SEED PROJECT - Sustained employment following acquired brain or spinal cord injury: Case studies involving employees, employers, and service providers.

About the Project

About the project

Chief Investigator: Dr Jessie Mitchell

Project Title: Sustained employment following acquired brain or spinal cord injury: Case studies involving employees, employers, and service providers.

Project investigators: Dr Vanette McLennan, Dr Kerrin Watter, Dr Emily Bray, A/Prof. Melissa Kendall, Dr Christy Hogan, Ms Janelle Griffin, Dr Delena Amsters, Mr Michael Dobbie-Bridges PLY, Ms Belinda McLeod, Mr Timothy Matthews, Dr Knut Jan Schneider, Prof. Tamara Ownsworth, Prof. Timothy Geraghty.

People sit along a set of windows at a shared desk, in a brightly lit room. One person sits in a wheelchair using his laptop while the others are sitting in office chairs. The man in the wheelchair and the woman next to him are speaking..

Project Summary:

This project aims to understand the experiences of people who have sustained their job with the same employer for at least 12 months following an acquired brain injury (ABI) or spinal cord injury (SCI). People who experience life-disrupting injuries, like ABI and SCI, can face many challenges in returning to, finding, and sustaining employment. Research shows low employment rates post-injury and even when people do return to work, job withdrawal is common and many leave the workforce before retirement age. The research team wants to understand the perspectives of people with ABI or SCI who have sustained employment, including the different personal, injury, and workplace-related factors that have influenced their success. Researchers also want to understand the experiences of their employers and rehabilitation clinicians or employment service providers in helping facilitate sustained employment.

Employment is vital for economic security and quality of life for most people in Australia. It is expected that sharing real-life employment journeys with research findings will provide knowledge and practical strategies to support people with ABI and SCI to sustain employment successfully and help employers to create inclusive workplaces. This will also help rehabilitation and employment professionals to provide tailored support throughout people's employment journeys after ABI and SCI to maximise job retention and satisfaction.

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