Unemployment among Canadians with physical and a co-morbid mental disability: An examination of the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS)

BackgroundCo-occurring disabilities are common and data indicate that those with both physical and mental disabilities face greater discrimination in the workforce. However, studies that consider disability type in determining labor market outcomes are needed; particularly in Canada.ObjectiveThe objective was to examine the association of disability type and unemployment among working-aged Canadians using data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS).MethodsThe 2006 PALS is a post-censal sample survey of individuals whose everyday activities are limited due to a physical/mental condition. The study design is cross-sectional. Two groups were compared: persons with one or more physical disabilities exclusively vs. those with one or more physical disabilities and a mental disability. We calculated the prevalence of unemployment and used multiple logistic regression to measure the association between disability type and unemployment, while considering relevant covariates.ResultsThe prevalence of unemployment was 20% overall; 35.4% in those with a co-morbid mental disability and 18.5% in those with exclusively physical disabilities. Those with a mental co-morbidity had approximately double the odds of being unemployed relative to those with exclusively physical disabilities and the effect remained significant (at p < 0.05) after adjustment for socio-economic indicators and disability severity.ConclusionsCompared to those with exclusively physical disabilities, individuals with co-morbid physical and mental disabilities were found to be at a significantly greater disadvantage when accessing employment. More research is needed to clarify whether these findings are indicative of discrimination and to proceed toward removing workplace barriers that persist in this population.