Striving to Work and Overcoming Employment Barriers Among Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract
Objectives and rationale: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is among the most devastating and disabling medical conditions affecting wounded members of the military. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the single largest SCI healthcare provider in the nation. In the private sector, the Spinal Cord Injury Model (SCIMS) system also provides care to many Veterans as well. Although both systems offer comprehensive care, there is a recognized gap between research and practice in providing evidence-based employment services to Veterans with SCI. Recently, Kessler Foundation conducted a large survey of people with many different types of disabilities to discover how they find and keep jobs. The results showed that people with disabilities are striving to work and overcoming barriers to work. The goal of this project is specifically discover how Veterans with SCI are striving to work and the strategies they are using to overcome employment barriers. We will invite Veterans with SCI to share their experiences about encountering employment barriers and what they did to overcome barriers. Types of persons with SCI it will help and how it will help them: The proposed work is relevant to Veterans because the findings will lead to practice recommendations for addressing employment barriers for Veterans with SCI treated in the VHA and SCI Model System of care. The findings will be used to develop consumer informed guidance for employment interventions for persons with SCI. For example, the only interventional study on effective employment interventions for SCI is the research conducted by the Tampa Investigator (Ottomanelli) on Individual Placement and Support among Veterans with SCI. VHA is currently striving to systematically implement this intervention in clinical practice and promote access to evidence informed services for all Veterans with physical disabilities including SCI. In the SCIMS, the lead investigator (O’Neill) is currently investigating the use of Resource Facilitation with SCI through Craig H. Neilsen Sustainable Impact Project Funding. Non-profit organizations are also investing other employment initiatives including Paving Access to Veteran Employment (PAVE) supported by the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Pathways to Employment by United Spinal Association also with funding from Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Further, these findings will also assist the VHA’s mission to provide specialized services to all veterans with disabilities. Potential risks and benefits: The potential benefits for Veterans with SCI (and families) from the results may be to increase their access to employment services that are targeted to their needs. Understanding employment barriers and what Veterans with SCI did to overcome barriers is important for several reasons. First, given the high cost of living with an SCI, gainful employment can assist with cost of care, medications, assistive devices, and home and automobile adaptation. Second, identifying barriers and strategies may assist VHA policymakers identify and target issues that need to be addressed for Veterans with SCI. Some risks are that the project findings may not be able to solve all of the problems associated with access to employment Veterans with SCI. Thus, the research team will seek subsequent funding to explore national patterns of employment barriers and strategies to overcome barriers with SCI Veterans across VA SCI centers. Projected timeline: The project should take approximately 3 years to developing consumer-informed recommendations and action plans for evidenced-based VA employment interventions and civilian employment programs. Likely contributions of the proposed research project to advancing the field of SCI research: These practical and generalizable recommendations will support federal and private sector organizations who seek to implement evidence-based service to improve employment outcomes for Veterans with SCI. The findings wi
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1710696
Entities
People
- John O Neill
Organizations
- Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
- United States Army