Abstract
ObjectivesWe aimed to describe labor market participation (LMP) of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland, to examine potential determinants of LMP, and to compare LMP between SCI and the general population.MethodsWe analyzed data from 1458 participants of employable age from the cross-sectional community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study. Data on LMP of the Swiss general population were obtained from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Factors associated with employment status as well as the amount of work performed in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) were examined with regression techniques.Results53.4% of the participants were employed at the time of the study. Adjusted odds of being employed were increased for males (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.33–2.25) and participants with paraplegia (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.40–2.27). The likelihood of being employed showed a significant concave relationship with age, peaking at age 40. The relation of LMP with education was s-shaped, while LMP was linearly related to time since injury. On average, employment rates were 30% lower than in the general population. Males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54 showed the greatest difference. From the 771 employed persons, the majority (81.7%) worked part-time with a median of 50% FTE (IRQ: 40%-80%). Men, those with younger age, higher education, incomplete lesions, and non-traumatic etiology showed significantly increased odds of working more hours per week. Significantly more people worked part-time than in the general population with the greatest difference found for males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54.ConclusionsLMP of persons with SCI is comparatively high in Switzerland. LMP after SCI is, however, considerably lower than in the general population. Future research needs to show whether the reduced LMP in SCI reflects individual capacity adjustment, contextual constraints on higher LMP or both.
Highlights
Across the world, persons with disabilities are less likely to be employed or to receive proper assistance and education for employment than the general population [1,2,3]
labor market participation (LMP) of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is comparatively high in Switzerland
Future research needs to show whether the reduced LMP in SCI reflects individual capacity adjustment, contextual constraints on higher LMP or both
Summary
Persons with disabilities are less likely to be employed or to receive proper assistance and education for employment than the general population [1,2,3] This situation entails enormous economic and psychosocial costs, first for the individual in terms of poverty, decreased self-esteem, impaired health, and worse overall social integration and participation [4, 5] and second, for the society in terms of increased social and health care spending, loss of tax revenue and loss of resources such as diversity and creativity [2, 5]. Considerable variation regarding labor market participation (LMP) of persons with disabilities has been observed, even across highly developed economies [2, 8] Against this background, Switzerland provides an interesting example as a high resource-country with low unemployment rates of the general population and an increasing focus of social policies on reintegration of persons with disabilities into the labor market in the last decades [9]. Employment rates of persons with SCI are well below those of the general population [5, 13, 14]
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