DOES ETHNICITY AFFECT RETURN TO WORK IN JEWISH AND ARAB MANUAL WORKERS THREE MONTH AFTER HAND INJURY?

Background: Traumatic hand injuries (HI) are common and limit the patients’ ability to participate in work. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of ethnicity among other factors on return to work (RTW) of... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Traumatic hand injuries (HI) are common and limit the patients’ ability to participate in work. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of ethnicity among other factors on return to work (RTW) of Jewish and Arab manual workers three months after HI.

Methods: Study participants included 178 adult males after HI. Baseline medical information was obtained from medical records in addition to socio-demographic information, several questionnaires, and interviews three months after the injury about their work status. Potential determinants related to RTW were entered in multivariate logistic regression analysis in two steps.

Results: A significant difference in RTW rate between the two groups was found (45.5% for Jews compared to 28.9% for Arabs). In step one, the odd of Jewish participants to RTW was almost twice that of Arabs. In the final model, lawyer involvement, education, and the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 were associated with RTW.

Conclusions: A difference of the rate of employment was found. Nevertheless Arab–Jewish differences in employment were not correlated with ethnicity per se. Disparities in employment primarily derive from differences in the level of education, self-report of function and disability, and legal involvement. Further studies are recommended in order to examine other cultural factors that may explain the discrepancies in RTW between ethnic groups.

Application to Practice: patients with a lower level of education need special attention and close guidance in the process of RTW. It is recommended considering the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 during the rehabilitation period.