This study sought to better understand the delivery of work disability benefits in Alberta and British Columbia by documenting and mapping the provision of benefits, and the experiences of individuals with work disability across different providers in both provinces. The research was multi-phased, including: a) an online document review of access procedures, eligibility criteria and type of benefits/coverage for four kinds of work disability benefit providers in each province (workers’ compensation, driver/vehicle insurance, providers of employer LTD benefits, and provincially-administered disability assistance programs); b) in-depth qualitative interviews with work disabled recipients of each benefit programs; c) development of tables comparing similar systems in each province; and, d) refinement of the tables based on interviews with (two) benefit program administrators.
Interviews with work disabled participants reveal that individuals who become work disabled have significant challenges accessing and navigating complex disability benefit programs, often without assistance and necessary information, and that this experience is more complicated and difficult than documented procedures suggest. The themes revealed in the narrative analysis include: “Informational Troubles,” “Navigating Bureaucratic Mazes,” and “Doctors as Gatekeepers.” In addition, we found little if any correspondence between different programs that comprise British Columbia and Alberta work disability income support systems.
