Employment Grade Research Articles

Detecting Cyber Attempts and Attacks on Mesh Usage by Applying Non Identical

Added use of shadow services, a excrescency in the number of online use fiends, changes in network frame that connects aptitude running portable operating systems, and constantly expanding network technologies all feed new cyber aegis demurrals. As a result, network cover fashions, detectors, and defense artifices must remake to accommodate the requirements and effects of druggies in order to fight arising dangers. Because growing employment grade cyber aggressions are recognized as top hazards and the critical challenge for network and cyber cover, we will rivet on battling them in this essay. The essay’s main donation is the hint of a engine erudition path for modeling usual exercise bearing and detecting cyber assaults. Patterns( in the shape of Perl Compatible Regular Expressions( PCRE) regular expressions) are attained utilising a graph- hung segmentation form and dynamic programming to produce the model. The model is grounded on data gathered from customer- generated HTTP queries to a trap garçon. On the CSIC 2010 HTTP Dataset, we tried our fashion and set up it to be operative..

Pericardial Fat, Socioeconomic Status, and Biological Responses to Acute Mental Stress.

Central adiposity is associated with impaired biological responses to mental stress, and socioeconomic status (SES) might moderate this relationship. However, evidence for associations between pericardial fat, a fat depot implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to mental stress is lacking, and moderation by SES is unknown. The sample was 473 healthy men and women (mean age = 62.8 years) from the Whitehall II study. Cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to laboratory-induced mental stress, consisting of a 5-minute Stroop task and 5-minute mirror tracing task, were assessed. Pericardial fat volume was measured using electron bean computed tomography and adjusted for body surface area. SES was defined by grade of employment within the British civil service (higher/intermediate/lower). Pericardial fat was associated with lower heart rate variability, raised heart rate, plasma interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein at baseline. Furthermore, greater pericardial fat was associated with lower systolic blood pressure reactivity to mental stress, independent of sociodemographics, smoking status, waist-to-hip ratio, and baseline systolic blood pressure. There were no interactions between pericardial fat and SES for any outcome. Greater pericardial fat was associated with numerous cardiovascular and inflammatory factors implicated in CVD. It was also related to reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity to acute mental stress, independent of central adiposity and baseline systolic blood pressure. This association did not vary by SES. Reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity to mental stress might contribute to the association between greater pericardial fat and CVD.

Predicting disability retirement among Abu Dhabi police using multiple measure of sickness absence

BackgroundDisability retirement has been investigated in the last two decades using predictors such as measures of sickness absence, psychological, social, and organizational work factors. The impact of various health-related and sickness measures on disability retirement across various occupational group reveal a significant relation. However, current literature lacks understanding in police personnel.MethodsThis study examines the roles of demographic and measures of sickness absence on disability retirement among police personnel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The case–control design was used to predict disability retirement wherein controls were matched with cases according to age and gender from those who worked in the same administration as the case at baseline, to reduce the possible confounding influence of these variables. Conditional logistic regression models were used determine the odds-ratio of various measures of sickness absence in predicting disability retirement.ResultsResults indicate that increased number of spells, and number of days of sickness absence can predict disability retirements among police personnel in the UAE. Results indicate that odds ratios for disability retirement for the total exposure period increased from 1.76 (95% CI = 1.42-2.20) for spells of 4-7d to 2.47 (95%CI = 1.79-3.40) for spells of > 4 weeks. When compared with their married counterparts, non-married police employees had a statistically significant increase in odds of disability retirement of almost three fold (OR = 2.93, 95% CI = 1.55-5.56). Non-field and field police officers, on the other hand, had significantly reduced odds of disability retirement compared with admin/supportive staff (OR = 0.43 and 0.28 with 95% CI = 0.19-0.96 and 0.13-0.61 respectively). Odds ratios of disability retirement at end of the exposure period for the matching variables with those obtained after additionally adjusting for all demographic variables (model b), namely, marital status, occupation, employment grade and type, and educational level. The odds ratios of disability retirement remained significantly raised for the total number of days of sickness absence and for the number of spells of sickness absence for all spell types.ConclusionsRecommendation to reduce the number of future disability retirements among Abu Dhabi Police include structured problem-solving process addressed through stepwise meetings between the line-managers and the employee.

Inequalities in recovery or methodological artefact? A comparison of models across physical and mental health functioning

Considerable attention has been paid to inequalities in health. More recently, focus has also turned to inequalities in ‘recovery’; with research, for example, suggesting that lower grade of employment is strongly associated with slower recovery from both poor physical and poor mental health. However, this research has tended to operationalise recovery as ‘return to baseline’, and we know less about patterns and predictors when recovery is situated as a ‘process’. This paper seeks to address this gap. Drawing on data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, we operationalise recovery as both an ‘outcome’ and as a ‘process’ and compare patterns and predictors across the two models. Our analysis demonstrates that the determinants of recovery from poor health, measured by the SF-12, are robust, regardless of whether recovery is operationalised as an outcome or as a process. For example, being employed and having a higher degree were found to increase the odds of recovery both from poor physical and mental health functioning, when recovery was operationalised as an outcome. These variables were also important in distinguishing health functioning trajectories following a poor health episode. At one and the same time, our analysis does suggest that understandings of inequalities in recovery will depend in part on how we define it. When recovery is operationalised as a simple transition from poor health state to good, it loses sight of the fact that there may be inequalities (i) within a ‘poor health’ state, (ii) in how individuals are able to step into the path of recovery, and (iii) in whether health states are maintained over time. We therefore need to remain alert to the additional nuance in understanding which comes from situating recovery as a process; as well as possible methodological artefacts in population research which come from how recovery is operationalised.

Multimorbidity: disease of society?

Socioeconomic inequalities are major health determinants, but could be leveraged more efficiently to promote health and wellbeing on a large scale. 30 years ago, in the Whitehall study of British civil servants, Marmot and colleagues1 showed a clear gradient in various conditions, such as angina and chronic bronchitis, as well as several health risk behaviours, across different employment grades. An alternative way to look at the detrimental effect of socioeconomic deprivation on health, rather than looking at single diseases, is to measure multimorbidity—the co-occurrence of multiple chronic diseases in the same individual.

Hospice care self-efficacy among clinical medical staff working in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) isolation wards of designated hospitals: a cross\u2013sectional study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than 462,417 deaths worldwide. A large number of patients with severe COVID-19 face death in hospital. Hospice care is truly a philosophy of care that delivers patient-centred care to the terminally ill and their families. Hospice care could provide many benefits for patients, families, and for hospice caregivers. The aim of this study is to investigate hospice care self-efficacy and identify its predictors among Chinese clinical medical staff in COVID-19 isolation wards of designated hospitals.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used. The Hospice Care Self-Efficacy, Self-Competence in Death Work Scale, Positive Aspects of Caregiving, and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaires were administered between February and April 2020. A total of 281 eligible medical staff responded to the questionnaires, with a response rate of ≥78.9%.ResultsThe mean score of hospice care self-efficacy was 47.04 (SD = 7.72). Self-efficacy was predicted by self-competence in death work (B = 0.433, P < 0.001), positive aspects of caregiving (B = 0.149, P = 0.027), positive coping (B = 0.219, P < 0.001), giving hospice care to dying or dead patients before fighting against COVID-19 (B = -1.487, P = 0.023), occupational exposure while fighting against COVID-19 (B = -5.244, P = 0.004), holding respect for life and professional sentiment as motivation in fighting against COVID-19 (B = 2.372, P = 0.031), and grade of hospital employment (B = -1.426, P = 0.024). The variables co-explained 58.7% variation of hospice care self-efficacy.ConclusionClinical nurses and physicians fighting COVID-19 reported a moderate level of hospice care self-efficacy during this pandemic. Exploring the traditional Chinese philosophy of life to learn from its strengths and make up for its weaknesses and applying it to hospice care may provide a new framework for facing death and dying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuous hospice care education to improve self-competence in death work, taking effective measures to mobilize positive psychological resources, and providing safer practice environments to avoid occupational exposure are also essential for the improvement of the hospice care self-efficacy of clinical nurses and physicians. These measures help caregivers deal effectively with death and dying while fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes in Erythrocyte Omega-3 Fatty Acids in German Employees upon Dietary Advice by Corporate Health.

Background: The erythrocyte ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) over total fatty acids, the omega-3 index (O3I), has been suggested as an overall health marker and to motivate corporate health recommendations. We set out to assess the O3I status in a working population, the differences between normal and rotating shift employees, the consumption of omega-3 rich food and whether recommendations to increase intake of omega-3 rich foods can improve the O3I. Methods: Employees registered for their occupational health check-up were offered to participate in a pre-post study at the Ludwigshafen (Germany) site including an assessment of their O3I at baseline and after 4 months (follow-up) and two subsequent food frequency questionnaires. For those with O3I below 8%, a recommendation was provided to increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acid rich food and to take advantage of the employees’ catering service with its enhanced fatty seafood offer during the study period. Dietary intake of EPA and DHA, erythrocyte fatty acid profiles, clinical and lifestyle parameters were assessed. Results: In 500 employees (26.6% female, 21–64 years, median age: 47 years [IQR: 37–53]), at baseline the overall mean O3I was 4.1 ± 1.1% (99.6% of O3I assessed were below 8%), higher in women, in participants with “normal” body weight, upper employment grade, and non-smokers, but not different between regular and rotating shift workers. The three fifths of the cohort also participating in the follow-up increased their EPA and DHA intake by 0.1 g/d and their O3I by 0.5 percentage points. Conclusion: This study provides essential data on omega-3 erythrocyte concentrations in a clinically healthy German working population and the challenges of increasing the O3I with dietary recommendations even in study participants motivated to follow up on their omega-3 status.

Setting priorities for rural allied health in Australia: a scoping review.

The allied health workforce is one of the largest workforces in the health industry. It has a critical role in cost-effective, preventative health care, but it is poorly accessible in rural areas worldwide. This review aimed to inform policy and research priorities for increasing access to rural allied health services in Australia by describing the extent, range and nature of evidence about this workforce. A scoping review of published, peer-reviewed rural allied health literature from Australia, Canada, the USA, New Zealand and Japan was obtained from six databases (February 1999 - February 2019). Of 7305 no-duplicate articles, 120 published studies were included: 19 literature reviews, and 101 empirical studies from Australia (n=90), Canada (n=8), USA (n=2) and New Zealand (n=1). Main themes were workforce and scope (n=9), rural pathways (n=44), recruitment and retention (n=31), and models of service (n=36). Of the empirical studies, 83% per cent were cross-sectional; 64% involved surveys; only 7% were at a national scale. Rural providers were shown to have a breadth of practice, servicing large catchments with high patient loads, requiring rural-specific skills. Most rural practitioners had rural backgrounds, but rural youth faced barriers to accessing allied health courses. Rural training opportunities have increased in Australia but predominantly as short-term placements. Rural placements were associated with increased likelihood of rural work by graduates compared with discipline averages, and high quality placement experiences were linked with return. Recruitment and retention factors may vary by discipline, sector and life stage but important factors were satisfying jobs, workplace supervision, higher employment grade, sustainable workload, professional development and rural career options. Patient-centred planning and regional coordination of public and private providers with clear eligibility and referral to pathways facilitated patient care. Outreach and telehealth models may improve service distribution although require strong local coordination and training for distal staff. Evidence suggests that more accessible rural allied health services in Australia should address three key policy areas. First, improving rural jobs with access to senior workplace supervision and career options will help to improve networks of critical mass. Second, training skilled and qualified workers through more continuous, high quality rural pathways is needed to deliver a complementary workforce for the community. Third, distribution depends on networked service models at the regional level, with viable remuneration, outreach and telehealth for practice in smaller communities. More national-scale, longitudinal, outcomes-focused studies are needed using controlled designs.

Adiposity in middle and old age and risk of death from dementia: 40-year follow-up of 19,000 men in the Whitehall study.

to examine the hypothesis that obesity is protective for dementia, we compared the associations of death from dementia with body weight and body mass index (BMI) in both middle and old age. height and weight were measured in a prospective study of 19,019 middle-aged men in the Whitehall study in 1967-70 and in 6,158 surviving participants at resurvey in 1997. Cox regression was used to examine the associations of death from dementia over a 40-year period with weight or BMI measured by health professionals in middle and old age adjusting for age, smoking habits, employment grade and marital status. central government employees in London, UK. death due to dementia in 320 participants. body weight measured in middle age was weakly inversely associated with death from dementia (hazard ratio 0.98 [95%CI: 0.97-0.99] per kg), but neither height nor BMI were related to risk of dementia. In contrast, body weight in old age was more strongly inversely related to deaths from dementia (0.96; [0.95-0.98] per kg) as was BMI (0.92 [0.86-0.97] per kg/m2). Weight loss over the 30 years between baseline and resurvey was associated with a higher risk of death from dementia, with an adjusted HR per kg/30 years of 1.04 [95%CI: 1.02-1.08] and the association with loss of BMI was even stronger (adjusted HR of 1.10 [1.03-1.19]) per kg/m2 decrease. the stronger inverse associations of deaths from dementia with BMI in old age, compared with middle age, together with strong positive associations of loss of BMI or body weight between middle and old age casts doubt on previous suggestions that obesity protects against death from dementia.

Socioeconomic status and central adiposity as determinants of stress-related biological responses relevant to cardiovascular disease risk

Stress-related processes have been implicated in the associations between lower socioeconomic status (SES), central adiposity, and cardiovascular disease risk. This study analysed the impact of SES and central adiposity on cardiovascular, inflammatory and neuroendocrine stress responses, and associations with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in a sample of 537 men and women aged 53–76 years (mean 62.89 years). SES was defined by grade of employment (higher, intermediate, and lower categories), and central adiposity was indexed by waist-hip ratio (WHR). Cardiovascular, inflammatory and cortisol responses were monitored during administration of a standardized mental stress testing protocol and salivary cortisol was measured repeatedly over the day. Lower SES was associated with raised systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), plasma interleukin (IL-6), fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and salivary cortisol, and a large WHR accentuated SES differences in fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and likelihood of CMV seropositivity, independently of general adiposity indexed by body mass index. During mental stress testing, return to resting levels (recovery) following behavioural challenge in systolic and diastolic BP and heart rate was impaired among lower SES participants, particularly those with large WHR. Lower SES participants had greater cortisol concentrations across the day, but this pattern did not vary with WHR. These findings extend the evidence relating lower SES to stress-related biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and indicate that central adiposity may augment these effects.

CHANGES IN COGNITION DURING RETIREMENT TRANSITION: THE WHITEHALL II COHORT STUDY

We tested the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis in a cohort of 3,433 civil servants who participated in the Whitehall II Study, including repeated measurements of cognitive functioning up to 14 years before and 14 years after retirement. Piecewise models, centred at the year of retirement, were used to compare trajectories of verbal memory, abstract reasoning, phonemic verbal fluency, and semantic verbal fluency before and after retirement. We found that all domains of cognition declined over time. Declines in verbal memory were 38% faster after retirement compared to before, after taking account of age-related decline. Higher employment grade was protective against verbal memory decline while people were still working, but this ‘protective effect’ was lost when individuals retired, resulting in a similar rate of decline post-retirement across employment grades. We did not find a significant impact of retirement on the other cognitive domains.

Association Between Work-Related Stress and Coronary Heart Disease: A Review of Prospective Studies Through the Job Strain, Effort-Reward Balance, and Organizational Justice Models.

Work‐related stress is an example of a psychosocial risk factor that has become of interest in today's ever‐demanding, fast‐paced, and globalized society, although its link to adverse health and in particular coronary heart disease (CHD) is incompletely understood. In this review, we will

Effect of retirement on cognitive function: the Whitehall II cohort study

According to the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis, a lack of mentally challenging activities might exacerbate the loss of cognitive function. On this basis, retirement has been suggested to increase the risk of cognitive decline, but evidence from studies with long follow-up is lacking. We tested this hypothesis in a cohort of 3433 civil servants who participated in the Whitehall II Study, including repeated measurements of cognitive functioning up to 14 years before and 14 years after retirement. Piecewise models, centred at the year of retirement, were used to compare trajectories of verbal memory, abstract reasoning, phonemic verbal fluency, and semantic verbal fluency before and after retirement. We found that all domains of cognition declined over time. Declines in verbal memory were 38% faster after retirement compared to before, after taking account of age-related decline. In analyses stratified by employment grade, higher employment grade was protective against verbal memory decline while people were still working, but this ‘protective effect’ was lost when individuals retired, resulting in a similar rate of decline post-retirement across employment grades. We did not find a significant impact of retirement on the other cognitive domains. In conclusion, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that retirement accelerates the decline in verbal memory function. This study points to the benefits of cognitively stimulating activities associated with employment that could benefit older people’s memory.

Perceived acquisition, development and delivery of empathy in musculoskeletal physiotherapy encounters

ABSTRACTEmpathy is considered essential to creating a positive clinician-patient relationship, along with improving patient experience and adherence to treatment. It is not clear how physiotherapists acquire their empathic skills.This study explored physiotherapists’ perceptions of empathy during musculoskeletal clinical encounters. Seventeen participants attended three focus groups separated by clinical employment grade. The definition of empathy, its acquisition and impact on a clinical encounter were discussed, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.Six key themes and 48 sub-themes were identified. Empathy was defined similarly in all three focus groups. There was divergence on its acquisition and the extent to which it can be taught, however participants agreed that empathy is an innate characteristic. Senior physiotherapists placed greater emphasis on the importance of empathic communication than student physiotherapists, whilst student and junior physiotherapists considered limited clinical experience to be a barrier in delivering empathic communication, anticipating this to improve over time.This study identified a mismatch between the perceived importance of empathic communication in the literature and by clinicians, compared with the time spent acquiring and developing these skills. Clinicians need to place a greater emphasis on enhancing their empathic communication skills throughout their career to help create a positive patient experience and enhance clinician-patient relationships.

Persistent Herpesvirus Infections and Telomere Attrition Over 3 Years in the Whitehall II Cohort

The determinants of telomere attrition, a potential marker of cellular aging, are not well understood. Persistent herpesvirus infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may be particularly important for telomere dynamics via mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and their impact on peripheral blood lymphocyte composition. This study examined the association of 4 human herpesviruses (CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, human herpesvirus type 6, and Epstein-Barr virus) with change in leukocyte telomere length (LTL) over 3 years in 400 healthy individuals (aged 53-76 years) from the Whitehall II cohort. CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, and human herpesvirus 6 infection were independently associated with greater 3-year LTL attrition, with no association found for Epstein-Barr virus. The magnitudes of these associations were large, for example, the equivalent of almost 12 years of chronological age for those CMV seropositive. Seropositivity to more herpesviruses was additively associated with greater LTL attrition (3 herpesviruses vs none, β = -0.07 and P = .02; 4 infections vs none, β = -0.14 and P < .001). Higher immunoglobulin G antibody levels among those seropositive to CMV were also associated with shorter LTL at follow-up. These associations were robust to adjustment for age, sex, employment grade, body mass index, and smoking status. These results suggest that exposure to infectious agents should be an important consideration in future studies of telomere dynamics.

Sitting behaviour is not associated with incident diabetes over 13 years: the Whitehall II cohort study

BackgroundAlthough certain types of sedentary behaviour have been linked to metabolic risk, prospective studies describing the links between sitting with incident diabetes are scarce and often do not account for...

Socioeconomic status, education, and aortic stiffness progression over 5 years: the Whitehall II prospective cohort study.

Objective:The inverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is well documented. Aortic stiffness assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a strong predictor of CVD events. However, no previous study has examined the effect of SES on arterial stiffening over time. The present study examines this association, using several measures of SES, and attained education level in a large ageing cohort of British men and women.Methods:Participants were drawn from the Whitehall II study. The sample was composed of 3836 men and 1406 women who attended the 2008–2009 clinical examination (mean age = 65.5 years). Aortic PWV was measured in 2008–2009 and in 2012–2013 by applanation tonometry. A total of 3484 participants provided PWV measurements on both occasions. The mean difference in 5-year PWV change was examined according to household income, education, employment grade, and father's social class, using linear mixed models.Results:PWV increase [mean: confidence interval (m/s)] over 5 years was higher among participants with lower employment grade (0.38: 0.11–0.65), household income (0.58, 95%: 0.32–0.85), and education (0.30: 0.01, 0.58), after adjusting for sociodemographic variables, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking, and other cardiovascular risk factors, namely SBP, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, diabetes, and antihypertensive use.Conclusion:The present study supports the presence of robust socioeconomic disparities in aortic stiffness progression. Our findings suggest that arterial aging could be an important pathophysiological pathway explaining the impact of lower SES on CVD risk.

Blood Pressure and Fibrinogen Responses to Mental Stress as Predictors of Incident Hypertension over an 8-Year Period.

BackgroundHeightened blood pressure (BP) responses to mental stress predict raised BP levels over subsequent years, but evidence for associations with incident hypertension is limited, and the significance of inflammatory responses is uncertain.PurposeWe investigated the relationship between BP and plasma fibrinogen responses to stress and incident hypertension over an average 8-year follow-up.MethodParticipants were 636 men and women (mean age 59.1 years) from the Whitehall II epidemiological cohort with no history of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. They performed standardized behavioral tasks (color/word conflict and mirror tracing), and hypertension was defined by clinic measures and medication status.ResultsOf participants in the highest systolic BP reactivity tertile, 29.3 % became hypertensive over the follow-up period compared with 16.5 % of those in the lowest tertile, with an odds ratio of 2.02 (95 % CI 1.17–3.88, p = 0.012) after adjustment for age, sex, grade of employment, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, follow-up time, subjective stress response, perceived task difficulty, perceived task engagement, and baseline BP. Similar associations were observed for diastolic BP reactivity (odds ratio 2.05, 95 % CI 1.23–3.40, p = 0.006) and for impaired systolic BP post-stress recovery (odds ratio 2.06, 95 % CI 1.19–3.57, p = 0.010). Fibrinogen reactions to tasks also predicted future hypertension in women (odds ratio 2.64, 95 % CI 1.11–6.30, p = 0.029) but not men.ConclusionsThese data suggest that heightened cardiovascular and inflammatory reactivity to mental stress is associated with hypertension risk, and may be a mechanism through which psychosocial factors impact on the development of hypertension.

Determinants of rural Australian primary health care worker retention: A synthesis of key evidence and implications for policymaking.

To synthesise key Australian empirical rural retention evidence and outline implications and potential applications for policymaking. A comprehensive search of Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL plus, Scopus and EMBASE revealed eight peer-reviewed empirical studies published since 2000 quantifying factors associated with actual retention. Rural and remote Australian primary health care workers. Hazard ratios (hazard of leaving rural), mean length of stay in current rural position and odds ratios (odds of leaving rural). A broad range of geographical, professional, financial, educational, regulatory and personal factors are strongly and significantly associated with the rural retention of Australian primary health care workers. Important factors included geographical remoteness and population size, profession, providing hospital services, practising procedural skills, taking annual leave, employment grade, employment and payment structures, restricted access to provider numbers, country of training, vocational training, practitioner age group and cognitive behavioural coaching. These findings suggest that retention strategies should be multifaceted and 'bundled', addressing the combination of modifiable factors most important for specific groups of Australian rural and remote primary health care workers, and compensating health professionals for hardships they face that are linked to less modifiable factors. The short retention of many Australian rural and remote Allied Health Professionals and GPs, particularly in small, outer regional and remote communities, requires ongoing policy support. The important retention patterns highlighted in this review provide policymakers with direction about where to best target retention initiatives, as well as an indication of what they can do to improve retention.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Young Chinese Civil Servants Working in Local Government: Comparison of SF-12 and EQ5D

As the occupational group that delivers public services, civil servants confront a particular working property and environment. Previous studies indicate that this professional group suffers from issues of occupational health, especially mental problems. This study investigates the group’s general health condition from the perspective of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The samples of the study consist of young civil servants working in the local government agencies of six relatively economically developed cities in eastern China. The five-dimensional European quality of health scale (EQ5D) and the twelve-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) are employed. We will compare the measuring differences between two measurements and discussed the feasibility of combing two. Results indicate that 75.5 % of the respondents have an undergraduate-level educational degree and below and that 72.7 % of the job position consists of the township staff level and below. The participants report unfavorable HRQOL measurement scores, particularly in the dimension of mental health. Low education and employment grade are two important negative factors. The dimensions of SF-12 and EQ5D are significantly correlated. EQ5D is more sensitive to the gender factor, whereas SF-12 has a higher sensitivity to the employment grade factor. We suggest that the results of these two scales are comparable and that they complement each other.