Employment After Spinal Cord Injury

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review focuses on employment after spinal cord injury (SCI) and highlights recent evidence-based models of vocational rehabilitation.Recent FindingsEmployment rates among people with SCI remain much lower than the general population. Benefits of employment for persons with SCI include improved quality of life, enhanced independence, reduced depression, improved social integration, greater life satisfaction, better health, and longevity. When striving to work after SCI, there are facilitators to be exploited (e.g., education, transportation, assistive technology) and barriers that need management (e.g., secondary medical complications).SummaryIndividualized placement and support (IPS) and vocational resource facilitation (VRF) are examples of new evidence-based models of vocational rehabilitation that integrate vocational services with clinical care in order to better help persons with SCI find competitive employment in the community. If people with SCI do not return to work soon after their injury, then it may take more time for them to reach their full vocational potential.
Source: Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports - Category: Rehabilitation Source Type: research