Exploring expected and perceived facilitators and barriers of an indicated prevention strategy to prevent future long-term sickness absence; a qualitative study among employers and employees.

Background: An indicated prevention strategy (IPS), consisting of a screening questionnaire and early treatment, was found to be effective for the prevention of future long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in two large Dutch RCT's. This IPS aims to detect employees who have a high risk to become absent, and subsequently offer them early treatment. Despite the overall effectiveness, only a few companies have implemented this strategy so far.

Efficacy of an indicated prevention strategy on sickness absence and termination of the employment contract: a 5-year follow-up study.

Objective: It was shown that an indicated prevention strategy (IPS), based on screening and early intervention, can considerably decrease future risk of long-term sickness absence (LTSA>28 days) over one year. Given the nature of the interventions, the potential of an effect extending beyond the original one year of follow-up might be present. This study aims to determine the efficacy of this IPS on LTSA and termination of employment contract over five years by extended follow up of IPS trials.

Improving measurement models in clinical epidemiology: time to move beyond the inherent assumption of an underlying reflective measurement model.

Objectives: The nature of a construct's measurement model, most decisively being predominantly reflective or formative, is essential for its development, validation, and use. Differentiating between these types of measurement models cannot be done based on statistics alone, but has to rely on expert judgment, preferably guided by checklists and theoretical assumptions. However, consideration and substantiation of the choices of the measurement models is lacking in most studies describing the validation of measurement instruments in the field of clinical epidemiology.

Assessing the role of criminality in neighbourhood safety feelings and self-reported health: results from a cross-sectional study in a Dutch municipality.

Background: Neighbourhood safety has repeatedly been shown to be associated with the health and well-being of the residents. Criminality is often seen as one of the key factors affecting neighbourhood safety. However, the relationship between crime, fear of crime and feelings of safety remains underexplored.

Handling the reflective-formative measurement conundrum: a practical illustration based on sustainable employability.

Objectives: Constructs capturing health or functioning can have reflective and/or formative measurement models. Although a construct's measurement model has extensive implications on the construction, validation, and use of a measurement instrument, measurement models are frequently wrongly or not explicitly specified. As this is likely due to a lack of guidelines, this study uses sustainable employability as an example to demonstrate a) the applicability of an adapted checklist for establishing a construct's measurement model; and b) the use of structural equation modeling to handle formative constructs.

Time takes us all? A two-wave observational study of age and time effects on sustainable employability.

Objectives Various cognitive and physical abilities decline with age. Consequently, sustainable employability research has focused on the labor market participation of older employees. However, it remains unclear whether age actually affects employees' work and labor-market functioning.

Fostering functioning of workers: A new challenge for prevention in occupational health.

Given large changes in working conditions and society, occupational health care has to prioritize its efforts towards fostering health and functioning of workers and as such promote work participation. This requires that more emphasis is given on the application of biopsychological models in the care of workers. Although a biopsychological approach is often mentioned as essential part of occupational health care, it's application is often hampered in practice, by practical barriers and lack of practical knowledge.

Experiences of occupational physicians with the implementation of indicated prevention for long term sickness absence.

Background: Functioning including work participation, is an emerging challenge in occupational health. The prevention of long term sickness absence (LTSA) through a strategy involving screening and structured early consultation (preventive strategy) was proven effective and can address participation issues. Implementation of this strategy has proven difficult.

Implementing the ICF in Occupational Health; building a curriculum as an exemplary case.

Background: This paper addresses the need for a paradigm shift from post-diagnosis tertiary care towards maintenance and promotion of health across the lifespan, for healthcare in general and in occupational healthcare specifically. It is based on the assumption that the realization of this paradigm shift may be facilitated by teaching (future) occupational health professionals to use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Objective: Describing the development of a an ICF based occupational health curriculum.

Neighborhood Environment is Associated with Overweight and Obesity, Particularly in Older Residents: Results from Cross-Sectional Study in Dutch Municipality.

We explored whether overweight and obesity were associated with the physical and social environment at neighborhood level. Data from Maastricht municipality survey (The Netherlands) were used (n = 9771 adults). Multinomial regression models were computed (outcome being normal weight, overweight, or obese).

Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality Among Working Individuals With Rheumatic Disease: Results From a Large Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Cardiovascular comorbidities are common in rheumatic diseases and are associated with an increased mortality risk but have not been studied in a working population, with less severe disease. Also, the impact of premature cardiovascular mortality on work participation has been neglected until now.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the cardiovascular risk in working individuals with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and to explore whether cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are associated with decreased work participation in this population.

Approaches for predicting long-term sickness absence. Re: Schouten et al. "Screening manual and office workers for risk of long-term sickness absence: cut-off points for the Work Ability Index".

We read with much interest the article of Schouten et al (1) on identifying workers with a high risk for future long-term sickness absence using the Work Ability Index (WAI). The ability to identify high-risk workers might facilitate targeted interventions for such workers and, consequently, can reduce sickness absence levels and improve workers' health. Earlier studies by both Tamela et al (2), Kant et al (3), and Lexis et al (4) have demonstrated that such an approach, based on the identification of high-risk workers and a subsequent intervention, can be effectively applied in practice to reduce sickness absence significantly.

Living environment matters: relationships between neighborhood characteristics and health of the residents in a Dutch municipality.

Characteristics of an individual alone cannot exhaustively explain all the causes of poor health, and neighborhood of residence have been suggested to be one of the factors that contribute to health. However, knowledge about aspects of the neighborhood that are most important to health is limited. The main objective of this study was to explore associations between certain features of neighborhood environment and self-rated health and depressive symptoms in Maastricht (The Netherlands).

Effects of cardiovascular comorbidities on work participation in rheumatic diseases: a prospective cohort study among working individuals.

Objective: To determine the risk of sick leave and work disability in relation to rheumatic diseases and cardiovascular comorbidities among working individuals.

Methods: Employees (n = 12,140) from 45 companies in The Netherlands were prospectively followed up from 1998-2008. Questionnaires were used to assess self-reported diseases and employment status.

Cancer risk among tetrafluoroethylene synthesis and polymerization workers.

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), a compound used for the production of fluorinated polymers including polytetrafluoroethylene, increases the incidence of liver and kidney cancers and leukemia in rats and mice. This is the first time the cancer risk in humans has been explored comprehensively in a cohort mortality study (1950-2008) that included all polytetrafluoroethylene production sites in Europe and North America at the time it was initiated. A job-exposure matrix (1950-2002) was developed for TFE and ammonium perfluoro-octanoate, a chemical used in the polymerization process.

The impact of personal attributes on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and cardiovascular disease.

Objective: To examine the impact of personal attributes (coping and negative affectivity) on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: 6154 employees from the Maastricht Cohort Study (MCS) were selected who had complete data on the MCS Work Stressor Score (MCS-WSS) at three consecutive time points during 1998-2000 and free of CVD during the exposure assessment period. CVD was assessed from 2000 until 2008 with questionnaires.

Different approaches to estimate exposure to work stressors, using repeated measurements, and the association with cardiovascular disease.

Objective: To explore the stability of exposure to work stressors over time and to examine the impact of different approaches of estimating exposure on the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation.

Methods: The Maastricht Cohort Study-Work Stressor Score was used to assess work stressors at three consecutive time points among 6154 employees participating in the Maastricht Cohort Study. Incident CVD was assessed with questionnaires.

The prospective relationship between work stressors and cardiovascular disease, using a comprehensive work stressor measure for exposure assessment.

Purpose: The currently used instruments which measure the psychosocial work environment have been criticized. We analyzed the association between work stressors and cardiovascular disease, using the Maastricht Cohort Study Work Stressor Score (MCS-WSS), a comprehensive measure which has been associated with work strain.

Methods: At baseline 11,489 employees of the Maastricht Cohort Study were participating.

Substantiating the concept of work strain: its implication for the assessment of work stressors.

Objective: To assess which work stressors are substantially contributing to work strain and examine their relative contribution.

Methods: We prospectively examined the association between work stressors and work strain, which was defined as employees reporting ill due to work stress. Relevant work stressors were combined into a stressor score with each stressor having its own relevance.

The mutual relationship between shift work and depressive complaints--a prospective cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine longitudinally the mutual relationship between shift work and depressive complaints.

Methods: Data from the ongoing Maastricht cohort study (1998-2008) were used. Firstly, the impact of shift work on the development of depressive complaints, defined as depressed mood, was studied.