Factors influencing employment among people with spinal cord injury in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of participant with spinal cord injury.

Characteristics (n = 200)
Male sex, n (%)	150 (75)
Age (years), mean (SD)^a	28 (11)
Marital status, n (%)^b.
Single	155 (78)
Married/cohabiting	44 (22)
Employment status before SCI, n (%)
Working	121 (61)
Not working	79 (39)
Employment status after SCI, n (%)
Working	49 (25)
Not working	151 (75)
Level of impairment, n (%)^c
Paraplegic	119 (61)
Tetraplegic	77 (39)
Severity of impairment, n (%)^c
Complete	102 (52)
Incomplete	94 (48)
Level of education, n (%)
Primary	17 (8.5)
Secondary	164 (82)
Short tertiary	10 (5)
Further education	9 (4.5)

^anot equal to 200 (N = 189), ^bnot equal to 200 (N = 199), ^cnot equal to 200 (N = 196).

Table 2. Comparison between individuals with SCI who are working and those who are not working.

Characteristics	Employed (N = 49)	Unemployed (N = 151)	p Value
Male sex, n (%)	35 (71)	115 (76)	0.844
Age (years), mean (SD)^a	28.2 (11.6)	31.7 (14.1)	0.937
Marital status, n (%)^b
Single	27 (56)	128 (85)	0.575
Married/cohabiting	21 (44)	23 (15)
Vocational services, n (%)	29 (59)	83 (55)	0.970
Level of impairment, n (%)*
Paraplegic	30 (61)	89 (59)	0.382
Tetraplegic	19 (39)	58 (39)
Severity of impairment, n (%)*
Complete	29 (59)	76 (51)	0.558
Incomplete	20 (41)	74 (49)
Education years before SCI, mean (SD)	13.1 (4.7)	11.6 (4.1)	<0.001
Education years after SCI. mean (SD)	2.1 (2.7)	0.6 (1.1)	0.002
Physical assistance, n (%)	24 (49)	125 (83)	0.523
Disability Pension	19 (39)	133 (88)	0.113
Job before SCI, n (%)	42 (86)	78 (52)	0.543

Table 3. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models for variables predicting paid work after SCI.

	Exploratory univariate logistic regression model				Final multivariate logistic regression model
Variables	B	S.E	OR (95% CI)	p Value	B	S.E	OR (95%CI)	p Value
Male sex	−0.25	0.37	0.78 (0.38–1.61)	.507
Age	−0.00	0.02	0.99 (0.97–1.03)	.819
Education years before SCI	0.14	0.05	1.15 (1.05–1.26)	.002	0.20	0.07	1.22 (1.06–1.40)	0.007
Education years after SCI	0.11	0.07	1.12 (0.98–1.27)	0.09	0.11	0.88	1.12 (0.94–1.32)	0.207
Vocational services	−0.16	0.33	0.85 (0.44–1.64)	.634
Level of impairment	0.03	0.34	1.03 (0.53–2.00)	.933
Pain intensity	0.14	0.38	1.15 (0.55–2.42)	.714
Depression	−1.68	0.75	0.19 (0.04 − 0.82)	.026	0.37	1.02	1.44 (0.20–10.70)	0.719
Subjective social status	−0.92	0.34	0.40 (0.20 − 0.78)	.007	−0.95	0.64	0.39 (0.11–1.36)	.139
Satisfaction with healthcare	0.45	0.37	1.57 (0.77–3.22)	.215
Household income	−2.91	0.41	0.06 (0.03 − 0.12)	<.001	−2.34	0.67	0.10 (0.03−0.36)	<0.001
Physical assistance	1.61	0.36	5.01 (2.48–10.10)	<.001	1.75	0.73	5.73 (1.39–23.66)	0.016
Subjective selfcare score	0.10	0.03	1.11 (1.05–1.17)	<.001	0.20	0.07	1.02 (0.89–1.16)	0.802
Bladder and Bowel management	0.14	0.05	1.15 (1.04–1.26)	.006	−0.05	0.14	0.95 (0.72–1.26)	0.710
Environmental factors	−0.18	0.04	0.84 (0.77 − 0.90)	<.001	−0.15	0.07	0.86 (0.75−0.99)	0.029
Employed before SCI	−1.71	0.44	0.18 (0–08 − 0.43)	<.001	−1.48	0.73	0.23 (0.06−0.94)	0.041
Rating of Health	−0.89	0.45	0.41 (0.17 − 0.99)	.046	−0.24	0.74	0.98 (0.23–4.18)	0.974

B: Beta; S.E: Standard error; OR: odds ratio; CI: Confidence intervals.