Brain Injuries, Employment, Spinal Cord Diseases, Spinal Cord Injuries
Conditions
Keywords
employment, vocational rehabilitation
Brief summary
For many people with spinal cord injury or brain injury, seeking employment after injury is an important goal. There are services available to help people with disabilities. However, the best ways to coordinate and deliver these services are not yet known. This project will compare two ways of coordinating and delivering services that are designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury obtain employment.
Detailed description
Employment is important for financial security, social connection, and life satisfaction. Unfortunately, rates of unemployment remain high among people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). To help address this challenge, the investigators are conducting a single-site, randomized, controlled trial to compare two programs intended to increase rates of employment among people with SCI or BI. In one program, services are coordinated by a counselor employed by the New Jersey State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, a state-based agency that assists people with disabilities who are interested in pursuing employment. In the other program, services are coordinated by a facilitator who is employed by the rehabilitation hospital at which the participant receives inpatient care. Services provided in both programs will be customized to the participant's needs and goals. Services will begin in inpatient rehabilitation and may include education, therapy, equipment provision, counseling, and other interventions. The project will enroll 500 participants who are interested in becoming employed or returning to work. Information about employment status, earnings, benefits use, community participation, and health will be collected through a combination of surveys, medical record review, and information available in state and federal administrative databases. Analyses will examine the rate of participants employed at 1 year after enrollment in each group, time to employment, earnings, benefits usage, community participation, and well-being. Findings from this study will be used to determine which ways of delivering services are most effective in enabling employment, and to provide information to help other rehabilitation centers adopt effective programs.
Interventions
A counselor affiliated with the New Jersey State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services they may receive include: * Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment. * Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment. * Help completing applications for services. * Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them. * Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.
A facilitator affiliated with Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services they may receive include: * Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment. * Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment. * Help completing applications for services. * Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them. * Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.
Sponsors
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Kessler Foundation
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 62 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Adults aged 18-62 * New Jersey resident * Admitted to Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR) due to a spinal cord injury (SCI) or brain injury (BI) * Receiving inpatient rehabilitation at KIR * Community living in the state of New Jersey after discharge from KIR
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Status | 12-months post-enrollment | Proportion of participants in each group in competitive employment |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SSI and SSDI Benefit Applications | 12-months post-enrollment | Proportion of participants who report via survey that they applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits |
| SSI and SSDI Benefit Awards | 12-months post-enrollment | Proportion of participants who report via survey that they were awarded SSI and SSDI benefits |
| Earnings | 12-months post-enrollment | Earnings within the first 12 months post-enrollment as obtained from New Jersey Unemployment Insurance (UI) data |
| Satisfaction with Services | 12-months post-enrollment | Survey to assess satisfaction with services provided |
| Self-Reported Health and Well-Being | 12-months post-enrollment | Survey to assess emotional well-being, current general health status, and extent to which current health limits ability to work |
| Job Satisfaction | 12-months post-enrollment | Survey to assess job satisfaction and attitudes toward work |
Contacts
Primary ContactJohn O'Neill, Ph.D.
Outcome results
None listed