title: Healthcare employees' progression through disability benefits.
abstract: Progression of Disability Benefits (PODB) refers to the migration of workers with work-limiting disabilities through a system of economic disability benefits that result in their ultimate placement into the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) system [16]. Specifically, this migration involves a "progression" from short-term disability (STD) to long-term disability (LTD) to SSDI income. This project uses Chi-squared Automatic Interaction (CHAID) Technique to study the Healthcare industry, the largest industry in the United States, and its PODB experience. The first part of the study analyzes if claimant demographic (age, gender, disability type) and PODB data (movement from STD to LTD to SSDI) can be used to predict employer industry (dependent variable). Gender was the most significant predictor, while men working outside of Healthcare had the greatest amount of progression to advanced disability levels. The second part of the study assesses if the PODB experience could be predicted through claimant demographics and the sub-set industry within Healthcare in which claimants' were employed. The resulting dendogram reveals that disability type was the strongest predictor of claimant movement through disability benefits levels. Age was the second strongest predictor for all but 1 category of disability type, in which the Healthcare sector was the strongest predictor.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA. Carolyn.Hawley@mail.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Carolyn E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hawley
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D018868:Insurance, Disability / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012943:Social Security / Q000191:economics*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D017132:Workplace; D055815:Young Adult