Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 89, Issue 8 , Pages 1474-1481, August 2008

Earnings Among People With Spinal Cord Injury

Presented to the American Spinal Injury Association, May 30–June 2, 2007, Tampa, FL.

  • James S. Krause, PhD

      Affiliations

    • College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to James S. Krause, PhD, Dept of Rehabilitation Science, College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, 77 President St, Ste 117, PO Box 250700, Charleston, SC 29425
    • ,
  • Joseph V. Terza, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
    • ,
  • Clara Dismuke, PhD

      Affiliations

    • College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Abstract 

Krause JS, Terza JV, Dismuke C. Earnings among people with spinal cord injury.

Objective

To identify differences in conditional and unconditional earnings among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) attributable to biographic, injury, educational, and employment factors by using a 2-part model (employment, earnings).

Design

A secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data.

Setting

A Midwestern university hospital and a private hospital in the Southeastern United States.

Participants

All participants (N=1296) were adults between the ages of 18 and 64 who had a traumatic SCI at least 1 year before study initiation.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Earnings were defined by earnings within the previous 12 months and were measured by a single categoric item. Conditional earnings reflect the earnings of employed participants, whereas unconditional earnings reflect all participants with $0 in earnings recorded for those unemployed.

Results

Sex and race were significantly related to conditional earnings, even after controlling for educational and vocational variables. Additionally, conditional earnings (employed participants only) were related to 16 or more years of education, number of years employed, the percentage of time after SCI spent employed, and working in either government or private industry (not self-employed or family business). There was a greater number of significant variables for unconditional earnings, largely reflective of the influence of the portion employed (those not working having $0 in earnings).

Conclusions

Efforts to improve employment outcomes should focus on facilitating return to work immediately after injury, returning to preinjury job, maintaining regular employment, and working for placement in government or private industry. Special efforts may be needed to promote vocational outcomes among women and nonwhites.

Key Words: Employment, Outcomes research, Rehabilitation, Spinal cord injuries, Vocational rehabilitation

List of Abbreviations: MSCIS, Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems, SCI, spinal cord injury

 

 Supported by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (grant nos. H133G010009, H133G060126).No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.Reprints are not available from the author

PII: S0003-9993(08)00341-9

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.12.040

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 89, Issue 8 , Pages 1474-1481, August 2008

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