The influence of minority status on job stability after traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the influence of minority status on job stability after traumatic brain injury (TBI).


METHODS
TBI Model Systems Centers.


METHODS
633 individuals (414 Caucasians vs. 219 Minorities) with primarily moderate to severe TBI hospitalized at one of the TBI Model Systems Centers between 1988 and 2001 with 3 years of continuous follow up employment data after discharge.


METHODS
Job stability was defined as "stable" (competitively employed at all three follow-up visits), "unemployed" (not competitively employed at all three visits), and "unstable" (any other mixture of competitively employed and not competitively employed over the three follow-up visits).


METHODS
A multinomial logistic regression model was used to model the effect of ethnicity on job stability post TBI after adjusting for injury and demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
Compared to Caucasians, the adjusted odds for minorities were 3.587 times greater for being unemployed versus being stably employed (95% CI = 1.930, 6.668), 1.911 times greater for being unstably employed versus being stably employed (95% CI = 1.006, 3.628), and 1.878 times more greater for being unemployed versus being unstably employed (95% CI = 1.157, 3.046) after adjusting for preinjury employment status, age, marital status, education, cause of injury, total length of stay in acute and rehabilitation hospitals, and DRS at discharge.


CONCLUSIONS
Minority status is an independent predictor of short-term job stability after TBI. Minority TBI survivors were more likely than Caucasians to be unemployed or unstably employed. Rehabilitation professionals should develop employment interventions that will address the specific needs of these racial/ethnic groups and facilitate optimal employment outcomes for minority TBI survivors.
Arango-Lasprilla
Juan Carlos
JC
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology, VCU West Hospital, Richmond, VA 23298, USA. jcarangolasp@vcu.edu
Ketchum
Jessica M
JM
Gary
Kelli W
KW
Kreutzer
Jeffrey S
JS
O'Neil-Pirozzi
Therese M
TM
Wehman
Paul
P
Marquez de la Plata
Carlos
C
Jha
Amitabh
A
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D014478:Unemployment; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult