Workplace accommodations for people with disabilities: National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement, 1994-1995

• Published in: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 45; no. 5; p. 517
• Main Authors: Zwerling, Craig, Whitten, Paul S, Sprince, Nancy L, Davis, Charles S, Wallace, Robert B, Blanck, Peter, Heeringa, Steven G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.05.2003
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Aged; Architectural Accessibility; Disabled Persons - classification; Employment; Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.); Occupations; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Workplace - organization & administration; United States
• DOI: 10.1097/01.jom.0000063623.37065.b4
• ISSN: 1076-2752

As American workers age, workers with impairments and functional limitations make up a larger percentage of our workforce. This investigation presents data from the National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement 1994-1995 (NHIS-D) describing the nature of workplace accommodations in the American workforce and factors associated with the provision of such accommodations. Of a nationally representative sample of workers aged 18 to 69 years with a wide range of impairments, 12% reported receiving workplace accommodations. Males (odds ratio (OR) 0.64: 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53-0.78) and Southerners (OR 0.57; 95% CI = 0.47-0.70) were less likely than others to receive workplace accommodations. Those with mental health conditions were less likely than others to receive accommodations (OR 0.56; 95% CI = 0.44-0.70). College graduates (OR 1.53; 95% CI = 1.22-1.91), older workers, full time workers (OR 3.99; 95% CI = 2.63-3.87), and the self-employed (OR 1.76; 95% CI = 1.28-2.41) were more likely than others to receive accommodations.