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Concepts and Social Variations of Disability in Working-Age Populations

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Handbook of Disability, Work and Health

Part of the book series: Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences ((HDBSOHS,volume 1))

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Abstract

Disability has been conceptualized in different ways, either as a notion confined to a minority group characterized by permanent bodily impairment and social exclusion or as a universal human condition of functional decline that is becoming more prevalent with increasing age. This latter notion seems more appropriate if applied to working-age populations, in particular as disability is analyzed on a continuum of varying severity and duration. This chapter deals with the prevalence and social distribution of disability in middle-aged to early-old-age working populations in modern societies, using evidence from three cohort studies, the Health and Retirement Study (USA), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. It demonstrates consistent social gradients of disability, leaving those with lower socioeconomic positions at higher risk. Moreover, we analyze consequences of disability for health-related work exit, most often in terms of disability retirement. Again, social disparities are observed, and adverse physical and psychosocial work environments contribute to an accumulation of disadvantage. The chapter concludes with a discussion of policy implications of available knowledge, pointing to different entry points for interventions that aim at promoting health and improving the quality of work and employment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Johannes Siegrist

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health; School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jian Li

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  1. Johannes Siegrist
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  2. Jian Li
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Correspondence to Johannes Siegrist .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen Department of Health Sciences, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Ute Bültmann

  2. Medizinische Fakultät, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldo Medizinische Fakultät, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Johannes Siegrist

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Siegrist, J., Li, J. (2020). Concepts and Social Variations of Disability in Working-Age Populations. In: Bültmann, U., Siegrist, J. (eds) Handbook of Disability, Work and Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75381-2_36-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75381-2_36-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75381-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75381-2

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