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

Abstract

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.

Biological age as a criteria for assessment of the risk of mortality and morbidity

“…Проте проведення масових епідеміологічних досліджень в Україні пов'язані з низкою труднощів. Запропонована деякими авторами [3][4] оцінка впливу в динаміці виробничих чинників по санітарно-гігієнічним характеристикам умов праці часто є неможливою через часті та різноманітні перебудови виробництв, ліквідацію чи зміну форми власності, плинність кадрів тощо. Оцінка здоров'я досліджуваних когорт за результатами періодичних медичних оглядів і, особливо, за рівнем захворюваності з тимчасовою втратою працездатності [5][6] також є далекою від об'єктивної.…”

Translation and initial validation of the occupational balance questionnaire to Arabic—Occupational Balance Questionnaire-A

“…Occupational balance (OB) is one of the core concepts in occupational therapy (OT), and it has been found that quality of life can be improved by promoting it (Park et al, 2020). OB is related to quality of life, overall health and well-being, life satisfaction, and reduced stress levels (Håkansson et al, 2009; Håkansson and Ahlborg, 2016; Håkansson et al, 2020, 2021; Håkansson and Lexén, 2021; Wagman et al, 2019, 2020; Wagman and Håkansson, 2014a, 2014b; Wilcock et al, 1997; Yu et al, 2018). Even though the concept of OB was mentioned in Meyer’s articulation of the philosophy of occupational therapy (Meyer, 1977), standardized tools for measuring OB were not developed until much later.…”

“…The Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ) and the revised OBQ11 have been widely used by researchers to measure OB ever since its development (Borgh et al, 2018; Gunal et al, 2021; Håkansson et al, 2019a, 2019b, 2021; Håkansson and Lexén, 2021; Kassberg et al, 2021; Magnusson et al, 2020; Wagman et al, 2016). The instrument, originally developed in Swedish, has been translated to a number of other languages (Gomez, 2017; Günal et al, 2020; Uhrmann et al, 2019; Yu et al, 2019), but not as yet to the Arabic language.…”

Psychometric properties of the Arabic Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11-A)

“…Occupational balance (OB) refers to an individual’s self-perception of having the right amount and variety of occupations in his/her occupational pattern [ 1 ]. OB is related to a number of health indicators, such as quality of life [ 2–5 ], psychological wellbeing [ 6 ], perceived physical and mental health [ 7 , 8 ], sleep quality [ 9 ], reduced stress levels [ 8 , 10 , 11 ] life satisfaction [ 5 , 12 , 13 ], and family quality of life [ 14 ]. Measuring the level of OB and addressing OB issues among clients are important for occupational therapists working in rehabilitation settings [ 15 ].…”