Employment status and contributing factors among adults with congenital heart disease in Japan

Abstract

Background Working is an important concern in transitional care for adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) because work connects people with society. Employment status is correlated with gender, but studies on patient employment by gender have rarely been conducted. This study therefore aimed to examine the employment status of ACHD by gender and to explore the factors influencing this status. Methods In this study, 193 Japanese ACHD (mean age: men—33.62 years, women—32.69 years; 89 men, no students included) completed a questionnaire including questions about employment status, an evaluation of hindrances to employment, the Linear Analog Scale to assess quality of life (QOL), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Results In the study sample, 13 of 89 (14.6%) men and 13 of 104 (12.5%) women did not have a job. These rates were higher than the national standard rates in Japan (men: 5.0%, women: 2.9%). Of these patients, only one man and one woman listed their illness as a reason for their unemployment. The factors thought to explain unemployment were age for men and disease severity for women (P < 0.05 for both). Unemployed patients had significantly lower QOL and SWLS scores. Conclusions Most ACHD can join the workforce but a higher percentage of ACHD do not work and find it challenging to have a career compared with the general population. Moreover, because unemployed patients have low QOL and SWLS scores, obtaining work is crucial to enable these people to have mentally and emotionally stable and fulfilling lives.

Workplace Harassment in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease

“…Moreover, patients with congenital heart disease use to have lower educational levels in addition to being less likely employed than healthy controls (Crossland et al, 2005;Sluman et al, 2019;Cocomello et al, 2021, Olsen et al, 2011 which may also be a contributing factor to mobbing. Therefore, as a higher educational level generally leads to jobs with less physical work, more internal and external recovery possibilities, and, often, better job conditions which is beneficial for patients with congenital heart defects (Zomer et al, 2012) efforts should be undertaken to maximize academic fulfillment in this population as many of them fail to enter or to remain in the labor market because of a lack of studies, skills, or due to skills mismatches (Enomoto et al, 2020;Karsenty et al, 2015).…”

Transition in cardiology 1: Pediatric patients with congenital heart disease to adulthood

“…11 There were only a few studies of transitional care in Japan, mainly in the field of cardiology. 12,13 Recently, several articles in nephrology, endocrinology, and gastroenterology have also been published, especially after 2020. [14][15][16][17][18][19] Many of them reported that there was insufficient awareness of transitional care among patients, families, and adult physicians, and that they should work together to facilitate transitional care in Japan.…”

“…In Japan, the Japan Pediatric Society 10 After this, systems and tools for specialized care were also developed 11 . There were only a few studies of transitional care in Japan, mainly in the field of cardiology 12,13 14–19 .…”