Disability Management: Origins, Concepts and Principles for Practice

Abstract

Disability management is an emerging concept in the field of rehabilitation practice. Several factors have led to the growth of disability management programs at the workplace, including the increasing costs of health care and disability payments for employers. Many large employers have begun to view disability management both as a way to manage costs and to assume more direct involvement in providing human services to their disabled/injured workers. This article reviews the many factors that have contributed to the development of worksite programs, the evolution of the disability management concept, the aims and objectives of such programs and basic components for implementation. In addition, the authors present a discussion of the obstacles and barriers that impede these aims as well as of the implications for rehabilitation counseling practice.