The SEMS Project: Staying Employed With MS

Description of Project: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a disorder of young and middle aged adults, is known to have a grave impact on one's well-being and incurs a significant cost to society due to the nearly 80% rate of unemployment. Over the past few decades, research has focused on increasing our understanding of the factors that lead to these high rates of unemployment in MS and ways to mitigate such factors. However, the majority of investigations examining the causes of unemployment in MS have been retrospective and limited their focus to factors such as demographics, disease severity and symptoms of MS (e.g., fatigue), and/ or work place features and accommodations. Few have examined the more intrinsic, or person-specific factors (e.g., personality, coping, health-related behaviors), which are also likely to significantly contribute to rates of unemployment in MS. In fact, these investigators have shown that personality characteristics, anxiety, depression, coping, and self-efficacy differ between individuals who are considering leaving the workforce and those staying employed; even in the presence of comparable demographics and disease variables. Based on these findings, and the knowledge that fatigue and cognition also greatly contribute to this decision, these investigators have proposed a comprehensive intervention that will target both the disease and person-specific factors in hope of assisting individuals with MS maintain their employment; the ultimate goal being to improve the overall quality of life and health of individuals with MS. The proposed modular intervention will be tailored to the individual based on a preliminary assessment and consist of cognitive rehabilitation, fatigue and symptom management, wellness intervention, psychological intervention, and occupational rehabilitation. Outcomes will be assessed following such intervention with the goal being either job maintenance or comparable life activities that will ensure continuity of purpose and satisfaction in life, health and health maintenance, and overall well-being.