Abstract
BackgroundSo far, studies within the occupational field have largely concentrated on working conditions and job stressors and staff members’ or subordinate health. Only a few have focused on managers in this context, but studies are missing that explicitly look at the relation between leadership position and health care use (HCU). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects of a change in leadership position on HCU in women and men longitudinally.MethodsData were drawn from a nationally representative longitudinal study in Germany (German Socio-Economic Panel, GSOEP). Data from 2009 and 2013 were used. Leadership position was divided into (i) top management, (ii) middle management, (iii) lower management, and (iv) a highly qualified specialist position. The number of physician visits in the preceding 3 months were used to quantify HCU (n = 2140 observations in regression analysis; 69% male).ResultsAdjusting for various potential confounders (e.g., age, self-rated health, chronic conditions, and personality factors), Poisson FE regression analysis revealed that changes from a highly qualified specialist position to the top management were associated with a decrease in the number of physician visits in men (β = .47, p < .05), but not in women. Gender differences (gender x leadership position) were significant.ConclusionsFindings of this study emphasize the impact of leadership positions on the number of physician visits in men. Further study is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
Highlights
Studies within the occupational field have largely concentrated on working conditions and job stressors and staff members’ or subordinate health
In addition to inequalities in health outcomes between different socioeconomic groups as well as between men and women, numerous studies have shown that socioeconomic position affects use of health care services
Sample characteristics Pooled sample characteristics for individuals included in fixed effects (FE) regression analysis with physician visits in the past 3 months as outcome variable are depicted in Table 1
Summary
Studies within the occupational field have largely concentrated on working conditions and job stressors and staff members’ or subordinate health. A few have focused on managers in this context, but studies are missing that explicitly look at the relation between leadership position and health care use (HCU). The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects of a change in leadership position on HCU in women and men longitudinally. There is unequivocal evidence that socioeconomic position, commonly measured by occupational class, education or income, is a leading determinant of health. Occupational position has been reported to be associated with both physical and psychological health and the association between job status and health. In addition to inequalities in health outcomes between different socioeconomic groups as well as between men and women, numerous studies have shown that socioeconomic position affects use of health care services.
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