(Press-News.org) East Hanover, NJ – May 23, 2023 – New data show that while individuals with visual disabilities were slow to recover employment because of the effects of the COVID-2019 lockdown, they have made headway, depending on their level of disability, almost meeting their pre-pandemic levels. Possible reasons for their slower recovery include major safety concerns due to the shortage of personal protective equipment, less access to vaccines, and their vulnerability to severe consequences of COVID, according to experts speaking during last Friday’s nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar.
Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for persons ages 16-64, the average monthly employment-to-population ratio for April 2022 to March 2023 was 59.8 percent for individuals who reported vision disabilities only, (people who reported being “blind or having serious difficulty seeing” and no other disability) compared to 40.3 percent for people who reported vision disability (plus at least one other disability). For individuals who reported vision disability with activity limitations (e.g., difficulty with self-care, leaving the house by themselves) the employment-to-population ratio was 14.1 percent. “These data show a really slow recovery overall: it took this disability segment until the third year post-lockdown to return to their pre‑pandemic employment levels,” asserted nTIDE expert Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics at the University of Hampshire (UNH) and research director of the UNH Institute on Disability.
The monthly employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the number of people in a population who are working, relative to the total number of people in that population. A 12-month average of this indicator is used to boost statistical precision. The 12-month period of April in one year to March in the next year is used to help examine employment trends before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown recession.
“In the Current Population Survey, ‘vision disability’ can be characterized in numerous ways that make a difference in subsequent employment estimates. For instance, reporting vision difficulty and activity limitation likely indicates a more severe disability, and folks experiencing more severe vision disability are much less likely to be employed,” Dr. Houtenville explained. “In the coming months, the nTIDE Deeper Dive will be looking more closely at how people experience disability using data from the six questions in the BLS survey, which asks about hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty.
Impacts on Employment Recovery
The reliance on tactile input and the fear of COVID complications post-lockdown may have impacted the employment recovery time for people with blindness and visual impairment. “The COVID-2019 pandemic probably negatively influenced individuals with vision disabilities who use tactile cues to navigate,” affirmed Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP, senior vice president of Grants and Communications, Kessler Foundation. “Personal safety issues were a huge concern. Many visually impaired individuals hesitated to go out alone due to concerns about coming into contact with surfaces contaminated by germs or encountering people without masks. People who worked in offices ended up staying home and telecommuting,” Katz concluded.
Note on Data Collection and Language
When presenting information about disabilities, nTIDE employs the terminology found in the survey that serves as the basis for BLS data, known as the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Live Webinar on Disability and Employment
In conjunction with each nTIDE report, experts host a 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (ET) Lunch & Learn Webinar via Zoom featuring in-depth analyses, guest speakers, and news updates from the field. Webinars include invited panelists who discuss current disability-related findings and events. On June 2, 2023, a guest panelist joins Drs. O’Neill and Houtenville, and Denise Rozell, policy strategist from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Register for this upcoming nTIDE webinar at ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE, where you will also find the nTIDE archives.
About nTIDE Updates
National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) is a joint project of Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. The nTIDE team closely monitors the job numbers, issuing semi-monthly reports that track the impact of economic shifts on employment for people with and without disabilities. As the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wane and inflation persistently rises, the nTIDE team has superseded its mid-month COVID Update to a “Deeper Dive” into the BLS data for people with disabilities.
About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the Institute’s NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC), visit ResearchOnDisability.org.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research. Our scientists seek to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes, including employment, for adults and children with neurological and developmental disabilities of the brain and spinal cord including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and autism. Kessler Foundation also leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. We help people regain independence to lead full and productive lives. For more information visit KesslerFoundation.org.
For more information, contact:
Deb Hauss, DHauss@KesslerFoundation.org
Carolann Murphy, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org
Stay Connected with Kessler Foundation
Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | SoundCloud
nTIDE is funded by Kessler Foundation and was initially funded, in part, with grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, 90RTGE0001).
END
nTIDE May 2023 Deeper Dive: How did COVID-19 lockdown impact employment of individuals with visual disabilities?
National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) – issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire
2023-05-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Few adult smokers and nonsmokers think e-cigarettes have lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarettes
2023-05-23
About half of cigarette smokers and young adult non-smokers think that nicotine-based electronic cigarettes have the same amount or even more harmful chemicals than regular tobacco-based cigarettes, according to a Rutgers study.
The study, published in Addiction, measured perceived levels of harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes compared with cigarettes using national samples of more than 1,000 adults ages 18 and older who smoke cigarettes and 1,000-plus adults ages 18 to 29 who are nonsmokers. The study also measured associations with e-cigarette/cigarette relative harm perceptions, e-cigarette use and interest. About 20 percent of all participants ...
Capturing transporter structure paves the way for drug development
2023-05-23
(Memphis, Tenn.—May 23, 2023) Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center studied the structure and function of a transporter involved in cancer and immunity. They captured six structures of the transporter, including when it was bound to an inhibitor, providing unprecedented insight into how it works. The findings, published in Cell, have implications for drug development.
Transporters escort substances across the cell membrane so that they can carry out their functions. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is an important signaling molecule that regulates the immune system, blood vessel formation, auditory ...
Did dome-headed dinosaurs sport bristly headgear?
2023-05-23
If you look at enough dinosaur fossils, you'll see that their skulls sport an amazing variety of bony ornaments, ranging from the horns of Triceratops and the mohawk-like crests of hadrosaurs to the bumps and knobs covering the head of Tyrannosaurus rex.
But paleontologists are increasingly finding evidence that dinosaurs had even more elaborate head ornaments not preserved with the fossil skulls — structures made of keratin, the stuff of fingernails, that were likely used as visual signals or semaphores to others of their kind.
A newly described species of dome-headed dinosaur — a pachycephalosaur ...
Lupus Research Alliance and its clinical research affiliate Lupus Therapeutics launch the Lupus Landmark Study to accelerate personalized treatments in lupus
2023-05-23
NEW YORK, NY (May 23) – The Lupus Research Alliance and its clinical research affiliate Lupus Therapeutics today announced the launch of the Lupus Landmark Study, a groundbreaking observational research study to accelerate the development of personalized treatments for people living with lupus. The Lupus Landmark Study, the largest study of its kind in lupus, will prospectively recruit and longitudinally follow 3,500 adults diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The Lupus Landmark Study is a ...
The severity of sleep apnea may be underestimated in Black patients
2023-05-23
Session: C110, Advanced Signal Analysis: New Diagnostics and Physiologic Insights for SDB (sleep-disordered breathing)
Date and Time: 2:15 p.m. ET, Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Location: WEWCC, Room 144 A-C (Street Level)
ATS 2023, Washington, DC – Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tests may underestimate the severity of OSA in Black patients, according to research published at the ATS 2023 International Conference.
Recent research with ICU patients during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that pulse oximeters—clip-like devices that are attached to a fingertip to measure blood oxygen ...
Strategic city planning can help reduce urban heat island effect
2023-05-23
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The tendency of cities to trap heat — a phenomenon called the “urban heat island,” often referred to as the UHI effect — can lead to dangerous temperatures in the summer months, but new Penn State research suggests that certain urban factors can reduce this effect.
The study found that trees had a cooling effect on outdoor air temperature, mean radiant temperature and predicted mean vote index, a measurement designed to evaluate thermal comfort levels.
Additionally, the researchers determined that higher building-height-to-street-width ratios — when taller ...
The aging mouse prostate: kinetics of lymphocyte infiltration
2023-05-23
“This dataset presents the most comprehensive profiling of the aging adult mouse prostate immune profile to date.”
BUFFALO, NY- May 23, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 9, entitled, “Highly multiplexed immune profiling throughout adulthood reveals kinetics of lymphocyte infiltration in the aging mouse prostate.”
Aging is a significant risk factor for disease in several tissues, including the prostate. Defining the kinetics ...
Organizations must go beyond medical views on menopause to support women’s professional aspirations - study
2023-05-23
Organisations must enable mid-life women to thrive in the workplace by taking inspiration from societies such as China and Japan to encourage positive conversations around the impact of menopause, a new study reveals.
But as they support older women in pursuing their ambitions and accessing career opportunities, organisations must ensure they do not hinder career progression through overlooked promotions, undervalued work, and lost opportunities.
In Western countries, the menopause is traditionally viewed as a managed medical condition that creates physiological challenges which women must overcome if they are to function as effectively in the workplace ...
Insomnia drug class may not influence death and exacerbation risks among patients with COPD
2023-05-23
Session: C98, Risky Business: Predicting Consequences of OSA
Date and Time: 2:51 p.m. ET, Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Location: Marriott Marquis Washington, Independence Ballroom, Salons E-H (Level M4)
ATS 2023, Washington, DC – Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients newly prescribed non-benzodiazepine benzodiazepine receptor agonists (NBZRAs) such as zolpidem (Ambien, Intermezzo and other brands), a class of hypnotic drugs prescribed for insomnia, did not have an increased risk of exacerbations requiring hospitalizations or of death than those prescribed ...
Researchers treat depression by reversing brain signals traveling the wrong way
2023-05-23
Powerful magnetic pulses applied to the scalp to stimulate the brain can bring fast relief to many severely depressed patients for whom standard treatments have failed. Yet it’s been a mystery exactly how transcranial magnetic stimulation, as the treatment is known, changes the brain to dissipate depression. Now, research led by Stanford Medicine scientists has found that the treatment works by reversing the direction of abnormal brain signals.
The findings also suggest that backward streams of neural activity between key areas of the brain could be used as a biomarker to help diagnose depression.
“The leading ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Fatty liver in pregnancy may increase risk of preterm birth
World record for lithium-ion conductors
Researchers map 7,000-year-old genetic mutation that protects against HIV
KIST leads next-generation energy storage technology with development of supercapacitor that overcomes limitations
Urine, not water for efficient production of green hydrogen
Chip-scale polydimethylsiloxane acousto-optic phase modulator boosts higher-resolution plasmonic comb spectroscopy
Blood test for many cancers could potentially thwart progression to late stage in up to half of cases
Women non-smokers still around 50% more likely than men to develop COPD
AI tool uses face photos to estimate biological age and predict cancer outcomes
North Korea’s illegal wildlife trade threatens endangered species
Health care workers, firefighters have increased PFAS levels, study finds
Turning light into usable energy
Important step towards improving diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases
Maternal cardiometabolic health during pregnancy associated with higher blood pressure in children, NIH study finds
Mercury levels in the atmosphere have decreased throughout the 21st century
This soft robot “thinks” with its legs
Biologists identify targets for new pancreatic cancer treatments
Simple tweaks to a gene underlie the stench of rotten-smelling flowers
Simple, effective interventions reduce emissions from Bangladesh’s informal brick kilns
Ultrasound-guided 3D bioprinting enables deep-tissue implant fabrication in vivo
Soft limbs of flexible tubes and air enable dynamic, autonomous robotic locomotion
Researchers develop practical solution to reduce emissions and improve air quality from brick manufacturing in Bangladesh
Durham University scientists solve 500-million-year fossil mystery
Red alert for our closest relatives
3D printing in vivo using sound
Global Virus Network meeting unites Caribbean and Latin America to tackle emerging viral threats
MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 8, 2025
Study of Türkiye gold mine landslide highlights need for future monitoring
Researchers find new defense against hard-to-treat plant diseases
Characterization of research grant terminations at the National Institutes of Health
[Press-News.org] nTIDE May 2023 Deeper Dive: How did COVID-19 lockdown impact employment of individuals with visual disabilities?National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) – issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire