Trial reportInternational journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society2025
Effectiveness of early vocational rehabilitation versus usual care to support RETurn to work after stroKE: A pragmatic, parallel-arm multicenter, randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- The work and vocational advice intervention for adults in full or part-time employment: a synopsis of the WAVE feasibility study and RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Trial
- Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study.BMJ open · 2025Trial
- Cost consequences analysis of early vocational rehabilitation compared with usual care for stroke survivors.Clinical rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- Exploring occupational therapists' perceptions, current practices and confidence levels in supporting return to work after stroke: A mixed-methods study.The British journal of occupational therapy · 2026Article
- Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Community Participation Following Stroke, Part Three: Optimizing Activity and Community Participation Following Stroke , 7th Edition Update, 2025.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Predictors of Return to Work After Stroke in Hungary: A Mixed-Methods Economic and Clinical Data Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Development of a digital, self-guided return-to-work toolkit for stroke survivors and employers using intervention mapping.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Early Mobilization and Factors Associated with Rehabilitation After Stroke-Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring stroke survivor and employer experiences of disruption within the RETurn to work After stroKE (RETAKE) trial during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in sociology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundReturn-to-work is a major goal achieved by fewer than 50% stroke survivors. Evidence on how to support return-to-work is lacking.
aimsThis study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of Early Stroke Specialist Vocational Rehabilitation (ESSVR) plus usual care (UC) (i.e. usual NHS rehabilitation) versus UC alone for helping people return-to-work after stroke.
methodsThis pragmatic, multicentre, individually randomized controlled trial with embedded economic and process evaluations compared ESSVR with UC in 21 NHS stroke services across England and Wales. Eligible participants were aged ⩾ 18 years, in work at stroke onset, hospitalized with new stroke and within 12 weeks of stroke. People not intending to return-to-work were excluded. Participants were randomized (5:4) to individually tailored ESSVR delivered by stroke specialist occupational therapists for up to 12 months or usual National Health Service rehabilitation. Primary outcome was self-reported return-to-work for ⩾ 2 h per week at 12 months. Primary and safety analyses were done in the intention-to-treat population.
resultsBetween 1 June 2018, and 7 March 2022, 583 participants (M
conclusionTo our knowledge, this is the largest trial of a stroke vocational rehabilitation (VR) intervention ever conducted. We found no evidence that ESSVR conferred any benefits over UC in improving return-to-work rates 12 months post-stroke. Return-to-work (for at least 2 h per week) rates were higher than in previous studies (64.2% ESSVR vs 59.4% UC) at 12 months and more than double that observed in our feasibility trial (26%). Interpretation of findings was limited by a predominantly mild-moderate sample of participants and the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic impacted the trial, ESSVR and UC delivery, altering the work environment and employer behavior. These changes influenced our primary outcome and the meaning of work in people's lives; all pivotal to the context of ESSVR delivery and its mechanisms of action.Data access:Data available on reasonable request. REGISTRATION: ISRCTN12464275.
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