Garin Lee, Karen Messing, Woojoo Lee, Ji-Hwan Kim, Hayoung Lee, Seung-Sup Kim
{"title":"Gender differences in occupational hazard exposures within the same occupation: A nationally representative analysis in South Korea.","authors":"Garin Lee, Karen Messing, Woojoo Lee, Ji-Hwan Kim, Hayoung Lee, Seung-Sup Kim","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4204","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4204","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Occupational health researchers have often treated gender as a confounder in epidemiologic studies, but gender may influence exposure profiles. This study investigated gender differences in occupational hazard exposures within the same occupation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed the 6<sup>th</sup> Korean Working Conditions Survey (2020), a nationally representative dataset from South Korea. After restricting the study population to 22 511 full-time wage workers, we assessed 18 self-reported occupational exposures (4 physical, 4 chemical, 1 biological, 6 musculoskeletal, 3 psychosocial). To create matched samples, each man was matched with woman in the same occupational and industrial codes using `nearest neighbor matching` based on the propensity scores, considering age, education, employment status, the number of subordinates, and company size. This resulted in a matched study population of 3918 male and 3918 female workers in 403 occupations. Conditional logistic regression was applied to examine gender differences within the same occupation, adjusting for other covariates.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found persistent gender differences in occupational hazard exposures, even after matching of men and women within the same occupation and industry based on propensity scores. Men reported a higher prevalence of exposure to physical (eg, loud noise) and chemical factors (eg, chemical products), while women were more likely to be exposed to psychosocial factors (eg, handling angry clients). The findings on musculoskeletal factors were mixed, with men being more exposed to standing and women to repetitive hand movements.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Gender should be considered when planning interventions to reduce occupational harmful exposures, even within the same occupation.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"111-118"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143415094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Svetlana Solovieva, Alexis Descatha, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Eira Viikari-Juntura, Karina Undem, Karin Berglund, Fabien Gilbert, Francesca Wuytack, Angelo d'Errico, Kathryn Badarin, Bradley Evanoff, Katarina Kjellberg
{"title":"Development of a gender-specific European job exposure matrix (EuroJEM) for physical workload and its validation against musculoskeletal pain.","authors":"Svetlana Solovieva, Alexis Descatha, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Eira Viikari-Juntura, Karina Undem, Karin Berglund, Fabien Gilbert, Francesca Wuytack, Angelo d'Errico, Kathryn Badarin, Bradley Evanoff, Katarina Kjellberg","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4203","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4203","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim was to develop a gender-specific European job exposure matrix (EuroJEM) for occupational physical workload and study its predictive validity for musculoskeletal pain in four European cohorts.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>National, gender-specific JEM from Finland, France, Norway and Sweden, based on self-reported exposure information, were evaluated for similarities in exposures, exposure definitions, and occupational coding. The EuroJEM harmonized five exposures: heavy lifting, faster breathing due to heavy workload, kneeling/squatting, forward bent posture, and working with hands above shoulder level. Our expert panel addressed disagreements and missing information to reach consensus on exposure levels across occupations. To assess predictive validity of the EuroJEM, we examined associations between the harmonized exposure measures and self-reported musculoskeletal pain across the four cohorts.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The EuroJEM provides semi-quantitative exposure estimates for 374 ISCO-88 (COM) occupational codes. Five categories of exposure were defined by the proportion of workers exposed within each occupation. Comparable and statistically significant associations were found between EuroJEM exposures and low back, shoulder, and knee pain across all cohorts and genders, except for knee pain among women in the Finnish cohort. For instance, in both genders heavy lifting, faster breathing due to heavy workload, and forward bent posture were statistically significantly associated with low-back pain in all four cohorts, with OR ranging from 1.25-2.18 (men) and 1.23-2.04 (women).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite differences in study populations and outcome definitions, good predictive validity was observed in each national cohort, suggesting that EuroJEM can be an effective tool for exposure assessment in large-scale European epidemiological studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"119-129"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11895771/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142838871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Remote work - the new normal needs more research.","authors":"Annina Ropponen","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4213","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4213","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"53-57"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11886879/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143047503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Niki Marjerrison, Tom K Grimsrud, Johnni Hansen, Jan Ivar Martinsen, Karl-Christian Nordby, Raymond Olsen, Jo S Stenehjem, Marit B Veierød, Kristina Kjærheim
{"title":"Occupational exposures of firefighting and prostate cancer risk in the Norwegian Fire Departments Cohort.","authors":"Niki Marjerrison, Tom K Grimsrud, Johnni Hansen, Jan Ivar Martinsen, Karl-Christian Nordby, Raymond Olsen, Jo S Stenehjem, Marit B Veierød, Kristina Kjærheim","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4202","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4202","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Excess incidence of prostate cancer (PC) is frequently observed among firefighters; however, the association with specific occupational exposures of firefighting, as well as the influence of a medical surveillance bias, remains unclear. Our aim was to study PC risk within a firefighter cohort, applying indicators of exposures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used indicators of various firefighting exposures to examine PC risk among men in the Norwegian Fire Departments Cohort (N=4251). Incident PC cases, including clinical characteristics, were obtained from the Cancer Registry of Norway (1960-2021). Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) by cumulative exposure in tertiles (reference: lowest) for all, aggressive, and indolent PC, with adjustment for age and birth cohort. The cumulative incidence of PC across birth cohorts and diagnostic periods was examined.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>No clear associations emerged for any of the exposure indicators, although we observed an HR of 1.31 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63-2.72] for aggressive PC in the highest tertile of fire exposure score and 1.31 (95% CI 0.60-2.89) for indolent PC in the highest tertile of inhalation score. Assessment of cumulative incidence demonstrated a greater number of diagnoses at younger ages after 1990, particularly for indolent and unclassifiable PC.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found little support for an association between firefighting exposures and PC risk. However, our study had few cases in analyses by clinical stage. Challenges in studies of firefighters' PC risk remain, including difficulties in exposure characterization and the unclear magnitude of a medical surveillance bias.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"100-110"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11895083/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142824481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wendu Pang, Yao Song, Jun Xie, Xiaohong Yan, Yaxin Luo, Ke Qiu, Yufang Rao, Di Deng, Minzi Mao, Junhong Li, Danni Cheng, Wei Xu, Jianjun Ren, Yu Zhao
{"title":"Working behaviors and the risk of sensorineural hearing loss: A large cohort study.","authors":"Wendu Pang, Yao Song, Jun Xie, Xiaohong Yan, Yaxin Luo, Ke Qiu, Yufang Rao, Di Deng, Minzi Mao, Junhong Li, Danni Cheng, Wei Xu, Jianjun Ren, Yu Zhao","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4209","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the association between working behaviors and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional analysis was conducted (N=90 286) to assess the association between working behaviors (including shift work, night shift work and physically demanding work) and the occurrence (yes/no), laterality (unilateral/bilateral), and severity (mild/severe) of SNHL. A prospective analysis was conducted to explore the association between new-onset SNHL and working behaviors (N=8341). Multivariable logistic regression and Cox regression models were performed. Subgroup analyses were further carried out, stratified by age, sex, and chronotype. Furthermore, a polygenic risk score (PRS) was calculated to assess the influence of genetic susceptibility on the relationship.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Cross-sectional analysis indicated that shift work, night shift work and physically demanding work were all associated with an increased risk of SNHL (all P<0.05). These working behaviors were also associated with increased severity of SNHL (all P<0.05) and a higher likelihood of bilateral SNHL (all P<0.05). In prospective studies, the trends were generally consistent with the aforementioned results. Furthermore, the relationship between night shift work and SNHL was particularly pronounced among individuals with morning chronotype (P-interaction=0.007), or with ≤5 years noisy work environments (P-interaction=0.026). Importantly, regardless of the level of genetic risk of PRS, a positive association remained between night shift work and physically demanding work with SNHL.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Both cross-sectional and prospective analysis indicated that shift work, night shift work, and physically demanding work were associated with increased risk of occurrence, laterality and severity of SNHL, regardless of PRS for SHNL.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"77-88"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11892729/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143415095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amanda E Aronsson, Emelie Thern, Nuria Matilla-Santander, Signild Kvart, Julio C Hernando-Rodriguez, Kathryn Badarin, Mireia Julià, Samira Alfayumi-Zeadna, Virginia Gunn, Bertina Kreshpaj, Carles Muntaner, Theo Bodin, Lluís Mangot-Sala
{"title":"Parental precarious employment and the mental health of adolescents: a Swedish registry study.","authors":"Amanda E Aronsson, Emelie Thern, Nuria Matilla-Santander, Signild Kvart, Julio C Hernando-Rodriguez, Kathryn Badarin, Mireia Julià, Samira Alfayumi-Zeadna, Virginia Gunn, Bertina Kreshpaj, Carles Muntaner, Theo Bodin, Lluís Mangot-Sala","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4210","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigates the association between parental precarious employment (PE) and the mental health of their adolescent children, with a particular focus on how the association differs based on whether the mother or father is in PE.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This register-based study used the Swedish Work, Illness, and Labor-market Participation (SWIP) cohort. A sample of 117 437 children aged 16 years at baseline (2005) were followed up until 2009 (the year they turned 20). A multidimensional construct of PE (SWE-ROPE 2.0) was used to classify parental employment as either precarious, substandard or standard. The outcome, adolescents' mental disorders, was measured as a diagnosis of a mental disorder using ICD-10 codes or by prescribed psychotropic drugs using ATC codes. Crude and adjusted Cox regression models produced hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the association between parental PE and adolescents' mental health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adolescents with parents in PE exhibited a higher risk of developing mental disorders. The association was more pronounced for paternal PE (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.35) compared to maternal PE (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00-1.21). These associations largely persisted after adjusting for important confounders, including parental mental health.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study addresses a significant gap in the literature on parental PE and adolescents' mental health. As PE is growing more common across countries, this study provides relevant insights into the intergenerational role that parental low-quality employment may have in terms of mental health within families.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"59-67"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11886878/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143024680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robert Ciliacus, Roos W Hijdra, Suzan J W Robroek, Anja K Leist, Alex Burdorf, Merel Schuring
{"title":"Memory function and early exit from paid employment through different pathways among ageing European workers.","authors":"Robert Ciliacus, Roos W Hijdra, Suzan J W Robroek, Anja K Leist, Alex Burdorf, Merel Schuring","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4211","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4211","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Understanding memory function's role in early workforce exit is key in supporting sustainable employment among ageing workers. This study examined the impact of memory function on early exit from paid employment, analyzed changes in memory function before, during and after such transitions, and assessed memory function trajectories in relation to the presence or absence of effort-reward imbalance at work.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study included 16 339 respondents from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) between age 50 and the country-specific retirement age. The effects of objective and subjective memory functioning on early exit were assessed using Cox proportional hazards with Fine-Gray sub distribution models. Changes in memory function before and after a transition to non-employment were assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models. These changes were described and compared based on exposure to job effort-reward imbalance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Workers with poor subjective memory were 2.3 times more likely to exit employment prematurely due to disability ([sub-distribution hazard ratio (SHR) 2.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.77-3.00] and 1.3 times more likely to exit through unemployment (SHR 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.55). Workers with low objective memory were 1.6 times more likely to exit through unemployment (SHR 1.56, 95% CI 1.30-1.87). Subjective memory generally declined prior to, and during early exit from paid employment. While subjective memory generally improved post-exit, objective memory function declined after exiting. An accelerated decline in objective memory functioning was noted among early retirees who had been exposed to effort-reward imbalance at work (β -0.45, standard error 0.16).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Workers with poor memory function are at higher risk of early involuntary exit from paid employment. Promoting memory function and balancing job efforts and rewards may help mitigate the risk of a premature exit.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"89-99"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11893212/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143190343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Małgorzata Mikucka, Oliver Arránz Becker, Christof Worl
{"title":"Short- and long-term health effects of job insecurity. Fixed effects panel analysis of German data.","authors":"Małgorzata Mikucka, Oliver Arránz Becker, Christof Worl","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4206","DOIUrl":"10.5271/sjweh.4206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Previous research has linked job insecurity to health deterioration. The risk accumulation model suggests that health effects of job insecurity may persist even after job security is restored, yet long-term empirical analyses are scarce. Our study evaluates the long-term effects of accumulated exposures to affective job insecurity on mental and physical health among the working-age population in Germany.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Using data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (12 624 individuals; 84 219 observations), we applied panel regression models with individual fixed effects to assess short- and long-term health changes associated with affective job insecurity. Job insecurity was measured by respondents' worries about job security. Mental and physical health was recorded with the SF-12 scale.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Job insecurity correlated with short-term worsening in mental and physical health. However, after job insecurity ceased, health recovery was incomplete resulting in a long-term health deterioration. The long-term effects were larger among respondents who accumulated more instances of job insecurity, and showed a similar pattern for mental and physical health. An additional analysis documented stronger health effects of job insecurity among lower educated persons.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study is one of the first to empirically demonstrate the negative long-term health effects of job insecurity. Our findings for a well-protected labor market like Germany's, suggest that the health risks associated with job insecurity may be substantial and potentially underestimated by studies that focus solely on short-term effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":"68-76"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11887650/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142979903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cost analysis comparing guideline-oriented biopsychosocial management to usual care for low-back pain: a cluster-randomized trial in occupational health primary care.","authors":"","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4212","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the effect of a brief training intervention for occupational health services (OHS) professionals on multiprofessional resource utilization and the costs of biopsychosocial management of patients with low-back pain (LBP) compared to usual care among all participants and those in work disability-based risk groups.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>OHS utilization and back-related sick leave data were collected from electronic patient records over one-year follow-up comparing 232 patients in the intervention arm and 80 control-arm patients, stratified for risk of work disability based on the Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire. We estimated costs using linear mixed models by multiplying unit costs (in euros) by each type of OHS resource use (visits to physicians, physiotherapists, nurses, use of imaging) and the number of sick leaves. Estimated mean cost differences with confidence intervals (CI) were reported using bootstrapping to deal with skewed cost data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median number of visits to physicians and physiotherapists in the intervention versus control arms was 1 [interquartile range (IQR) 0-3] and 2 (IQR 1-4) versus 2 (IQR 1-3) and 1 (IQR 0-2), respectively. The intervention arm accrued lower physician costs (€-43, 95% CI €-82- -3, P=0.034) and higher physiotherapist costs (€55, 95% CI €26-84, P<0.001) compared to the control arm. There was no statistically significant difference in average total costs between the arms (€-1908, 95% CI €-6734-2919). In the low- and medium-risk groups of work disability, physiotherapist costs were higher in the intervention than control arm, but no statistically significant differences were observed between the arms in the total resource utilization or sickness absence costs.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Brief biopsychosocial training may support shifting OHS resources towards multiprofessional physiotherapist-driven care, instead of solely physician-driven care, for management of patients with LBP in differing risk groups of work disability with no substantial differences in total costs.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143459480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eline E Vos, Allard J van der Beek, Simone R de Bruin, Karin I Proper
{"title":"Effects of a workplace participatory approach to support working caregivers in balancing work, private life and informal care: a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Eline E Vos, Allard J van der Beek, Simone R de Bruin, Karin I Proper","doi":"10.5271/sjweh.4208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Many employees combine their work with informal care responsibilities for family and friends, potentially impacting their well-being and sustained employability. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a workplace participatory approach (PA) intervention in supporting working caregivers to prevent and solve problems related to balancing work, private life, and informal care tasks.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a two-armed randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN15363783) in which working caregivers either received the PA (N=57), under guidance of an occupational professional serving as process facilitator, or usual care (N=59). We recruited 125 working caregivers from four Dutch organizations. Questionnaire-based measurements were assessed at baseline, 4, and 7 months. The primary outcome was work-life imbalance. Secondary outcomes were perceived social support from supervisors and colleagues, role overload, distress and perceived burden of combining work and informal care. Intervention effects were analyzed using intention-to-treat analysis and linear mixed models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PA was not effective in reducing work-life imbalance, improving support from colleagues or reducing role overload, distress and perceived burden of combining work and informal care. However, the PA significantly improved perceived social support from supervisors at 4 months [β=0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21-0.88] and 7 months (β=0.36, 95% CI 0.02-0.70). Interaction effects indicated that improvement in supervisor support varied depending on the organization.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The PA improved supervisor support but not work-life imbalance. Further research should explore PA effects on working caregivers with and without balance issues and the role of supervisor support in reducing work-life conflict.</p>","PeriodicalId":21528,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143024679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}