ArticleBMJ open2019
Working conditions and compensated sickness absence among nurses and care assistants in Sweden during two decades: a cross-sectional biennial survey study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Improving the Psychosocial Work Environment to Prevent Sickness Absence and Turnover in Nurses: A Systematic Review.Journal of nursing management · 2025Pooled it
- Suffering of Common Mental Disorders but Still at Work: A Longitudinal Study During Periods of Differences in Regulations for Having Sick Leave.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Employers' utilization of and collaboration with occupational health services in preventive occupational health and safety management.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
- Healthcare Occupations, Suicides, and Suicide Attempts: A Cohort Study Based on the Working Population in Sweden.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Sickness Absences Among Healthcare Workers: A Cohort Study in a Spanish Hospital (2018-2023).La Medicina del lavoro · 2025Article
- Trajectories of work disability among individuals with anxiety-, mood/affective-, or stress-related disorders in a primary healthcare setting.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Article
- Shifting from an individual to an organizational perspective in work environment management - a process evaluation of a six-year intervention program within the Swedish public sector.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
- The changing nature of work - Job strain, job support and sickness absence among care workers and in other occupations in Sweden 1991-2013.SSM - population health · 2021Article
- Favorable Working Conditions Related to Health Behavior Among Nurses and Care Assistants in Sweden-A Population-Based Cohort Study.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Interaction Effects of Physical and Psychosocial Working Conditions on Risk for Sickness Absence: A Prospective Study of Nurses and Care Assistants in Sweden.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Presenteeism, Psychosocial Working Conditions and Work Ability among Care Workers-A Cross-Sectional Swedish Population-Based Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aims of the study were to trace the patterns of work environment factors and compensated sickness absence (SA) among nurses and care assistants compared with other occupations and to compare SA among exposed and non-exposed nurses and care assistants.
designA cross-sectional survey on work environment factors based on the biennial Swedish Work Environment Surveys 1991-2013, linked to longitudinal register data on SA 1993-2014.
participantsThe study included 98 249 individuals, stratified into nurses and care assistants (n=16 179) and a reference population including all other occupations (n=82 070). OUTCOME MEASURE: Annual days of compensated SA (>14 days) 3 years after exposure years.
resultsNurses and care assistants had higher SA in 1993-2014 compared with all other occupations, and differences in background factors only partly explained this relationship. For both groups, exposure to physical work factors remained steady, but the number of exposed were 10%-30% higher among nurses and care assistants. Those exposed to heavy physical work and strenuous working postures had in most years significantly higher SA when compared with non-exposed (rate ratio range: 1.4-1.9). Exposure to high job demands increased 10%-25% in 1991-1999 among nurses and care assistants but became more stable in 2001-2013 and high proportions of high job demands coincided with the increase in SA in 1995-1999. Nurses and care assistants exposed to high job demands had for most years significantly higher SA than non-exposed (rate ratio range: 1.5-2.1). Low job control and low support from supervisors elevated SA significantly only for a few years.
conclusionsExposure to negative work factors among nurses and care assistants was weakly associated with variations in SA, but may be related to their higher level of SA when compared with other occupations. Improved physical and psychosocial working conditions may reduce the elevated SA level in these occupations.
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