Occupational Health among Swedish Occupational Therapists: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lexén, Annika; Kåhlin, Ida; Erlandsson, Lena; Håkansson, Carita

doi:10.3390/ijerph17103379

Cited by 24 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is in keeping with a study by Bruschini, Carli and Burla, who found that 32% of the paramedical staff (n ¼ 391) (occupational therapists, speech therapists and physiotherapists) showed signs of mental health problems such as emotional exhaustion and 14% were at high risk of burnout [18]. In a newly conducted study by Lex en and colleagues [1] of 3,658 Swedish occupational therapists, the participating occupational therapists generally rated their workload as heavy, with increased stress as a consequence. In the study, almost a fifth of the participating occupational therapists reported work-related mental health problems in the form of symptoms of mild incipient exhaustion or pronounced exhaustion disorder.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Perceived job strain among Swedish occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience

Lexén

Kalsås

Liiri

et al. 2020

Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience have been shown to be at higher risk of work-related stress. There is a need for further research on the level of job strain they perceive. Aims: To investigate the perceived level of job strain among Swedish occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience and differences between groups who have worked for 0-5 years and 6-10 years. Material and methods: In this cross-sectional study, a web-based survey was sent to 345 occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience, with 252 responding. Data was collected using the Swedish Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire and questions on job strain and sociodemographics. Results: The participants scored 19.68 points on the control scale and 20.01 points on the support scale, indicating high levels of control and support, and 13.33 points on the demand scale (high demand 14 points). Twelve percent worked in high strain jobs. Most (75%) worked in low strain and active jobs. Conclusions and significance: The participants reported low levels of job strain. However, to prevent mental health problems, employers need to identify those in active jobs to ensure that they have time to exercise control over their work situation.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In recent years, in Sweden as in other European countries, there has been an increase in sick leave for mental health problems resulting from increased job strain [1,2]. People spend a large proportion of their waking life at work, and so the work environment has a major role in well-being and health [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived job strain among Swedish occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience

Lexén

Kalsås

Liiri

et al. 2020

Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, the prevalence rates of signs of exhaustion in LUCIE were also higher among the principals when compared with a Swedish occupational sample consisting of 3658 occupational therapists (94% females) [62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…In this organisation sample, the occurrence of stress and exhaustion warnings in LUCIE were 8 and 5.5%, respectively [ 61 ]. In addition, the prevalence rates of signs of exhaustion in LUCIE were also higher among the principals when compared with a Swedish occupational sample consisting of 3658 occupational therapists (94% females) [ 62 ]. In this sample of occupational therapists, the occurrence of stress and exhaustion warnings in LUCIE were 11 and 7%, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of exhaustion symptoms and associations with school level, length of work experience and gender: a nationwide cross-sectional study of Swedish principals

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background While poor mental health and psychiatric disorders attributed to stressful work conditions are a public health concern in many countries, the health consequences of the occupational stress experienced by school principals is an understudied issue. Although current data is lacking, some research suggests that principals have a stressful work situation that eventually may lead to burnout and exhaustion disorder, thus negatively affecting the ability of principals to function as leaders. To gauge the situation in Sweden, and as a basis for future preventive actions, we examined to what extent principals displayed signs of exhaustion and whether the prevalence rates of exhaustion differed across school levels, length of work experience as a principal, and gender. Methods Principals (N = 2219; mean age 49 years [SD 7 years]; 78% women) working at least 50% in pre-schools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education completed a cross-sectional web survey entailing two validated inventories: The Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS) and the Lund University Checklist for Incipient Exhaustion (LUCIE). Data was analysed using traditional non-parametric methods. Gender stratification achieved covariate balance when analysing school level and length of work experience. Results Altogether, 29.0% of the principals met the exhaustion criteria in KEDS. The prevalence rates for the four LUCIE-steps of increasing signs of exhaustion were: no signs of stress, 48.8%; weak signs of stress, 25.6%; clear signs of stress but no exhaustion, 15.4%; possible exhaustion disorder, 10.2%. Compared with male principals, female principals reported more signs of possible exhaustion disorder in both LUCIE and KEDS. School level was not associated with reports of exhaustion symptoms in neither LUCIE nor KEDS. Among male principals, length of work experience was associated with exhaustion symptoms in KEDS. Conclusions A large group of Swedish principals working in pre-schools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education displayed a symptomatology of signs of exhaustion that if sustained might lead to poor health. This observation suggests that education authorities, or other relevant stakeholders, ought to take some form of preventive action. However, effective combinations of individual, group, organisational, and/or societal preventive activities remain to be identified and tested.

show abstract

“…The questions in QPSmismatch have been grouped according to Maslach and Leiter's model of burnout development [21] into the following groups or dimensions: 1) Workload, 2) Control, 3) Community, 4) Reward, 5) Justice and 6) Values. QPS-mismatch has five response alternatives ranging from very seldom or never (1) to very often or always (5). The reliability was shown to be good (Cronbach alpha 0.72-0.90 in all dimensions) [Österberg, 2016, [19].…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The combination of psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and sociodemographic characteristics and their associations with no or negligible stress symptoms among Swedish occupational therapists – a cross-sectional study

Håkansson

Lexén

2021

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The numbers of people who are on sick leave due to mental health problems, such as exhaustion disorder, are increasing in Sweden. One of the most affected groups is healthcare professionals. In order to develop preventive strategies to promote a sustainable working life for occupational therapists, there is a need to understand the associations between psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and no or negligible stress symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, neither the combination of these factors nor the salutogenic perspective, have been taken into consideration when exploring factors associated with stress symptoms among occupational therapists in previous research. Methods Purposeful sampling was used. All currently working members of the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists were invited to take part in the present study in 2018. The final sample was 3658 (48% response rate). A web-survey with questions about signs of exhaustion, psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and sociodemographic characteristics was used. Logistic regression analyses were used in order to calculate associations between psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance, sociodemographic characteristics and no or negligible signs of exhaustion. Results Experiencing high occupational balance, low workload, high control, high sense of community and high justice, were associated with no or negligible stress symptoms. Furthermore, a satisfying financial situation, having children living at home, being married and long professional experience were significant in this model. Conclusions It seems important to consider not only psychosocial working conditions, but also occupational balance to prevent exhaustion disorder among occupational therapists in Sweden. Organisational programmes, which reduce the workload, strengthen the control and sense of community and facilitate occupational balance, seem to be important areas for health promotion in this group.

show abstract

Occupational Health among Swedish Occupational Therapists: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cited by 24 publications

References 27 publications

Perceived job strain among Swedish occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience

Perceived job strain among Swedish occupational therapists with less than 10 years of work experience

Prevalence of exhaustion symptoms and associations with school level, length of work experience and gender: a nationwide cross-sectional study of Swedish principals

The combination of psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and sociodemographic characteristics and their associations with no or negligible stress symptoms among Swedish occupational therapists – a cross-sectional study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About