Social skill deficits following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are prevalent. However, the development and provision of pro-active treatments for these deficits during rehabilitation have not kept pace with the need. Previous research described the development and presented encouraging data for community-based intensive social skills and work readiness training programs for adults with a brain injury. Brain injury residuals present similar social and vocational challenges to professionals worldwide. As such, this paper proposes these rehabilitation services may be replicated across cultures. To facilitate crosscultural replication, a training framework is shared. Australian rehabilitation counsellors may use this framework to replicate these services and contribute to the community reintegration of adults with brain injury.

Neurobehavioural symptoms, such as changes in personality, psychiatric symptoms such as depression, and behavioural changes such as increased irritability, are frequent consequences of head injury. Even in the case of mild head injuries, such symptoms may be severe enough to have a negative impact upon rehabilitation. The nature of these symptoms, mitigating factors and possible responses within a rehabilitation context are discussed.

This paper discusses issues arising from a study of referral from acute care following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Queensland, in which aged care facilities were relied upon for the discharge of those with slow recovery after severe TBI. The discussion considers: (1) recovery following severe TBI; (2) the current policy context; (3) approaches to care beyond acute care; and (4) implications for policy and practice. In the current health care environment, with increasing pressure on scarce resources, it is critical that practitioners advocate for the dignity and care of people who sustain severe TBI and who are slow to recover.

This study examined the nature of the social support received by persons following spinal cord injury (SCI). Social support was assessed through use of an abridged version of the ISEL scale (Cohen et al., 1985), a self-report measure of perceived support. Seventy persons who had been living in the community at least one year post discharge from hospital provided information about four types of support received — instrumental, emotional, informational, and appraisal social support. The aim of this study was to identify whether there were any significant differences in the perceived availability of the four types of social support. Analyses revealed that overall there were significant (p < .05) perceived differences in the average availability of the four separate types of support, with Instrumental support being seen as the most available. Taken together, these findings support the usefulness of measuring separately the different types of social support perceived to be available to individuals, and thus hold important implications for the rehabilitation effort following SCI.

Acritical life event such as a significant work injury imposes on the individual a heavy burden in terms of suffering, social exclusion, stigmatisation, negative role transition, and emotional, and financial costs. Such events, therefore, have multi-level implications relating to the functional restoration of workers, the professional efficacy of their service providers, industry productivity and economic viability at individual, organisational, community and state levels. In accord with this viewpoint, discussions have been held with a range of the key stakeholders, including employers, workers, case managers, WorkCover personnel and vocational and medical providers from which a larger research study has been designed. This paper sets the scene for an investigation into a learning partnership approach to claims / injury management and rehabilitation that is pragmatic, timely and consistent in fundamental principles, and which links well with the treating medical experts, employers, insuring agents, workers and close family members involved.

This paper presents the results of Phase 3 of The RETURN Project, a European Study which aimed to reduce long term absenteeism in the workplace. Phases 1 and 2 have been described in detail elsewhere. The study adopted an iterative approach that explored LTA from three different perspectives: the System, the Expert and the Employer. This paper describes how the outputs of both the System and the Expert phases in combination with other tools focused on Disability Management (DM) were used to generate an interactive multi-jurisdictional assessment protocol tool for evaluating company based responses in managing employees on long term absence. The RETURN Protocol was field tested in different regulatory contexts using a company case study approach. Results of the field test carried out in six European companies are presented and the future and appropriate use of the protocol tool is discussed.