ABSTRACT
A total of 87 women admitted to The national rehabilitation center in Oslo in 1981 because of long-lasting pain have been followed up for seven years with respect to disability pensions. Nearly 53% were registered as receiving pensions. No significant difference was found between women who had been treated by public health service with purely individual medical measures and women who, in addition, had also received treatment in the working environment. Background variables which seem to have predictive value for a subsequent disability pension are older age, long-lasting state of pain, a long period of unemployment and receipt of rehabilitation benefits. The conclusion is that traditional methods are not enough, and we emphasize the importance of introducing special measures for persons who empirically have the greater chance of ending up with a disability pension.
