Early Intervention to Promote Return to Work for People With Spinal Cord Injury

NCT ID: NCT05506657

Last Updated: 2022-08-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 162 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2026-08-31

Brief Summary

For many people with spinal cord injury, seeking employment after injury is an important goal. There are services available to help people with disabilities. However, the best ways to coordinate and deliver these services are not yet known. This project will compare two ways of coordinating and delivering services that are designed to help people with spinal cord injury obtain employment.

Detailed Description

Employment is important for financial security, social connection, and life satisfaction. Unfortunately, rates of unemployment remain high among people with spinal cord injury (SCI). To help address this challenge, the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS) is conducting a single-site, randomized, controlled trial to compare two programs intended to increase rates of employment among people with SCI. The project will enroll 162 recently injured adults with SCI who are interested in becoming employed or returning to work and will compare different ways of delivering employment-related services in the first year after injury. Services will begin in inpatient rehabilitation and may include education, therapy, equipment provision, counseling, and other interventions. Information about employment status, earnings, community participation, and health will be collected through a combination of questionnaires and databases. Participants and service providers will also share their impressions of the programs via survey and focus groups. Analyses will examine the rate of participants employed at 1 year in each group, time to employment, earnings, community participation, and other aspects of well-being. Findings from this study will be used to determine which ways of delivering services are most effective in enabling employment by 1 year after injury, and to provide information to help other rehabilitation centers adopt effective programs.

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injuries; Spinal Cord Diseases

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

State Counselor-Coordinated Services

In this program, services are coordinated by a counselor employed by the New Jersey State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (NJDVRS), a state-based agency that assists people with disabilities who are interested in pursuing employment. While the participant is in inpatient rehabilitation or soon after their discharge, a member of the research team will assist them in completing the necessary documentation to apply for services from this agency. Services for which they are eligible will be provided directly through NJDVRS.

Group Type: OTHER

State Counselor-Coordinated Services

Intervention Type: OTHER

A counselor affiliated with the New Jersey State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services participants may receive include:

• Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment.
• Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment.
• Help completing applications for services.
• Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them.
• Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.

Center Facilitator-Coordinated Services

In this program, services are coordinated by a facilitator who is employed by Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and works cooperatively with NJDVRS. The facilitator will begin working with the participant during inpatient rehabilitation, or soon after discharge, depending on when they enroll in the study. Some services for which they are eligible will be provided through NJDVRS and others will be provided to them by the facilitator.

Group Type: OTHER

Center Facilitator-Coordinated Services

Intervention Type: OTHER

A facilitator affiliated with Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services participants may receive include:

• Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment.
• Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment.
• Help completing applications for services.
• Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them.
• Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.

Interventions

State Counselor-Coordinated Services

A counselor affiliated with the New Jersey State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services participants may receive include:

• Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment.
• Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment.
• Help completing applications for services.
• Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them.
• Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Center Facilitator-Coordinated Services

A facilitator affiliated with Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation coordinates services that consider the participant's condition, needs and goals. Services participants may receive include:

• Education on programs designed to help people with spinal cord injury or brain injury pursue employment.
• Advice and guidance from professional counselors who have special training in helping people with disabilities pursue employment.
• Help completing applications for services.
• Assistance communicating with my employer about my needs and ways to accommodate them.
• Referrals to and services from other health care or technology providers.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• adults age 18 to 62
• a neurological impairment secondary to an SCI that occurred less than 12 months prior to enrollment
• receiving inpatient rehabilitation at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR)
• community living in the state of NJ after discharge from KIR
• have a goal to pursue competitive integrated employment or education/retraining leading to competitive integrated employment

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 62 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Kessler Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, M.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Kessler Foundation

John O'Neill, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Kessler Foundation

Central Contacts

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, M.D.

Role: CONTACT

tdysonhudson@kesslerfoundation.org

973-324-3576

John O'Neill, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

Joneill@kesslerfoundation.org

973-324-8387

Other Identifiers

L-1171-21A

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id