Employers' Attitudes to Employment of People with Epilepsy: Still the Same Old Story?

Epilepsia - Tập 46 Số 12 - Trang 1978-1987 - 2005
T. J. Peters1, Joanne Gorry2, Gus A. Baker3
1Division of Public Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool
2Department of Clinical Psychology, Rathbone Hospital, Merseyside
3Division of Neurosciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, U.K.

Tóm tắt

Summary:  Purpose: One area of life quality known to be compromised by having epilepsy is employment, and one factor contributing to the employment problems of people with epilepsy (PWE) is employer attitudes. Much research on this topic is now outdated and given the changing legal, medical, and social contexts in which PWE live, we therefore reexamined employer attitudes in the united Kingdom. Method: A mail survey of a random sample of U.K. companies selected to be representative of the 14 U.K. economic regions and proportional to the number of employees. Findings: The overall response rate was 41% (n = 204). Twenty‐six percent of respondents reported having experience of employing PWE. Sixteen percent considered that there were no jobs in their company suitable for PWE; 21% thought employing PWE would be “a major issue.” Employers were uniformly of the view that PWE, even when in remission, should disclose their condition to a prospective employer. Seizure severity, frequency, and controllability were all considered important features of epilepsy in the context of employment. Epilepsy created high concern to around half of employers, including the likelihood of it being linked to a work‐related accident. Employers were willing to make accommodations for PWE, in particular job sharing, temporary reassignment of duties, and flexible working hours. Attitudes to employment of PWE were influenced by company size and type and previous experience of doing so. Conclusions: We conclude that it is still the same old story for employers' attitudes toward PWE, though happily for PWE, with some room for optimism.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Hauser WA, 1990, Epilepsy: frequency, causes and consequences, 273

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1998.tb01164.x

10.1016/S0920-1211(00)00126-1

10.1136/jech.34.2.129

10.1016/S1059-1311(98)80022-8

Arnston P, 1986, Psychopathology in epilepsy: social dimensions, 143

10.1192/bjp.156.1.98

10.1093/occmed/37.1.94

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1972.tb04562.x

Collings J, 1992, Epilepsy and the experience of employment: A report of a National Survey by the British Epilepsy Association

10.1136/jnnp.54.3.200

10.1016/0920-1211(95)00013-Z

Lucas G, 1986, Epilepsy and employment, 67

10.1097/00004356-198803000-00001

Craig A, 1988, A Textbook of epilepsy, 566

British Epilepsy Association, Towards a new understanding: the charter for people with epilepsy

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1997.tb01102.x

Canadian Occupational Health Bulletin, 1967, The employable epileptic (Editorial), Can Occup Health Bull, 22, 11

10.1016/S1525-5050(01)90264-1

10.1111/j.1528-1157.2000.tb00166.x

10.1016/0920-1211(94)90045-0

Espir ML, 1981, Epilepsy, Med Pract (Gen Pract Suppl), 3, 64

10.1016/S1474-4422(05)70020-X

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1980.tb04302.x

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1985.tb05409.x

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1992.tb01691.x

10.1046/j.1528-1157.2001.18000.x

10.1046/j.1528-1157.2002.32002.x

10.1111/j.0013-9580.2004.02904.x

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1991.tb05617.x

Beran R, 1992, Practices and perspectives of Australian general practitioners pertaining to epilepsy after a decade of intervention (abstract), Seizure, 1, 13

Hicks RA, 1968, Changes over a 10‐year period (1956–1966) in the employer's attitudes towards the employment of epileptics, Am Correct Ther J, 22, 145

Hicks RA, 1978, The attitude of major companies toward the employment of epileptics: an assessment of two decades of change, Am Correct Ther J, 32, 180

Gade E, 1983, Employers' attitude hiring epileptics: implications for job placement, Rehabil Couns Bull, 353

John C, 1988, Employers' attitudes to epilepsy, Br J Ind Med, 45, 713

10.1111/j.1528-1157.1972.tb04555.x

Lee P, 2000, Quality of life in epilepsy: beyond seizure counts in assessment and treatment, 273

Delaney L, 1998, When does epilepsy end?A report for the British Epilepsy Association

Roessler RT, 1997, Employer opinions about accommodating employees with chronic illnesses, J Appl Rehabil Couns, 28, 29

10.1136/bmj.291.6487.2

British Epilepsy Association, 2002, Employment

Lennox W, 1972, Employment of epileptics, Ind Med Surg, 2, 571

MacIntyre I, 1976, Epilepsy and employment, Community Health, 7, 195

Dasgupta AK, 1982, Epilepsy in the British Steel Corporation: an evaluation of sickness, accident and work records, Br J Ind Med, 39, 145

Floyd M, 1989, The health, safety and performance of civil service employees with epilepsy

ThorbeckeR.Risks and responsibilities. In:Epilepsy and employment: proceedings of the employment workshop 18th International Epilepsy Congress New Delhi India . Heemstede :International Bureau for Epilepsy 1991. pp.20–4.

10.1159/000109689

10.1046/j.1528-1157.2002.18701.x

National Society for Epilepsy, 2001, Employers' guide to epilepsy

International Bureau for Epilepsy Employment Commission, 2002, Principles for good practice in the employment of people with epilepsy

HurstfieldJ AllenB BallardJ et al.The extent of use of health and safety regulations as a false excuse for not employing sick and disabled persons. HSE Research Report 176 prepared for Health and Safety Executive and Disability Rights Commission. Norwich : HMSO 2003. Accessible at:http//www.hsebooks.com.

Carter T, 1986, Epilepsy and employment, 9

10.1016/j.yebeh.2004.07.010

10.1111/j.0013-9580.2004.67003.x

10.1006/ebeh.2001.0241

10.1053/seiz.1999.0329

Reid R, To disclose or not: can you afford to bring your epilepsy to work?

10.1016/S1059-1311(05)80060-3

Scambler G, 1989, Epilepsy

Bishop M, 2002, Barriers to employment among people with epilepsy: report of a focus group, J Vocat Rehabil, 17, 281

Perlman LG, 1976, The Epileptic Citizen – an employment perspective, J Rehabil, 42, 36

10.2307/2095613

10.1207/S15324826AN0901_6

Honey S, 1993, Employers' attitudes towards people with disabilities

Doyle B, 1995, Disability discrimination and equal opportunities. A comparative study of employment rights of disabled persons

Sonnen A, 1997, Epilepsy and driving

The Employment Service, The access to work programme

10.1177/0730888498025004002

10.1515/IJAMH.1994.7.4.325

10.4135/9781412984881

Doughty J, 2005, Cross‐cultural differences in levels of knowledge about epilepsy, Epilepsia, 44, 15

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Epilepsia

Tập 46 Số 12

1978-1987

Thông tin tác giả