Beskæftigelse og Cerebral Parese
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Contributors
Keywords
Employment, CP, Cerebral Palsy, Labour Market, Labour Market Affiliation, Handicap
Abstract
People with cerebral palsy (CP) have varying degrees of physical and cognitive challenges, which affect their opportunities to participate in the labor market. At the same time, there is limited knowledge about CP among employers, colleagues, and staff at job centers. This lack of awareness can lead to stereotypes, prejudices, and, in the worst cases, discrimination against people with CP. It is therefore important to gain new knowledge about employment and CP, and how best to support people with CP in becoming part of the workforce.
The study combines data from the National Patient Registry with a nationwide questionnaire survey among people with CP, as well as interviews with people with CP, job center employees, and employers. No previous study has examined employment and CP on such a comprehensive scale. The research project is a collaboration between Aalborg University, VIVE, and Aarhus University Hospital.
The research project is funded, but independent from the Elsass Foundation.
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Author Biographies
Thomas Bredgaard is a Professor (PhD) in labour market policy at the Centre for Labour Market Research at Aalborg University. His primary research interests include active labour market policies, employer engagement and inclusive organisations, disability and employment, flexicurity, evaluation, and public management. Thomas is Chair of the Study Board for the Master of Public Governance (MPG).
Emilie Skyum-Jensen has been working since 2014 with children, young people, and adults with psychological and cognitive disabilities, with particular experience in autism and developmental disabilities. This experience has given her a strong practical understanding of people with diverse needs.
Her motivation for researching labour market inclusion and disability originally stems from this social pedagogical work with the target group, where she realised that one of the most important factors for inclusion and participation in society is being part of the labour market – something many in this group unfortunately are not.
Relevant professional experience includes work as an SPS mentor for social work students with mental health conditions and functional impairments. She has also been active in LEV – the Danish National Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities – both as a volunteer and as a board member.
Since 2021, she has focused on research work and has gained extensive experience with qualitative methods. She has previously been employed as a research assistant at the Research Centre for Disability and Employment at Aalborg University, where she was primarily responsible for the qualitative part of the project “How can labour market attachment be increased for people with cerebral palsy?”
Frederik Thuesen is a senior researcher whose work primarily focuses on the integration of vulnerable groups into the labour market, including immigrants and people with disabilities. His research examines both the factors that influence whether these groups are able to find employment and their integration within the workplace itself (including social capital and workplace well-being). Frederik also works with the evaluation of employment initiatives in municipalities and job centres, for example in relation to the implementation of legislation.