Changes In Occupational Status Research Articles

Post-Acute COVID-19 Sequelae in a Working Population at One Year Follow-Up: A Wide Range of Impacts from an Italian Sample.

Long COVID-19 is a term used to describe the symptomatic sequelae that develop after suffering from COVID-19. Very few studies have investigated the impact of COVID-19 sequelae on employment status. The aim of this research was to characterise sequelae of COVID-19 in a population of workers who tested positive for COVID-19, with a follow-up within one year of the acute illness, and to analyse the possible association between this and changes in the workers’ occupational status. In this retrospective cohort study, a questionnaire was administered to 155 workers; descriptive, univariate (chi-square tests), and multivariate (logistic regression model) analyses were carried out. The mean age was 46.48 years (SD ± 7.302); 76 participants were males (49.7%), and 33 participants reported being current smokers (21.3%). Overall, 19.0% of patients reported not feeling fully recovered at follow-up, and 13.7% reported a change in their job status after COVID-19. A change in occupational status was associated with being a smoker (OR 4.106, CI [1.406–11.990], p = 0.010); hospital stay was associated with age > 46 years in a statistically significant way (p = 0.025) and with not feeling fully recovered at follow-up (p = 0.003). A persistent worsening in anxiety was more common in women (p = 0.028). This study identifies smoking as a risk factor for workers not able to resume their job; furthermore, occupational physicians should monitor mental health more closely after COVID-19, particularly in female workers.

Occupational and Sociocultural Temporal Identity Integration: Links to Overall Health for Muslim-Heritage Immigrants to the United States

This study examines the association between temporal identity integration, or how identity is integrated across time, and perceived health for new Muslim immigrants to the United States using the publicly available New Immigrant Survey. We examined the content of identity in the occupational and sociocultural domains. These two content areas are important aspects of the immigration transition and are influenced by the context of Islamophobia. We examined the association of changes across the occupational and sociocultural domains from pre-to-post immigration with four different indicators of health (e.g., current health, change in health, emotional health, and physical health) for 444 Muslim-heritage immigrants. Findings suggest overall perceived health of new Muslim immigrants was good. Hypotheses were partially supported where results suggest small, yet significant, associations between changes in occupational status, English use, and similarity of diet with health indicators. The results emphasize the need to further explore other constructs that are relevant to health for Muslim immigrants in a post-9/11 era.

Psychological distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and suppression measures during the first wave in Belgium

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent suppression measures have had health and social implications for billions of individuals. The aim of this paper is to investigate the risk of psychological distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and suppression measures during the early days of the lockdown. We compared the level of psychological distress at the beginning of that period with a pre-pandemic health survey and assessed the psychological effects of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in social activity and support.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to the general population in Belgium 3 days after the beginning of the lockdown. 20,792 respondents participated. The psychological distress of the population was measured using the GHQ-12 scale. Social activities and support were assessed using the Social Participation Measure, the Short Loneliness Scale, and the Oslo Social Support Scale. An index of subjective exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic was constructed, as well as a measure of change in occupational status. Measurements were compared to a representative sample of individuals extracted from the Belgian Health Interview Survey of 2018. Bootstrapping was performed and analyses were reweighted to match the Belgian population in order to control for survey selection bias.ResultsHalf of the respondents reported psychological distress in the early days of the lockdown. A longer period of confinement was associated with higher risk of distress. Women and younger age groups were more at risk than men and older age groups, as were respondents who had been exposed to COVID-19. Changes in occupational status and a decrease in social activity and support also increased the risk of psychological distress. Comparing the results with those of the 2018 Belgian Health Interview shows that the early period of the lockdown corresponded to a 2.3-fold increase in psychological distress (95% CI: 2.16–2.45).ConclusionsPsychological distress is associated with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and suppression measures. The association is measurable from the very earliest days of confinement and it affected specific at-risk groups. Authorities should consider ways of limiting the effect of confinement on the mental and social health of the population and developing strategies to mitigate the adverse consequences of suppression measures.

The impact of chronic pain on patients and spouses: Consequences on occupational status, distribution of household chores and care-giving burden.

Informal care-giving by spouses has become frequent in chronic pain settings. However, the impact of pain on occupational, functional and health outcomes in spouses has not been systematically investigated. The goal of the present study was to examine the impact of pain on both patient and spousal outcomes. In the present study, the impact of chronic pain on 114 heterosexual dyads was explored (patients: 59% females, average age=57.81years, SD=11.85; spouses: 41% females, average age=57.32years, SD=12.15). Overall, both patients and spouses reported important consequences of pain on outcomes, including occupational status distribution of household chores and marital satisfaction). Almost 52% of spouses indicated a high-to-severe burden. A multivariate model with spouse and patient factors accounted for 37.8% of the variance of this burden. In the model, patient disability (β=0.36, p=.002), spouses' change in occupational status (β=0.26, p=.002) and spousal perception of marital adjustment (β=-0.36, p<.001) were uniquely associated with burden. The results indicate that the impact of chronic pain should be evaluated both for patients and spouses and point to patient and spouse factors that might contribute to spousal burden, which might help guide family interventions in a more effective manner. Research has shown that chronic pain poses a significant burden on individuals, which increases their reliance on others for assistance. However, the burden of informal care-giving assumed by spouses of patients with chronic pain has not been systematically investigated. This study offers new insights into the impact of chronic pain on patients and their spouses, which might provide empirical foundation for the development of new avenues for intervention aimed at promoting adjustment in patients with chronic pain and spouses who act as informal caregivers.

Educational upgrading, career advancement, and social inequality development from a life-course perspective in Germany

This article employs data from the adult cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) to investigate the extent to which upgrading of educational credentials over the life course influences the social stratification of labour market outcomes. We argue that credentials upgrading should be an important predictor of both inter- and intragenerational mobility, especially in Germany where occupational and educational attainment are tightly linked. Indeed, we show that career progression in Germany is dependent upon re-enrolment into formal education and that changes in occupational status are hierarchically distributed across types and levels of educational upgrades. While much more persons of disadvantaged social background are at risk of upgrading, persons of advantaged backgrounds are both slightly more likely to upgrade and to upgrade to qualifications leading to the highest expected premiums. Despite these differences, educational upgrading does not alter the overall level of social stratification in occupational status attainment.

Risk factors reduction in suicidal youth through social connectedness opportunities provided by community services

Aim This study examined the trajectory (life course) of youths, referred to community services following their suicidal behavior, in order to measure the extent to which these young people have taken this opportunity to modify connectedness with family, school, and workplace, and to change high-risk factors related to suicidal behaviors (mental health problems, delinquency, drug consumption). Method Fifteen youths (aged 16-19), who made one or more suicide attempts or had serious ideation in the previous 24 to 48 months, were referred to community services (Vallée-Jeunesse). They were interviewed using an intensive personal interview measures (Trajectory Instrument Measure, TIM) in order to document significant life events and adversities that occured during different periods of their life.In addition, we administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I and Axis-II disorders (SCID-I and SCID-II) to identify past and current psychopathologies. Results Several important changes took place following their entry into the community services: a reduction in delinquency and substance abuse/dependence, and positive changes in occupational status and suicidal behaviors (ideation and suicide attempt). Conclusion Our findings can inform policies and strategies that support the prevention of suicidal behavior among young adults. Community services providers can play a role in the prevention of suicidal behaviors for the most vulnerable youths. These types of services could complement traditional suicide prevention strategies, which are mostly mental-health based.

Exploration of a long-term measurement approach for air change rate

Ventilation using outdoor air can have both favorable and unfavorable impacts on indoor air pollution. It also can be an important contributor to energy use in buildings. Outdoor ventilation air change rate (ACR), the rate at which outdoor air enters a building divided by its volume, is a temporally dynamic metric that can be used to characterize ventilation performance of buildings. Conventional measurement techniques for ACR have either complex or invasive experimental procedures, or present a temporal snapshot of ACR. In this study, we further developed and explored a novel signal processing approach to measure yearlong time-resolved ACR in a residence using the variations in indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations. Results showed that ACR varied considerably over the year [geometric mean (GM) = 0.47/h, geometric standard deviation (GSD) = 3.44] and that the air change rates calculated from the signal processing approach were in good agreement (on average, within 13%) with those measured simultaneously from 15 hour-long decay periods. In addition, estimates of ACR were largely insensitive to the occupancy status of the building. This behavior may be because the indoor CO2 concentration variations introduced by changes in occupancy status were not large enough to impact long-term ACR values, but they may be sufficient to impact short-term ACR values. Moreover, we anticipate that cut-off frequency and filter order, two parameters needed for the signal processing approach, may be building-specific and can influence calculations of air change rates in a given building. The results suggest that this approach has promise for assessing time-varying ACR in buildings with time-resolved indoor and outdoor concentration measurements.

Outcomes of unemployment episodes during early career for mismatched workers in the United Kingdom and Germany and the mediating effects of education and institutions

Our research challenges the traditional view that unemployment is an unequivocal negative event in working life. We argue that depending on workers’ educational attainment and on national-specific institutional settings unemployment might have different implications on young workers who begin their employment careers in low occupational positions. The strongly skill-based and rigid labour market in Germany increases the likelihood of a better initial position but might hinder occupational mobility via unemployment. In contrast, in the more flexible labour market of the United Kingdom, an unemployment phase might indeed be a conventional means by which workers improve their occupational positions. We use longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to estimate chances of re-employment and changes in occupational status after unemployment. Our results show that workers with tertiary education, employed in jobs for which they are overeducated, significantly improve their occupational positions after unemployment in the United Kingdom and Germany. The same applies to workers with secondary education in the United Kingdom, but not in Germany.

Does job promotion affect men's and women's health differently? Dynamic panel models with fixed effects.

Higher occupational status has consistently been shown to be associated with better health, but few studies have to date examined if an upward change in occupational status is associated with a positive change in health. Furthermore, very little is known about whether this association differs by sex. Data were derived from four waves (2008-14) of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), a follow-up study of a nationally representative sample of the Swedish working population. The present study comprises 1410 men and 1926 women. A dynamic panel model with fixed effects was used to analyse the lagged association between job promotion on the one hand and self-rated health (SRH) and symptoms of depression on the other. This method allowed controlling for unobserved time-invariant confounders and determining the direction of causality between the variables. Multigroup comparisons were performed to investigate differences between the sexes. The results showed that job promotion was associated with decreased subsequent SRH and increased symptoms of depression among both men and women. Women reported a larger relative worsening of self-rated health following a job promotion than men and men reported a larger relative worsening of depression symptoms. There was limited evidence that SRH and symptoms of depression were associated with subsequent job promotion. The present study indicates that a job promotion could lead to decreased SRH and increased symptoms of depression in a 2-4-year perspective. Associations appear to differ for women and men.

Socioeconomic evaluation of vagus stimulation: A controlled national study

PurposeWe aimed to determine the health costs and social outcomes in terms of education, employment and income level after insertion of a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) in patients with epilepsy. MethodsThis is a case–control study using Danish health care and socioeconomic register data. The analysis of the effect involved a comparison of the health care costs, occupation and income status of VNS-treated epilepsy patients with those of a control group of epilepsy patients who had a VNS implanted during the 12 months before the index date (pre-period) and during the two years after the index date (post-period). Results101 patients who had undergone VNS implantation and 390 control patients were included. VNS implantation was associated with fewer inpatient admissions and emergency room visits and less frequent use of prescription medication compared with epilepsy patients without VNS implantation. VNS implantation was not associated with changes in occupational status (including employment and income). In fact, the number of people on disability pension increased during the period. ConclusionsVNS implantation in people with epilepsy is associated with reduced health care use, but not with occupational or social status.

PAIN IN ELDERLY HAS BEEN OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED

The authors surveyed the clinical data and reviewed the literature on the pain management in elderly patients. The conclusion was made that chronic pain in older age is neglected and analgesia is often insufficient. Data for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of widely used analgesic drugs are summarized. The authors provide practical guidelines for pain management of elderly people in outpatients departments. Aging is an inevitable component of life. However, there is no overall accepted definition about an elderly individual. One could be determined as old by physical characteristics, e.g. white or gray hair, changes in social activities, having grandchildren, by changes in occupational status (e.g. being retired) by biological characteristics - e.g. age, etc. An adequate definition should probably contain maximum characteristics of such kind. In this context, it could be assumed that the physiological age can have a more significant impact than the biological one. In the last decades, the age range of all societies has changed to a sustained increase towards older population. According to reliable demographic and sociological calculations, the segment of individuals over the age of 65 in industrial societies will increase from 17.5% in 2000 to 36.3% in 2050 [1]. Retrospective studies performed in the period between years 1983-2003, established that the US population over the age of 65 has increased from 11.7% to 12.4%, and the proportion of individuals over 80 increased from 2.4% to 3.5%. The prognosis is that in 2045 the proportion of these age groups will be 20%, and 7.2% respectively [2]. Within the global population, the proportion of the individuals over 65 increased from 6.9% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2009, and in 2050 will reach 16.7%. The proportion of population aged over 80 is dramatically increasing from 1.2% in 2000 to 1.5% in 2009, and in 2050 will increase more, up to 4.9%. These changes are mainly due to the increased life expectancy, which in 2020 for women will be 80.4 years and for men - 79.5 years [3]. There is a dissonance though between these facts and the data that the raised life expectancy does not actually correlate with wholesome living throughout these years [4]. There is an increased complex co-morbidity in the aging population, among which pain of different variety is a frequent symptom. Epidemiological studies indicate that 40-75% of adult individuals complain of chronic pain of various etiology and pathogenesis, with the largest group composed of elderly women [5]. The prolonged pain is most often a consequence of chronic musculoskeletal disorders, osteoporosis with fractures or fissures, metabolic and neuro-degenerative diseases with neuropathic symptoms, etc. The pharmacotherapy of pain syndromes in adults should be consistent with number of factors complicating the application of conventional analgesic approaches. Adult individuals have reduced nociceptive capabilities, i.e. feel less pain, but tolerate strong and continuous pain syndromes more difficult. They suffer with more than one disease, take many medications of different groups, and rarely report alarming symptoms. Their treatment is complicated by the diminished cognitive capacity in many of them or by the neuropathic pain caused by bone or vertebra fractures, diabetes or other chronic diseases. For the evaluation of pain intensity in elderly patients, different approaches should be used - preferably verbal scales with clear definitions, such as: no-pain, weak-, moderate-, middle-, or severe pain on visual, numerical, picture, mimic and other types of scales [1].

Occupational change and asset holding among US immigrants

Using data from the new immigrant survey (N = 3,669), we examined the association between occupational change and asset holding among legal US immigrants. Our findings suggest that immigrants' occupational upgrades tended to be positively associated with the likelihood of holding assets. Specifically, compared to immigrants whose occupational status remained the same, immigrants' upward mobility was associated with higher odds of holding home equity. Immigrants who experienced an occupational downgrade were more likely to hold liquid assets compared to those who experienced no change. Through a more specific model, which reflected the extent of change in occupational status (e.g., slight change and severe change), we found that, whereas immigrants who experienced a severe upgrade tended to be more likely to hold home equity, immigrants who experienced both slight and severe downgrade tended to be more likely to hold liquid assets.

Licensing Requirements and Occupational Mobility Among Highly Skilled New Immigrants in Canada

The present study compares the occupational trajectories of highly skilled immigrants in regulated occupations to those outside of the regulated occupations, from their pre-migration occupation, to their first job in Canada, and to subsequent jobs. Licensing requirements are likely to affect new immigrants’ occupational trajectories since they have a direct effect on how employers assess qualifications. This study utilizes growth curve modeling (GCM) and a unique dataset that contains detailed information on new immigrants’ experiences in Canada: the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC). Our findings indicate that immigrants working in regulated occupations prior to migration who are unable to find jobs in regulated occupations in Canada face a significantly greater drop in occupational status when they first arrive than those working in unregulated professions in their home country. Furthermore, their occupational progression over time is not faster than that of their counterparts from unregulated professions. Those who worked in unregulated fields prior to migration but found jobs in regulated fields in Canada experience an improvement in their occupational status after migration. Lastly, for those who worked in regulated professions in their home country and were able to find jobs within regulated fields in Canada, initial occupational status scores are similar to their scores in their country of origin, and there is little change in occupational status with time in Canada. The results of this study highlight the importance of ensuring that the licensing process is made easier to navigate for new immigrants. Our findings clearly indicate that immigrants who are able to successfully enter a regulated profession soon after migration fare much better in terms of occupational status than those who are unable to become licensed.

The impact of job mobility on earnings: using occupational and industrial classifications to identify job changes

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that a US worker has been with their current employer is 4.4 years. Although many job changes may not be classified as ‘career changes,’ any type of job change may have an impact on a person’s future earnings. In the present study, the following three types of job changes are examined in order to determine which ones result in higher incomes: a change in occupational status; a change in industry; or a change in both. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), a log-linear wage regression with a correction for self-selection is estimated. Results suggest that changing jobs within the same industry or within the same occupation both increase a person’s income. However, a job change that is characterized by both a change in industry and occupation reduces a person’s income. The present study is one of the few studies to examine the effects of job mobility on earnings when mobility is defined in the context of changes in occupational and/or industrial classification.

A “Mulatto Escape Hatch” in the United States? Examining Evidence of Racial and Social Mobility During the Jim Crow Era

Racial distinctions in the United States have long been characterized as uniquely rigid and governed by strict rules of descent, particularly along the black-white boundary. This is often contrasted with countries, such as Brazil, that recognize "mixed" or intermediate racial categories and allow for more fluidity or ambiguity in racial classification. Recently released longitudinal data from the IPUMS Linked Representative Samples, and the brief inclusion of a "mulatto" category in the U.S. Census, allow us to subject this generally accepted wisdom to empirical test for the 1870-1920 period. We find substantial fluidity in black-mulatto classification between censuses-including notable "downward" racial mobility. Using person fixed-effects models, we also find evidence that among Southern men, the likelihood of being classified as mulatto was related to intercensal changes in occupational status. These findings have implications for studies of race and inequality in the United States, cross-national research on racial classification schemes in the Americas, and for how demographers collect and interpret racial data.

Social Engagement, Health, and Changes in Occupational Status: Analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA)

BackgroundWe focused on whether changes in the occupational status of older male adults can be influenced by social engagement and health status measured at the baseline.MethodsThis study used a sample of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), and the study population was restricted to 1.531 men who were aged 55 to 80 years at the 2006 baseline survey and participated in the second survey in 2008. Social engagement and health status, measured by the number of chronic diseases, grip strength, and depressive symptoms as well as covariates (age, marital status, educational level, and household income) were based on data from the 2006 baseline survey. Occupational engagement over the first and second survey was divided into four categories: ‘consistently employed’ (n = 892), ‘employed-unemployed’ (n = 152), ‘unemployed-employed’ (n = 138), and ‘consistently unemployed’ (n = 349).ResultsIn the multinomial model, the ‘consistently employed’ and ‘unemployed-employed’ groups had significantly higher social engagement (1.19 and 1.32 times, respectively) than the referent. The number of chronic diseases was significantly associated with four occupational changes, and the ‘unemployed-employed’ had the fewest chronic conditions.ConclusionOur finding suggests that social engagement and health status are likely to affect opportunities to continue working or to start working for older male adults.

Mental health and satisfaction with life among upper limb amputees: a Norwegian population-based survey comparing adult acquired major upper limb amputees with a control group

Purpose. To assess how upper limb amputation affects mental health and life satisfaction.Method. Cross-sectional study comparing the mental health and perceived satisfaction with life among adult acquired major upper limb amputees in Norway with a control group drawn from the Norwegian general population. The scales used were the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Hopkins Symptom Check List 25-item (SCL-25). The groups were compared using multiple linear regression analyses.Results. The amputees scored significantly lower on life satisfaction than the control group. A tendency to poorer mental health in the amputee group was observed, but there was no clear evidence of such a difference. The amputation effect on life satisfaction seemed to be mediated mainly by changes in occupational status and by the occurrence of short- or long-term complications related to the amputation.Conclusions. Our findings imply that rehabilitation of upper limb amputees should emphasise facilitating return to work as well as the prevention of short- and long-term complications, and that this will be of importance not only for the amputees' physical function, but for the maintenance of acceptable life satisfaction. Further studies on the effect of upper limb amputation on mental health are recommended.

Practice guidelines for chronic pain management: an updated report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Chronic Pain Management and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

Practice guidelines for chronic pain management: an updated report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Chronic Pain Management and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

Occupational Mobility in Members of the Labor Force: Explaining the Willingness to Change Occupations

It has become a commonplace for people to move from one occupation to another during their career. The authors propose that work-related attitudes and person-related characteristics should be considered when examining the willingness to change occupations (WCOs). Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that high levels of work satisfaction, strong occupational commitment, and work-related worries made employees less WCOs, whereas uncertainty tolerance and mobility self-efficacy were positively associated with WCO (Study 1). The findings regarding person-related characteristics were replicated among unemployed individuals (Study 2). Moreover, a longitudinal study showed high-mobility self-efficacy to be a resource-enhancing WCO over time, and revealed that uncertainty tolerance increased WCO among those who had actually experienced a change in occupational status (Study 3).

Spiders provide important resources for an endangered lizard

AbstractConservation management requires knowledge of how a target species interacts with other species. Some relatively common species can modify the environment to the advantage of rarer, endangered species. Thus, local enhancement of those common species can positively influence remaining populations of the rarer species. The endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard Tiliqua adelaidensis inhabits burrows that are constructed by lycosid and mygalomorph spiders. We recorded 490 burrows in a 1 ha plot at the end of one season, and then observed at regular intervals the formation and loss of burrows, and the changes in occupancy status of each burrow over the next season. We found spiders in 94% of all newly constructed burrows and deduced that they had built the burrows. We found no evidence that lizards dug new burrows or deepened existing burrows. The numbers of both lizards and spiders in the burrows declined over the spring and summer, with lizards moving from their burrows more often early in the season than later. However, there was no strong trend for lizards to replace spiders in burrows. In fact, lizards tended to occupy deeper burrows than spiders, suggesting little negative impact of lizards on spiders. However, spiders had a positive impact on lizards by providing the refuge burrows central for lizard survival. Although lizards readily accept artificial burrows, long‐term conservation for the lizards must include viable spider populations to maintain a supply of suitable burrow refuges.