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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, Carita LU orcid and Lexén, Annika LU (2021) In BMC Health Services Research 21.
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.... (More)

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.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Burnout, Health profession, Psychosocial factors, Work-life balance
in
BMC Health Services Research
volume
21
article number
471
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:34006285
  • scopus:85106205578
ISSN
1472-6963
DOI
10.1186/s12913-021-06465-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1dcc6125-3b43-434b-a5d4-47e9245c4453
date added to LUP
2021-06-02 16:25:17
date last changed
2024-08-10 16:51:47
@article{1dcc6125-3b43-434b-a5d4-47e9245c4453,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Håkansson, Carita and Lexén, Annika}},
  issn         = {{1472-6963}},
  keywords     = {{Burnout; Health profession; Psychosocial factors; Work-life balance}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Health Services Research}},
  title        = {{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}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06465-6}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12913-021-06465-6}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}