Barriers and facilitators to employment: As Reported by Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries

OBJECTIVE: This article reports the findings from focus groups conducted with individuals who have spinal cord injuries (SCI) about their experiences with employment. The purpose was to obtain perspectives regarding their perceived barriers to employment and the supports that they need to achieve their employment goals. METHODS: Focus groups were conducted at scheduled times via telephone with 31 individuals with SCI; 16 were employed; 15 were unemployed. The recorded calls were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo10. RESULTS: Narratives from the focus groups revealed a number of trends related to the factors that facilitate and challenge employment for people with SCI. Content analysis resulted in four primary themes related to facilitation of employment: (a) learning to be a strong self-advocate, (b) acquiring job-specific training, (c) networking effectively, and (d) putting necessary supports in place. The participants' narratives also uncovered a number of barriers that a person with SCI must overcome in order to secure employment: (a) transportation issues, (b) difficulties with accommodations, and (c) perceptions of discrimination based on disability. CONCLUSIONS: This research was the first phase in a multi-phase research study on identifying and implementing knowledge translation (KT) strategies for increasing employment outcomes for individuals with physical disabilities. This research began identifying what individuals with SCI see as barriers and facilitators to successful employment and how people with disabilities obtain their information on supports and services.