The combination of psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and sociodemographic characteristics and their associations with no or negligible stress symptoms among Swedish occupational therapists - a cross-sectional study

Psychometric properties of the Arabic Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11-A)

BACKGROUND

Occupational balance (OB) is a desirable outcome of rehabilitation because it is related to various health indices. The Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ) is a self-report measure of occupational balance.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

To examine the test-retest reliability, participant-level content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity of an Arabic occupational balance questionnaire (OBQ11-A).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 103 participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Test-retest reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients, participant-level content validity using percentage of agreement in survey questions, construct validity using factor analysis, internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha, and convergent validity by examining associations with quality-of-life.

RESULTS

Intraclass Correlation Coefficient values for the total OBQ11-A scores and individual items were greater than 0.7 between the test and retest. The majority of respondents endorsed the relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility of the OBQ11-A. Cronbach's alpha for the OBQ11-A total score was 0.899. Nine of the 11 OBQ11-A items had factor loadings greater than 0.7. Moderate associations were found between the total OBQ11-A scores and physical health (n = 101; ρ = .52, p < .001), psychological health (n = 101; ρ = .49, p < .001), social relationships (n = 101; ρ = .36, p < .001), and environmental domains (n = 101; ρ = .57, p < .001) of the quality-of-life measure.

CONCLUSIONS

OBQ11-A demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties for research purposes.

Occupational balance and stroke impact among community-dwelling stroke survivors 65 years or older: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Occupational balance has been investigated in different populations but less in stroke survivors. Previous studies have focussed on occupational balance among stroke survivors of working age (15-64 years of age), showing they did not perceive they had occupational balance. There is, therefore, a lack of knowledge of how older stroke survivors perceive their occupational balance. The aims of this study were to describe occupational balance in community-dwelling stroke survivors 65 years or older and to investigate if there were any associations between their perceived stroke impact and occupational balance.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed with 58 stroke survivors, with a median age of 75 years at stroke onset and a median time since stroke onset of 11 months. The participants were recruited from a local stroke register and answered questionnaires on occupational balance and stroke impact. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, correlations and logistic regression.

RESULTS

The participants had a median score of 29 (min 12 to max 33), indicating a very high occupational balance, a low stroke impact, and a good recovery (median 82.5; min 0 to max 100). An association between participation and occupational balance (OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.04-1.23) was found.

CONCLUSION

The stroke survivors perceived a low stroke impact and a high occupational balance. It is possible that older community-dwelling stroke survivors, of whom many have retired, juggle less occupations leaving them with more time to engage in those occupations they want to, leading to a better occupational balance.

Having Children and Being Married Are Predictors of Burnout and Obesity Among Working Men: Effects of Latent Profile Analysis

Emergency call-takers and dispatchers' (ECDs) work makes them vulnerable to occupational burnout and health problems. The aim of this research was to apply a Person-Oriented approach in order to examine the relationships between burnout risk factors (having children), personal resources (being married), and health consequences (overweight and obesity) among men working in these positions. The burnout syndrome was assessed among 228 Polish ECDs using The Link Burnout Questionnaire and the method of latent profile analysis (LPA). All ECDs were characterized by high levels of occupational burnout exhibited in 3 out of its 4 dimensions. The LPA allowed us to differentiate 4 patterns of burnout, taking into account socio-demographic variables, the length of employment as ECD and body weight. The need to balance the demands of professional work with having children and marital roles played an important role in predicting the level of professional burnout. There was a relationship between the dimensions of occupational burnout and age, being married, and having children. Being married was associated with a greater intensity of emotional exhaustion, and the level of exhaustion was higher if the employee had children in their care. Health consequences in the form of overweight and obesity can be associated with levels of emotional exhaustion and professional effectiveness. The application of the Person-Oriented approach presents hidden correlations between burnout predictors and health consequences.

Relationship between playing-related factors and occupational balance in professional violinists

BACKGROUND

Playing performance of musicians may affect their occupational balance. The violin is one of the riskiest string instruments for the musculoskeletal health.

OBJECTIVE

To show the effect of socio-demographics, playing posture, pain, and functionality on occupational balance in professional violinists in Istanbul.

METHODS

Forty-five violinists aged 29.1±10.6 years were included. The Personal Information Form, the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale, the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand - Sports/Musicians (DASH-SM), the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, and the 11-item revised version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11 - T) were used. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the variables and occupational balance.

RESULTS

The only significant correlation was found between doing regular exercise and occupational balance (r = 0.539, p <  0.001) with those having an exercise habit reporting higher occupational balance scores. The mean pain score of the violinists increased from a pre-performing mean of 1.6±2.3 to a post-performance mean of 3.91±2.4.

CONCLUSIONS

Musicians indicate that they practice physical exercise regularly. A strong methodological limitation of this study is that variables like exercise were evaluated with a self-reported survey which limited the analysis and so we hardly find any relationships between them. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between playing-related factors and occupational balance in violinists. There may be other factors affecting occupational balance in violinists and also in the other musicians. Similar studies are needed in other countries also using different assessments specific to musicians.

Occupational therapy and stress-related exhaustion - a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Sick leave due to long-term stress is increasing in Finland and other Western countries. Occupational therapists might contribute to the prevention of and/or recovery from stress-related exhaustion.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

To describe what is known about occupational therapy for stress-related exhaustion.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A five-step scoping review included papers published in six databases from 2000 to 2022. Extracted data was summarized to show the occupational therapy contribution within the literature.

RESULTS

There were 29 papers meeting the inclusion criteria, of which a limited number described preventive interventions. Most articles described recovery-oriented occupational therapy with group interventions. The occupational therapists contributed with prevention measures, mostly targeting recovery in multi-professional interventions in terms of stress reduction or return-to-work.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational therapy involving stress management both prevents stress and supports recovery from stress-related exhaustion. Occupational therapists internationally use craft, nature activities or gardening as stress management measures.

SIGNIFICANCE

Occupational therapy appears to be a potential treatment option for stress-related exhaustion internationally in conditions that could also work in Finland, for example in occupational healthcare.

Work-related factors and hair cortisol concentrations among men and women in emergency medical services in Sweden

Ambulance personnel in emergency medical services are exposed to physical demands and stress during work, and an increased prevalence of ill health has been observed in this group. The aim was to compare hair cortisol concentration (HCC) among Swedish ambulance personnel with HCC in a population-based reference sample, to analyse differences between women and men, and differences due to work-related factors. Samples of hair 1 cm closest to the skin (5-10 mg) were collected and analysed for cortisol by radioimmunoassay. Moreover, the participants responded to a questionnaire regarding their work environment. The HCC among the ambulance personnel did not differ from the HCC in the population-based reference sample (median 19.2 vs. 22.2 pg/mg, p = 0.319), nor were there statistically significant differences between women and men. Furthermore, no associations were found between HCC and physical and psychosocial work demands, work stress, or rest and recovery from work. However, occupational balance was positively correlated with HCC (rp = 0.240; p = 0.044). The association remained statistically significant after adjustment for sex, age, hair bleaching, and corticosteroid treatment in a linear regression model. This study adds knowledge regarding HCC among ambulance personnel, and thus contributes to the overall picture of work environment and health for this group.

A Comparison of the Self-Perceived Organisational and Social Work Environment among Swedish Occupational Therapists in Different Job Sectors: An Observational Study

Sick leave due to mental health problems is increasing, and there is evidence that it is associated with the individual's self-perceived organisational and social work environment. The aim of this study was to compare occupational therapists' self-perceived organisational and social work environments in different job sectors. The goal is to identify the sectors with the most unfavourable work environment and thus where the need to improve the work environment, to prevent mental health problems, is greatest. A web survey was emailed to working members of the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists in February 2018 (n = 7600). The response rate was 48% (n = 3658). Studied job sectors were somatic specialist health care; elderly care; habilitation; psychiatric health care; primary health care; and university (n = 2648). This sample is representative of Swedish occupational therapists with respect to age, gender, and job sector. The web survey included questions on their sociodemographic characteristics and self-perceived organisational and social work environment regarding workload, control, community in the workplace, reward, justice, and values. Questions on the self-perceived organisational and social work environment were assessed by the QPS mismatch questionnaire. Differences in work environmental conditions between the job sectors were tested with ANOVA and post hoc multiple-group analysis. The results showed that occupational therapists working in psychiatric health care perceived the highest proportion of unfavourable working conditions. Occupational therapists who worked at universities perceived a higher workload than occupational therapists in most of the other studied job sectors. These job sectors need to be specifically addressed with adjustments to prevent mental health problems.

Work conditions as predictors of Swedish occupational therapists' occupational balance

BACKGROUND

There is little knowledge of how organizational and social work environmental conditions impact workers' perceptions of occupational balance. The aim of the present study was to investigate organizational and social work environmental conditions as predictors of Swedish occupational therapists' perceptions of occupational balance.

MATERIALS/METHODS

This prospective study collected data twice, with a one-year interval, and used a web survey. The present study included 1835 participants. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the work predictors of occupational balance.

RESULTS

A reasonable workload, high control, and high reward predicted high occupational balance. Having no children living at home, a satisfactory financial situation, and being physically active also predicted high occupational balance.

CONCLUSION

A reasonable workload, high control and high reward predicted occupational balance among the occupational therapists. All these factors may be of importance for a sustainable working life for occupational therapists.

SIGNIFICANCE

This knowledge can support occupational therapists in the development of interventions at the work place, with focus on the workload and the resources (control and reward), to promote employees' occupational balance.

Occupational balance of Spanish occupational therapist – a challenge

BACKGROUND

Occupational balance is a central aspect in occupational therapy. Awareness of occupational balance/imbalance among occupational therapists could influence the orientation of their professional interventions.

OBJECTIVE

To describe and compare the occupational balance status of occupational therapists working in Spain.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Cross-sectional descriptive study using an online questionnaire. Participants were occupational therapists working in Spain who answered a questionnaire including 22 questions on the sociodemographic and employment data and the Spanish version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ-E) ranging 0-65 where higher ratings equal better occupational balance.

RESULTS

A total of 648 currently working occupational therapists participated. Mostly women, with median age of 32 years, without partner, children, or dependents. The median OBQ-E was 37 (IQR = 27; 45). Statistically significant differences were found between the medians of participants varying in the categories 'hired as an occupational therapist', weekly work hours, and population working with children and adults.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

Spanish occupational therapists presented a moderate occupational balance that varied between subgroups. Professional recognition, working hours, and the population they attend are aspects that influence their occupational balance. Knowledge of occupational therapists' occupational balance could contribute to the development of policies aimed at promoting it.

Translation and initial validation of the occupational balance questionnaire to Arabic—Occupational Balance Questionnaire-A

Introduction

Occupational balance (OB) is related to many health indicators, including quality of life. The Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11) was developed to measure OB, and to date, no Arabic translations of the questionnaire exist. The aim of the study was to describe the translation process of OBQ11 to Arabic and to evaluate its content validity, internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent validity.

Methods

OBQ11 was translated to Arabic (OBQ11-A) following standard guidelines. Content validity feedback was obtained from ten Arabic-speaking occupational therapists and in a cognitive debriefing with seven volunteers. In addition, OBQ11-A and the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006 were administered to 67 Arabic-speaking participants from a larger study about OB among parents.

Results

High level of agreement was found on the content of OBQ11-A from the occupational therapists. Cognitive debriefing interviews indicated that OBQ11-A was easy to understand. Cronbach’s alpha for the total OBQ11-A score was 0.864 indicating good internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis showed acceptable factor loadings for all items. The total scores showed positive statistically significant associations with Family Quality of Life Scores ( r = 0.561, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

OBQ11-A may prove useful for assessing OB in Arabic-speaking populations. Further research is needed to establish its reliability.