Investigating employment following spinal cord injury: outcomes, methods, and population demographics

Abstract

The literature review identified a number of limitations in the existing research including the lack of standardized reporting of employment outcomes and a need for increased consistency in reporting sample characteristics. In addition, there are gaps in the research about people with newly acquired spinal cord injury, particularly regarding the timing of interventions. Implications for Rehabilitation Spinal cord injury has the potential to disrupt a person's career across their lifespan. Employment rate is the gold standard for evaluating employment outcomes. Broader measures of employment, including job retention and hours worked, have potential in evaluating and improving the quality of employment outcomes for this population. Further research with people with newly acquired spinal cord injuries would better support the provision of vocational rehabilitation services earlier in a person's rehabilitation, potentially preserving jobs.

Mapping Out One’s Own Paths Toward Work: Focus on Experiences of Return to Work After Spinal Cord Injury

“…Hammell (137) points to the paradox of promoting a person-centred perspective without collaborating with service users in development of interventions. In line with this, Bloom et al (183) point to the importance of involving persons with SCI to ensure authenticity in RTW interventions. Using a participatory approach, drawing on photovoice methods, was therefore a strength in this thesis.…”

“…Evaluating outcome measures in study IV had a purpose of understanding if they were suitable in a future full-scale trial, and to determine which outcomes were suitable as primary and secondary measures. The challenges of measuring RTW have been previously discussed (183,186). There are numerous measures and definitions of outcomes (183,186) and the choice of outcome measures is difficult.…”

“…The challenges of measuring RTW have been previously discussed (183,186). There are numerous measures and definitions of outcomes (183,186) and the choice of outcome measures is difficult. The choice of instruments in this thesis was grounded in the psychometric properties of the instruments, the theoretical underpinnings of the instruments, the use of instrument in the specific population, and the researchers' experiences.…”

International Comparison of Vocational Rehabilitation for Persons With Spinal Cord Injury: Systems, Practices, and Barriers

“…[1][2][3] Employment rates among people with SCI/D, with an average of 34% (range, 15%-76%) and an average full-time employment rate of 21%, are well below those among the general population. 4 Determinants for WP following SCI/D have been described and include the following factors All centers had sufficient expertise in the field of SCI/D, which was defined by admitting at least 40 newly injured persons with SCI/D per year. Information was sought from VR experts in each center, further mentioned as the participant.…”

Vocational rehabilitation to empower consumers following newly acquired spinal cord injury

“…Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are catastrophic events that can interrupt every domain in a person's life. Career trajectories are often disrupted significantly, with long term employment rates of approximately 30-40% and return to work (RTW) occurring an average of five years after the initial injury (Bloom et al, 2018;Krause et al, 2010). In response to these low rates of employment, emerging vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs introduce VR during primary rehabilitation.…”