Manager-oriented intervention to reduce absence among pregnant employees in the healthcare and daycare sector: a cluster randomised trial

Consensus-Driven Recommendations to Support Physician Pregnancy, Adoption, Surrogacy, Parental Leave, and Lactation in Emergency Medicine

The emergency department clinical environment is unique, and guidelines for promoting supportive and equitable workplace cultures ensure success and longevity for pregnant persons and parents in emergency medicine. There is paucity, variability, and dissatisfaction with current parental (historically referred to as maternity and paternity) leave policies. This paper describes the development of consensus-derived recommendations to serve as a framework for emergency departments across the country for incorporating family-friendly policies. Policies that foster a family-inclusive workplace by allowing for professional advancement without sacrificing personal values regardless of sex, gender, and gender identity are critical for emergency medicine recruitment and retention.

Impact of a manager-oriented intervention on occupational exposures and well-being among pregnant hospital and day-care employees: A cluster randomised trial

BACKGROUND

Pregnancy can make it difficult to cope with demands at work and may affect women's well-being. We investigated if a manager-targeted educational intervention reduced demanding occupational exposures and improved the psychosocial work environment and well-being among pregnant employees.

METHODS

Data came from a cluster randomised trial in Danish hospitals and day-care institutions. Work units were assigned randomly and were non-blinded to the intervention, where managers were either invited to participate in a three-hour seminar addressing job adjustment in pregnancy or assigned to a control group undertaking their usual practice. Self-reported outcomes by pregnant employees at the work units were the proportion of pregnant employees with demanding occupational exposures, good psychosocial work environment and good well-being. Mixed logistic regression was applied in the population of responders and in intention-to-treat analyses using multiple imputations.

RESULTS

We included 915 pregnant employees: 451 in the intervention group and 464 in the control group. Of 216 invited managers, 103 (48%) participated in the seminar. A total of 339 (37%) pregnant employees answered the questionnaire. The proportion of pregnant employees who had demanding occupational exposures, good psychosocial work environment and good well-being in the intervention versus the control group were 36% versus 39% (odds ratio (OR)=0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57-1.44), 56% versus 59% (OR=1.01, 95% CI 0.60-1.71) and 77% versus 73% (OR=1.13, 95% CI 0.68-1.87), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This manager-targeted educational intervention did not reduce demanding occupational exposures and did not improve the psychosocial work environment or the well-being among pregnant employees in hospital and day-care settings. Comprehensive and participatory interventions may be considered in future studies.

Women's Health and Working Life: A Scoping Review

Women's health matters for participation in working life. The objective of this study was to explore female physiology in a work-life context and to investigate possible associations between women's health, sickness absence and work ability. A scoping review was conducted to develop a systematic overview of the current research and to identify knowledge gaps. The search strategy was developed through a population, concept and context (PCC) model, and three areas of women's health were identified for investigation in the context of work. A total of 5798 articles were screened by title and abstract and 274 articles were screened by full text; 130 articles were included in the review. The material included research from 19 countries; the majority of the studies used quantitative methods. The results showed an impact on the occupational setting and an association between sickness absence, work ability and all three areas of women's health, but a holistic and overall perspective on female biology in the work context is missing. This review calls for more knowledge on health and work and possible gender differences in this regard. Women's health and working life involve a complex connection that has the potential to develop new knowledge.

Sick leave during pregnancy and occupational factors: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The reported prevalence of sick leave (SL) during pregnancy is high among European pregnant workers (PW). The causes of SL during pregnancy are complex, and further research is necessary to explain their occurrence.

AIMS

Summarize the evidence for an association between occupational risks for pregnancy and SL.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted by two independent reviewers using PRISMA guidelines. Two databases (Pubmed, Embase) were interrogated between January 1990 and November 2021. The search question integrated key terms according to the PICOS acronym (free terms, MeSH, EMTREE). The quality of the selected studies was assessed according to the Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies score.

RESULTS

This review assessed 11 epidemiological studies. Overall, the mean Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies score was 11, indicating moderate study quality. The results of the limited number of studies showed limited evidence for associations between psychosocial and physical work-related risk factors and the occurrence of SL among PW. However, this assessment was strengthened by the observation in several studies of a dose-response relationship between the number of occupational risks during pregnancy and SL.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of this review implicates PW'S exposure to occupational risks in the occurrence of SL. However, the few studies that support this conclusion have provided weak evidence; thus, further research is necessary.

Experiences managing pregnant hospital staff members using an active management policy-A qualitative study

Background and objective

During pregnancy, absence from work increases significantly. Job adjustments have been shown to decrease absences; however, studies show only half of pregnant women who need job adjustments receive them. Little is known about the viewpoints of managers and possible challenges in the management of pregnant employees. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences and considerations of managers in relation to managing pregnant hospital staff members and to describe the experiences of an active management policy for pregnant individuals.

Methods

A qualitative study based on five focus group interviews was conducted at five public hospitals in Zealand, Denmark with participation of 19 hospital managers, from 17 different wards, representing six different medical specialties. The interviews took place from February to May 2019. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results

Four themes were identified: (1) The everyday management, (2) Managerial dilemmas, (3) Acknowledging the workplace culture, and (4) Dialogue as a means for the working relationship. The managers’ experiences revolved around investing a lot of effort into the working relationship with pregnant staff members by adjusting job tasks and work schedules while balancing work tasks between all staff members. The dialogue was considered central in order to identify the needs of the individual staff member.

Conclusions

Overall, management dialogue constituted a central tool in order to identify the needs of the individual staff member. A proactive and open approach increased the chances of a fruitful dialogue. The individual staff member, the influence of the workplace culture, and the everyday management of the workplace all shaped the experiences of the managers. The concept of an active management policy for pregnant individuals was perceived to entail useful elements, but also as replicating what managers already did.