Rehabilitation Services, Self-Advocacy and Psychosocial Adaptation as Determinants of Employment among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine employment in adults with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods: Participants were community-dwelling adults with SCI from three states of the United States. Participants included 101 adults who have lived with SCI for at least one year before the onset of the study. Cross-sectional design through the use of questionnaire was used in this research. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis were used to analysis the study data. Results: The results of this study suggest that age, education, and psychosocial adaptation are the predictors of employment in this sample of persons with SCI

A Population-Based Investigation of Health-Care Needs and Preferences in American Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Comprehensive and effective multiple sclerosis (MS) health care requires understanding of patients’ needs, preferences, and priorities. Objective: To evaluate priorities of patients with MS for their MS care. Methods: Participants included 3003 Americans with MS recruited through the National MS Society and the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis patient registry. Participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire on aspects of their health-care experiences. Results: Participants identified the top 3 health-care priorities as (1) the affordability of MS health care, (2) ensuring that non-MS health-care providers have more education about MS and how it can interact with other conditions, and (3) access to an MS center or specialized MS clinic with MS health-care professionals together in one place. Participants receiving care in an MS center rated the quality and their satisfaction with care higher than those receiving care in other settings. Although having the opportunity to evaluate their health-care quality was important to the participants, only 36.4% had been provided the opportunity in the past year. Conclusions: This study identifies health-care priorities and concerns for Americans with MS

Wellness and Multiple Sclerosis: The National MS Society Establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and Research Priorities

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have identified “wellness” and associated behaviors as a high priority based on “social media listening” undertaken by the National MS Society (i.e. the Society). Objective: The Society recently convened a group that consisted of researchers with experience in MS and wellness-related research, Society staff members, and an individual with MS for developing recommendations regarding a wellness research agenda. Method: The members of the group engaged in focal reviews and discussions involving the state of science within three approaches for promoting wellness in MS, namely diet, exercise, and emotional wellness. Results: That process informed a group-mediated activity for developing and prioritizing research goals for wellness in MS. This served as a background for articulating the mission and objectives of the Society’s Wellness Research Working Group. Conclusion: The primary mission of the Wellness Research Working Group is the provision of scientific evidence supporting the application of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial approaches for promoting optimal health of mind, body, and spirit (i.e. wellness) in people with MS as well as managing the disease and its consequences

The Predictive Validity of the Admission Criteria for the Counselor Education Program at Portland State University

The Counselor Education Program at Portland State University currently uses five admission criteria to determine the acceptance or rejection of applicants. These criteria include letters of reference, a panel interview, a writing sample, the applicant\u27s undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and the applicant\u27s score on either the MAT or the GRE. Scores on these measures are adjusted and combined to create a single total score upon which admission decisions are based. The present study attempts to evaluate the validity of these admission criteria in predicting success in the Counselor Education Program at Portland State University. For the purpose of this study, student success was defined in terms of both the GPA upon graduation from the program and ratings of student clinical counseling skills by program faculty. The subjects were graduates of the program who had been admitted between the years 1988 and 1991. Information collected for analysis included scores on the admission criteria and GPA upon graduation, age at admission, counseling specialization, and gender. A questionnaire was then developed which asked the program faculty to rate the students\u27 clinical counseling skills. An analysis of the correlation between scores on the admission criteria and scores on the outcome criteria (graduate GPA and clinical skills score) was performed using the SPSS Statistical Package. Regression analysis showed that among the admission criteria only the MAT score significantly determined success on the outcome criteria. Gender was inversely predictive of graduate GPA (i.e., being female correlated with higher graduate GPA). Further research, using alternative measures of counseling skill, is indicated. These results suggest the need for such research, and for further evaluation of the current admission criteria

The Impact of Work Incentives Benefits Counseling on Employment Outcomes: A National Vocational Rehabilitation Study

Background: Millions of Americans receiving Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits aspire to work and reduce reliance on disability benefits, but find the rules about entering or rejoining the workforce too complex or confusing and fear that working will cause loss of important benefits. Purpose: A case control study was conducted to investigate the impact of receiving work incentives benefits counseling (WIBC) on employment outcomes, and its relationship with demographic covariates for U.S. vocational rehabilitation (VR) clients who are SSA disability benefit recipients. Method: Data for this study were extracted from the Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA-911) database. Mahalanobis distance matching procedures were used to match clients who received WIBC with those who did not receive it. Chi-square independence tests and independent samples t tests were used to compare receipt of WIBC and employment outcomes based on the demographic variables. Additionally, chi squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) analysis was used to divide VR clients into homogeneous groups based on the covariates. Results: Clients who received WIBC were more likely to obtain competitive integrated employment (CIE). Impairment type, referral source, long-term employment and education level were significantly associated with CIE for clients who received WIBC. Additionally, VR clients with sensory/communicative impairments and low-income status were less likely to receive WIBC. Conclusion: Modifying VR structure to be more inclusive; understanding of stigma; and increasing the functioning, psychological well-being and self-efficacy of VR clients might improve employment outcomes