Quality employment outcomes after multiple sclerosis: A comparison of participants from a specialty hospital and the National MS Society

BACKGROUND: Employment is of great importance to adult life and the onset of a disabling condition presents significant challenges to maintaining employment or obtaining new employment. Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) typically occurs during the most active years of employment. OBJECTIVE: To identify employment status, earnings, and job satisfaction of participants with MS and to compare these findings with that from a study of the National MS Society (NMSS). METHODS: Data were collected via mailed and web self-report assessment. RESULTS: We found an overall employment rate of 44.6%. This was higher than the rate observed in the NMSS study (39.3%). Among those who were employed, the majority of participants were in the two lowest earning categories (less than $25,000=23.1%; $25,000-49,999=24.3%). Education was highly related to employment. For race/ethnicity, the highest employment rate was observed for non-Hispanic white participants (48.19%), followed by Hispanic (44.68%) and non-Hispanic blacks (35.9%). CONCLUSIONS: MS is related to diminishing employment outcomes that may affect participation and quality of life.