Key Points
Submitted by admin on Sun, 05/23/2010 - 16:47
- Non-modifiable personal characteristics such as being male and Caucasian, younger at injury, with a longer duration of injury (20-30 years) with a higher pre-injury education, less severely injured, and being employed at injury in a low-intensity job increase the likelihood of employment post-SCI.
- Modifiable personal characteristics such as being married, highly educated, limiting the occurrence of health complications with a higher level of independence (including wheelchair skills), valuing work increase the likelihood of employment post-SCI.
- Environmental barriers to employment are social or physical and include financial disincentives, discrimination associated with negative attitudes toward people with disabilities and difficulties with physical access to workplace.
- Environmental facilitators include having access to various assistive devices, using transportation independently and having the possibilities of work adaptation including reduced work hours.
- A single environmental factor can be perceived either as a barrier or a facilitator to employment based on its presence/absence in one’s environment and its impact on effective returning to work.
- People with SCI may benefit from vocational rehabilitation in the process of job placement and work reintegration.
- There is a dearth of high quality research in vocational (re) training. Consequently, conclusions are based on evidence from observational studies or case studies.
- Continuous support to the employee and employer before and after vocational placement might lead to a successful return to work and job retention.
