Labor market integration of people with disabilities: results from the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study

Objectives: We 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. Methods: We 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 Statistics 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. Results: 53.4% 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 ...