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Predictors of change in employment status and associations with quality of life: a prospective international study of people with multiple sclerosis
Citation
Marck, CH and Aitken, Z and Simpson Jr, S and Weiland, TJ and Kavanagh, A and Jelinek, GA, Predictors of change in employment status and associations with quality of life: a prospective international study of people with multiple sclerosis, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 30 pp. 105-114. ISSN 1053-0487 (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2019. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1007/s10926-019-09850-5
Abstract
Methods: People with MS were recruited online through social media, forums and newsletters to complete an online English-language survey in 2012 and again in 2015, to assess changes in employment and clinical characteristics.
Results: 1276 people with MS of working age were included of whom 35.9% were employed full time, 25.6% part-time, 3.1% were unemployed and seeking employment, 19.7% were retired due to disability and 15.7% were not in the labour force. Part/full time employment decreased from 61.4 to 57.1% of the sample 2.5 years later, and 25.5% experienced some change in employment status. Lower level of education and higher level of disability at baseline predicted loss of employment at follow-up. 62.0% of the sample indicated that MS impacted on employment over their lifetime, associated with a lower level of education and progressive MS at time of diagnosis. Retiring due to disability was predictive of a decreased mental health related QOL score.
Conclusion: Employment status was negatively impacted by MS for most participants. We showed for the first time that employment loss was prospectively associated with poorer mental health related quality of life. Employment support including vocational services, reasonable flexibility in the workplace, and legal protection against discrimination should be widely available to assist people with MS, especially for those with progressive onset MS, higher disability and lower levels of education who are at higher risk of employment loss.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | employment, job loss, multiple sclerosis, prospective, quality of life |
| Research Division: | Health Sciences |
| Research Group: | Health services and systems |
| Research Field: | Mental health services |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Clinical health |
| Objective Field: | Clinical health not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Simpson Jr, S (Dr Steve Simpson JR) |
| ID Code: | 134606 |
| Year Published: | 2020 (online first 2019) |
| Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
| Deposited On: | 2019-08-22 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-08-12 |
| Downloads: | 9 View Download Statistics |
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