Affiliations: College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA | The Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA | Ralph H. Johnson Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: James S. Krause, Ph.D., Department of Health Sciences and Research, College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, 77 President St., Suite 117, MSC 700, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. Tel.: +1 843 792 1337; Fax: +1 843 792 5649; E-mail: krause@musc.edu
Abstract: Our purpose was to identify demographic, injury, educational, and vocational predictors of labor force participation (LFP) after spinal cord injury (SCI) performing secondary analysis of existing data. Labor force participation was defined as gainful employment. We used survey data from 1398 adults one or more years post-injury and under the age of 65 at onset. A two-stage regression model was used to predict two parameters: (a) LFP at some time after SCI onset (post-injury LFP) and (b) current LFP. Just under 55% of the participants reported LFP since the onset of SCI. Several variables were significantly related to each outcome, including race, gender, ambulation, post-injury bachelor’s degree or higher, and post-injury employment type (management/professional, sales/office). Counselors can use the results to help understand the extent to which characteristics are associated with the probability of successfully participating in the labor force.
Keywords: Spinal cord injury, employment, vocation, rehabilitation, work
