Inflammatory bowel disease patients experience a high burden in work-related outcomes. Additional data on productivity losses and the long-term impact of interventions is needed to help inform decision-makers about treatment options and their benefits in reducing productivity losses in inflammatory bowel disease patients.
ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate sick leave and disability pension in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as compared with a matched general population cohort.DesignRetrospective register study.SettingNationwide in Sweden.ParticipantsThis register-based study used the Swedish National Patient Register to identify working-age patients with HCV in 2012 (n=32 021) who were diagnosed between 1999 and 2007 (n=19 362). Sick leave and disability pension data were retrieved from Statistics Sweden (1994–2012), with up to five matched individuals from the general population.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was workdays lost due to sick leave episodes (>14 days) and disability pension overall. The secondary outcome was workdays lost per subgroup of patients with chronic HCV.ResultsIn 2012, 14% of the HCV patients had ≥1 registered sick leave episode compared with 10% in the matched comparator cohort. For disability pension benefits, results were 30% versus 8%, respectively. Overall, in 2012, 57% of patients with HCV did not have any registered workdays lost, whereas 30% were absent ≥360 days compared with 83% and 9% in the matched cohort, respectively. The mean total number of annual workdays lost in 2012 was 126 days in the HCV patient cohort compared with 40 days in the matched general population comparator cohort. Annual days lost increased from a mean of 86 days 5 years before diagnosis to 136 days during the year of diagnosis.ConclusionsThese results show that Swedish HCV patients used more sick days and have a higher frequency of disability pension compared with a comparator cohort from the general Swedish population. Whether earlier diagnosis of HCV and treatment might impact work absence in Sweden warrants further investigation.
Purpose
Domestic abuse (e.g., family violence)
occurs globally and increases the risk for lifelong adverse health outcomes for all members involved. Although victims of domestic abuse often refrain from seeking support due to various reasons (e.g., fear), health centers such as emergency departments (EDs) can serve as outlets for assistance. The Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) is a program working collaboratively with a regional hospital center in Alberta, Canada, uniquely providing immediate, expert, and patient-oriented services (e.g., safety plans) to domestic abuse victims within the ED. This study aimed to evaluate the DART program by: (1) using administrative data to characterize ED and DART patient characteristics and (2) examining staff perceptions about DART’s operations, effectiveness, challenges, and improvements.
Methods
A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data from April 1
st
, 2019 to March 31
st
, 2020. Quantitative data consisted of descriptive statistics on patient and staff characteristics and qualitative data was collected through two surveys to determine perceptions of the DART program.
Results
Approximately 60% of ED patients were screened for domestic abuse and 1% were referred to DART, of which 86% were female. All referrals received support within an hour and were provided patient-oriented assistance. Qualitative data revealed that the DART program offers important support to patient victims, increases comfort around dealing with domestic abuse, and decreases ED staff workloads.
Conclusions
The DART program offers valuable support to domestic abuse victims. Staff reported that DART is effective in providing victims with immediate care and services while also supporting ED staff.
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