|
Affiliation
|
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia. |
|
Abstract
|
BACKGROUND: Research shows that employment rates are low post injury. AIMS: To quantify the economic impact of a long-term injury and identify whether having a tertiary level of education attainment would offset this impact.
METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the 2012 Survey of Disability, Aging and Carers, which is nationally representative of the Australian population.
RESULTS: Males with any long-term injury had incomes 41% less than males with no chronic health condition (95% confidence interval [CI] -49.3%, -31.6%). For males with a long-term injury, there was no significant difference in the likelihood of being not in the labour force between those with and without a tertiary qualification (odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% CI 0.45-1.52). There was no significant difference in the incomes of females with any long-term injury compared with those with no chronic health conditions. For females with a long-term injury, there was a significant difference in the likelihood of being not in the labour force between those with and without a tertiary qualification (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.17-0.80). If men with a long-term injury had the same probability of participating in the workforce as women, the percentage of men not in the labour force would reduce from 37 to 18%.
CONCLUSIONS: Having a long-term injury was a significant personal cost in terms of labour force absence and lower income for males regardless of higher education attainment. For females, sustaining a long-term injury did not appear to significantly affect income.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Language: en |