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. 2006;29(4):377-86.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2006.11753886.

Worklife after traumatic spinal cord injury

Christopher Pflaum  1 , George McCollister, David J Strauss, Robert M Shavelle, Michael J DeVivo
Affiliations

Worklife after traumatic spinal cord injury

Christopher Pflaum et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2006.

Abstract

Objective: To develop predictive models to estimate worklife expectancy after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Inception cohort study.

Setting: Model SCI Care Systems throughout the United States.

Participants: 20,143 persons enrolled in the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center database since 1973.

Intervention: Not applicable.

Main outcome measure: Postinjury employment rates and worklife expectancy.

Results: Using logistic regression, we found a greater likelihood of being employed in any given year to be significantly associated with younger age, white race, higher education level, being married, having a nonviolent cause of injury, paraplegia, ASIA D injury, longer time postinjury, being employed at injury and during the previous postinjury year, higher general population employment rate, lower level of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and calendar years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Conclusions: The likelihood of postinjury employment varies substantially among persons with SCI. Given favorable patient characteristics, worklife should be considerably higher than previous estimates.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Employment rate by age and last year's employment status.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Employment rate by age and disability.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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