Implementing Supported Employment for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury through Remote Counseling During COVID-19

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Supported Employment (SE) program provides a highly individualized vocational rehabilitation service. To deliver SE, providers traditionally spend most of their time meeting in-person with veterans, employers, and clinicians. This article explores the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of SE programs for veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury. In interviews with 29 SE providers and their nine Compensated Work Therapy managers across 10 VHA medical centers, we analyzed stakeholders' descriptions of how they adjusted their practices during the pandemic. These included switching from in-person to telephone or video communications, identifying new jobs created by COVID-19 conditions, focusing on work-from-home opportunities, and finding other modalities for collaborating with clinicians. Implications for rehabilitation practice are discussed. Keywords: COVID-19, supported employment, traumatic brain injury, remote rehabilitation, veterans
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). The outbreak in the United States caused significant impacts on travel, [...]