Personal, health and function, and career maintenance factors as determinants of quality of life among employed people with multiple sclerosis

Phillip Rumrill, Jian Li, David Strauser, Richard T. Roessler, Malachy Bishop, Fong Chan, Chithra Adams, Mykal Leslie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an intrusive disease that significantly affects labor force participation. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the extent to which factors at the personal, health and function, and environmental/career maintenance levels contribute to the predictability power for quality of life among employed people with MS. METHOD: Participants consisted of 523 members of nine National Multiple Sclerosis Society chapters representing 21 states and Washington, DC. These individuals were employed at the time of the survey, and they were primarily middle age (average age of 48 years) and Caucasian (74%). RESULTS: The final hierarchical multiple regression model explained 54 percent of the variability in participants' quality of life scores, although none of the hypothesized personal/demographic predictors were significant. Participants who perceived better overall health and lower levels of stress, who experienced less severe cognitive and mobility-related MS symptoms, and who expressed stronger job-person matches and higher levels of job satisfaction reported higher quality of life scores than did other participants. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the complexity involved in predicting perceived quality of life among employed people with MS. Implications of these findings for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)81-94
Number of pages14
JournalWork
Volume67
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was funded through a Health Care Delivery and Policy Research grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York, NY. The authors wish to thank the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, its participating chapters, and the study participants for their support and assistance with this research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Employment
  • chronic illness
  • multiple sclerosis
  • quality of life
  • vocational rehabilitation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Rehabilitation
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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