Effectiveness of Occupational Rehabilitation Program on the Life Expectancy of People with Spinal Cord Injury

One of the issues rehabilitation counselors face is that people with physical disabilities and spinal cord injuries have psychological problems, such as hopelessness, and many other challenges, such as unemployment. Occupational rehabilitation is one of the vital aspects of rehabilitation that helps individuals increase their efficiency and restore their abilities and minimize disabilities, while also addressing aspects of their psychological needs, such as life expectancy in itself. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of occupational rehabilitation on life expectancy in people with spinal cord injuries.

A single case study of ABA type was used in the current study. For this purpose, using purposeful sampling, five individuals with spinal cord injury were selected and received eight sessions of individual intervention training in Social Cognitive Theory vocational rehabilitation program. Data were collected using the Luthans Psychological Capital Inventory Questionnaire. The results were analyzed making use of visual evaluation, Reliability of Change Index (RCI), and Percentage of Improvement (MPI).

The results of the current study showed that the visual analysis of the graphs in the intervention phase had an ascending slope and the reliability index of change was greater than 1.96 and the recovery rate was higher than 50%. Therefore, occupational rehabilitation program has significant statistical and clinical significance.

Based on our findings, because of weaknesses and inefficiencies they feel in their bodies and due to lack of suitable training for recruitment and keeping their job, people with spinal cord injury face to frustration and hopelessness. Therefore, using a vocational rehabilitation program can increase the life expectancy of these people with spinal cord injury.