Early analysis of the 1994-95 "Disability Supplement" to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS-D) revealed a strong relation between self-rated general health and employment status among people with severe impairments. While this may seem obvious in the traditional medical model, it is a complex relation that calls for more refined analysis, taking into account both "medical model" and "social model" variables. In fact the patterns of health status and employment status among PwDs has been understudied from the "social model" perspective because analysts have emphasized the important point that the medical model cannot fully account for unemployment among PwDs. This paper balances the pendulum by giving empirical and conceptual attention to the linkage of impairment,health status & employment. It focuses on conceptual confounding and attempts to isolate health impediments distinct from societal barriers.
Complexity and "consumer" relevance of the issue will be illustrated by excerpts from a discussion among activists and scholars, many with disabilities, who participate in an international disability research listserve.
The issue has timely policy significance as the Presidential Task Force on Employment of PwDs struggles with concise and meaningful ways to fulfill the mandate of regular reporting of employment status of PwDs, based on nationally representative surveys.
The paper presents analyses for groups operationally defined as having severe impairments. Health status measures will be drawn from the "core" Health Interview Survey, asked of the entire population, as well as targeted measures from "phase 2," asked only of people who screened in as PwDs.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the various measures of health status, impairments, and employment used in the "NHIS-D" (National Health Interview Survey - Disability Supplement) 2. Articulate the potential for conceptual confounding among the key concepts of health, impairment, and employment (the latter in terms of environmental barriers) 3. Discuss a range of possible empirical analyses and operational measures to resolve the problems of confounding for use with the existing data and suggestions for improvement in mandated future federal survey attention to employment of PwDs
Keywords: Adult Health, Disability
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.