Barriers to Employment

You often hear statistics about the unemployment rate as an indicator of the overall health of the economy. However, it is important to understand the factors that impact an individual’s ability to become and remain employed. Researchers from Baylor University are attempting to highlight how difficult it is for ESRD patients to find, or maintain their employment once they are on dialysis. One key finding from their study showed more than three quarters of patients were not working by the time they started dialysis and about a third of patients who were employed six months prior to dialysis had stopped working by time they started dialysis. These findings suggest the need for more resources and intervention on employment before individuals progress to ESRD.