Absence and Overtime Work:Empirical Evidence from Norway

This paper presents both theoretical and empirical analyses of the relationship between overtime work and absence. Demand for absence is analysed under the assumption that workers in a given firm can be represented by one of two types of workers, denoted overemployed and underemployed. Increased demand for overtime hours has a nonpositive effect on absence. If actual overtime pay is higher than the reservation wage, a higher demand for overtime hours will reduce absence. Otherwise absence is unaffected. On the other hand, demand for overtime increases if absence increases. The empirical analysis is carried out on quarterly panel data from 263 firms, covering the time period 1990-96. The empirical results confirm the theoretical predictions except from the effect of overtime hours on absence, where positive elasticities are estimated.Absenteeism;overtime work

Non-linear Unemployment Effects in Sickness Absence: Discipline or Composition Effects?

By applying Smooth Transition Regressions (Teräsvirta, 1998) we test whether effects on short (STA) and long term (LTA) sickness absence depend on the level of unemployment. The main question is to what extent unemployment affects sickness absence through so-called discipline and/or composition effects. The empirical analysis is carried out on time series data referring to blue collar workers in Norway. For LTA we conclude that only discipline effects are present. Concerning STA, none of these effects seems present among women, whereas both effects may be present among men. Non-linear effects of wage and sick pay scheme changes support these conclusions.sickness absence; unemployment; non-linear modelling

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adult psychiatric outpatients – A nationwide study

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a highly prevalent behavioural problem among people with mental illness, yet many fundamental aspects of NSSI remain unknown. We studied the prevalence of NSSI, and its relationship with suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) among adult psychiatric outpatients, with a special focus on patients with personality disorders compared with patients with other disorders. Method: During a 14-day period, data were collected on all available patients in all outpatient psychiatric clinics in Norway. This national clinical unselected cross-sectional dataset from 23,124 outpatients was used to generate proportional Venn diagrams of the prevalence of NSSI, SI and SA and their co-occurrence over the last four weeks. Differences in the risk for these behaviours across diagnoses were tested, both with and without adjustments for demographic and socio-demographic characteristics. Results: Over the previous four-week period, 8.1% of the patients had experienced at least one episode of NSSI, 17.3% had SI and 0.6% had made at least one SA. Among patients with NSSI, 27.8% had co-occurring SI, and among patients with SI, 13% had co-occurring NSSI. The prevalence of SA was more than seven times higher among patients with NSSI behaviour than among patients without NSSI behaviour. Patients with a diagnosis of personality disorder had a significantly higher prevalence of SI, NSSI, and NSSI with co-occurring SI, than all other diagnostic groups; however, they were not systematically different from patients with other diagnoses in their prevalence of NSSI without co-occurring SI. These findings remained statistically significant even when controlling for socio-demographic variables. Conclusions: The prevalence of recent NSSI is high in patients receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment in Norway. NSSI is significantly more prevalent in patients with personality disorders than in patients with other diagnoses, mainly due to the significantly higher prevalence of NSSI with co-occurring SI in patients with personality disorders. The co-occurrence of NSSI and SI is also prevalent in all diagnostic groups, but both NSSI and SI appear alone more often than together. The strong association between NSSI and SA calls for a more proactive focus on NSSI behaviour in mental health clinical settings as an important suicide preventive measure.publishedVersio

Kommunalt psykisk helse- og rusarbeid 2017: Årsverk, kompetanse og innhold i tjenestene

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Perceived Causes of Work-Related Sick Leave Among Hospital Nurses in Norway: A Prepandemic Study

Background: Although sick leave is a complex phenomenon, it is believed that there is potential for prevention at the workplace. However, little is known about this potential and what specific measures should be implemented. The purpose of the study was to identify perceived reasons to take work-related sick leave and to suggest preventive measures. The study was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, and the risk factors identified may have been amplified during the pandemic. Methods: An in-depth cross-sectional survey was conducted across a randomly selected sample of hospital nurses in Norway. The national sample comprised 1,297 nurses who participated in a survey about their sick leave during the previous 6 months. An open-ended question about perceived reasons for work-related sick leave was included to gather qualitative information. Results: Among hospital nurses, 27% of the last occurring sick leave incidents were perceived to be work-related. The most common reasons were high physical workload, high work pace, sleep problems, catching a viral or bacterial infection from patients or colleagues, and low staffing. Conclusions: Over a quarter of the last occurring sick leave incidents among Norwegian hospital nurses are potentially preventable. To retain and optimize scarce hospital nursing resources, strategies to reduce work-related sick leave may provide human and financial benefits. Preventive measures may include careful monitoring of nurses’ workload and pace, optimizing work schedules to reduce the risk of sleep problems, and increasing staffing to prevent stress and work overload.publishedVersio

Suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use: analyses of national census data in Norway

Background: Suicidal ideation may signal potential risk for future suicidal behaviors and death. We examined the prevalence of recent suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use and explored the clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation in this patient subgroup, which represents a particular risk group for adverse psychiatric outcomes. Methods: We used national cross-sectional census data in Norway collected from 25,525 patients in specialized mental health services. The analytic sample comprised 3,842 patients with concurrent substance use, defined as having a co-morbid substance use disorder or who reported recent regular alcohol use/occasional illicit drug use. Data included suicidal ideation measured in relation to the current treatment episode, sociodemographic characteristics and ICD-10 diagnoses. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine differential characteristics between patients with and without suicidal ideation. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 25.8%. The suicidal ideation rates were particularly high for those with personality disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression, and for alcohol and sedatives compared with other substances. Patients with suicidal ideation were characterized by being younger, having single marital status, and having poorly perceived social relationships with family and friends. Conclusion: Suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use was associated with a number of distinct characteristics. These results might help contribute to an increased focus on a subgroup of individuals at particular risk for suicidality and support suicide prevention efforts in specialized mental health services.publishedVersio

Polikliniske pasienter i psykisk helsevern for voksne 2013

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Simulation-based skills training: a qualitative interview study exploring surgical trainees’ experience of stress

Introduction: Stress can affect the ability to acquire technical skills. Simulation-based training (SBT) courses allow surgical trainees to train their technical skills away from stressful clinical environments. Trainees’ subjective experiences of stress during SBT courses on laparoscopic surgery remains understudied. Here, we explored the subjective stress experiences of surgical trainees during mandatory laparoscopic SBT courses. We aimed to obtain a broader understanding of which factors of the simulation training the trainees perceived as eliciting stress. Methods: A qualitative study with semistructured individual interviews was undertaken to explore trainees’ subjective experiences of stress. Twenty surgical trainees participated while attending courses at a national training center for advanced laparoscopic surgery. Questions explored trainees’ stress experiences during the SBT courses with a focus on perceived stressors related to laparoscopic simulation training on two box-trainers and one virtual reality simulator. Interview data were analyzed using inductive, qualitative content analysis methods to identify codes, categories, and themes. Results: Findings indicated that trainees have a variety of stress experiences during laparoscopic SBT. Three main themes were identified to be related to stress experiences: simulation task requirements, psychomotor skill levels and internal pressures, with subcategories such as task difficulty and time requirements, unrealistic haptic feedback and realism of graphics, inconsistent and poor technical performance, and self-imposed pressures and socio-evaluative threats. Conclusions: Insights into surgical trainees’ experience of stress during laparoscopic SBT courses showed that some stress experiences were directly related to simulation training, while others were of psychological nature. The technical and efficiency requirements of simulation tasks elicited stress experiences among trainees with less laparoscopic experience and lower levels of psychomotor skills. Self-imposed pressures played an integral part in how trainees mobilized and performed during the courses, suggesting that levels of stress might enhance laparoscopic simulation performance. For course facilitators aiming at optimizing future laparoscopic SBT courses, attending to the realism, providing clarity about learning objectives, and having awareness of individual differences among trainees’ technical level when designing the simulation tasks, would be beneficial. Equally important to the laparoscopic SBT is to create a psychological safe learning space in order to reduce the internal pressures of trainees.publishedVersio

Følgeevaluering av omleggingen fra prosjekt "Raskere tilbake" til drift av Helse og arbeid-tilbud i spesialisthelsetjenesten

Dette er sluttrapporten i den forskningsbaserte følgeevalueringen av omleggingen fra "Raskere tilbake" til Helse og arbeid, som SINTEF og NTNU har gjennomført på oppdrag fra de fire regionale helseforetakene, under ledelse av Helse Sør-Øst RHF. Evalueringen har pågått fra desember 2018 til desember 2021, og bygger på et omfattende empirisk materiale bestående av både registerdata, spørreskjemaundersøkelse i to runder og intervju med en rekke aktører hvert av årene. Det overordnede målet med følgeevalueringen har vært å studere omleggingen av "Raskere tilbake"-ordningen og hvilke konsekvenser omleggingen har hatt på system-, tjeneste- og pasientnivå.publishedVersio

Kommunale tiltak i psykisk helsearbeid 2011. Årsverksstatistikk og analyser av kommunal variasjon

Rapport med analyser og deskriptive framstillinger av årsverkinnsatsen i psykisk helsearbeid i kommunene 2007-2011.Rapporten fokuserer på årsverksinnsats både i kommuner (psykisk helsearbeid) og i spesialisthelsetjenesten (psykisk helsevern). Tallene viser stor geografisk variasjon. Rapporten ser også på fastlegenes rolle i psykisk helsearbeid. Hovedutfordringer i kommunene utgjør økt etterspørsel, sykere pasienter utskrevet fra spesialisthelsetjenesten, vanskeligheter med å gi et tilbud av god nok faglig kvalitet, utfordringer i samarbeidet med spesialisthelsetjenesten og mangel på kompetanse.&nbsp