Social Psychiatry in the Waiting Room: What a Physician Can Learn about Occupational Stress from Workers Waiting to Be Examined

Nicola Magnavita,Sergio Garbarino

doi:10.1155/2013/701872

Abstract

Background. Work-related stress is a major problem for mental health. The occupational physician has the opportunity to gather information on the perception of stress from workers in the course of regular medical examinations. Method. 1,231 subjects, engaged in 6 different occupations, were invited to compile the Demand/Control/Support and the Effort/Reward/Imbalance questionnaires. Results. A specific profile of work-related stress emerged for each group of workers. Radiology physicians reported high control over work, but also exceedingly high demand and effort, high overcommitment, low social support, and low rewards from work. Health care workers were often overcommitted but had high levels of reward and social support. Low levels of social support and reward were recorded for mature workers, while special force policemen engaged in law enforcement during the G8 meeting had high levels of social support and regards, so that their resulting stress levels were closer to the reference group of employees in an insurance company with no front-office. Conclusion. The practice of administering questionnaires to groups of workers who are subject to medical surveillance is useful for monitoring mental health and well-being.

Highlights

Health surveillance has been defined as “the periodic medicophysiological examination of exposed workers with the objective of protecting and preventing occupationally related diseases” [1]
We studied a total of 1,231 subjects, belonging to 6 groups of workers: (a) radiologists and radiotherapists, 314 subjects (251 males, 80%; 63 females, 20%); (b) health care workers in a hospital specializing in infectious diseases, 217 subjects (94 males, 43%; 53 females, 57%); (c) health care workers in a general hospital, 162 subjects (58 males, 36%; 104 females, 64%); (d) the employees of an insurance company with no front-office, 51 subjects (19 males, 37%; 32 females, 67%); (e) mature workers (>50 years) from a provider of social services, 197 subjects (126 males, 64%; 71 females, 36%); (f) policemen engaged in law and order operations during the 2009 G8 meeting in Italy (290 male subjects)
Social support was high in hospital workers from both the general hospital and the hospital for infectious diseases (20.3 ± 3.4) and low in mature workers (18.2 ± 4.3) and radiologists (18.3 + 3.8)

Summary

Introduction

Health surveillance has been defined as “the periodic medicophysiological examination of exposed workers with the objective of protecting and preventing occupationally related diseases” [1]. It includes “any procedure undertaken in individuals or groups to review an employee’s health and assess any significant deviation from normality” [2]. Low levels of social support and reward were recorded for mature workers, while special force policemen engaged in law enforcement during the G8 meeting had high levels of social support and regards, so that their resulting stress levels were closer to the reference group of employees in an insurance company with no front-office. The practice of administering questionnaires to groups of workers who are subject to medical surveillance is useful for monitoring mental health and well-being

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion