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Barriers and Willingness to Accept Re-Employment among Unemployed Senior Workers: The SeniorWorkingLife Study.

ABSTRACT: Labor market participation has a positive impact on social inclusion and is linked to financial security. This study identifies barriers and willingness to accept re-employment among unemployed seniors that could highlight opportunities for societal action. From the first wave of SeniorWorkingLife in 2018 combined with the Danish version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations register (ISCO), +50-year-old unemployed senior workers (n = 1682) were stratified into mainly seated work (ISCO 1-4) and mainly physical work (ISCO 5-9), respectively, in their latest employment. We used SurveyFreq and SurveyLogistics of SAS combined with model-assisted weights based on national registers to estimate representative frequencies and odds ratios (OR) for barriers and willingness to accept re-employment. Higher age was perceived as a general barrier for re-employment in both groups. Health was a more pronounced barrier for seniors with mainly physical work compared to seniors with mainly seated work (OR 2.35; CI95 1.31-4.21). Overall, seniors showed a large degree of flexibility and willingness to re-enter the labor market. Different barriers and willingness to accept re-employment exist among currently unemployed seniors. These results highlight the need for different approaches across occupational groups to help unemployed seniors back into the labor market.

SUBMITTER: Thomassen K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7439115 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Barriers and Willingness to Accept Re-Employment among Unemployed Senior Workers: The SeniorWorkingLife Study.

Thomassen Kristina K Sundstrup Emil E Skovlund Sebastian V SV Andersen Lars L LL

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200725 15

Labor market participation has a positive impact on social inclusion and is linked to financial security. This study identifies barriers and willingness to accept re-employment among unemployed seniors that could highlight opportunities for societal action. From the first wave of SeniorWorkingLife in 2018 combined with the Danish version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations register (ISCO), +50-year-old unemployed senior workers (<i>n</i> = 1682) were stratified into mainl ...[more]

PMID: 32722360

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Project description:IntroductionMaintaining good health with advancing age is increasingly important as most European countries experience an increase in retirement age. In order to decrease the risk of premature departure from the workforce, identifying groups at increased risk of musculoskeletal pain and psychosocial stress is essential in designing workplace policies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between occupational groups differing in terms of physical demands and skill requirement, and the outcomes of stress and pain.MethodsThis cross-sectional study reports associations of nine different occupational groups with stress and pain among 11 474 senior workers; stratified by occupational group and based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). A large-scale questionnaire survey was dispatched to Danish workers; drawn as a probability sample and merged with national registers. Representative estimates were produced using logistic regression controlling for various confounders, combined with model-assisted weights.ResultsThe prevalence of daily pain and high stress among occupational groups ranged between 20.0%-50.5% and 3.9%-10.0%, respectively. Compared with occupations characterised by being mostly sedentary (ISCO group 1-4), those with primarily physical demanding work (ISCO group 5-9) had higher odds of daily pain (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.70) and a tendency towards higher stress scores (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.46). Lastly, female workers experience increased odds of daily pain (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.66) and high stress (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.89) compared with male workers.ConclusionsOccupational settings characterised by mainly physical work and low skill requirements are more likely to experience daily pain compared with those entailing mainly sedentary work. Likewise, in this sample of senior workers, women are more likely to experience pain and stress. These results highlights the need for improving occupation-specific and sex-specific guidelines in the prevention of musculoskeletal pain and psychological stress in workplaces.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials identifier: NCT03634410.

Project description:Purpose To evaluate the influence of an interdisciplinary re-employment programme on labour force participation and perceived health among unemployed persons with common mental health problems. In addition, the influence of entering paid employment on self-rated physical health and mental health was investigated. Methods In this quasi-experimental study with 2 years follow up, 869 persons were enrolled after referral to an interdisciplinary re-employment programme (n = 380) or regular re-employment programme (n = 489). The propensity score technique was used to account for observed differences between the intervention and control group. The intervention programme was provided by an interdisciplinary team, consisting of mental health care professionals as well as employment specialists. Mental health problems were addressed through cognitive counselling and individual tailored job-search support was provided by an employment professional. Primary outcome measures were paid employment and voluntary work. Secondary outcome measures were self-rated mental and physical health, measured by the Short Form 12 Health Survey, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Changes in labour force participation and health were examined with repeated-measures logistic regression analyses by the generalized estimating equations method. Results The interdisciplinary re-employment programme did not have a positive influence on entering employment or physical or mental health among unemployed persons with mental health problems. After 2 years, 10% of the participants of the intervention programme worked fulltime, compared to 4% of the participants of the usual programmes (adjusted OR 1.65). The observed differences in labour force participation were not statistically significant. However, among persons who entered paid employment, physical health improved (+16%) and anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased (-15%), whereas health remained unchanged among persons who continued to be unemployed. Conclusions Policies to improve population health should take into account that promoting paid employment may be an effective intervention to improve health. It is recommended to invest in interdisciplinary re-employment programmes with a first place and train approach.

Project description:BackgroundSuccessful transitions from unemployment to employment are an important concern, yet little is known about health-related selection into employment. We assessed the association of various physical and psychiatric conditions with finding employment, and employment stability.MethodsUsing total population register data, we followed Finnish residents aged 30-60 with an unemployment spell during 2009-2018 (n = 814,085) for two years from the onset of unemployment. We predicted any, stable, and unstable employment by health status using Cox proportional hazards models. The data on specialized health care and prescription reimbursement were used to identify any alcohol-related conditions and poisonings, psychiatric conditions and self-harm, injuries, and physical conditions. We further separated physical conditions into cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and neurological conditions, and psychiatric conditions into depression, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders.ResultsThe likelihood of any employment was lower among those who had any of the assessed health conditions. It was lowest among those with alcohol-related or psychiatric conditions with an age-adjusted hazard ratio of 0.45 (95% confidence interval 0.44, 0.46) among men and 0.39 (0.38, 0.41) among women for alcohol-related and 0.64 (0.63, 0.65) and 0.66 (0.65, 0.67) for psychiatric conditions, respectively. These results were not driven by differences in socioeconomic characteristics or comorbidities. All the included conditions were detrimental to both stable and unstable employment, however alcohol-related and psychiatric conditions were more harmful for stable than for unstable employment.ConclusionsThe prospects of the unemployed finding employment are reduced by poor health, particularly alcohol-related and psychiatric conditions. These two conditions may also lead to unstable career trajectories. The selection process contributes to the health differentials between employed and unemployed people. Unemployed people with health problems may therefore need additional support to improve their chances of employment.

Project description:Elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke but patients often discount recommended behavioral changes and prescribed medications. While effective interventions to promote adherence have been developed, cost-effectiveness from the patient's perspective, has not been well studied. The valuation of patient time and out of pocket expenses should be included while performing cost effectiveness evaluation. The Achieve BP study uses the contingent valuation method to assess willingness to accept (WTA) and willingness to pay (WTP) among patients with a history of uncontrolled blood pressure discharged from an urban emergency department and enrolled in a larger randomized controlled trial.WTA and WTP were assessed by asking patients a series of questions about time and travel costs and time value related to their study participation. A survey was conducted during the final study visit with patients to investigate the effectiveness of a kiosk-based educational intervention on blood pressure control. All study patients, regardless of study arm, received the same clinical protocol of commonly prescribed antihypertensive medication and met with research clinicians four times as part of the study procedures.Thirty-eight patients were offered the opportunity to participate in the cost-effectiveness study and all completed the survey. Statistical comparisons revealed these 38 patients were similar in representation to the entire RCT study population. All 38 (100.0%) were African-American, with an average age of 49.1 years; 55.3% were male, 21.1% were married, 78.9% had a high school or higher education, and 44.7% were working. 55.9% did not have a primary care provider and 50.0% did not have health insurance. Time price linear regression analysis was performed to estimate predictors of WTA and WTP.WTP and WTA may generate different results, and the elasticities were proportional to the estimated coefficients, with WTP about twice as responsive as WTA. An additional feature for health services research was successful piloting in a clinical setting of a brief patient-centered cost effectiveness survey.https://clinicaltrials.gov . Registration Number NCT02069015 . Registered February 19, 2014 (Retrospectively registered).

Dataset Information

Barriers and Willingness to Accept Re-Employment among Unemployed Senior Workers: The SeniorWorkingLife Study.

Publications

Barriers and Willingness to Accept Re-Employment among Unemployed Senior Workers: The SeniorWorkingLife Study.

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