Individual Characteristics and the Disability Employment Gap

Background. Adolescents are losing the opportunity to observe and practice food skills since diets are shifting from home prepared meals made from basic ingredients to a diet comprised of ultra-processed foods, resulting in reduced consumption of minimally processed foods such as fruits and vegetables. Evidence suggests that engaging in food preparation during adolescence is associated with ongoing healthy dietary behaviours and food preparation practices into adulthood, thus developing food preparation skills in adolescence may help better support individuals to make health informed food choices. Food literacy represents the interdependent concepts related to the facets influencing dietary practices. The objective of the current study was to examine the association between food literacy and fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) among Canadian adolescents. Methods. Guided by the food literacy framework developed by Thomas et al. (2019), a secondary analysis was conducted on the Canadian Community Health Survey, Rapid Response on Food Skills (Part 2) – mechanical skills and food conceptualization. The sample population (N=790) included all survey respondents aged 12- 17 years who responded to the survey questions that built the outcome variable: total daily fruit and vegetable consumption. Results. When compared to respondents who report low levels of food skill, respondents who reported high food skill levels in the ability to cook from basic ingredients (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.12-3.02), freeze vegetables from raw (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.00-2.24), and to adjust a recipe to make it healthier (OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.29-3.26) were more likely to consume fruits and vegetables five or more times a day. Respondents who came from households where the highest level of household educational attainment was trades had lower odds of consuming fruits and vegetables five or more times a day compared to households where the highest level of educational attainment was a bachelor’s degree or higher (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14-0.81). Within the logistic regression model, significant relationships were found between FVC and a respondent’s sex (p=0.04), perceived eating habits (p<0.001), and highest level of household educational attainment (p=0.02). Discussion. Significant relationships between FVC and food literacy were evident in food skills that were multifaceted, requiring that adolescents have the ability to perform a number of basic food skills and reflective of several food literacy attributes. The relationships found between multifaceted food skills and adolescent FVC suggest that food literacy attributes are interconnected and have reciprocal relationships. Conclusion. Dietary behaviours are influenced by multiple factors. Study findings suggest that higher levels of adolescent food literacy, as reflected in multifaceted food skills, have the potential to positively impact their FVC. However, when societal factors are controlled for, food skills were not found to have a significant relationship with adolescent FVC, suggesting that factors outside of the control of the individual have the potential to minimize the influence of individual food literacy characteristics on adolescent FVC. Future food literacy programs should be inclusive of adolescents from all SES and should aim to teach and evaluate food literacy attributes that build more complex food skills.

Racial Differences in Employment Outcome After Traumatic Brain Injury at 1, 2, and 5 Years Postinjury

Older adults returning to community settings after incarceration face a number of challenges, including food insecurity, difficulty finding housing, and adverse health outcomes. A number of qualitative studies have suggested poor employment outcomes among formerly incarcerated older adults; however, there have been few quantitative inquiries related to employment outcomes for these older adults. The purpose of this study was to understand associations between history of incarceration and employment outcomes among older adults. We used pooled data from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine associations between history of incarceration and employment outcomes among community-dwelling older adults aged >50 (n=4,985). History of incarceration and employment outcomes were assessed via self-report. While there were no associations between history of incarceration and employment status in the sample, employed older adults with a history of incarceration had more physically demanding jobs and reported more work stress and more work-related discrimination than their counterparts. They also reported less work satisfaction and less supervisor support than never-incarcerated older adults. Gender moderated the association between history of incarceration and several employment outcomes, with associations observed among women but not men. Taken together, our findings suggest that history of incarceration is associated with significant differences in employment outcomes, primarily among women. Future studies should explore factors contributing to poor employment outcomes in order to design interventions that improve outcomes in this population.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine the independent and interactive effects of common mental health disorders and chronic pain conditions on employment and work outcomes among individuals younger than 65 years of age. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the second wave of Healthcare for Communities (HCC2), a household telephone survey of U.S. civilian adults conducted in 2000 to 2001 (N=5328). Common mental disorders were assessed using the short-form versions of the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-SF). Chronic pain conditions and labor market outcomes were identified by self report. Logistic and linear regression analysis was used to provide estimates for work impairment based on the presence of a mental health disorder and/or a chronic pain condition. RESULTS: The interaction between presence of a mental health disorder and presence of a chronic pain condition was significantly associated with no work for pay in the past 12 months (OR 2.3 [1.2–4.2]) and number of days of work missed in the past month due to health (regression coefficient 1.5 [0.6]). In stratified analyses, this effect persisted in women but not men. The presence of a mental health disorder or chronic pain condition were each independently associated with limitations in work and any work missed in the past 30 days due to health, although the interaction was not significant. CONCLUSION: Mental health disorders and chronic pain are each associated with work disability. Mental health disorders are more highly associated with some work disability outcomes when accompanied by chronic pain, especially in women.

A Multisite Study of Implementing Supported Employment in the Netherlands

This study examines employment and educational outcomes for justice-involved adolescents with and without mental health disorders in the Pathways to Desistance study. We examine the patterns of education and employment and the effects of several factors, including the presence of a mental health disorder, on these positive outcomes. Three findings emerge: (a) youth with mental health problems have a relatively high number of other criminogenic risk factors, (b) education and employment patterns do not differ by disorder status, and (c) the presence of a mental health disorder is not independently linked to poorer employment outcomes, but educational achievement is. These analyses provide information needed to target services for these adolescents in the juvenile justice system, who are at high risk for poor educational and employment outcomes. Results indicate a need for increased emphasis on higher levels of academic attainment as a way to promote positive employment outcomes in these youth.

The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR) sought to learn whether differences in VR service delivery and employment outcomes were present among consumers residing in urban and rural areas of the state. Case data for participants who had an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) signed and in place with the agency between 7/1/2017 and 6/30/2020 were examined to identify differences in employment outcomes and service delivery by county. A total of 7,235 cases were examined, 5,963 (82%) of which were residents of urban areas and 1,272 (18%) were from rural counties. Specific evaluation questions examined differences between these two groups regarding types of services provided to VR participants and length of time between initial IPE signature and service received. Analysis of administrative data indicated that training services were provided at a higher rate to participants in rural counties, whereas job search assistance, assessment, transportation, and maintenance services were provided at a higher rate to participants in urban counties. The overall successful case closure rate for urban (41.42%) and rural participants (41.80%) was comparable.

Although many studies compare national integration policies, analyses connecting these policies to integration outcomes are rare. This study combines longitudinal analysis of employment outcomes for Scandinavian refugees, with analyses of integration measures and policies to explain these differences. Can different usages of integration measures explain cross-national differences in employment outcomes between genders and with increased residence time? Moreover, can the countries’ integration policies explain such differences? Our analyses show substantial cross-national differences. Danish male refugees are employed faster; however, Sweden catches up, and Norway surpasses Danish employment levels with increased residence time. Additionally, Norway has a substantially smaller gender gap in employment than Sweden and particularly Denmark. We demonstrate that different usages of integration measures may explain differences in outcomes. We conjecture that different policies regulating (1) financial benefits and (2) employment and self-sufficiency requirements for obtaining a secure legal status may reinforce differences in programme participation and employment patterns.

This paper empirically investigates the relationship between corruption and the emigration of those with high, medium and low levels of educational attainment. The empirical results indicate that as corruption increases the emigration rate of those with high levels of educational attainment also increases. The emigration rate of those with middle and low levels of educational attainment, however, increases at initial levels of corruption and then decreases beyond a certain point. Splitting the sample by income inequality suggests that increased inequality reduces the ability to emigrate. The policy conclusion is, that government actions should focus on controlling corruption, which in turn would lead to funds being channeled more productively into education and also lead to a fall in inequality which would reduce emigration.

Racial Differences in Employment Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury

This paper examines determinants of employment across different community sizes in the province of Ontario, with a focus on rural areas and small towns. Logistic regression techniques have been applied to the microdata derived from the Canadian Income Survey, 2020, to analyze how different individual characteristics- age, sex, educational attainment, and immigration status affect the probability of being employed. The analysis has been conducted across five geographic categories: i) rural Ontario, ii) towns with a population under 30,000, iii) towns with a population between 30,000 and 99,999, iv) the province of Ontario as a whole, and v) Canada as a whole. The results highlight that labour market outcomes vary substantially by geography. Rural and small-town residents face systematically different employment prospects in comparison to their urban counterparts. The highest level of educational attainment and sex emerge as significant predictors. The results indicate the requirement for regionally tailored employment and educational policies that address the labour market challenges faced by residents of rural areas and small towns of Ontario.

Urban green spaces have long been studied in terms of their impact on human and environmental health and well-being. We collected and analyzed preliminary survey data for central New Jersey municipalities relating to participants’ perceptions of public green spaces, quality, and usage and relating these factors to environmental knowledge and literacy. Results have yielded new insights into the role of urban canopy cover in differing levels of environmental literacy. Included in this, persons living in areas with higher canopy cover have higher levels of environmental literacy (p=0.0338) and higher educational attainment (p=0.049). Persons with access to higher quality parks also exhibited higher levels of educational attainment (p=0.0475).This relationship and others collectively would support there being multiple types of environmental literacy, with diverse sources, impacts, and outcomes on individuals and communities. Work done to this point has not addressed this idea, nor sought to study the connections between EL and all influencing socio-cultural and landscape factors.

This study aims to describe and analyze the characteristics of deaf people in employment and their workplaces in Sweden. A population of 2144 people born 1941–80 who attended a school for the deaf was compared to 100,000 randomly chosen individuals from the total Swedish population born 1941–80. Data on these persons consisted of registered information from the year 2005. Results showed that there are differences between the workplaces of people in the deaf and the reference population. For instance, deaf people were more commonly employed in the public sector. People in employment showed similar findings in both populations concerning sex, age and level of educational attainment: the higher the level of educational attainment, the higher the employment rate. However, deaf people more often had a higher level of educational attainment than was required for their occupation, which is an indication of discrimination in the labour market.

BACKGROUND: Customized employment (CE) is positively correlated with competitive integrated employment (CIE) outcomes and potentially supports transition-age youth in achieving sustainable employment. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the employment outcomes and related factors for transition-age youth with disabilities who received CE services through state vocational rehabilitation agencies (SVRAs) and their vendors from program year 2017 to 2020. METHODS: Employing a combination of descriptive analysis, binary logistic and multiple regression, chi-square tests, and t-tests, the study investigates the demographics, potential barriers, and vocational rehabilitation (VR) services received by the research sample using the RSA-911 dataset. RESULTS: The sample comprised 672 individuals with a mean age of 22.30 years. The most prevalent barrier to employment among CE participants was long-term unemployment, while Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was the most common social security benefit. Furthermore, only 13.2% of transition-age youth achieved CIE status, compared to 30.1% of adults. The key predictors of employment outcomes, including CIE status, weekly earnings, and working hours were identified. CONCLUSION: The research reveals significant differences in employment outcomes between transition-age youth and adult VR consumers. These insights emphasize the necessity for SVRAs to consider a range of factors, including demographics, potential employment barriers, and the effects of various VR services, to increase the CE service effectiveness for transition-age youth.

Many cancer survivors face challenges remaining at work during treatment or returning to work posttreatment. Workplace supports can ease the strain associated with managing the cancer-work interface. Limited research has examined the employment experiences of low-wage earning survivors, who are less likely to have access to workplace supports, overlooking a factor that may influence survivors' employment outcomes. This study assessed differences in employment experiences between working poor (WP) and working nonpoor (WNP) cancer survivors in the United States. Data from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the 2011 MEPS Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement were analyzed to evaluate differences in workplace supports, cancer-related psychological job distress, productivity, and employment outcomes between WP and WNP cancer survivors. The sample included adults diagnosed with cancer within 5years prior to survey completion and engaged in paid employment since diagnosis. Working poor respondents had income below 200% of the poverty level. Chi-square tests assessed differences between WP (n=57) and WNP (n=164) cancer survivors' demographic, cancer, and employment characteristics; cancer-related psychological job distress; employee productivity; and employment outcome measures. Multiple logistic regression analyses determined the independent association between WP status and these same variables controlling for sociodemographic confounders. Working poor survivors were more likely to take unpaid time off, change from full-time to part-time, to report cancer-related psychological job distress, negative influences on job productivity and employment outcomes, and less likely to have health insurance. In logistic regression analyses, those who took unpaid time off were more likely to be WP; being WP was also associated with poorer employment outcomes, after controlling for sociodemographics differences between WP and WNP. Working poor survivors had fewer workplace supports and poorer employment outcomes than WNP survivors, highlighting important occupational disparities for cancer survivors. Areas for future research are discussed.