Interventions to Improve the Labour Market Situation of Adults with Physical and/or Sensory Disabilities in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Disability is a development issue, with widespread poverty, inequality and violation of human rights. Recent estimates suggest that more than one billion people are living with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities are over-represented among the world’s poor, and significant labour market disadvantage helps maintain the link between poverty and disability in many country contexts. The costs of disability are particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries (those with gross national income per capita of less than $12,616), where up to 80% of people with disabilities of working age can be unemployed, around twice that for their counterparts in high-income countries. When people with disabilities do work, they generally do so for longer hours and lower incomes, have fewer chances of promotion, are more likely to work in the informal labour market, and are at greater risk of becoming unemployed for longer periods. The barriers faced by people with disabilities globally in accessing and sustaining paid work is a profound social challenge. There is now growing recognition of employment as a key factor in the process of empowerment and inclusion into society, and the role of interventions to improve labour market outcomes for disabled people is receiving increased international attention. It is therefore both vital and timely to increase understanding of the impacts of available programmes, in order to ensure that they are effective in delivering positive outcomes for people with disabilities and provide value for money. Although several reviews have attempted to summarise the existing research in this area, there are a number of substantive and methodological limitations to these reviews. Thus, there is a need to systematically examine the evidence base to provide an overview of the types of interventions being used to improve employment outcomes, to identify those that are effective and ineffective, and to identify areas in which more research needs to be conducted.