The Role of Health and Health Promotion in Labour Force Participation

During the last century, the combined effects of improvements in living and working conditions and advances in medicine and health care have led to a consistently increasing life expectancy in the European Union. In 2007 in the EU, the life expectancy of a newborn boy at birth was 76.1 years and of a newborn girl 82.2 years. Life expectancy is, however, not equally distributed in society. Persons with a lower level of education, a lower occupational class, or a lower level of income tend to die at younger age, and to have, within their shorter lives, a higher prevalence of all kinds of health problems. This leads to tremendous differences between socioeconomic groups in the number of years that persons can expect to live in good health. In Europe, differences in healthy life expectancy typically amount to 10 years or more, counted from birth. According to many, such differences in health are unacceptable, and represent one of Europe’s greatest challenges for public health. Unemployed persons are a specific socioeconomically disadvantaged group. The relationship between unemployment and poor health has been well established, as demonstrated by a higher prevalence of illness and disability and a higher mortality among unemployed persons. Selection and causation may contribute to these inequalities in health among employed and unemployed persons. Selection may act through two different pathways: workers with a poor health may be more likely to leave the labour force, and unemployed persons with a poor health may be less likely to enter the workforce. Causation may also act in two different ways. Leaving the workforce may have a negative influence on health of the ex-workers. The other way around, gaining paid employment may have a positive influence on health. Paragraph 1.2 (Health and Work) gives an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the influence of health on entering or leaving the workforce. Paragraph 1.3 (Work and Health) is focused on the effect of gaining paid employment on health. Paragraph 1.4 (Health promotion among the unemployed) describes the current evidence on the effectiveness of health promotion interventions among unemployed persons for re-employment

Moir{\'e} patterns as a probe of interplanar interactions: graphene on h-BN

By atomistic modeling of moir{\'e} patterns of graphene on a substrate with a small lattice mismatch, we find qualitatively different strain distributions for small and large misorientation angles, corresponding to the commensurate-incommensurate transition recently observed in graphene on hexagonal BN. We find that the ratio of C-N and C-B interactions is the main parameter determining the different bond lengths in the center and edges of the moir{\'e} pattern. Agreement with experimental data is obtained only by assuming that the C-B interactions are at least twice weaker than the C-N interactions. The correspondence between the strain distribution in the nanoscale moir{\'e} pattern and the potential energy surface at the atomic scale found in our calculations, makes the moir{\'e} pattern a tool to study details of dispersive forces in van der Waals heterostructures.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Welk spoor kiest u? : waarderingskader voor het bevorderen van ondernemerschap

Dit verslag geeft een overzicht van ondernemerschapactiviteiten en projecten die in het onderwijs, onderzoek en bedrijfsleven plaatsgevonden hebben. Om deze activiteiten te kunnen beoordelen op ondernemerschap is een waarderingskader ontwikkeld. Dit kader maakt inzichtelijk in hoeverre ondernemerschap bevorderd wordt. En met behulp van het waarderingskader zijn good practices geïdentificeerd. Het verslag geeft tevens adviezen om ondernemerschap met hulp van het kader verder te ontwikkele

Influence of an Interdisciplinary Re-employment Programme Among Unemployed Persons with Mental Health Problems on Health, Social Participation and Paid Employment

Purpose To evaluate the influence of an interdisciplinary re-employment programme on labour force participation and perceived health among unemployed persons with common mental health problems. In addition, the influence of entering paid employment on self-rated physical health and mental health was investigated. Methods In this quasi-experimental study with 2 years follow up, 869 persons were enrolled after referral to an interdisciplinary re-employment programme (n = 380) or regular re-employment programme (n = 489). The propensity score technique was used to account for observed differences between the intervention and control group. The intervention programme was provided by an interdisciplinary team, consisting of mental health care professionals as well as employment specialists. Mental health problems were addressed through cognitive counselling and individual tailored job-search support was provided by an employment professional. Primary outcome measures were paid employment and voluntary work. Secondary outcome measures were self-rated mental and physical health, measured by the Short Form 12 Health Survey, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Changes in labour force participation and health were examined with repeated-measures logistic regression analyses by the generalized estimating equations method. Results The interdisciplinary re-employment programme did not have a positive influence on entering employment or physical or mental health among unemployed persons with mental health problems. After 2 years, 10% of the participants of the intervention programme worked fulltime, compared to 4% of the participants of the usual programmes (adjusted OR 1.65). The observed differences in labour force participation were not statistically significant. However, among persons who entered paid employment, physical health improved (+16%) and anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased (−15%), whereas health remained unchanged among persons who continued to be unemployed. Conclusions Policies to improve population health should take into account that promoting paid employment may be an effective intervention to improve health. It is recommended to invest in interdisciplinary re-employment programmes with a first place and train approach

EP-1811: Accuracy of dose calculations on CBCT scans of lung cancer patients using a vendor-specific approach

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The benefits of paid employment among persons with common mental health problems: Evidence for the selection and causa

Objectives The aims of this study were to (i) investigate the impact of paid employment on self-rated health, self-esteem, mastery, and happiness among previously unemployed persons with common mental health problems, and (ii) determine whether there are educational inequalities in these effects. Methods A quasi-experimental study was performed with a two-year follow-up period among unemployed persons with mental health problems. Eligible participants were identified at the social services departments of five cities in The Netherlands when being diagnosed with a common mental disorder, primarily depression and anxiety disorders, in the past 12 months by a physician (N=749). Employment status (defined as paid employment for ≥12 hours/week), mental health [Short Form 12 (SF-12)], physical health (SF-12), self-esteem, mastery, and happiness were measured at baseline, after 12 months and 24 months. The repeated-measurement longitudinal data were analyzed using a hybrid method, combining fixed and random effects. The regression coefficient was decomposed into between-and within-individual associations, respectively. Results The between-individuals associations showed that persons working ≥12 hours per week reported better mental health (b=26.7, SE 5.1), mastery (b=2.7, SE 0.6), self-esteem (b=5.7, SE 1.1), physical health (b=14.6, SE 5.6) and happiness (OR 7.7, 95% CI 2.3–26.4). The within-i

The effects of an interdisciplinary employment program on paid employment and mental health among persons with severe mental disorders

Purpose: This study evaluates the effects of the interdisciplinary employment program ‘Work As Best Care (WABC)’ on employment participation and mental health of persons with severe mental disorders.Methods: WABC is a ‘work first’ employment program for unemployed persons with severe mental disorders in which employment professionals work closely together with mental health professionals. In a longitudinal non-randomized controlled study, participants of WABC (n = 35) are compared with participants of the control group (n = 37), who received regular employment support. Participants were followed for 1 year and filled out questionnaires on individual characteristics and health at baseline, after 6 and 12 months. This information was enriched with monthly register data on employment status from 2015 until 2020. Difference-in-differences analyses were performed to investigate changes in employment participation among participants of WABC and the control group. A generalized linear mixed-effects model was used to compare changes in mental health (measured on 0–100 scale) between the two groups. Results: Before WABC, employment participation was 22.0%points lower among participants of WABC compared to the control group. After starting WABC, employment participation increased with 15.3%points per year among participants of WABC, compared to 5.6%points in the control group. Among all participants of WABC, no change in mental health was found (β 1.0, 95% CI − 3.4; 5.5). Only female participants of WABC showed a significant change in mental health (β 8.0, 95% CI 2.6; 13.4). Conclusion: To enhance employment participation of persons with severe mental disorders, an interdisciplinary ‘work-first’ approach in which professionals of employment services and mental health services work in close collaboration, is of paramount importance.</p

Educational differences in trajectories of self-rated health before, during, and after entering or leaving paid employment in the european workforce

Objectives This study aimed to investigate (i) the influence of entering or leaving paid employment on self-rated health trajectories before, during, and after this transition and (ii) educational differences in these health trajectories. Methods In this prospective study, we used yearly measurements of self-rated health from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) to establish how health is affected by employment transitions in or out of the workforce due to early retirement, unemployment or economic inactivity. Trajectories of self-rated health were analyzed among 136 556 persons with low, intermediate, or high educational level by repeated-measures logistic regression with generalized estimating equations. Results Among low-educated workers, ill-health partly prompted their voluntary labor force exit through early retirement and becoming economically inactive, but thereafter these exit routes seemed to prevent further deterioration of their health. In contrast, among higher educated workers, early retirement had an adverse effect on their self-rated health. Becoming unemployed had adverse effects on self-rated health among all educational levels. Entering paid employment was predetermined by self-rated health improvement in the preceding years among intermediate and high educated workers, whereas, among low-educated workers, self-rated health improved in the year of entering paid employed and continued to improve in the following years. Conclusions Prolonging working life may have both adverse and beneficial effects on self-rated health. Health inequalities may increase when every person, independent of educational level, must perform paid employment until the same age before being able to retire