Employment satisfaction of individuals with spinal cord injury

Objectives: Community reentry after a spinal cord injury is a longterm inte grative process, because individuals must adjust to an extraordinary new se t of circumstances. In this study, quality-of-life and work satisfaction va riables associated with employed or unemployed individuals with spinal cord injury were examined. Methods: Quality-of-life and work satisfaction variables associated with 10 9 employed or unemployed individuals with spinal cord injury were examined by using an employment satisfaction survey. Results: Most of those employed indicated that they would either change job s or some employment variable such as duties, supervisor, or hours worked. Participants who were not working attributed unemployment to an array of fa ctors including ongoing health problems, lack of transportation, and impact of and/or lost disability benefits. Both groups offered feedback related t o information provided to them by medical professionals about return-to-wor k resources. Conclusions: The following three themes emerged from this analysis: (1) mor e comprehensive provider training about spinal cord injury is needed; (2) i ncreased communication between consumer and family would be beneficial; and (3) an increase in the flexibility and availability of services would help to ensure access to essential care.