Multidisciplinary Model to Guide Employment Amongst PLWSCI

This is a cross-sectional study in which mixed methods will be used in various phases of the study. Mixed methods involve the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study. Data are collected concurrently or sequentially and integrated at one or more stages during the research process. This study will be divided into 3 phases with stages to answer the objectives. Phase one of this study will attempt to answer objectives 1-3 of the study. Stage 1 will include a systematic review of literature to identify the most effective vocational rehabilitation interventions amongst PLWSCI. Stage 2 will determine rehabilitation services rendered to individual who sustain SCI in South Africa with an intention of identifying gaps in vocational rehabilitation practices by retrospectively analysing medical files. This phase will be concluded by a focus group to further explore current vocational rehabilitation practices rendered to PLWSCI (Stage3). Phase two will answer objectives 4-5. Stage 1 of this phase will determine the employment status as well as factors that influence employment amongst PLWSCI. Stage 2 will determine the barriers and facilitators of employment amongst PLWSCI. Results obtained from phase 1 to 2, will be utilised to by the researcher to develop the proposed model. The final phase will aim to develop, validate and refine the model. Stage 1 of this phase will include the researcher using the information gained in previous phases to develop the proposed model. The second stage will include a focus group to validate the content of the proposed model. The last stage will included obtaining consensus amongst the stakeholders regarding the structure and the content of the proposed model and subsequently refine it.