A Brief Tool to Screen Patients for Precarious Employment: A Validation Study

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Participant Demographics (N = 204)

Characteristic	No. (%)
Age category, y
18-39	123 (60.6)
40-59	66 (32.5)
60-64	8 (3.9)
≥65	6 (3.00)
Missing	1 (0.00)
Gender identity
Male	93 (45.6)
Female	106 (52.0)
Other	5 (2.5)
Missing	0 (0.0)
Racial background
White	119 (58.3)
Non-White	85 (41.7)
Born in Canada
Yes	135 (66.2)
No	69 (33.8)
Immigrant-years arrived in Canada
0-5	6 (8.2)
6-10	14 (20.6)
>10	48 (70.7)
Missing	1 (0.0)
Educational attainment
Attended high school, not completed	3 (1.5)
Completed high school	17 (8.5)
Attended business, trade, technical school, not completed	4 (2.0)
Completed business, trade, technical school	28 (13.9)
Attended university, not completed	12 (6.0)
Completed university (Bachelor’s degree)	71 (35.3)
Attended graduate school, not completed	11 (5.5)
Completed graduate school	55 (27.4)
Missing	3 (0.0)

Table 2.

Association Between the Number of Endorsed Screening Questions and the PEPSO Employment Precarity Index Categories (N = 200)

PEPSO Category	No. of Endorsed Screening Items, No. (%)
PEPSO Category	0 (n = 86)	1 (n = 73)	2 (n = 29)	3 (n = 12)
Secure	37 (18.5)	9 (4.5)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Stable	20 (10.0)	14 (7.0)	3 (1.5)	2 (1.0)
Vulnerable	17 (8.5)	22 (11.0)	7 (3.5)	2 (1.0)
Precarious	12 (6.0)	28 (14.0)	19 (9.5)	8 (4.0)

Table 3.

Comparison of Participants Categorized as Experiencing Precarious Employment With Those in Vulnerable, Stable, or Secure Employment

Questions and No. of Items Endorsed	SEN (95% CI)	SPEC (95% CI)	PPV (95% CI)	NPV (95% CI)	ROC (95% CI)	LR+ (95% CI)	LR− (95% CI)	OR (95% CI
Are you currently employed in a casual, short-term or temporary position?^¹	63.6 (50.9-75.1)	72.52 (64.0-80.0)	53.8 (42.2-65.2)	79.8 (71.5-86.6)	0.681 (0.61 1-0.751)	2.32 (1.66-3.23)	0.501 (0.358-0.702)	4.62 (2.46-8.66)
Do you feel fearful that you could be fired if you raised employment concerns?^¹	22.6 (12.9-35.0)	86.2 (79.0-91.6)	43.8 (26.4-62.3)	70.0 (62.3-77.0)	0.544 (0.483-0.604)	1.63 (0.869-3.06)	0.899 (0.773-1.05)	1.81 (0.845-3.90)
Does your pay vary a lot from month to month?^¹	50.7 (38.2-63.2)	82.6 (75.0-88.6)	59.6 (45.8-72.4)	76.8 (68.9-83.4)	0.667 (0.598-0.735)	2.91 (1.88-4.52)	0.596 (0.462-0.770)	4.88 (2.52-9.39)
Endorsed 1, 2, or 3 domains^²	82.1 (70.8-90.4)	55.6 (46.8-64.2)	48.2 (38.8-57.8)	86.0 (76.9-92.6)	0.689 (0.626-0.751)	1.85 (1.48-2.31)	0.322 (0.189-0.549)	5.75 (2.84-1 1.6)
Endorsed 2 or 3 domains^²	40.3 (28.5-53.0)	89.5 (83.0-94.1)	65.9 (49.4-79.9)	74.8 (67.4-81.4)	0.649 (0.584-0.714)	3.84 (2.15-6.80)	0.667 (0.543-0.819)	5.74 (2.76-1 1.9)

LR− = negative likelihood ration; LR+ = positive likelihood ratio; NPV = negative predictive value; OR = odds ratio; PPV = positive predictive value; PEPSO = Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario; ROC = receiver operating characteristic; SEN = sensitivity; SPEC = specificity.
↵1 Answered yes to this question in the PEPSO Employment Precarity Index.
↵2 Participants categorized as experiencing precarious employment by the PEPSO index were identified by endorsing 2 or 3 of the screening questions.