The present study aims to analyze gains and challenges in the implementation of a university extension project of supported employment for people with leprosy in the context of rehabilitation. It is also intended to report on the strategies used during the inclusion processes and to promote a reflection on disability, rehabilitation, work and social inclusion. This is an action research using mixed methods with data from 11 patients who attended the project between March 2017 and March 2020, 9 men and 2 women, aged between 21 and 46 years with an average time of diagnosis of 9 years, most of whom had completed high school and were unemployed. The participants attended meetings with reflective proposals and went through interviews in which their professional profile was traced. This study allowed for reflections on the developments of the work and disability themes. The insertion models of people with disabilities in the labor market that were (or still are) used, cause a lack of understanding about the concepts related to rehabilitation, readaptation, recovery and inclusion, and this impacts how professionals deal with this process, especially participation in wider social life through work. Supported employment (SE) is a technology that ensures that inclusion can generate benefits for people with disabilities, companies, and society, and therefore should gain more visibility. Finally, we strongly support the idea of rehabilitation that values insertion into work and social inclusion of the person with leprosy to facilitate their social participation.
BT - Leprosy Review DO - 10.47276/lr.95.3.2023067 IS - 3 LA - ENG M3 - Article N2 -The present study aims to analyze gains and challenges in the implementation of a university extension project of supported employment for people with leprosy in the context of rehabilitation. It is also intended to report on the strategies used during the inclusion processes and to promote a reflection on disability, rehabilitation, work and social inclusion. This is an action research using mixed methods with data from 11 patients who attended the project between March 2017 and March 2020, 9 men and 2 women, aged between 21 and 46 years with an average time of diagnosis of 9 years, most of whom had completed high school and were unemployed. The participants attended meetings with reflective proposals and went through interviews in which their professional profile was traced. This study allowed for reflections on the developments of the work and disability themes. The insertion models of people with disabilities in the labor market that were (or still are) used, cause a lack of understanding about the concepts related to rehabilitation, readaptation, recovery and inclusion, and this impacts how professionals deal with this process, especially participation in wider social life through work. Supported employment (SE) is a technology that ensures that inclusion can generate benefits for people with disabilities, companies, and society, and therefore should gain more visibility. Finally, we strongly support the idea of rehabilitation that values insertion into work and social inclusion of the person with leprosy to facilitate their social participation.
PB - Lepra PY - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 14 T2 - Leprosy Review TI - Inclusion of people with disabilities due to leprosy at work through supported employment: An analysis in the context of rehabilitation UR - https://leprosyreview.org/admin/public/api/lepra/website/getDownload/66ab21c4afaac1048b47b162 VL - 95 SN - 2162-8807 ER -