Impact of legal regulations and administrative policies on persons with SCI: identifying potential research priorities through expert interviews.

PURPOSE: To identify research gaps and potential research priorities regarding the impact that legal regulations and administrative policies might have on people with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Switzerland. METHOD: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 healthcare professionals working for or being associated with the largest SCI clinic in Switzerland. The transcribed interviews were content analyzed, involving qualitative description, and thematic analysis techniques. RESULTS: Four interrelated clusters of issues were corroborated: (1) social insurance, (2) caregiving, (3) work integration, and (4) aging. In addition, two overarching themes were identified: (1) fairness considerations and (2) unavailability of systematic empirical evidence. Work capacity assessment and family caregiving were deemed to be the most pressing research priority areas. CONCLUSIONS: Legal frameworks do play both a direct and an indirect role in the lives of people with SCI in Switzerland. This is particularly true with regard to various issues related to the social insurance system, such as family caregiving and work capacity assessment. The salience of these topics is closely related to major sociodemographic and political driving forces, i.e. aging and social insurance reforms. Research directly involving people with SCI is needed to further substantiate and refine the findings of this study. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: When dealing with issues related to work reintegration, aging, social insurance, and caregiving, rehabilitation professionals should take existing legal frameworks into account. Eligibility criteria for disability benefits may influence the therapy motivation of rehabilitation clients.