Major as well as minor disabilities, such as physical, psychosocial, environmental and memory/attention impairment, significantly affect the entering or the returning to work of persons with MS. The objective of this review was to assess the efficacy and to evaluate the cost effectiveness of VR programs compared to other types of programs.
Among the pertinent medical literature, only two studies, comprising a total of 80 participants, met the criteria of the methodological quality necessary for their inclusion in this review, although the subsequent quality assessment revealed they scored poorly. Furthermore, the two studies were carried out in USA, with limited generalisability in other geographical/cultural settings. The whole data neither supports nor refutes the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of VR programs for persons with MS.
The data also identified critical points worth of future attention: more awareness of vocational issues by professionals; putting in place practical solutions such as a proper workplace accommodations and employers' education; asking for political/governmental initiatives to really support disabled employees; taking into account that supported withdrawal from work at the proper time is as important as supported re-entering to work. Further research are necessary also to improve the methodology of the researches and to identify those individuals most likely to benefit.