Employment as a health promotion intervention for persons with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between employment status (no employment, part-time employment, and full-time employment) and functional disability, health-related quality of life, and life satisfaction of people with MS.

METHODS

157 individuals with MS completed a survey packet, including employment status, self-report disability severity, and health-related scales. A series of multivariate analysis of variance was performed to determine the differences between employment groups in health-related outcomes.

RESULTS

The unemployed group had the highest levels of incapacity and social impairments among the three groups. They also had the lowest physical health-related quality of life and life satisfaction. The part-time employed group had the lowest levels of depression and higher levels of physical activity participation among the three groups of individuals with MS.

CONCLUSIONS

Employment is significantly related to health-related quality of life, and as a result, it should be considered an important public health intervention for people with MS.