Ann Rehabil Med.  2014 Feb;38(1):38-45. 10.5535/arm.2014.38.1.38.

Factors That Influence Employment After Spinal Cord Injury in South Korea

• Kang EN
• Shin HI
• Kim HR

• KMID: 2266538
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2014.38.1.38

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate employment status after spinal cord injury (SCI) and identify personal, family, and injury characteristics those affect their employment in South Korea.
METHODS
Participants were 334 community-dwelling persons 20-64 years of age who had sustained SCI for more than one year. Investigators visited each participant's home to carry out the survey. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify personal, family, and injury characteristics that influenced employment after SCI.
RESULTS
Employment rate decreased significantly from 82.5% to 27.5% after SCI. Logistic regression showed that the probability of employment was higher in men than women, and in individuals older than 45 years at the time of injury than those aged 31-45 years of age. Moreover, employment was higher in individuals injured for longer than 20 years than those injured for 1-5 years and in individuals with incomplete tetraplegia than those with complete paraplegia. Employment was lower in individuals with SCI caused by industrial accidents than those injured in non-industrial accidents.
CONCLUSION
Injury characteristics are the most important predictors of employment in persons with SCI. For persons with lower employment rate, individualized vocational rehabilitation and employment-support systems are required.

Keyword

Spinal cord injuries; Employment; Persons; Family; Industrial accident

MeSH Terms

Accidents, Occupational
Employment*
Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Paraplegia
Quadriplegia
Rehabilitation, Vocational
Republic of Korea*
Research Personnel
Spinal Cord Injuries*
Spinal Cord*

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