Chronic illness, treatment choice and workforce participation.
Choices with respect to labor force participation and medical treatment are increasingly intertwined. Technological advances present patients with new choices and may facilitate continued employment for the growing number of chronically ill individuals. We examine joint work/treatment decisions of end stage renal disease patients, a group for whom these tradeoffs are particularly salient. Using a simultaneous equations probit model, we find that treatment choice is a significant predictor of employment status. However, the effect size is considerably smaller than in models that do not consider the joint nature of these choices.
Hirth
Richard A
RA
Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 109 S. Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA. rhirth@umich.edu
Chernew
Michael E
ME
Turenne
Marc N
MN
Pauly
Mark V
MV
Orzol
Sean M
SM
Held
Philip J
PJ
D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States