Improving employment opportunities of the unemployed by health and work ability promotion in Finland

Back Onside protocol: A physical activity intervention to improve health outcomes in people who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment

Given the effects of physical activity on people's mental and physical health, a better understanding is needed of how physical activity interventions may impact the health of people who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment. This has added urgency in the context of rising rates of poverty-related unemployment in the UK in 2022. The current paper details the protocol used in the evaluation of the Back Onside Programme; a community-based programme delivered by the Bradford Bulls Foundation in the Bradford District. The Programme supports people from low socio-economic backgrounds who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment to maintain regular physical activity through a ten-week physical activity intervention. This pilot study evaluates how a physical activity intervention may impact the mental and physical health of people who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment in an uncontrolled pragmatic pilot study. Four cohorts run back-to-back between May 2021 and May 2022, with separate groups for men (N = 100) and women (N = 60). Physical and wellbeing assessment at baseline and post-intervention is conducted. If the intervention works in this context for these individuals, it will be a promising low-cost community-based intervention for people who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment.

The development of a health-promoting employment intervention with physical activity for young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET): NEXT STEP-on the path to education and job

Background

In the EU, approx. 16.5% of the 20–34-year-olds are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Research shows that good health is an important progression factor towards employment, and daily physical activity as well as participation in sports has a positive effect on physical and mental health as well as in the development of life skill. However, there is an absence of studies investigating what role physical activity can play in the employment efforts. The aim of this study is to investigate experiences with physical activity in employment interventions and to describe the development of a health-promoting employment intervention with physical activity for young people aged 18–30 years who are NEET.

Methods

The study combined an evidence-based approach with practice-based experiences. It included a Mapping of Danish employment interventions with physical activity for young people NEET, an overview of national reports and international literature, a workshop with leaders and employees from Danish municipalities, and fieldwork in four municipalities. Key findings were grouped thematically and were transformed into intervention content in a close dialog with relevant researchers and practitioners.

Results

In general, physical activity was assessed as a meaningful method when working with young people NEET. A range of positive experiences was highlighted, including successful experiences, surplus of mental resources, new ways of meeting, and new social relations. Based on these findings, a 16-week health-promoting employment intervention, NEXT STEP, was developed with the following intervention components: (1) fixed boundaries, (2) body and physical activity, (3) social relations and network, and (4) life skills and future. NEXT STEP is designed to be implemented in Danish job centers.

Conclusion

The study found the great potential of including physical activity in employment interventions for young people NEET. The planning and development of the intervention have reinforced a comprehensive evaluation; however, the first intervention in its entirety is ready for testing in a randomized feasibility trial.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40814-022-01174-1.

Perceived work stress, overcommitment, balance in everyday life, individual factors, self-rated health and work ability among women and men in the public sector in Sweden - a longitudinal study

Background

The aim was to investigate whether perceived work stress, overcommiment, balance in everyday life, individual factors and self-rated health in combination predict work ability among women and men in the public sector in Sweden.

Methods

A sample was randomly selected from the employee records of the participating public health care organisation in Western Sweden. In total, 2223 employees were included and answered a postal survey twice, at a 2 year interval. The survey included questions about work ability, perceived work stress, overcommitment, balance in everyday life, individual factors and self-rated health. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for work ability were estimated using logistic regression.

Results

Imbalance in everyday life and overcommitment predicted reduced work ability in women and imbalance in everyday life and low educational level predicted reduced work ability in men. However, when poor self-rated health was added to the models this was the strongest predictor of work ability for both genders.

Conclusion

A combination of poor self-rated health, imbalance in everyday life, and overcommitment predicted reduced work ability. This multifactorial nature of work ability should be taken into account in health promotion programmes.

How Is the Self-Perceived Work Ability Affected by the Duration of Unemployment, Heart Rate Variability and the Amount of Physical Activity in Older Long-Term Unemployed Persons?

BACKGROUND

This study investigated whether work ability is associated with the duration of unemployment, heart rate variability (HRV), and the level of physical activity.

METHODS

Thirty-four unemployed persons (mean 55.7 ± standard deviation 33.3 years, 22 female, 12 male, unemployed: range 1-22.5 years) participated in the cross-sectional study. The Work Ability Index (WAI) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were applied. Short-term (five minutes) resting HRV (Low Frequency (LF), High Frequency (HF), Total Power (TP)) was collected.

RESULTS

Work ability was positively associated with the HRV: LF (r = 0.383; p = 0.025), HF (r = 0.412; p = 0.015) and TP (r = 0.361; p = 0.036). The WAI showed a positive linear correlation with the amount of total physical activity (r = 0.461; p = 0.006) as well as with the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (r = 0.413; p = 0.015). No association between the WAI and the duration of unemployment occurred.

CONCLUSIONS

the relation between self-perceived work ability, health-associated parameters, the HRV and the level of physical activity points out the relevance of health-care exercise and the need of stress-reducing interventions to improve perceived work ability. Our results point out the need for the further and more holistic development of healthcare for the unemployed.