Psychosocial and organizational risk factors for doctor-certified sick leave: a prospective study of female health and social workers in Norway.

Cecilie Aagestad,Tom Sterud,Håkon A Johannessen,Tore Tynes,Hans Magne Gravseth,Reidar Tyssen

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1016

Cecilie Aagestad, Tom Sterud + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1016

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Abstract

BackgroundDoctor-certified sick leave differs substantially across sectors, and among health and social workers, in particular, there is an increased risk. Previous studies have shown that work environmental factors contribute to sick leave. Hence, the identification of specific organizational and psychosocial risk factors for long- term sick leave, taking into account potential confounding related to mechanical risk factors such as lifting and awkward body postures, will be of importance in the work of prevention.MethodsA randomly drawn population sample of Norwegian residents was interviewed about working conditions in 2009 (n = 12,255; response rate 60.9%). Female health and social care workers (n = 925) were followed in a national registry for subsequent sickness absence during 2010. The outcome of interest was doctor-certified sick leave of 21 days or more (long-term sick leave). Eleven work-related psychosocial and organizational factors were evaluated.ResultsIn total, 186 persons (20.1%) were classified with subsequent long-term sick leave. After thoroughly adjusting for competing explanatory variables, the most consistent predictors for long-term sick leave were violence and threats of violence (OR = 1.67; 95% CI 1.14–2.45). The estimated population attributable risk for violence and threats of violence was 13%.ConclusionsThe present study among female health and social care workers revealed a substantial relationship between self-reported violence and threats of violence and subsequent long- term sick leave.

Highlights

Doctor-certified sick leave differs substantially across sectors, and among health and social workers, in particular, there is an increased risk
Previous studies have shown that work environmental factors contribute to sick leave [5,6], and the identification of specific organizational and psychosocial risk factors for Long-term sick leave (LTSL) in the sector will be of importance in the work of prevention
Based on the fully adjusted model, the population risk of LTSL attributable to violence and threats of violence was 13%. In this 1-year prospective study of health and social workers in Norway, we found that exposure to violence increased the risk for LTSL, and we estimated that about 13% of the cases with LTSL in 2010 were attributable to violence and threats of violence at the workplace

Summary

Introduction

Doctor-certified sick leave differs substantially across sectors, and among health and social workers, in particular, there is an increased risk. Previous studies have shown that work environmental factors contribute to sick leave [5,6], and the identification of specific organizational and psychosocial risk factors for LTSL in the sector will be of importance in the work of prevention. A recent prospective study revealed that other factors, such as emotional demands and role conflict, may be important to study as potential risk factors for sick leave in the health and social sector [11]. These findings have yet to be confirmed in other prospective studies of the sector. Workers in the health and social sector have been found to be especially prone to adverse social behaviour such as violence and threats [12], and bullying has been reported as an important predictor of sick leave in prospective studies of health care workers [13,14]

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