Measuring Employability for Disadvantaged Unemployed People? Evidence from Survey and Register Data

Disadvantaged unemployed Danes do not easily become re-employed. Previous literature has focused on unemployment versus employment. Expanding on this, the present article is a proposal to assess disadvantaged unemployed people’s employability. On the basis of the literature, I investigate whether variables measuring health, well-being, self-efficacy, alcohol use, and drug use can be included into this measure of employability measured as subsequent re-employment. Data are on disadvantaged unemployment cash benefit recipients from the Copenhagen Unemployment and Well-Being Panel Survey (2013, 2014, N = 2400, analytical sample N = 956) and detailed register data on employment status measured weekly. The results from the analysis reveal that only parts of the proposed indicator are linked with subsequent re-employment, and comprehensive robustness checks reveal that the indicator lacks stability. However, the findings from the study can inform future studies aiming at developing an indicator of employability for disadvantaged unemployed people in Denmark and the other Nordic countries

Depicted welfare-recipient stereotypes in Norway and Denmark: a photo-elicitation study

Welfare recipients are continuously subjected to media debates and governmental campaigns drawing on images and symbols encouraging improved work ethic and individual responsibility. Only few studies, however, have analysed how welfare recipients as ‘othered’ citizens react to these often stereotypical symbols and images targeting them. In this study we have investigated how welfare recipients in Norway and Denmark, and caseworkers in Denmark, understand and account for images which, through the use of stereotypes, directly or indirectly may question welfare recipients’ work ethic and deservedness. Analysing photo-elicitation interview data, we have uncovered a variety of reactions characterized by ‘problematization’. The interviewees problematize the image and depicted stereotypes, which they link both with motif and symbols and with surrounding public debates on the work ethic and deservedness of welfare recipients. Furthermore, as photo-elicitation is a rarely used tool in welfare research, we address methodological aspects of using photo-elicitation in a study of ‘othered’ welfare recipients

Measuring Employability for Disadvantaged Unemployed People? Evidence from Survey and Register Data

Disadvantaged unemployed Danes do not easily become re-employed. Previous literature has focused on unemployment versus employment. Expanding on this, the present article is a proposal to assess disadvantaged unemployed people’s employability. On the basis of the literature, I investigate whether variables measuring health, well-being, self-efficacy, alcohol use, and drug use can be included into this measure of employability measured as subsequent re-employment. Data are on disadvantaged unemployment cash benefit recipients from the Copenhagen Unemployment and Well-Being Panel Survey (2013, 2014, N = 2400, analytical sample N = 956) and detailed register data on employment status measured weekly. The results from the analysis reveal that only parts of the proposed indicator are linked with subsequent re-employment, and comprehensive robustness checks reveal that the indicator lacks stability. However, the findings from the study can inform future studies aiming at developing an indicator of employability for disadvantaged unemployed people in Denmark and the other Nordic countries

The impact of self-reported health and register-based prescription medicine purchases on re-employment chances: A prospective study

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate the influence of self-reported health and register-based prescription medicine purchases on re-employment chances, and whether these health indicators measure similar aspects of health in this analysis. Data came from a 2006 Danish unemployment survey among a random sample of unemployed individuals enriched with register data (2006–2008, N=1806). The survey participants all received unemployment benefits from the welfare system and had been unemployed for more than 20 weeks at the time of the interview in 2006. We combined these data with longitudinal register data on individual prescription medicine purchases for somatic illnesses and prescription medicine purchases for mental illnesses, information on re-employment and various socio-demographic variables. We conducted binary logistic regression analyses to investigate the impact of self-reported health and prescription medicine purchases measured in 2006 on re-employment chances in 2007 and 2008. Our analyses show that unemployed workers with poor self-reported health and workers who had prescription medicine purchases for mental illnesses were less likely to be re-employed in 2007 and 2008. Furthermore, the impact of both prescription medicine purchases for somatic illnesses and for mental illnesses increased when adding self-reported health to the model although prescription purchases for somatic illnesses became statistically insignificant. The impact of prescription medicine purchases for somatic illnesses was mediated by self-reported health, whilst prescription medicine purchases for mental illnesses was only partly mediated. Finally, SRH seemed a much stronger prediction than prescription medicines. From these results, we propose, when possible, the inclusion of both an indicator of self-reported health and an indicator of mental health in studies on re-employment

Construct Validity of the Swedish Version of the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale in an Oncology Sample—A Rasch Analysis

AbstractObjectivesFatigue is a common and distressing symptom in cancer patients due to both the disease and its treatments. The concept of fatigue is multidimensional and includes both physical and mental components. The 22-item Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (RPFS) is a multidimensional instrument developed to assess cancer-related fatigue. This study reports on the construct validity of the Swedish version of the RPFS from the perspective of Rasch measurement.MethodsThe Swedish version of the RPFS was answered by 196 cancer patients fatigued after 4 to 5 weeks of curative radiation therapy. Data from the scale were fitted to the Rasch measurement model. This involved testing a series of assumptions, including the stochastic ordering of items, local response dependency, and unidimensionality. A series of fit statistics were computed, differential item functioning (DIF) was tested, and local response dependency was accommodated through testlets.ResultsThe Behavioral, Affective and Sensory domains all satisfied the Rasch model expectations. No DIF was observed, and all domains were found to be unidimensional. The Mood/Cognitive scale failed to fit the model, and substantial multidimensionality was found. Splitting the scale between Mood and Cognitive items resolved fit to the Rasch model, and new domains were unidimensional without DIF.ConclusionsThe current Rasch analyses add to the evidence of measurement properties of the scale and show that the RPFS has good psychometric properties and works well to measure fatigue. The original four-factor structure, however, was not supported

The physical activity paradox revisited: a prospective study on compositional accelerometer data and long-term sickness absence

Background The 'physical activity paradox' advocates that leisure physical activity (PA) promotes health while high occupational PA impairs health. However, this paradox can be explained by methodological limitations of the previous studies-self-reported PA measures, insufficient adjustment for socioeconomic confounding or not addressing the compositional nature of PA. Therefore, this study investigated if we still observe the PA paradox in relation to long-term sick absence (LTSA) after adjusting for the abovementioned limitations. Methods Time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and remaining physical behaviors (sedentary behavior, standing, light PA and time in bed) at work and in leisure was measured for 929 workers using thigh accelerometry and expressed as isometric log-ratios (ilrs). LTSA was register-based first event of >= 6 consecutive weeks of sickness absence during 4-year follow-up. The association betweenilrsand LTSA was analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for remaining physical behaviors and potential confounders, then separately adjusting for and stratifying by education and type of work. Results During the follow-up, 21% of the workers experienced LTSA. In leisure, more relative MVPA time was negatively associated with LTSA (20% lower risk with 20 min more MVPA,p = 0.02). At work, more relative MVPA time was positively associated with LTSA (15% higher risk with 20 min more MVPA,p = 0.02). Results remained unchanged when further adjusted for or stratified by education and type of work. Conclusion These findings provide further support to the 'PA paradox'

Adopting a healthy lifestyle when pregnant and obese - an interview study three years after childbirth

Background: Obesity during pregnancy is increasing and is related to life-threatening and ill-health conditions in both mother and child. Initiating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle when pregnant with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 can improve health and decrease risks during pregnancy and of long-term illness for the mother and the child. To minimise gestational weight gain women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 in early pregnancy were invited to a lifestyle intervention including advice and support on diet and physical activity in Gothenburg, Sweden. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 regarding minimising their gestational weight gain, and to assess how health professionals' care approaches are reflected in the women's narratives. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 women who had participated in a lifestyle intervention for women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 during pregnancy 3 years earlier. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed in full. Thematic analysis was used. Results: The meaning of changing lifestyle for minimising weight gain and of the professional's care approaches is described in four themes: the child as the main motivation for making healthy changes; a need to be seen and supported on own terms to establish healthy routines; being able to manage healthy activities and own weight; and need for additional support to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Conclusions: To support women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 to make healthy lifestyle changes and limit weight gain during pregnancy antenatal health care providers should 1) address women's weight in a non-judgmental way using BMI, and provide accurate and appropriate information about the benefits of limited gestational weight gain; 2) support the woman on her own terms in a collaborative relationship with the midwife; 3) work in partnership to give the woman the tools to self-manage healthy activities and 4) give continued personal support and monitoring to maintain healthy eating and regular physical activity habits after childbirth involving also the partner and family

El Sistema Hammarkullen: En kvalitativ studie om hur El Sistema bidrar till social inkludering

Social exkludering är ett aktuellt samhällsproblem lokalt liksom globalt. Det handlar i stort om individers och gruppers möjligheter till delaktighet i samhället, vilket avgörs av sociala, ekonomiska, politiska och kulturella processer. Att se social exkludering som ett samhällsproblem är relevant för att förstå behovet av ett mer integrerat samhälle och behovet av satsningar för att åstadkomma mer social inkludering. El Sistema är en social verksamhet som använder musik- och orkesterundervisning som verktyg för social och mänsklig utveckling. Verksamheten som 1975 startade i Caracas, Venezuela har utvecklats till en global rörelse. År 2010 påbörjades i stadsdelen Hammarkullen i Göteborg Nordens första El Sistema-inspirerade projekt, vilket sedan dess kommit att bli en permanent verksamhet. Musikundervisningen riktar sig till barn och unga men ambitionen är att inkludera hela familjer i en social gemenskap. Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på huruvida och på vilket sätt El Sistema Hammarkullen bidrar till social inkludering. För att ta reda på detta har det genomförts en kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex intervjupersoner inom förskola och grundskola, för att synliggöra deras uppfattningar om huruvida El Sistema bidrar till social inkludering. Undersökningens frågeställningar handlar om hur man ser påverkan på barn, familjer och området/stadsdelen med avseende på social inkludering. Det empiriska materialet bearbetades med tematisk analys i en induktiv metod och resultatet analyserades utifrån teorier om social exkludering. Resultatet visar att det finns uppfattningar om att deltagande barn, deras familjer och även till viss del stadsdelen påverkas i en positiv bemärkelse av El Sistema. De intervjuade menade sig se att barnen påverkas genom en stärkt självtillit och känsla av grupptillhörighet och att familjer i Hammarkullen i större utsträckning nu möts över kulturella gränser. Detta kan i förlängningen även bidra till en mer positiv självbild för invånarna i stadsdelen. Slutsatser: resultatet kan tolkas som att El Sistema Hammarkullen bidrar till ökad social inkludering i det hänseendet att det medverkar till skapandet av ett större socialt nätverk och ökad gemenskap i området vilket genererar känslor av samhörighet och framtidstro