Hopkins Hour Presentation: Return to work after Acquired Brain Injury

Date:  27 February, 2.00-3.00pm

Venue:  Russell Strong Auditorium, Princess Alexandra Hospital

Hosted by: The Hopkins Centre: Research for Rehabilitation and Resilience

Associate Professor Strandberg from Örebro University, Sweden, will present the results of two studies focusing on return to work after acquired brain injury (ABI), conducted in collaboration with Associate professor Lars-Olov Lundqvistand PhD candidate Marie Matérne. The overall aim of the research was to explore the vocational rehabilitation (VR) process for adult persons with acquired brain injury and what contributes to a stable establishment in the workplace and return to work.  The focus of this presentation will be: 1) the opportunities and barriers for successful return to work after ABI from a client perspective and; 2) perceptions of support persons in giving vocational rehabilitation support to clients with ABI in Sweden.

Information about presenter:

Thomas Strandberg has a PhD in Disability Research and is Associate Professor of Social Work. He is a researcher and a senior lecturer in the School of Law, Psychology and Social Work at Örebro University. Thomas is currently a visiting Research Fellow at Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research in Sydney, NSW, at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Group (BIRRG), with Associate Professor Grahame Simpson.

Previous positions include work in social care for people with learning disabilities, a teacher at upper secondary school within the Health Care Program, and most recently Head of School of Law, Psychology and Social Work at Örebro University.

Thomas is also associated with the Swedish Institute for Disability Research (SIDR). SIDR was founded in 2000 in cooperation between the Universities of Linkoping and Örebro and in 2012 was joined by the University of Jönköping. The SIDR Graduate School offers a leading European research program in disability research in Sweden.  Disability research within SIDR is described as an interdisciplinary subject and includes medical and technical as well as behavioral, social and cultural sciences.