As we close out National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), we are looking at some of the research around older adults with disabilities in the workforce. Some people may have years of experience working while navigating life with a disability. Others may be aging into disability or facing a new diagnosis in the middle of their careers. Older adults with disabilities may decide that staying on the job is important to their health and well-being, and essential to staying engaged in the community. Others may be deciding whether and when to retire.

Research on working while aging with a disability touches on many of these issues and cuts across disability types. We found several examples from NIDILRR-funded studies indexed in REHABDATA, our database of disability and rehabilitation literature.

• The impact of health behaviors and health management on employment after SCI: Physical health and functioning examined the relationship between employment and the management of physical health and functioning as described by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who had worked at some time after injury. In focus groups with participants with SCI, four overlapping themes were identified: (1) relearning one’s own body and what it can do; (2) general health and wellness behaviors; (3) communication, education, and advocacy; and (4) dealing with secondary conditions and aging. Specific themes describe the many types of behaviors individuals must master and their impact on return to work as well as on finding, maintaining, and deciding to leave employment. Individuals who are successfully employed after SCI must learn how to perform necessary behaviors to manage health and function in a work environment. The decision to leave employment often appears to be associated with secondary complications and other conditions that occur as the person with SCI ages.
• Predictors of job retention after onset of visual impairment in late middle age investigated factors associated with job retention after developing a visual impairment later in life using data from the Health and Retirement Study. Results indicated that women, people who were married or partnered, and people with fair or better self-reported health were more likely to retain employment after vision loss, whereas people with more chronic health conditions were less likely to retain employment. The findings suggest that poor health and chronic health conditions may prompt late middle-aged adults to leave the labor force after developing vision loss. Timely vocational rehabilitation services can help employed people with vision loss retain employment.
• Transition to retirement: The lived experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities explored the lived experiences and perspectives on the retirement of older adults with intellectual disabilities to develop a deeper understanding of how they understand and plan for retirement in the United States. In interviews with retired/retiring adults with intellectual disabilities and an ally of their choice, participants described factors that pushed or pulled them into retirement, such as health issues or wanting to spend more time with family. Individuals in community work settings described greater self-determination in their decision to retire. Regardless of reasons for retiring, all participants described initial difficulties with adjusting to retirement but over time people’s situation, including their mental and physical health, reportedly improved.

These are just a few examples of recent studies from the NIDILRR community and elsewhere indexed in our collection. You can explore REHABDATA by this topic and others or try your own search. Our information specialists and librarians are also available to help you craft a search strategy that answers your research questions.