Predicting change in labour market participation of people with spinal cord injury (SCI): longitudinal evidence from the Swiss SCI community survey

Study design Longitudinal, population-based survey. Objective To examine change in labour market participation (LMP) of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Switzerland and to identify predictors of increase, decrease and stability in LMP between 2012 and 2017. Setting Community. Methods Longitudinal information on LMP (i.e., weekly workload) was obtained from 311 gainfully employed, working-age individuals who participated in the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI) community survey in 2012 and were still of working age at the time of completing the 2017 questionnaire. Statistical preselection of the predictors of change in LMP was carried out by implementing the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) in a multinomial logistic regression model. The final set of predictors was selected by comparison of several multinomial logistic regression models. Results Out of 311 participants, almost half (43%) changed their LMP between 2012 and 2017, 48 increased their weekly workload, 49 reduced and 37 participants left the labour market prematurely. Age at time of the survey, years of education, having children, intention to change weekly workload, high satisfaction with daily routine, extra-time needs for transportation and managing support were associated with change in LMP. Conclusions Modifiable factors like education and satisfaction with daily routine should receive particular attention in the context of job retention strategies. More longitudinal research focusing on key employment transitions and trajectories over the life course of persons with SCI is needed to complement, validate and extend our findings.