Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Unit, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| [b] Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland
| [c]
Institute for Sport Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| [d] Faculty of Cultural Reflections, University of Witten-Herdedecke, Witten, Germany
| [e] Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
| [f]
Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction of Sichuan University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Correspondence:
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Address for Correspondence: Annelie Schedin Leiulfsrud, St. Olav University Hospital, Spinal Cord Unit, 7006 Trondheim, Norway. Tel.: +47 91 52 53 18; Fax: +47 72 57 57 76; E-mail: annelie.leiulfsrud@gmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: People with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are underrepresented in the labour force. OBJECTIVE: To examine the meaning of employment, as it is understood in the context of participation and integration in society, among persons with SCI in six European countries. We ask how SCI relates to employment, for the functions of employment, alternatives to employment, and its obstacles. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 74 persons and qualitatively analysed using a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Employment was ranked as very important independent of the participants current employment status. We identified three main functions of employment: 1) employment contributes to the creation of personal and collective identity and social recognition; 2) employment enables structuring of time and distracts from impairment and pain; 3) employment is as an important social arena that facilitates interaction with other people. Voluntary work and domestic work did not fully replace the social functions of employment, nor correspond to the design of the disability compensation systems. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the high value of employment and a need to pay more attention to a broader range of productive work. It also reveals the interdependencies between employment status and income mediated by the disability compensation schemes.
Keywords: Work, social participation, disability, barriers and facilitators
