Employment pathways of individuals with spinal cord injury living in Switzerland: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Labour market participation (LMP) represents a key goal of rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). To achieve this goal, Swiss SCI rehabilitation centres seek, together with their clients, viable follow-up solutions for returning to work after initial rehabilitation. However, the long-term outcomes of such vocational follow-up solutions have not been investigated so far, and there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the various types of employment pathways that persons with SCI living in Switzerland may experience. OBJECTIVE: To examine long-term employment pathways as experienced by individuals with SCI living in Switzerland. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study design involving narrative interviews with individuals who completed vocational rehabilitation (VR) during their initial rehabilitation. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: The analysis of the 15 interviews revealed four employment pathways: the pathway of no paid work, the pathway of retraining, the pathway of job adaptation and the pathway of continuing work. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from three pathways leading towards paid employment, our results revealed one pathway that was characterized by permanent unemployment. Individuals facing a pathway of no paid work may benefit from more custom-made vocational follow-up solutions and prolonged job coaching after initial VR.