months after discharge. We assessed the employment status, subjective cognitive functions, household financial status, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and EuroQOL-5 dimensions of physical function at 12 months following intensive care.ResultsThis study included 328 patients, with a median age of 64 (interquartile range [IQR], 52-72) years. Of these, 79 (24%) were unemployed 12 months after ICU discharge. The number of patients who reported worsened financial status was significantly higher in the unemployed group (p