Employment and Accommodation Needs in Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Sex and gender influence employment in TBI. A large facilitator to employment in TBI is having workplace accommodation, however in many cases accommodations are unavailable or may not fit the needs of the individual. Further, it is unknown how the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is impacting employment and accommodations for persons with TBI. This study aims to investigate sex and gender-specific workplace accommodations in persons with TBI, while considering the impact of COVID-19 on transitioning to work and on mental health in adults with TBI. Methods: The proposed research is a pilot study with an observational cross-sectional design. Sixty adults with TBI, including men, women and gender diverse people within the age range of 18-65 years inclusive, will be recruited. An online survey will be self-administered through Research Electronic Data Capture. The survey includes questions on demographics (e.g., sex, gender, age, ethnicity, injury severity, mechanism of injury);questions from the Canadian Survey on Disability 2017 on employment status, requirements and unmet needs for workplace accommodations;and questions from Statistics Canada on the impact of COVID-19 on work status. Results: Data collection is in progress. Planned analyses include multinomial logistic and multivariable linear regression analyses to evaluate the relationships between the predictor (i.e., sex, gender) and main outcome variables (i.e., the number and type of accommodations needed, change in employment status and mental health due to COVID-19). Descriptive statistics, between-group comparisons for sex and gender, and sexspecific and gender-specific stratification will be completed to understand emerging trends. Conclusion: Sex and gender influences in TBI can serve to inform rehabilitation professionals, employers and persons with TBI, to enable sex- and gender-sensitive interventions for community participation practices. Findings from this study will contribute to the body of evidence on sex- and gender-specific workplace accommodations, while bridging the knowledge gap of how to improve transition to work in persons with TBI. Results will also further the understanding of the specific needs of men, women and gender-diverse persons with a disability during community participation postdischarge, including during unprecedented times.