BACKGROUND: An exploratory baseline study was conducted to ascertain the state of play in the field of spinal cord injury, vocational rehabilitation and employment in Queensland, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish the rate of return to work and better understanding of vocational expectations and the vocational rehabilitation culture in the Queensland Spinal Injuries Unit, prior to the introduction of an early vocational rehabilitation intervention for people with spinal cord injury.

METHODS: A mixed methods approach was utilised, involving administration of either an online survey tool or paper questionnaire to people who had sustained a spinal cord injury within the preceding three years. Statistical analysis of the quantitative data and thematic analysis of the qualitative free-text data was undertaken with the 34 eligible responses.

RESULTS: The findings demonstrate a dramatic change in the rate of employment following spinal cord injury, and a lack of vocationally focused support whilst participants were undergoing in-patient rehabilitation.

CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates a return to work rate of approximately 35%, and provides support for an individualised vocational rehabilitation intervention, fully integrated into the multidisciplinary spinal injuries unit rehabilitation program.