Occupational health patients' parallel use of primary- and secondary-care services and linkage to work disability: A follow-up study in Finland.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate occupational health (OH) primary-care patients' use of other health-care services and whether parallel use affects their likelihood to have sickness absences (SA) or disability pensions (DP).

Methods: Primary-care services in Finland are provided through three parallel health-care sectors, all available to the working population: public, private and OH sectors. Patients may also be referred to secondary care.

Cooperation between Public Primary Health Care and Occupational Health Care Professionals in Work Ability-Related Health Issues.

Work disability creates significant expenses for nations and causes human suffering by limiting patients' lives. International studies show that to enhance recognition of and support for work disability, cooperation, mutual trust, and information exchange between public primary health care and occupational health care must be strengthened. However, little is known of how health care professionals experience this cooperation.

Can workplace intervention prolong work life of older workers? A quasi-experimental study.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the impact of a workplace senior program intervention on early exit from labor market and on the disability retirement among older employees and work-related physical factors associated with it.

Methods: A total of 259 individuals aged 55 + years participated in the study (107 in intervention and 152 were controls). A questionnaire survey was conducted among Finnish food industry employees between 2003 and 2009 and the intervention "senior program" was provided between 2004 and 2009.

Parallel use of primary and secondary healthcare by frequent attenders in occupational health and their work disability: a longitudinal study in Finland.

Objectives: To investigate occupational health frequent attenders' (FAs) use of other healthcare sector services and whether parallel use affects their likelihood to receive a disability pension.

Design: Longitudinal study combining routine medical record data with register data.

Setting: Primary care in Finland is provided through three parallel healthcare sectors, all available to the working population.

Quality of work community and workers' intention to retire.

Purpose: To study the workers' perception of the quality of work community and its association with intention to retire early, separately among women and men working in Finnish postal service.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to all Finnish postal services employees aged ≥ 50 years in 2016 and 44% (n = 2096) replied to the survey (mean age 56.3, 40% women).

Sociodemographic characteristics and disability pensions of frequent attenders in occupational health primary care - a follow-up study in Finland.

Background: Work disability is a complex issue that requires preventive efforts from healthcare systems and individuals, and that too often results in disability pensions (DP). While many studies have attempted to characterize risk factors of work disability, many showing for example a link between socioeconomic positions, working conditions and frequent attendance to OH primary care it is not known if frequent attendance is associated with DP despite the sociodemographic factors. This study aims to address this gap and examine the association between frequent attendance to OH primary care and DP, when adjusted by sociodemographic factors.

Intention to Retire in Employees over 50 Years. What is the Role of Work Ability and Work Life Satisfaction?

Background: We investigated work ability and trajectories of work life satisfaction (WLS) as predictors of intention to retire (ITR) before the statutory age.

Methods: Participants were Finnish postal service employees, who responded to surveys in 2016 and 2018 (n = 1466). Survey measures included ITR, work ability and WLS.

Does the association between musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence due to musculoskeletal diagnoses depend on biomechanical working conditions?

Aim: To investigate single-site and multi-site musculoskeletal pain as predictors of future sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among blue-collar employees in food industry, and to study to what extent this relationship depends on physical loading at work.

Methods: Survey responses of 901 employees on working conditions and musculoskeletal pain during the past week were linked to their future sickness absence records obtained from the personnel register of a food industry company. Negative binomial regression models were computed to determine associations of pain in one and in multi-site with the number of sickness absence days due to MSD during a four-year follow-up.

A four-year follow-up study of physical working conditions and perceived mental and physical strain among food industry workers.

This study hypothesized that in a longitudinal setting deteriorating physical working conditions increases the perceived physical and mental strain among food processing employees. The study was conducted in 2003 and 2007. It examined 248 blue-collar workers, all of whom were in the same occupation throughout the entire follow-up period.

Perceived Working Conditions and Sickness Absence - A Four-year Follow-up in the Food Industry.

Objectives: To analyze the association between changes in perceived physical and psychosocial working conditions and change of sickness absence days in younger and older (< 50 and ≥ 50 years) food industry employees.

Methods: This was a follow up study of 679 employees, who completed working conditions survey questionnaires in 2005 and 2009 and for whom the requisite sickness absence data were available for the years 2004 and 2008.

Results: Sickness absence increased and working conditions improved during follow-up.

Do physical or psychosocial factors at work predict multi-site musculoskeletal pain? A 4-year follow-up study in an industrial population.

Purpose: Musculoskeletal pain at multiple sites is common among working-age people and greatly increases work disability risk. Little is known of the work-related physical and psychosocial factors contributing to multi-site pain.

Methods: Survey responses from 734 employees (518 blue- and 216 white-collar; 65 % female) of a food processing company were collected twice, in 2005 and 2009.

Sick leaves in four factories--do characteristics of employees and work conditions explain differences in sickness absence between workplaces?

Objectives: The study explored whether differences in sickness absence between four factories of a food industry company were explained by common determinants of sickness absence, such as employee health, sociodemographic characteristics, and physical and psychosocial work conditions.

Methods: Survey responses of 582 employees were linked to the records of short-term (1-3 days) and long-term (>3 days) absence, as well as to records of absences due to musculoskeletal diagnoses. Multilevel models were applied in assessing the between-factory absence differences.