Factors influencing sustainable employment of persons with acquired brain injury (ABI) or spinal cord injury (SCI): A qualitative study evaluating the perspective of health and work professionals

Finger, Matthias; Karcz, Katarzyna; Schiffmann, Barbara; Staubli, Stefan; Hund-Georgiadis, Margret; Escorpizo, Reuben

doi:10.3389/fresc.2022.906567

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(32 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To address our research question, we carried out a secondary analysis of data from focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews (8, 9) that were conducted between May 2019 and July 2020. The original three studies investigated factors associated with sustainable work of persons with ABI and SCI (10)(11)(12). In the current secondary analysis, the gathered data was re-analyzed thematically (13,14).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable vocational integration: A qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Karcz

Schiffmann

Schwegler

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Along with the social and economic challenges posed by an aging society, creating work conditions that allow persons to stay healthy and work into old age has become a major task of Western societies. Retaining employment after returning to work is particularly difficult for individuals with a disability, as evidenced by the high rate of premature labor market dropout. Individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) exemplify this challenge, as it often impairs cognitive, technical, and interpersonal abilities crucial in today's labor market. To effectively support these individuals, vocational integration practitioners require comprehensive knowledge of risk factors for premature labor market dropout and effective strategies for sustainable work. Objective This study aimed to identify perceived risk factors and related service gaps regarding sustainable work for people with ABI, as reported by affected individuals, employers, vocational integration professionals, and health professionals. Methods Secondary analysis of data from seven focus group discussions and two interviews with persons with ABI, 15 interviews with employers, and 13 interviews with vocational integration and health professionals. Data were re-examined using thematic analysis. Results Two major themes of risk factors were identified: (1) person-related factors (including the subthemes: post-ABI impairments; lack of understanding of post-ABI impairments; poor health management) and (2) environment-related factors (including the subthemes: challenges related to the service structure; insufficient knowledge and education of professionals; challenges at the workplace; difficulties in private life). While stakeholders noted the variety of the currently available services, they particularly pointed to the missing long-term monitoring and counseling services for persons with ABI following the initial return-to-work phase, reflecting a major challenge for sustainable work. An overarching gap related to the fragmentation of the service structure and the lack of case coordination along the working life. Conclusions Multiple stakeholders emphasized the importance of empowering individuals, ensuring easy access to professional support, and providing a suitable work environment to address key risk factors and facilitate sustainable work for individuals with ABI. Continuous coaching support, as well as long-term monitoring and counseling following the initial return to work, were identified as potential strategies to achieve these goals.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The focus groups and the interviews followed the same procedure of discussing facilitators and barriers for sustainable work, service gaps and risk factors for labor market dropout. Detailed information on the data collection is published elsewhere (10)(11)(12).…”

Section: In-and Outpatient Rehabilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable vocational integration: A qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Karcz

Schiffmann

Schwegler

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The original project aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to sustainable employment for individuals with a disability, specifically focusing on those with acquired brain injuries and spinal cord injuries (SCI) [33]. To respond to this study aim, we conducted focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews [34,35] with individuals with ABI and SCI [36], health and vocational integration professionals [37], as well as employers of persons with ABI and SCI [38]. Based on our finding that the availability and structure of vocational integration services were perceived as a major barrier to employment sustainability, especially for persons with ABI, we decided to conduct an in-depth secondary analysis of the qualitative data, focusing on perceived service gaps and their relation to the identified risk factors for sustainable employment of people with ABI.…”

Section: Data Source: the 'Sustainable Employment' Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable work: a qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Karcz,

Schwegler,

Schiffmann

et al. 2024

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction Along with the social and economic challenges posed by an aging society, creating work conditions that allow persons to stay healthy and work into old age has become a major task of Western societies. Retaining employment after returning to work is particularly difficult for individuals with a disability, as evidenced by the high rate of premature labor market dropout. Individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) exemplify this challenge, as it often impairs cognitive, technical, and interpersonal abilities that are crucial in today’s labor market. To effectively support these individuals, vocational integration practitioners require comprehensive knowledge of risk factors for premature labor market dropout and effective strategies for sustainable work. Objective This study aimed to identify perceived risk factors and related service gaps regarding sustainable work for people with ABI, as reported by affected individuals, employers, vocational integration professionals, and health professionals. Methods Secondary data analysis. Data that was originally collected through seven focus groups and two interviews with persons with ABI, 15 interviews with employers, and 13 interviews with vocational integration and health professionals in the context of the project ‘Sustainable employment’ was re-analysed thematically. Results Two major themes of risk factors were identified: (1) person-related factors (including the subthemes: post-ABI impairments; lack of understanding of post-ABI impairments; poor health management) and (2) environment-related factors (including the subthemes: challenges related to the service structure; insufficient knowledge and education about ABI; challenges at the workplace; difficulties in private life). While stakeholders noted the variety of the currently available services, they particularly pointed to the missing long-term monitoring and counseling services for persons with ABI following the initial return-to-work, reflecting a major challenge for sustainable work. An overarching gap related to the fragmentation of the service structure and the lack of case coordination along the working life. Conclusions Multiple stakeholders emphasized the importance of empowering individuals, ensuring easy access to professional support, and providing a suitable work environment to address key risk factors and facilitate sustainable work for individuals with ABI. Continuous coaching, long-term monitoring and counseling following return-to-work, were identified as potential strategies to achieve these goals.

show abstract

Prioritizing risk factors and identifying target areas to address with interventions to improve sustainable employment of persons with a brain injury or a spinal cord injury – A multi-stakeholder consensus process

Finger

Karcz²,

Schiffmann³

et al. 2023

Front. Rehabil. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAchieving sustainable long-term employment is the goal of work integration for persons with acquired brain injury (ABI) or spinal cord injury (SCI). However, decreasing employment rates over time for persons with ABI and SCI indicate that remaining employed in the long-term is a challenge.PurposeTo identify the most important risk factors that pose a barrier to sustainable employment of persons with ABI or SCI from a multi-stakeholder perspective, and to propose corresponding interventions that address them.MethodsMulti-stakeholder consensus conference and follow-up survey.ResultsFrom 31 risk factors to sustainable employment of persons with ABI or SCI identified in previous studies, nine were defined as most important to address with interventions. These risk factors either impacted the person, the work environment or service provision. Potential interventions to address these factors were proposed in mixed condition groups, of which ten were voted on as priority interventions. The follow-up survey revealed strong agreement on the intervention proposals, strong to moderate agreement on impact, but moderate to low feasibility, as most of the interventions were measures at the meso- (service) and macro- (legislation and state regulation) level.ConclusionsHolding micro-level stakeholder conferences is a valuable method for identifying the most important risk factors to sustainable employment and for developing measures to address them. To implement measures that involve decisions at the meso- or macro-level, representatives from these levels of the healthcare and social system have to be involved.

show abstract

Factors influencing sustainable employment of persons with acquired brain injury (ABI) or spinal cord injury (SCI): A qualitative study evaluating the perspective of health and work professionals

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable vocational integration: A qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable vocational integration: A qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Risk factors and service gaps affecting a sustainable work: a qualitative multi-stakeholder analysis in the context of persons with acquired brain injury living in Switzerland

Prioritizing risk factors and identifying target areas to address with interventions to improve sustainable employment of persons with a brain injury or a spinal cord injury – A multi-stakeholder consensus process

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About