Objectives: The study aims to identify individual and workplace factors associated with early return to work [RTW] -defined as within 3 months -and factors associated with later RTW -between 3 and 12 months after being sick-listed -in a cohort of newly sick-listed individuals with common mental disorders.Methods: In a prospective cohort study, a cross-sectional analysis was performed on baseline measures of patients granted sick leave due to common mental disorders. A total of 533 newly sicklisted individuals fulfilled the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. A baseline questionnaire was sent by post within three weeks of their first day of certified medical sickness; 354 (66%) responded. Those who were unemployed were excluded, resulting in a study population of 319 individuals. Sick leave was recorded for each individual from the Social Insurance Office during one year. Analyses were made with multiple Cox regression analyses.Results: Early RTW was associated with lower education, better work ability at baseline, positive expectations of treatment and low perceived interactional justice with the supervisor. RTW after three months was associated with a need to reduce demands at work, and turnover intentions.Conclusions: Early RTW among sick-listed individuals with common mental disorders seems to be associated with the individual's need to secure her/his employment situation, whereas later RTW is associated with variables reflecting dissatisfaction with work conditions. No health measures were associated with RTW. The study highlights the importance of considering not only health and functioning, but also workplace conditions and relations at the workplace in implementing RTW interventions.

There was some consistency in the results of the selected studies, suggesting that workplace interventions such as high-intensity strength exercises and/or integrated health care can decrease pain and symptoms for employees who experience long-term musculoskeletal disorders. However, the current research is limited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore what characterizes patients receiving clinical interventions vs combined clinical and work-related interventions in a cohort of sick-listed subjects with musculoskeletal or mental disorders. Factors associated with return-to-work were also analysed. Design: A prospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 699 newly sick-listed patients responded to a questionnaire on sociodemographics, measures of health, functioning, work ability, self-efficacy, social support, work conditions, and expectations. The 3-month follow-up questionnaire included patients' self-reported measures of return-to-work, work ability and type of interventions. The most frequent International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnoses for patients' musculoskeletal disorders were dorsopathies (M50-54) and soft tissue disorders (M70-79), and for patients with mental disorders, depression (F32-39) and stress reactions (F43). Results: Patients with mental disorders who received combined interventions returned to work to a higher degree than those who received only clinical intervention. The prevalence of work-related interventions was higher for those who were younger and more highly educated. For patients with musculoskeletal disorders better health, work ability and positive expectations of return-to-work were associated with return-to-work. However, combined interventions did not affect return-to-work in this group. Conclusion: Receiving combined interventions increased the probability of return-to-work for patients with mental disorders, but not for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Better health, positive expectations of return-to-work and better work ability were associated with return-to-work for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.

BackgroundGiven the prevalence of work stress-related ill-health in the Western world, it is important to find cost-effective, easy-to-use and valid measures which can be used both in research and in practice.AimsTo examine the validity and reliability of the single-item stress question (SISQ), distributed weekly by short message service (SMS) and used for measurement of work-related stress.MethodsThe convergent validity was assessed through associations between the SISQ and subscales of the Job Demand–Control–Support model, the Effort–Reward Imbalance model and scales measuring depression, exhaustion and sleep. The predictive validity was assessed using SISQ data collected through SMS. The reliability was analysed by the test–retest procedure.ResultsCorrelations between the SISQ and all the subscales except for job strain and esteem reward were significant, ranging from −0.186 to 0.627. The SISQ could also predict sick leave, depression and exhaustion at 12-month follow-up. The analysis on reliability revealed a satisfactory stability with a weighted kappa between 0.804 and 0.868.ConclusionsThe SISQ, administered through SMS, can be used for the screening of stress levels in a working population.

The result highlights the possibility that working people face similar difficulties in achieving occupational balance. Further research is warranted about how to attain it.

BackgroundGiven today’s high prevalence of common mental disorders and related sick leave among teachers, an urgent need exists for a more systematic approach to the management of social and organizational risk factors within schools. In 2015, we launched the first Swedish occupational health guideline to support a structured prevention of these risks at the workplace. The existence of guidelines does however not guarantee their usage, as studies show that guidelines are often underused. Knowledge is therefore needed on effective implementation strategies that can facilitate the translation of guidelines into practice. The primary aim of the randomized waiting list-controlled trial described in this study protocol is to compare the effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy versus a single implementation strategy for implementing the Guideline for the prevention of mental ill-health at the workplace within schools. The effectiveness will be compared regarding the extent to which the recommendations are implemented (implementation effectiveness) and with regard to social and organisational risk factors for mental ill-health, absenteeism and presenteeism (intervention effectiveness).MethodsThe trial is conducted among primary schools of two municipalities in Sweden. The single implementation strategy is an educational strategy (an educational meeting). The multifaceted strategy consists of the educational meeting, an implementation team and a series of workshops. The outcome measure of implementation effectiveness is guideline adherence. The primary outcome of intervention effectiveness is exhaustion. Secondary outcomes include demands at work, work organization and job contents, interpersonal relations and leadership, presenteeism, work performance, recovery, work-life balance, work-engagement, self-reported stress, self-perceived health, sickness absence and psychosocial safety climate. Process outcomes as well as barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation process are assessed. Data will be collected at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months by mixed methods (i.e. survey, focus-group interviews, observation).DiscussionThe study described in this protocol will provide valuable knowledge on the effectiveness of implementation strategies for implementing a guideline for the prevention of common mental disorders within schools. We hypothesize that successful implementation will result in reductions in school personnel’s perceived social and organizational risk factors, mental ill-health and sick-leave.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03322839 (trial registration: 09/19/2017).

Aim: The study aims to identify characteristics associated with long-term expectations of professional stability or mobility among recently sick-listed workers, and to study whether expectations of professional mobility and turnover intentions were associated with duration of sick leave. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on baseline measures in a prospective cohort study of patients who were granted sick leave due to musculoskeletal (

Objectives: Learning from incident reporting systems is one core strategy to develop a culture of safety for healthcare workers and patients. The aim of this retrospective study was to explore patient injuries focussing on falls. Furthermore, on healthcare workers incidents, injuries and the situations they occurred. Method: A total of 65,749 patient risks and incidents were registered in the incident reporting system between 2011 and 2014. Of these, 11,006 were classified as an injury to a patient. Risks and incidents were registered and analysed for 1702 healthcare workers. Results: Fifteen percent of the patient injuries required treatment. Falls were reported in 17% of the cases. Patients fell mainly in unassisted situations. Healthcare workers' incidents and injuries were registered mainly by nurses and assistant nurses. Sixteen percent of the injuries required treatment. Prevalence of incidents was on an average 3.5% each year. Common injuries were: needle stick, workplace violence, injuries during patient manual handling. The patient was present in 74% of all incidents. Conclusion: Patient and healthcare workers injuries are still prevalent in Swedish healthcare and a substantial part of the incidents involved a patient situation. Collaboration between employers, employees and patient representatives is needed to increase awareness of safety in healthcare.