Health-related absenteeism impacts individuals, companies, and society. Its consequences are reflected in the cost of benefits, substitutes, and reduced productivity. Research shows that ...musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common work-related health problem reported by hospital staff. This study determines the groups at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre that are most susceptible to MSDs, especially low back pain.
Using data from the Health Data Centre of the Slovenian National Public Health Institute and the medical centre, this cross-sectional study analysed absenteeism among medical centre employees. The correlation between MSD / low-back pain risk factors and incidence was determined using logistic regression. An odds ratio was calculated to determine the probability of MSDs, most especially low back pain via sex, age, occupation, and education.
Sick leave at the medical centre is higher than 5%, exceeding the Slovenian healthcare sector average. MSDs, as the main reason for absence, is significantly more frequent in women, non-medical staff, and employees with a maximum secondary school education. Among the MSDs, low back pain predominates as a reason for absence and is most frequent among nurses, midwives, and employees of 20 to 44.9 years old.
This study offers insight into the health status of medical centre employees. The high percentage of sick leave is mainly due to musculoskeletal disorders, including low back pain. This is an important basis for further monitoring and analysis of sick leave indicators and for planning systematic and continuous workplace health-promoting measures to manage ergonomic risk factors and reduce health-related absenteeism.
Organizational restructuring is associated with greater mortality and morbidity of the workers affected by it. We examined the quality of workers’ health at a textile manufacturing company after ...restructuring, comparing three groups of workers: workers who remained (survivors), workers who lost their jobs and later found new jobs (the reemployed), and unemployed workers. A total of 1046 workers participated in a telephonic survey. The data were processed using SPSS and the R package version 1.2 of prLogistic. The differences between groups were calculated using the chi-square test and adjusted prevalence ratios. The comparison between the three groups shows significantly poorer mental health of the unemployed, who more often than survivors and the reemployed reported depression, as well as significant differences in elevated blood pressure, cholesterol level, and cardiac disorders. The reemployed, who were nonetheless in better health compared to the unemployed, reported poor mental health or depression more often in comparison to survivors. Higher morbidity of the unemployed and reemployed could be influenced by numerous factors associated with restructuring.
Abstract • Objectives The work environment and the nature of the work itself have a significant impact on the health and well-being of farmers and farm workers. Because of the way work is designed, ...organised and managed, as well as the economic and social environment of work, they are exposed to various psychosocial risks that increase the risk of work-related stress and can affect their performance, health and well-being. This systematic literature review examines the origins of psychosocial risks faced by farmers and farm workers. • Method The study is part of Safe Habitus (Strengthening Farm Health and Safety Knowledge and Innovations System), the European Commission funded project HORIZON. The literature search was conducted on peer-reviewed articles published in English in the primary database Web of Science between 2005 and 2023. This systematic review followed the PRISMA protocol: identification of the literature; screening questions; eligibility based on inclusion criteria; and assessment of the quality of the studies. • Results Among others, the following areas of psychosocial risks stood out: culture of farming, social protection, safety in farming and new technologies. The identified psychosocial hazards and risks arising from the psychosocial work environment of farmers and farm workers, including new psychosocial challenges and opportunities, and affecting their health and safety, are consistent with some previous studies. • Conclusion The results of study will provide recommendations for improved policy in this area and help practitioners to develop the best model for a safer and more inclusive working environment in farming and ultimately make farming a safer profession.
Objective A consensual definition of occupational burnout is currently lacking. We aimed to harmonize the definition of occupational burnout as a health outcome in medical research and reach a ...consensus on this definition within the Network on the Coordination and Harmonisation of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET). Methods First, we performed a systematic review in MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase (January 1990 to August 2018) and a semantic analysis of the available definitions. We used the definitions of burnout and burnout-related concepts from the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) to formulate a consistent harmonized definition of the concept. Second, we sought to obtain the Delphi consensus on the proposed definition. Results We identified 88 unique definitions of burnout and assigned each of them to 1 of the 11 original definitions. The semantic analysis yielded a first proposal, further reformulated according to SNOMED-CT and the panelists` comments as follows: "In a worker, occupational burnout or occupational physical AND emotional exhaustion state is an exhaustion due to prolonged exposure to work-related problems". A panel of 50 experts (researchers and healthcare professionals with an interest for occupational burnout) reached consensus on this proposal at the second round of the Delphi, with 82% of experts agreeing on it. Conclusion This study resulted in a harmonized definition of occupational burnout approved by experts from 29 countries within OMEGA-NET. Future research should address the reproducibility of the Delphi consensus in a larger panel of experts, representing more countries, and examine the practicability of the definition.
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