| Background: |
Despite good treatment outcomes and quality of life for individuals with epilepsy the unemployment rate remains high. About 25% of individuals with epilepsy are unemployed. There is little data available as to the factors associated with employment or lack of in epilepsy patients. |
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Purpose:
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with employment in individuals living with epilepsy. |
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Study sample: |
The sample consisted of 262 patients with epilepsy that were surveyed through a treatment center in Jacksonville, Florida. Most of the patients were female (58.8%), graduated high school but had not gone to college (35.5%), and were unemployed not looking for work (53.6%). The sample had a mean age of 40.9 years. |
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Data collection and analysis:
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Surveys were sent out to the study sample. Demographic, disease, and employment related data was collected. Data was synthesized using univariate analysis. |
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Findings:
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Being younger, Caucasian, more educated, not on disability benefits, on fewer seizure medications, and having previous work history were all associated with employment in the study sample. Importance of work for personal reasons and decreased fear of workplace discrimination were independently associated with being employed. |
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Conclusions:
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This study underscores the importance of work having personal meaning to the individual as it relates to being employed. Half of the study sample was not even looking for work when data was collected. The journey towards employment must begin with wanting to be employed. |
