Exploring the relationship between COVID-19 risk and employment quality among a sample of individuals with disabilities

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Background Physical and psychosocial contexts of employment and the quality of the work environments impact both physical and mental health, particularly among individuals with disabilities. Objective Given the relationship between health and employment and the need to understand the relationship between quality of work and COVID-19 acquisition risk, this project focused on studying the impacts of job quality following the emergence of the COVID-19 virus. Method GLM logistic regression to explore odds ratios of employment quality factors on our dependent variable, contracting COVID-19. Results The overall model was significant, indicating selection of predictor and control variables have an impact on COVID-19 risk (χ2(11) = 59.53, p < .001, N = 2325). Age and race were significant individual predictors. Finally, among the employment quality variables, only one comparison was significant. Individuals with some but not all markers of employment quality, compared to individuals who were unemployed, were 1.3 times more likely to contract COVID-19 (OR = 1.3, p = 0.03). Conclusion Employment, in light of COVID-19, is full of complexity and nuances. Even more so is the relationship between COVID-19, health, and employment for PWDs. The significant findings from the current study have important implications for the incorporation of employment, and specifically quality employment, as a predictor of physical health among PWDs.