Factors Affecting Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities Who Received Disability Employment Services in Taiwan

• Published in: Journal of occupational rehabilitation 2014-03, Vol.24 (1), p.11-21
• Main Authors: Jang, Yuh, Wang, Yun-Tung, Lin, Meng-Hsiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Analysis; Careers; Caregivers; Clinical Psychology; Disabilities; Disability; Disabled persons; Disabled Persons - classification; Disabled Persons - rehabilitation; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; Educational attainment; Employment; Employment agencies; Employment services; Employment, Supported; Environmental Health; Female; Health aspects; Health Psychology; Homeless people; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Mobility; Needs analysis; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Occupational therapy; Occupational training; Orthopedics; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); People with disabilities; Predictive Value of Tests; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Centers - statistics & numerical data; Rehabilitation, Vocational - methods; Rehabilitation, Vocational - utilization; Retrospective Studies; Secondary schools; Severity of Illness Index; Social service; Studies; Taiwan; Urban Population; Variables; Vocational rehabilitation; Work experience; Workers with disabilities; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1053-0487; 1573-3688
• DOI: 10.1007/s10926-013-9433-1

Purpose . One of the most important rehabilitation goals is to return people with disabilities to paid employment. The purposes of this study were (1) to explore employment status and (2) to identify factors that may affect the employment outcomes of people with disabilities who received Disability Employment Services (DES). Methods . A retrospective study was conducted on clients who commenced and closed DES between January 2008 and December 2010 in a metropolitan city in Taiwan, using the files from the National Vocational Rehabilitation Services Documentary System. Results . Sixty-nine percent (1,684 out of 2,452) of the clients in this study were engaged in paid employment after receiving DES. Logistic regression analyses indicated that clients with no psychiatric disability or mild impairment and with useful vocational qualifications, typical work experience, more post-employment services, and less pre-employment services were associated with a higher rate of successful employment outcomes. Conclusion . This study provides empirical evidence of the association between person- and DES-related factors and the employment outcomes of people with disabilities. Future improvements in health, school-to-work transition services, and vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities should place more emphasis on providing work-based work experience, professional vocational training, access to college/professional education, career exploration, effective supported employment services, and other post-employment services.