Association of employment status and income with self-rated health among waged workers with disabilities in South Korea: population-based panel study

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 9; no. 11; p. e032174
• Main Authors: Choi, Jae Woo, Kim, Juyeong, Han, Euna, Kim, Tae Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 26.11.2019; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Chronic illnesses; Disabilities; Disability; Economic activity; Employment; Health disparities; Households; Income; Longitudinal studies; low income; Low income groups; Population; Population-based studies; precarious employment; Public Health; Quality of life; self-rated health; Socioeconomic factors; Variables; waged workers; Work environment; Workers with disabilities; Working conditions; South Korea; low income; disability; self-rated health; precarious employment; waged workers
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032174

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the association of employment status and income with self-rated health among waged workers with disabilities in South Korea.MethodsThis study used the Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled from 2011 to 2015. A total of 951 waged workers with disabilities were selected as baseline subjects in 2011 and were followed up for 5 years. This study used a generalised linear mixed model after adjusting for covariates.ResultsAmong 951 waged workers with disabilities, the results showed that 39.3% of workers with disabilities reported poor self-rated health. Workers with disabilities with a precarious employment status and lower income were 1.22 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.23) and 1.81 (95% CI 1.80 to 1.83) times more likely to have poor self-rated health than those with permanent employment and higher income, respectively. A subgroup analysis found that precarious workers with disabilities in lower income households had higher possibilities of poor self-rated health.ConclusionThis study suggests that precarious employment and lower income of waged workers with disabilities are significantly associated with poor self-rated health compared with those with permanent jobs or higher income.