Absenteeism and Presenteeism Associated With Common Health Conditions in Brazilian Workers

The lifetime costs of perinatal depression and anxiety in Brazil

BACKGROUND

Each year, an estimated 860,000 Brazilian women experience depression and anxiety perinatally. Despite well-known devastating impacts of these conditions on mothers and children, they remain neglected in low- and middle-income countries. Knowing the costs of untreated perinatal depression and anxiety can inform decision-making.

METHODS

Simulation modelling is used to examine lifetime costs of perinatal depression and anxiety for a hypothetical cohort of women and their children, followed until children are aged 40 years. Costs are measured from a societal perspective, including healthcare expenditure, productivity and health-related quality of life losses; 2017 data are taken from country-specific sources. Present values are calculated using a discount rate of 3 %.

RESULTS

Lifetime cost of perinatal depression and anxiety in Brazil are USD 4.86 billion or R$ 26.16 billion, including costs linked to poorer quality of life (USD 2.65 billion), productivity loss (USD 2.16 billion) and hospital care (USD 0.05 billion). When the costs associated with maternal suicide are included, total costs increase to USD 4.93 billion.

LIMITATIONS

Several costs could not be included in the analysis because of a lack of data. The study is reliant of longitudinal data on associations between perinatal depression and anxiety and impacts on mothers and children. Therefore, no causality can be inferred.

CONCLUSION

Our findings illustrate the economic rationale for investment in this area. This is the first study that estimates the costs of perinatal mental health problems in a low- or middle-income country setting.

Cost of Health-Related Work Productivity Loss among Fly-In Fly-Out Mining Workers in Australia

Sufficient knowledge on the work productivity impact of the health of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers in the mining sector in Australia is lacking. This study examined the impact of health and lifestyle behaviours on the work productivity of FIFO workers in the mining industry in Australia. FIFO workers completed an online questionnaire on health and work productivity loss measures. Linear regressions were used to model annual work productivity losses through absenteeism, presenteeism and total productivity loss. Workers with a high risk for health conditions were, on average, associated with 3.87% more productivity loss (absenteeism: 1.27% and presenteeism: 2.88%) than those with low risk. Workers who had multiple health risks classified as medium (3-4 health conditions) and high (5 or more health conditions) reported 1.75% and 7.46% more total productivity loss, respectively, than those with fewer multiple health risks (0-2 health conditions). Health conditions were estimated to account for an annual additional productivity cost due to absenteeism of AUD 8.82 million, presenteeism of AUD 14.08 million and a total productivity loss of AUD 20.96 million per 1000 workers. FIFO workers with high health risks experience more absenteeism, presenteeism and overall productivity loss. These measures provide strong economic justifications that could support the need for targeted workplace health interventions.

Application of Career Ecosystems Theory and the New Psychological Contract to the Field of Project Management: Toward a Conceptual Model

The purpose of this article is to explore how different actors can operate within a project management ecosystem to sustain a pool of project management personnel with the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the standards required to support successful project delivery into the future. A new conceptual model is presented offering a set of six propositions whereby professional associations mediate the relationship between project management personnel and employers. The article advances understanding of career ecosystems theory and the new psychological contract via application to a new domain of project management. Practical implications and future research opportunities are also discussed.

Indicadores de absenteísmo por doença mental no setor judiciário: abordagem descritiva de uma coorte retrospectiva

Resumo Objetivo: descrever os indicadores de afastamento por transtornos mentais de servidores públicos do setor judiciário da Bahia. Métodos: estudo descritivo com dados de uma coorte retrospectiva sobre a casuística de absenteísmo-doença no período de 2011 a 2016. Foi traçado o perfil sociodemográfico e ocupacional, assim como foram estimados os indicadores epidemiológicos. O evento foi caracterizado a partir da frequência e duração dos afastamentos e dos diagnósticos clínicos. Resultados: registraram-se 1.023 eventos, com maior quantidade de episódios entre servidores com mais de 10 anos de serviço. As mulheres constituíram o grupo mais afetado, com prevalências superiores a dos homens em todo o período (76,50/1.000 trabalhadores em 2016). Em 2016, a incidência cumulativa foi de 12,72 casos novos/1.000 trabalhadores entre as mulheres e 5,58 casos novos/1.000 trabalhadores entre os homens. Os transtornos do humor, neuróticos e relacionados ao estresse foram os diagnósticos clínicos mais prevalentes associados ao absenteísmo-doença. Conclusão: o perfil e a dinâmica das ocorrências de absenteísmo-doença entre servidores públicos do setor judiciário da Bahia mostram semelhanças com outros serviços, validando sua externalidade e suscitando desafios para os serviços de saúde, principalmente quanto à detecção precoce do risco de afastamento e da monitorização das condições de trabalho.

Sickness Absence and Sickness Presence Among Health and Care Employees in Sweden-Health Complaints, Health Behavior, and Future Long-Term Sickness Absence

OBJECTIVE

To describe if health complaints relate to health behavior in terms of sickness absence (SA) and sickness presence (SP) and to examine how complaints and health behavior predicts the risk for future long-term sickness absence (LTSA).

METHODS

Data originates from work environment surveys 2001 to 2013 and SA registers 2002 to 2016 of 1838 nurses, 7430 care assistants, and 40,515 individuals in all other occupations. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Physical complaints and high SA in combination with high SP increased the risk of LTSA among nurses and care assistants. Nurses' high SP and care assistants' high SA elevated the LTSA risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Strategies to reduce the reasons behind physical health complaints among health care workers are warranted. SP among nurses and SA among care assistants should be considered in the organization of their job demands.

Potential Work Time Lost Due to Sickness Absence and Presence Among Japanese Workers

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to quantify the overall sickness absence and sickness presence in five Japanese companies.

METHODS

Two indicators were calculated: worktime lost rates and average working days lost per employee per annum.

RESULTS

In total, 1.1% of working days per annum were lost due to sick leave. The average number of annual sick-leave days per employee was 2.58. Sickness presence accounted for a total worktime loss of 6.55% and an average of 15.36 work days lost per employee per annum. Overall, employees lost 7.65% of their total working days, or an average of 17.92 days were lost per employee per annum, due to sickness leave and sickness presence combined.

CONCLUSION

Sickness-absence rate among Japanese workers is quite lower than other countries; however, sickness presence is more critical than absenteeism, which is in line with other countries.

Effort-Reward Imbalance, Over-Commitment and Depressive Episodes at Work: Evidence from the ELSA-Brasil Cohort Study

A growing burden of mental illness, and in particular depression, among workers is a concern of occupational public health. Scientific evidence has revealed consistent associations of work-related stress, as measured by theoretical models, with depression, but mostly so in developed countries. This contribution explores these associations in a developing Latin American country, Brazil, by applying an internationally established work stress model, the effort-reward imbalance (ERI). This model focuses on the work contract where unjust exchange between high efforts spent and low rewards received in turn contributes to stress-related disorders. The model's extrinsic ('effort', 'reward') and intrinsic components ('over-commitment'), as well as their combination, are hypothesized to be related to a higher risk of depressive episodes (DE). Using cross-sectional data from the ELSA-Brasil study, including 10,034 workers from the public sector, we observed increased prevalence ratio (PR) of DE according to ERI scales. The quartiles of highest 'effort' (PR = 1.85; 1.44-2.37), highest 'over-commitment' (PR = 3.62; 2.80-4.70) and lowest 'reward' (PR = 3.44; 2.55-4.64) were associated with DE, on adjusted models, as well was the E-R ratio (PR = 2.47; 1.92-3.17). An additive interaction was identified between the E-R ratio and 'over-commitment'. The results support the use of ERI as a screening tool for work stress in the Brazilian context and will offer guidance for worksite health promotion programs.