Factors impacting employment outcomes for persons with spinal cord injury in South Korea

Abstract

Cross-sectional survey. To identify the factors determining the employment of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in South Korea, which shows a lower-than-average employment rate in international comparative studies, and to examine the potential importance for policy. Community of patients with SCI who are members of the Korea Spinal Cord Injury Association (KSCIA). A survey involving 200 members of the KSCIA was conducted. In the analysis, we included 177 individuals aged 15–64 years and were at least 2 years post-injury at the time of the survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated and logistic regression was applied to examine the association between 11 variables and employment outcomes. A higher “education level” and participation in “vocational rehabilitation services” were positively associated with employment for individuals with SCI. By contrast, “receiving welfare benefits” was negatively associated with employment probability. The analysis, which categorized employment predictors into human capital, injury, and environmental models, showed no associations for factors in the Injury Model but indicated positive associations for education in the Human Capital Model and for receiving compensation in the form of welfare benefits and participation in vocational rehabilitation services in the Environment Model. Among the three models, the Environment Model had the greatest explanatory power. This suggests that in Korea, policy interventions targeting modifiable environmental factors hold significant potential to improve employment outcomes for individuals with SCI.