Urban Schwegler1,2, Marina Nützi1,2, Albert Marti3, Bruno Trezzini1,2. 1. Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland. 2. Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland. 3. Innovation and Development Unit, Swiss Paraplegic Foundation, Nottwil, Switzerland.
Abstract
Objective: To compare pre- and post-injury job type distributions of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Switzerland.Design: Cross-sectional, self-report survey.Setting: Community.Participants: Two hundred sixty-three individuals reporting a pre- and 677 a post-injury job title in the Swiss SCI Cohort Study community survey.Interventions: Not applicable.Outcome Measures: Job titles were elicited by free-text questions and classified using the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08). Frequencies across ISCO-08 major groups were calculated and compared to Swiss labor market statistics for 1995 and 2011. Results: Compared to pre-SCI, Professionals (16.3% vs 31.2%) and Clerical Support Workers (11.7% vs 19.1%) were more prevalent and Crafts and Related Workers (26.5% vs 5.4%) less common post-injury. Except for Clerical Support Workers, these results reflect recent structural changes in the Swiss labor market. Conclusion: The higher post-SCI prevalence of jobs predominantly requiring cognitive and communication skills compared to rather physically oriented jobs mirrors structural changes in the labor market, except for clerical jobs. Future return-to-work strategies should not primarily target the clerical sector with its diminishing job opportunities, but promote vocational re-training towards jobs requiring higher education and assistive technology to return individuals with limited cognitive resources to physically oriented jobs.
Objective: To compare pre- and post-injury job type distributions of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Switzerland.Design: Cross-sectional, self-report survey.Setting: Community.Participants: Two hundred sixty-three individuals reporting a pre- and 677 a post-injury job title in the Swiss SCI Cohort Study community survey.Interventions: Not applicable.Outcome Measures: Job titles were elicited by free-text questions and classified using the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08). Frequencies across ISCO-08 major groups were calculated and compared to Swiss labor market statistics for 1995 and 2011. Results: Compared to pre-SCI, Professionals (16.3% vs 31.2%) and Clerical Support Workers (11.7% vs 19.1%) were more prevalent and Crafts and Related Workers (26.5% vs 5.4%) less common post-injury. Except for Clerical Support Workers, these results reflect recent structural changes in the Swiss labor market. Conclusion: The higher post-SCI prevalence of jobs predominantly requiring cognitive and communication skills compared to rather physically oriented jobs mirrors structural changes in the labor market, except for clerical jobs. Future return-to-work strategies should not primarily target the clerical sector with its diminishing job opportunities, but promote vocational re-training towards jobs requiring higher education and assistive technology to return individuals with limited cognitive resources to physically oriented jobs.
Authors: Martin W G Brinkhof; Christine Fekete; Jonviea D Chamberlain; Marcel W M Post; Armin Gemperli Journal: J Rehabil Med Date: 2016-02 Impact factor: 2.912
Authors: Jan D Reinhardt; Marcel W M Post; Christine Fekete; Bruno Trezzini; Martin W G Brinkhof Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-11-22 Impact factor: 3.240