bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Swiss cohort of healthcare professionals & informal caregivers (SCOHPICA): baseline survey's results
Authors: Jolidon V J , Jubin J J , Gilles I G , Escasain L E , Zuercher E Z , Roth L R , Oulevey Bachmann AOB , Peytremann-Bridevaux IPB 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Worldwide, health systems face workforce problems such as personnel shortages, low job satisfaction and burnout. In Switzerland, data is insufficient to address this health system crisis. Hence, the Swiss COhort of Healthcare Professionals and Informal Caregivers (SCOHPICA) aims to study healthcare professionals (HCPs) and informal caregivers’ experiences, well-being, and career/personal trajectories. Results of the baseline survey on HCPs (completed in January 2023) are reported.

Methods
SCOHPICA is an open prospective cohort. Any HCP working with patients in any healthcare setting in Switzerland was eligible. The data was collected with a self-reported electronic questionnaire. Outcome variables are intents to stay in the job/profession/health sector and well-being; we also explored organizational, psychosocial, psychological and occupational factors, as well as sociodemographic and socioprofessional variables.

Results
The baseline sample included 1707 HCPs, with 32% registered nurses, 12% physicians and 9% physiotherapists among others. In the next few months, 20% of HCPs “not really/not at all intended to stay in their job”, 13% “in their profession” and 11% “in the health sector”; “not intending to stay in the profession” was highest among healthcare assistants (HCAs), nurses and pharmacists. Well-being was also low for these HCPs. Across other factors, pharmacists, physicians, and nurses showed worse scores than other HCPs, especially for workload and work-life balance. HCAs, pharmacists, and nurses reported more burnout and worse self-rated health.

Conclusions
Results revealed that some categories of HCPs had a lower intent to stay in their profession, and worse working conditions and experiences, such as nurses and pharmacists, compared to other HCPs. Future data collections, findings and data dissemination through a data repository will support decision-makers and public health policies with first-hand evidence.

Key messages
• SCOHPICA is the first cohort study to examine the working conditions, intents to leave/stay in the profession, well-being and trajectories of all types of healthcare professional across Switzerland.
• At baseline, 13% of healthcare professionals did not intend to stay in their profession; pharmacists and nurses reported worse working conditions and experiences than other healthcare professionals.
Is workplace mental health stigma associated with managers’ prevention of employee’s sick-leave?
Authors: Schuller S , de Rijk A , Corin L , Bertilsson M 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) are a common cause for sick-leave. CMDs carry stigma and it has been argued that stigma impairs support in the workplace. Earlier research has investigated managers’ personal stigma towards CMDs, but insight into contextual stigma at work, and its importance for sick-leave prevention is lacking. We investigated personal stigma and three layers of contextual stigma (employee, collegial, organizational) and its association with managers’ possibility to take different types of actions to prevent sick-leave. 2,769 Swedish managers from the private sector partook in a survey. Personal stigma was measured with an established scale that was supplemented with four additional items capturing contextual stigma. The managers’ possibility to prevent sick-leave regarding 20 possible preventive actions was assessed using a video vignette design. Principal component analysis revealed three types of actions: ‘Actions to adapt tasks and setting', ‘Actions to involve experts', and ‘Social support actions'. Multiple linear regression analyses were done with the layers of stigma as independent variables for each of the three types of actions, adjusted for co-variates. Personal stigma was significantly associated with the possibility for all types of actions (p&lt;.001). Collegial and organizational stigma was associated with the possibility for ‘Actions to adapt tasks and setting’ (p&lt;.001). Collegial stigma was associated with the possibility for ‘Actions to involve experts’ (p&lt;.001). All contextual stigma variables were associated with the possibility for ‘Social support actions’ (p&lt;.01). More workplace stigma was associated to lower possibility to take action. Personal and contextual stigma were associated with less possibilities for managers to prevent sick-leave in relation to the vignette case. This calls for greater awareness for mental health stigma in workplaces and how stigma can impair sick-leave prevention.

Key messages
• Workplace mental health stigma consists of personal, employee, collegial, and organizational stigma. Managers can take three types of actions: adapt tasks and settings, involve experts, and support.
• More workplace mental health stigma is associated to lower possibility for managers to take action to prevent sick-leave.
Sleep quality, sleep quantity, and sleep disturbances among hospital night workers
Authors: van Elk F , Loef B , Proper K I , Burdorf A , Oude Hengel K M , Robroek SJW 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Night work impacts sleep and is unavoidable in healthcare. Different sleep components have been studied, such as quality, duration and disturbances, which need to be considered different fundamental components of sleep. In the general population sociodemographic, lifestyle and work factors are associated with these sleep components, but less is known among night workers. Therefore, this study assessed among hospital night workers i) to what extent sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep disturbances overlap, and ii) associations between sociodemographic, lifestyle and work factors and these sleep components.

Methods
Data were used from 467 hospital night workers from the Klokwerk+ study, a prospective cohort study with two measurements. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sleep duration and disturbances were measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale. The proportions of overlap between the three sleep measures were calculated and visualized with a Venn diagram. Associations of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and work factors with the three sleep outcomes were estimated using between-within Poisson regression models.

Results
About 50% of the hospital night workers had at least one poor sleep outcome. Overlap in poor sleep outcomes was apparent for 36.8% of these workers, while the majority had a poor outcome in only one sleep component (63.1%). Former smoking had a significant association with poor sleep quality. For most independent variables no associations with poor sleep outcomes were observed.

Conclusions
Our findings suggest that sleep quality, duration and disturbances are separate entities and should be studied separately. Lifestyle and work factors were generally not associated with poor sleep. Since these factors can have acute effects on sleep, future research should consider ecological momentary assessment to examine how exposure and outcomes (co)vary within-persons, over time, and across contexts.

Key messages
• Sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep disturbances are separate entities of sleep and should be studied as such.
• Lifestyle factors and work characteristics were generally not associated with poor sleep among hospital night workers.
Managerś attitudes towards common mental health problems differ across sectors: a Swedish study
Authors: Bertilsson M , Staland-Nyman C , Hahn M , de Rijk A 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
The stigma around common mental health problems (CMHP) is a problem both in the society and in working life. Workplaces are characterized by prevailing norms and values, with impact on their employees’ attitudes. Population-based studies show highly educated and females to stigmatize CMPH less than others. Still, we lack knowledge if attitudes towards CMHP differ across work sectors. Our aim was to investigate if attitudes to CMHP of managers differ between blue, white and pink collar work sectors.

Methods
A version of the MSED scale, measuring managers’ stigma to employees with CMHP, was answered by Swedish managers (n = 2710) in the private sector in a web-survey in 2021. The participants were grouped into blue collar sector (working with things), white collar sector (working with symbols), pink collar sector (working with people) and others, based on industry affiliation. Multivariable logistic regression was used for calculating probabilities (ORs with 95% CI) for negative attitudes towards CMHP among white, pink and others using blue sector as reference category, adjusted for several organizational and individual factors.

Results
Compared to managers in the blue sector, managers in other sectors were less likely to have negative attitudes towards CMHP. For managers in the white sector the OR was 0.71 (CI 0.56-0.91), in the pink sector the OR was 0.76 (CI 0.58-0.99) and for managers in the other sector the OR was 0.64 (CI 0.47-0.86).

Discussions
The result confirmed that managers in the blue sector, which is characterized by more male employees and a lower educational level, were more likely to report stigmatizing attitudes to CMHP. Interventions to decrease stigma in workplaces need to be tailored differently depending on work sector.

Key messages
• Managers working in the private blue-collar sector in Sweden report a more negative attitude towards mental health problems than managers in other private sectors.
• The private blue-collar sector needs more awareness regarding reducing stigma around mental health problems than other private sectors.
Distress among healthcare professionals during the first two years of COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
Authors: Costa A , Fialho M , Rasga C , Martiniano H , Santos O , Virgolino A , Moura Vicente A , Heitor M J 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic increased existing psychosocial risk factors among healthcare professionals (HCPs). Integrated into a wider project, the main objective of this study was to characterize Portuguese HCPs mental health (MH), estimate the percentage of symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and burnout, and identify risk and protective factors.

Methods
A cross-sectional online survey and a longitudinal assessment were conducted in 2020 (T0) and 2021 (T1). Sociodemographic and occupational variables, as well as protection behaviors and pandemic-context data were collected from a large non-probabilistic sample of HCPs in Portugal. MH outcomes were assessed using instruments with sound psychometric properties. Risk and protective factors were evaluated through simple and multiple logistic regression models.

Results
A total of 2027 HCPs participated in the survey in T0; 1843 in T1. Despite the percentage of moderate to severe symptoms had decreased from T0 to T1: 26.1% and 23.3% for anxiety (T0 and T1, respectively; p = 0.028), 25.3% and 23.7% for depression, 22.7% and 19.1% for PTSD (p = 0.003), and 29.8% to 29.5% for burnout, a considerable proportion of HCPs reported symptoms of distress in both years. Being a woman, working in a COVID-19-treatment frontline position and the perception of work-life imbalance increased the odds of distress (in both T0 and T1), whilst high resilience, good social/family support, and hobbies/lifestyle maintenance were found to be MH protective factors.

Conclusions
The longitudinal approach of our study allowed following-up changes in HCPs mental health and show that performing as an HCP during the pandemic may result in long-term effects on MH. Our results also provide evidence to support interventions targeting gender and professional sub-groups. Further studies are needed to understand the potential long-lasting psychological burden related to COVID-19 among HCPs.

Key messages
• Our findings are crucial to understand the psychological burden of Portuguese HCPs during the pandemic and to advocate the need of tailored interventions targeting gender and professional sub-groups.
• Protecting HCPs mental health by mitigating risks factors and reducing the possibility of long-lasting psychiatric morbidity is paramount to ensure the provision of sustainable healthcare services.
Barriers, facilitators and needs for self-direction in return-to-work: a multi-perspective study
Authors: de Mul B P , de Vries H J , van Ooijen R , Roelen CAM , Brouwer S 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Long-term sickness absence is not only an organizational, but also a societal public health problem. Many sick-listed workers experience challenges in self-directing their return-to-work (RTW), where RTW is considered as a gradual process in which work hours and tasks are gradually increased. This view of RTW as a process is common in several European countries, such as The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Self-direction in RTW can reduce long-term sickness absence. The aim of this study is to provide a multi-perspective view on the experiences and needs regarding workers’ self-direction in RTW.

Methods
We conducted semi-structured interviews with (previously) sick-listed workers (n = 7) and focus groups with occupational physicians and labour experts (n = 10), case managers and job coaches (n = 6) and organizational representatives (n = 8). The interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed and coded thematically by two independent researchers.

Preliminary results
All stakeholders considered (self-directing) RTW as a learning process. Barriers to self-direct RTW were lack of sufficient support from employers and involved RTW professionals, lack of knowledge about the RTW process and responsibilities among both workers and their supervisors, and employers complying with legal requirements rather than applying a person-centered approach. Workers and the involved professionals emphasized the need to gain insight into long-term employability perspectives and scenarios to maintain work.

Conclusions
This qualitative study shows that there is a need for knowledge among workers and person centered support in RTW. The findings can be used in policy and practice to improve self-direction of sick-listed workers during RTW.

Key messages
• (Self-directing) RTW is a learning process for sick-listed workers.
• Sick-listed workers need knowledge and person-centered support from employers and professionals to self-direct RTW.
The role of gender composition in workplace sexual harassment
Authors: Larsson N P , Craven L , Madsen IEH 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Workplace sexual harassment is associated with adverse mental health consequences and research suggests that gender minority status may be a risk factor. We analysed the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment in male and female-dominated-occupations to elucidate the role of gender minority status.

Methods
We analysed data from a survey (n = 9,012) on sexual harassment from a random sample representative of the Danish workforce. We measured sexual harassment by 21 items covering three domains: (1) unwanted sexual attention, (2) gender harassment and (3) sexual coercion. We focused on sexual harassment conducted by other employees at the workplace. We categorized the gender-ratio for male- or female-dominated occupations into: low (under 25%), medium (25% - 75%), and high (more than 75%).

Results
We found an increased risk of sexual harassment in both male and female dominated occupations. Women in male dominated occupations had higher risk, with prevalences of 25.3% (95%CI 19.5; 31.1) for high, 21.8% (95%CI 19.1; 24.3) for medium, and 10.4% (95%CI: 8.1; 12.8) for low proportion of men. We found similar patterns across all three domains of harassing behaviours. For men, the pattern in relation to female-dominated occupations was slightly different. We found that men had the lowest risk of sexual harassment in gender-balanced occupations. The prevalence for men in occupations with medium proportion of women was 14.0% (95%CI: 11.9; 16.1), whereas the prevalence for men in occupations with high proportion of women was 21.1% (95%CI: 13.3; 28.8), and it was 16.1% (95%CI: 12.7; 19.5) in occupations with low proportion of women. We saw similar patterns in all domains except gender harassment.

Conclusions
Both men and women were most likely to report sexual harassment in occupations where they were a gender minority. The results highlight the role of gender composition in workplace sexual harassment and calls for further attention on prevention in high risk groups.

Key messages
• Both men and women reported more often sexual harassment when they were a gender minority in their occupation.
• For women, prevalence of sexual harassment was lowest in occupations with a low proportion of men, whereas for men, prevalence of sexual harassment was lowest in occupations with gender-balance.
Work participation of elderly construction workers. A systematic review and qualitative analysis
Authors: Schultz Petersen K , Hansen C H , Fonager K , Bøggild H 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Trends towards longer labor market participation are seen in international policies. In the EU countries, labor force participation rate for those past 60 years of age, has been raised extensively for the past decade. In 2035 Danish workers are expected to work till 69 years of age. The aim of the study was twofold, firstly to identify and synthesize findings from former studies of factors of importance in construction workers (age 55+) work participation and secondly to understand and explore how construction workers experience their work participation.

Methods
A systematic review and integrative thematic synthesis of qualitative and quantitative studies aiming to identify factors of importance in construction workers work participation were carried out followed by individual interview 20 Danish construction workers and thematic analysis.

Results
Four themes illustrating factors influencing construction workers work participation were identified in the review. Theme 1 Socioeconomical and cultural factors, Theme 2 Legislation and policy, Theme 3 Workplace factors and Theme 4 Individual factors. The identified themes helped structure the interview guide. Preliminary results of the individual interviews provide a deeper understanding of how both individual, social and workplace factors interacts and how it is possible for construction workers to compensate from the experienced age-related physical limitations. Elderly construction workers adjust and compensate for demanding work tasks by receiving support from co-workers and having less demanding work tasks during their workday. Both physical and psychosocial work environment and employers’ attitudes towards elderly workers seems to be significant for their ability for working late in life.

Conclusions
The interplay between individual, psychosocial, and work environmental factors are affecting elderly construction workers work participation which have an impact on their work retention late in life.

Key messages
• Elderly construction workers work participation depends on the physical and the psychosocial work environment and possibilities for adjustment and compensation for performing demanding work tasks.
• individual, social and workplace factors interacts and how it is possible for construction workers to compensate from the experienced age-related physical limitations.
The consequences of informal employment on workers’ health and family well-being in Europe
Authors: Aronsson A 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Introduction
Informal employment, characterized by unregistered and unprotected employment arrangements, can be detrimental to the health and well-being of workers and their families. Because non-standard work with ambiguous employment arrangements is growing more common across Europe, informal employment is becoming a health risk for an increasing number of people. The aim of this study is to explore the link between informal employment and health, focusing on the effect of employment precariousness and accounting for macrostructural contextual factors.

Methods
A sample of workers aged 15-64 in Europe from the latest European Working Conditions Survey of 2021, will be used. Using logistic regression models, with standard employment as the reference, the consequences of informal employment on physical health, psychosocial health, and family well-being will be assessed. The effects of precarious conditions (employment insecurity, low material rewards, lack of rights and opportunities, and disempowerment) on the relationship will be tested.

Results
Based on existing theory, the results should reveal that informal employment is associated with adverse outcomes. Precarious employment conditions should have a stronger effect for informal workers and their families as opposed to workers in standard employment. The results will be analyzed in relation to country-based structural factors such as welfare state policies and labour market trends.

Conclusions
The study will have implications for both research and policy. It will fill a critical research gap of the underexplored association between informal employment, workers’ health, and family well-being. Since non-standard work is growing in the European countries, the results should also demonstrate the importance of targeted policies to reduce the negative effect of this type of work to protect the health of not only workers, but the well-being of their families.

Key messages
• Informal employment is associated with adverse outcomes among workers and their families.
• Employment precariousness is key to explaining how informality determines health and should therefore be at the core when adapting policies to the current labour market transformations.