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Employment After Spinal Cord Injury

Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports volume 8, pages 141–148 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review focuses on employment after spinal cord injury (SCI) and highlights recent evidence-based models of vocational rehabilitation.

Recent Findings

Employment 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).

Summary

Individualized 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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, USA

    John O’Neill & Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA

    John O’Neill & Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson

  3. John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    John O’Neill

  4. Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    John O’Neill

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  1. John O’Neill
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  2. Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson
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Correspondence to Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson.

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O’Neill, J., Dyson-Hudson, T.A. Employment After Spinal Cord Injury. Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep 8, 141–148 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40141-020-00266-4

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Keywords

  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Employment
  • Supported employment
  • Return-to-work
  • Vocational rehabilitation
  • Rehabilitation