The meaning of employment from the perspective of persons with spinal cord injuries in six European countries.

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.