Study design: Cross-sectional survey. Objectives: To establish labour market participation figures of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Switzerland and to investigate determinants and consequences of having paid work. Setting: Community. Methods: A survey among members of the Swiss Paraplegic Association was performed in 2008. Inclusion criteria were: SCI of traumatic or non-traumatic origin, minimum age of 18 years, and living in the community for at least 1 year. A total of 559 persons with SCI returned the questionnaire (response rate 27%), of which 495 (24%) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed based on theoretical considerations and relevant determinants found in the literature. Results: Of the respondents of working age, 63.8% were involved in gainful employment. No significant difference between persons with para-and tetraplegia was observed. Logistic regression showed that employment was associated with age, time since onset of SCI, having worked at 2 years after initial rehabilitation, having received vocational counselling, having less pain, more years of education and more perceived importance of work. Working persons achieved a significantly higher total income. The most important reasons to work were not financial, but rather of social nature. Barriers to work were primarily health-related. Conclusions: We found a relatively high employment rate among the studied persons with SCI living in Switzerland. However, because of the low response, it is difficult to generalise this finding.
We aimed to examine how integration and participation are understood by persons with spinal cord injury. A qualitative study was carried out where we analysed 14 interviews with persons with spinal cord injury living in Switzerland. Integration was more often understood in terms of social acceptance and inclusion, while individual activities were more often highlighted in definitions of participation. Environmental factors were seen as the most important determinants. Applied strategies comprised pre-arrangements, open communication, asking for help and optimism. Common ground appears to be autonomous functioning and freedom of choice while major determinants are seen in the environment.
The understanding and measurement of participation and environmental context in spinal cord injury (SCI) is critically important. However, there is limited understanding of the environment-participation relationship in SCI research. There is little consensus on what is and on how to measure participation and its environmental determinants in the SCI. The objective of this article is to develop a set of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)-based SCI Participation and Environment Domain Set and measurement instruments that intend to measure those domains. ICF categories from the ICF components of activities and participation and environmental factors based on the comprehensive ICF Core Set for SCI and the ICF Core Set for vocational rehabilitation were merged. Measurement instruments were selected based on published systematic reviews of measurement instruments in SCI. There were 128 ICF categories or domains in total (38 for environmental factors and 90 for activities and participation). There were six measurement instruments on environmental factors and six for participation based on existing systematic reviews. This article presents a domain set that is relevant to conducting research on the social and environmental perspectives, in an effort to understand and measure functioning in SCI (i.e., "SCI participation domain set" and "SCI environment domain set," respectively). The sample of SCI Participation and Environment Measurement Instruments gathered indicate the comprehensiveness and depth of the different domains. Guiding principles on the utilization of these measurement instruments depending on the purpose and design of a research study are highly recommended to investigators.
Signs of stereotypical processing of visual cues of impairment have been found in participants of the Swiss general population. Personal contact with persons with impairments as well as priming participants seems to reduce stereotyping.
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