Asthma and the employment experience

Abstract

Previous asthma research has had a medical focus, and only one study has investigated the relationship between asthma and employment. This study describes the employment experience in relation to occupational choice and career advancement in 93 sequentially selected adult asthmatics attending a hospital based asthma clinic serving a socially disadvantaged urban population. Repeated hospital admissions and frequent asthma related sick leave from work were identified as contributing factors to employer discrimination, job dismissal, and lack of career advancement. Seventy-seven percent had not informed their employers of their asthma and 32% of those currently employed stated that getting time off work was a problem in relation to Asthma Clinic attendance. Of those not employed, 22.9% were receiving sickness or invalid benefits and 8.3% had lost their jobs because of asthma. This study illustrates how the stigma attached to the diagnosis of asthma in this community may not only impact negatively on employment opportunity, but also on asthma care.