Top

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health

Published in:

Open Access 01-08-2020 | Care | Original Article

The burden of high workload on the health-related quality of life among home care workers in Northern Sweden

Authors: André Sjöberg, Anita Pettersson-Strömbäck, Klas-Göran Sahlén, Lars Lindholm, Fredrik Norström

Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health | Issue 6/2020

Abstract

Objective

Previous studies have shown that high workload affects health negatively. However, studies are lacking among home care workers. The aim of this study is to examine the burden of perceived workload on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among home care workers and to determine whether psychosocial factors modify such a relationship.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in which 1162 (58% response rate) home care workers participated. The psychosocial factors were measured by QPSnordic. HRQoL was measured by EuroQol 5 dimensions, from which responses were translated into quality-adjusted life year scores (QALY). Propensity scores were used with absolute risk differences (RD). Stratified analysis was used to test the buffer hypothesis of the demand–control–support model.

Results

Personnel with a high workload had a statistically significant 0.035 lower QALY than personnel with a normal workload. This difference was also statistically significant for the Visual Analogue Scale (RD 5.0) and the mobility (RD 0.033) and anxiety/depression scales (RD 0.20) dimensions of EQ-5D. For QALY, the effect of a high workload compared to a normal workload was higher, with low (RD 0.045, significant) compared with high (RD 0.015, non-significant) social support; while it was similar, and non-significant results, for low and high control.

Conclusions

Our study shows that lowered work burden would be beneficial for home care personnel. Furthermore, our results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing social support could reduce work-related illness.

Available only for authorised users

Alarcon GM (2011) A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources, and attitudes. J Vocat Behav 79(2):549–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.007 CrossRef

Arbetsmiljöverket (2015) Inspektioner av kvinno- och mansdominerad verksamhet i sex kommuner. Arbetsmiljöverket, Stockholm

Austin PC, Stuart EA (2015) Moving towards best practice when using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score to estimate causal treatment effects in observational studies. Stat Med 34(28):3661–3679. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.6607 CrossRef

Bernal D, Campos-Serna J, Tobias A, Vargas-Prada S, Benavides FG, Serra C (2015) Work-related psychosocial risk factors and musculoskeletal disorders in hospital nurses and nursing aides: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Nurs Stud 52(2):635–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.11.003 CrossRef

Bowling NA, Alarcon GM, Bragg CB, Hartman MJ (2015) A meta-analytic examination of the potential correlates and consequences of workload. Work Stress 29(2):95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2015.1033037 CrossRef

CDC (2000) Measuring healthy days: population assessment of health-related quality of life. U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta

Cooper CL, Dewe PJ, O'Driscoll MP (2001) Organizational stress: A review and critique of theory, research, and applications. Sage Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks

Dallner M, Lindström K, Elo A-L, et al (2000) Användarmanual för QPSNordic: Frågeformulär om psykologiska och sociala faktorer i arbetslivet utprovat i Danmark, Finland, Norge och Sverige Arbetslivsrapport vol 2000:19, https://www.ammuppsala.se/sites/default/files/fhv-metoder/QPSnordic%20manual.pdf

Davison AC, Hinckley DV (1997) Bootstrap methods and their application. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeCrossRef

de Zwart BC, Frings-Dresen MH, van Dijk FJ (1995) Physical workload and the aging worker: a review of the literature. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 68(1):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01831627 CrossRef

deJonge J, Kompier MAJ (1997) A critical examination of the demand-control-support model from a work psychological perspective. Int J Stress Manage 4(4):235–258. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:Ijsm.0000008152.85798.90 CrossRef

Devlin NJ, Brooks R (2017) EQ-5D and the EuroQol group: past, present and future. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 15(2):127–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-017-0310-5 CrossRef

Dolan P (1997) Modeling valuations for EuroQol health states. Med Care 35(11):1095–1108CrossRef

Donders NC, Bos JT, van der Velden K, van der Gulden JW (2012) Age differences in the associations between sick leave and aspects of health, psychosocial workload and family life: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000960 CrossRef

Fagerlind Ståhl A-C, Ståhl C, Smith P (2018) Longitudinal association between psychological demands and burnout for employees experiencing a high versus a low degree of job resources. BMC Public Health 18(1):915. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5778-x CrossRef

Gustafsson G, Eriksson S, Strandberg G, Norberg A (2010) Burnout and perceptions of conscience among health care personnel: a pilot study. Nurs Ethics 17(1):23–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733009351950 CrossRef

Hartvigsen J, Bakketeig LS, Leboeuf-Yde C, Engberg M, Lauritzen T (2001) The association between physical workload and low back pain clouded by the “healthy worker” effect—Population-based cross-sectional and 5-year prospective questionnaire study. Spine 26(16):1788–1792. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200108150-00011 CrossRef

Häusser JA, Mojzisch A, Niesel M, Schulz-Hardt S (2010) Ten years on: a review of recent research on the Job Demand-Control (-Support) model and psychological well-being. Work Stress 24(1):1–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678371003683747 CrossRef

Johnson JV, Hall EM (1988) Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population. Am J Public Health 78(10):1336–1342. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.78.10.1336 CrossRef

Karasek RA (1979) Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign. Admin Sci Q 24(2):285–308. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392498 CrossRef

Kommunal (2015) Plats för proffsen—ett alternativ till New Public Management i hemtjänsten. Stockholm

Lunceford J, Davidian M (2004) Stratification and weighting via the propensity score in estimation of causal treatment effects: a comparative study. Stat Med 23:2937–2960. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.1903 CrossRef

Nieuwenhuijsen K, Bruinvels D, Frings-Dresen M (2010) Psychosocial work environment and stress-related disorders, a systematic review. Occup Med (Lond) 60(4):277–286. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqq081 CrossRef

Nixon A, Mazzola J, Bauer J, Krueger J, Spector P (2011) Can work make you sick? A meta-analysis of the relationships between job stressors and physical symptoms. Work Stress 25:1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2011.569175 CrossRef

Norstrom F, Lindholm L, Sandstrom O, Nordyke K, Ivarsson A (2011) Delay to celiac disease diagnosis and its implications for health-related quality of life. BMC Gastroenterol 11(1):118. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-11-118 CrossRef

Norström F, Janlert U, Hammarström A (2017) Is unemployment in young adulthood related to self-rated health later in life? Results from the Northern Swedish cohort. BMC Public Health 17(1):529. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4460-z CrossRef

Norström F, Waenerlund AK, Lindholm L, Nygren R, Sahlén KG, Brydsten A (2019) Does unemployment contribute to poorer health-related quality of life among Swedish adults? BMC Public Health 19(1):457. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6825-y CrossRef

R Core Team (2015) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing

Rivera-Torres P, Araque-Padilla RA, Montero-Simó MJ (2013) Job stress across gender: the importance of emotional and intellectual demands and social support in women. Int J Environ Res Public Health 10(1):375–389. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010375 CrossRef

Sarafis P, Rousaki E, Tsounis A et al (2016) The impact of occupational stress on nurses’ caring behaviors and their health related quality of life. BMC Nursing 15(1):56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-016-0178-y CrossRef

SBU (2014) Arbetsmiljöns betydelse för symtom på depression och utmattningssyndrom En systematisk litteraturöversikt. Statens beredning för medicinsk utvärdering (SBU), Stockholm

SBU (2015) Arbetsmiljöns betydelse för hjärt-kärlsjukdom En systematisk litteraturöversikt. Statens beredning för medicinsk och social utvärdering (SBU), Stockholm

Skovdahl K, Fahlström G, Horttana BM, Winblad B, Kihlgren M (2008) Demanding behaviours and workload in elderly care in Sweden: occurrence at two time points within a decade. Scand J Caring Sci 22(3):323–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2007.00500.x CrossRef

Suvanto S, Axestam H, Lööv G, Suomalainen M, Alaby G (2017) Läs mig! Nationell kvalitetsplan för vård och omsorg för äldre personer. SOU:21

Sverke M, Falkenberg H, Kecklund G, Magnusson L, Lindfors P (2016) Kvinnors och mäns arbetsvillkor - betydelsen av organisatoriska faktorer och psykosocial arbetsmiljö för arbets- och hälsorelaterade utfall. Arbetsmiljöverket, Stockholm

Szebehely M, Stranz A, Strandell R (2017) Vem ska arbeta i framtidens äldreomsorg? Working Paper/Department of Social Work, Stockholm University 2017:1

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Sweden (2018) Framtidens äldreomsorg—en nationell kvalitetsplan. Regeringens skrivelse 2017(2018):280

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (2018) Vård och omsorg om äldre Lägesrapport

Theorell T, Hasselhorn HM (2005) On cross-sectional questionnaire studies of relationships between psychosocial conditions at work and health–are they reliable? Int Arch Occup Environ Health 78(7):517–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-005-0618-6 CrossRef

Trydegård G-B (2012) Care work in changing welfare states: Nordic care workers’ experiences. Eur J Ageing 9(2):119–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-012-0219-7 CrossRef

Van der Doef M, Maes S (1999) The Job demand-control (-support) model and psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research. Work Stress 13(2):87–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/026783799296084 CrossRef

Winblad U, Blomqvist P, Karlsson A (2017) Do public nursing home care providers deliver higher quality than private providers? Evidence from Sweden. BMC Health Serv Res 17(1):487. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2403-0 CrossRef

Viotti S, Converso D (2016) Buffering effect of job resources in the relationship between job demands and work-to-private-life interference: a study among health-care workers. Saf Health Work 7(4):354–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2016.05.002 CrossRef

Title: The burden of high workload on the health-related quality of life among home care workers in Northern Sweden
Authors: André Sjöberg
Anita Pettersson-Strömbäck
Klas-Göran Sahlén
Lars Lindholm
Fredrik Norström
Publication date: 01-08-2020
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keyword: Care
Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health / Issue 6/2020
Print ISSN: 0340-0131
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1246
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01530-9

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The burden of high workload on the health-related quality of life among home care workers in Northern Sweden

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 6/2020

Neurobehavioral performance of PAH exposure in male coal miners in Shanxi, China: a cross-sectional study

Secondary prevention of UV-induced skin cancer: development and pilot testing of an educational patient counseling approach for individual sun protection as standard procedure of patient care

Prospective associations between burnout symptomatology and hair cortisol

Cognition and mental wellbeing after electrical accidents: a survey and a clinical study among Swedish male electricians

The moderating role of lifestyle, age, and years working in shifts in the relationship between shift work and being overweight

Non-allergic rhinitis and associated risk factors among the elderly in communities close to gold mine dumps in Gauteng and North West provinces in South Africa: a cross-sectional study