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PubMedDate not supplied

Work environment and self-rated health as predictors of remaining in work 5 years later among Danish employees 35-59 years of age.

In 1990, a random sample of employees (1674 males and 1646 females) in Denmark between 35 and 59 years of age were interviewed about their psychosocial work environment, health, and job satisfaction. In 1995, the cohort was interviewed again regarding present employment status. Predictors from the 1990 interview for remaining in work in 1995 were identified by gender. After controlling for age, very good self-rated health and high development possibilities were found to be independent predictors for remaining in work among males. Among females the predictors were very good self-rated health, high development possibilities, high decision authority, medium level social support and absence of musculoskeletal problems in the knees. In the two extreme 10% risk groups, the "risk" of remaining in work was 58% and 81%, respectively, for males, and 46% and 82% for females.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Monitoring psychosocial stress at work: development of the Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire.

Many studies on the impact of psychosocial working conditions on health prove that psychosocial stress at work is an important risk factor endangering workers' health. Thus it should be constantly monitored like other work hazards. The paper presents a newly developed instrument for stress monitoring called the Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire (PWC). Its structure is based on Robert Karasek's model of job stress (Karasek, 1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). It consists of 3 main scales Job Demands, Job Control, Social Support and 2 additional scales adapted from the Occupational Stress Questionnaire (Elo, Leppanen, Lindstrom, & Ropponen, 1992), Well-Being and Desired Changes. The study of 8 occupational groups (bank and insurance specialists, middle medical personnel, construction workers, shop assistants, government and self-government administration officers, computer scientists, public transport drivers, teachers, N = 3,669) indicates that PWC has satisfactory psychometrics parameters. Norms for the 8 groups were developed.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Initial patient and clinician expectations of return to work after acute onset of work-related low back pain.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare patient and provider expectations of return to work (RTW) after acute onset of low back pain (LBP). METHODS: Workers sick-listed after onset of LBP (N = 300) completed a questionnaire about work, injury, and psychosocial disability risk factors and rated their likelihood of full RTW within 4 weeks. Clinicians provided an independent estimate of work absence, and patients were followed for 3 months. RESULTS: Clinician and patient expectations were weakly correlated, and both were predictive of actual RTW outcomes. Patient expectations were associated with differences in pain, mood, prior back pain, job demands, functional limitation, and marital status. Factors associated with clinician prognosis were similar but with more emphasis on physical examination findings. CONCLUSIONS: Even before treatment, patients may form a negative expectation for RTW that is associated with a longer duration of work absence.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2003

The impact of organizational change on social work staffing in a hospital setting: a national, longitudinal study of social work in hospitals.

Market forces continue to shape the health care environment, producing radical changes within the hospital. These changes are affecting social work structure, staffing, and processes within the hospital setting, particularly in the area of social work staffing. This paper examines the changes impacting hospital settings over three fiscal years. A primary question is whether or not social work staffing is being negatively impacted by these hospital changes, and what factors predict the downsizing of social work staff.

Health Services Research↗

PubMed1979

Mechanical work on the lungs and work of breathing with positive end-expiratory pressure and continuous positive airway pressure.

The mechanical work on the lung required during spontaneous breathing with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was compared with different methods of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in nine young healthy athletes (surfers) at levels of 5, 10, 15, and 20 cm H2O. At the level of 20 cm H2O, PEEP increased the mean total work per minute by 116 percent and the total work per liter by 121 percent. The percent increase rose linearly with the level of PEEP. In contrast, with methods of CPAP that maintained the airway pressure (Paw) constant, the total work per minute decreased by 45 per cent at a PEEP of 10 cm H2O and remained at this level with PEEP of 15 and 20 cm H2O. Use of PEEP did not increase the functional residual capacity (FRC) in these spontaneously breathing subjects. In contrast, CPAP resulted in a rise in FRC proportional to the level of CPAP. This suggests that CPAP must be applied in a manner that maintains Paw constant to provide optimal assistance to ventilation.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Organizational change and work reforms at the levels of society, trade union, work group, and task.

This article introduces the third series of articles in the Special Section on work organization and health. The authors follow up on themes addressed in earlier articles, among them the interrelations between work organization and health, organizational obstacles to democratization at the work place, and the need for employee involvement in attaining and developing democratic forms of work organization.

Democracy↗

PubMed1995

Gender differences in work performance on the Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment work simulator.

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to (a) establish biomechanical and physiological normative data for healthy young women performing three tasks on the Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment work simulator (BTE): wheel-turn, push-pull, and overhead-reach; and (b) compare these data with previously reported values for healthy men of a similar age group. METHOD: Twenty women completed five test sessions: (a) task familiarization on the BTE to determine the work intensity that was perceived as hard on the Borg scale, (b) incremental test on an arm crank ergometer to measure peak oxygen uptake (VO2) and peak heart rate (HR), and (c) one of the three tasks in random order for 4 min during the next three sessions. Physiological responses were monitored with a metabolic cart interfaced with an electrocardiogram. RESULTS: Torque, work, and power during the three tasks were significantly higher (p < .05) in men than in women. The absolute VO2 (L.min-1) during these tasks was higher in men, but when the VO2 was calculated relative to body weight (ml.kg-1.min-1), no significant (p > .05) gender differences were observed. Computation of energy expenditure relative to body weight and power output (cal.kg-1.W-1) indicated that women expended significantly (p < .05) more energy than men. No significant (p > .05) gender differences were observed for VO2 and HR when the values were expressed as a percentage of their respective peaks. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated that (a) the functional work capacity is significantly lower in women than in men, (b) women are less efficient than men when the energy expenditure is expressed per unit of body weight and power output, and (c) the relative physiological stress in men and women is similar under these conditions.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

[Orthostatic work factor and its place in classification of work hardness].

The authors suggest percentage of work time in orthostatic posture as a basic indicator of orthostatic work factor. This indicator correlates with prevalence of varicose disease and is recommended for evaluation of work hardiness in units. The diagram presented characterizes a paradigm and serves as a point for quantitative evaluation of work hardiness in orthostatic posture.

Dizziness↗

PubMed2002

Work outside the home is the primary barrier to exclusive breastfeeding in rural Viet Nam: insights from mothers who exclusively breastfed and worked.

This study assessed barriers to exclusive breastfeeding in rural Viet Nam and identified how a few mothers were able to exclusively breastfeed despite barriers. A cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative assessment was carried out among 120 mothers of infants less than six months old in northern Viet Nam. Only 24% of the mothers exclusively breastfed. Adjusting for infant's age and who attended delivery, the risk of not exclusively breastfeeding was 14.0 times greater for women who had returned to work than for women who had not. Exclusively breastfeeding mothers (n = 4) who worked differed from other mothers in important ways. They all felt they had enough milk, all knew the appropriate time to introduce foods and liquids, and most were supported in their breastfeeding decisions by commune health workers and family members. This research suggests strategies that can be implemented now to increase exclusive breastfeeding in rural work environments. These include improving knowledge about the introduction of water and semi-solids, addressing perceptions of milk insufficiency, securing support from others, and presenting mothers with options for exclusively breastfeeding, even when they work outside the home.

Breast Feeding↗

PubMed1992

[The fitness for shift work of operators working according to schedules with a rapid shift rotation].

Integral parameter of professional capacity for work in day and night shifts were studied in 52 operators of heat electric power stations and compared with the results of sociopsychologic questioning. 19% of the operators having higher work capacity in the night shift than in the day one (according to integral parameter) were characterized by lower anxiety, better mood and sleep, and lesser fatigue during the night shift than 19% of examinees, whose night working capacity was lower in comparison with the day shift. The rest 62% of the operators showed a stable level of capacity for work during day and night shifts, their position according to the sociopsychologic parameters is intermediate.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A model to predict work-related fatigue based on hours of work.

Several research groups have developed models for estimating the work-related fatigue associated with shiftworkers' duty schedules. In June 2002, invited members of seven of these groups attended the Fatigue and Performance Modeling Workshop in Seattle, WA. At the workshop, each group described the background and conceptual basis of their model, and an independent party compared the models' predictions with performance and sleepiness data from five laboratory- and workplace-based scenarios. One of these models, the Fatigue Audit InterDyne (FAID), can be used to quantify the work-related fatigue associated with any duty schedule using hours of work (i.e., start/end times of work periods) as the sole input. The objectives of the current paper were to: 1) describe the background and conceptual basis of FAID; 2) present FAID-based predictions for four of the scenarios; and 3) discuss the advantages of, and possible improvements to, FAID. The analyses conducted to compare the predictive power of each model are described in detail by Van Dongen elsewhere in this issue.

Circadian Rhythm↗

PubMed2005

[Criteria for classification of upper limb work-related musculo-skeletal disorders due to biomechanical overload in occupational health. Consensus document by an Italian Working Group].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In a preliminary consensus document the authors proposed criteria and methods to identify upper limb work-related MSDs due to biomechanical overload. With this document they intend to define severity according to shared models and procedures so as to fit behaviours to diagnostic procedures and their medical-legal assessment. This becomes especially important in view of Ministerial Decree of April 27 2004 fixing the new lists of diseases having a possible work-related origin that must be reported by law in accordance with art. 139 of law n. 1124, and also on account of the impact of such diseases which, for the first time in Italy, are regulated by law. CONTENTS: The working group, which included INAIL and ISPESL experts and was fully supported by SIMFER (Italian Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) and SINC (Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology), defined a general clinical procedure (anamnesis, objective examination and instrumental assessment) regarding each portion of the concerned upper limb (shoulder, elbow and wrist/hand). Once the presence and characteristics of anatomic and functional damages are established, the results allow a classification scheme to be proposed of upper limb diseases (tendon disorders and entrapment neuropathy) divided into 6 increasing severity stages: initial, medium, medium-severe, severe and extremely severe. Special attention was paid to two instrumental examinations that proved to be of great clinical interest, at least in occupational health: echography of soft tissues (in appendix) and electroneurography for entrapment neuropathy. The limitations of this proposal are discussed but the main goal was achieved: to standardize terms and provide homogeneous criteria to achieve classification of upper limb damage due to biomechanical overload for increasing severity levels. The working group research activity is part of a research project funded by ISPESL.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

PubMed1975

[The work capacity and working arrangements of patients following stomach resection for cancer].

In 282 patients, subjected to gastric resection for cancer, the working capacity was examined according to the data of the Medical Expertise within different terms after surgery. It was found that most of patients in primary examination were acknowledged as disabled workers of the first and second group (70.1%). A dynamic follow-up of patients in late postoperative periods revealed a tendency toward an improvement of their working capacity in a group of patients previously considered as totally disabled. However, in terms over 5 years following the operation more than half of patients proved to be disabled. A comparative estimation of the working capacity in these patients according to the Medical Expertise and personal authors' data has revealed a discrepancy between the group of disability and the work accomplished, i.e. a considerable number of patients, considered as group II, resumed their former activities (as prior to surgery) or did easier jobs. This discrepancy seems, to a certain extent, to be the result of underestimation of the patients' state by the Medical Expertise Commission and overrating the group of disability in them.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1991

Prevalence and incidence rates of diseases and work ability in different work categories of municipal occupations.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the health status and work ability of individuals representing a variety of municipal occupations. In both 1981 and 1985, 4255 employees answered a postal questionnaire. The subjects, aged 44-58 years in 1981, were grouped into physical, mental, or mixed physical and mental job categories. Occupational groups with a high disease prevalence in 1981 had a high, and occupational groups with a low disease prevalence in 1981 a low, disease incidence during the follow-up period. In 1985 every second subject suffered from a musculoskeletal disease. The highest disease prevalence was observed for physically demanding occupations and for men in work with mixed physical and mental demands. Female auxiliary workers, domestic helpers and cooks, and also male installation and transport workers, had the poorest health. The men and women in mental work had the best health and work ability.

Cohort Studies↗

PubMed1988

Early retirement and work after retirement. Implications for the structure of the work society.

Early exit from the formal work force and the lengthening of life in retirement pose new questions, both on the level of social structure and on that of emerging life-styles. Based on two empirical studies - one of workers who choose the new pre-retirement scheme, and one of retirees who engage themselves in organized work-like activities - we examine some of the consequences of this process. The studies combine qualitative and quantitative research methods and pay special attention to the biographical dimension. Our results show that under the pressure of the labor market, new forms of "flexible" or "gradual" transition to retirement empirically turn out to be retirement at the earliest possible moment. For the workers, early retirement is ambivalent: it threatens their concept of a "full work life", which is based on the time-table of the socially institutionalized normal biography; but this is offset by their desire to leave stressful work situations at least where the schemes for early retirement are financially and morally acceptable.

Aged↗

PubMed1988

[A method of evaluating physical exertion during work based on the assessment of work capacity].

A method of calculating the synthetic index of effort capability, based on results of submaximal effort test, has been presented. Examinations of people working at 4 workstations demonstrated that the reduced effort capability after work is proportional to work energetic expenditure. The usefulness of work fatigue analysis has been indicated, as its magnitude, when accompanied by evaluation of effort capability changes, points to static load as an additional disadvantageous factor.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

[Return to work after myocardial infarction. Study of factors in return to work by the statistical method of analysis of correspondences].

A retrospective study has examined the predictive factors of return to work in 184 males patients with myocardial infarction between 1975 and 1982. The statistical method used was that of correspondence analysis which enables to define correlations between variables, here 12 in number. The chances of returning to work are positively correlated to young age (48-52 years), school education and social standing. They were not increased by coronary by-pass surgery. Cardiac insufficiency, and a large area of infarction contribute to the non-return to work, while subsequent angor and arrhythmias do not demonstrate any significant relation. Finally, a patient who has not returned to work after one year seems to have few chances of becoming active again.

Follow-Up Studies↗

PubMed1979

[Effect of long-term moderately hard and hard physical work on the psychomotor efficiency and mental work capacity (II.)].

23 women, aged 19--24, of average physical efficiency, were examined. The following aspects were taken into account: an influence of long-lasting cyclic physical work on bicycle ergometer on the results obtained during the visual and auditory reaction time, the task performed with different speed using the test of visual and motorial coordination and Piórkowski's Test, as well as work efficiency in Pauli's test and learning and reproduction of nonsensical syllables. Long-lasting physical work resulted in a significant prolongation of the visual reaction time and increased number of mistakes in case of a task performed with maximum speed using the test of visual and motorial coordination. Negative but weak effects of physical effort were observed in the results of auditory reaction time and tasks checking the mental work efficiency. In the initial stage of the experiment (the early part) in some tasks a positive effect of physical effort was observed.

Adult↗