Motor Vehicle Accident Fund Botswana loss of income claimants’ experiences returning to work after road traffic accidents

Purpose Return-to-work (RTW) following road traffic accidents (RTAs) is essential for better health and financial outcomes. The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF) Botswana assists loss-of-income (LOI) claimants with medical assistance, LOI compensation and facilitates RTW. Claimants’ experiences affect RTW. This qualitative study investigated barriers to and facilitators of RTW for LOI claimants at the MVAF Botswana.Materials and methods Eleven LOI claimants were purposively sampled and participated in two focus group discussions. They benefited from LOI compensation between 2015 and 2020. Thematic analysis and a hybrid inductive and deductive approach were used to analyze the data via the ecological case management model.Results The main themes were health care, personal, workplace and legislation and insurance systems, which were further classified into eight subthemes related to barriers and facilitators. The combined top facilitators were (1) vocational rehabilitation, (2) medical assistance, and (3) effective case management, whilst top barriers were (1) severe injuries, (2) insufficient LOI funds, and (3) ineffective RTW case management.Conclusion Effective medical case management and coordinated RTW processes are vital for RTW; equally, the severity of injury affects RTW success.Contribution Understanding barriers and facilitators of RTW can inform personalized RTW interventions.