Employment Status in Individuals with Upper-Limb Amputation: A Survey of Current Trends

Introduction: After upper-limb amputation, employment opportunities may be limited. Given the dramatic shift in the job market in the United States in the recent years, there is a need to examine the updated employment rates and the types of occupations to which individuals with amputation can return to. In this study, we assessed current employment status for people with upper-limb loss and determined whether these individuals needed to change jobs as a result of limb loss. Second, we examined whether demographic or impairment-specific factors were correlated with employment status or the need to switch jobs. Materials and methods: Individuals with upper-limb amputation provided personal and employment information in an online survey. We explored the bivariate relationships between employment status and 11 personal factors (e.g., age at amputation, highest education level). Using the significant factors from this analysis, we built a logistic regression model for postamputation employment status. We also explored the relationship between these same 11 factors and the individuals' need to switch jobs after limb loss. Results: A total of 199 and 160 respondents were deemed eligible for the employment status and job switch analyses, respectively. Of the working-aged respondents, 60.8% (121/199) were employed at the time of survey. Twenty-nine percent (47/160) reported needing to change jobs because of their amputation. Factors negatively associated with employment included having a bilateral amputation, lower education level, older age at amputation, higher pain frequency, and wearing a prosthesis less frequently. Higher education level was the only significant predictor of successful employment in the logistic regression model. There were no significant relationships between any factor and the need to change jobs after amputation. Conclusions: The results suggest that individuals with upper-limb amputation have a lower employment rate than the national average. Future work should focus on understanding the reasons behind employment challenges in this population.