Kristina Gunnarsson

Swedish Entrepreneurs' Use of Occupational Health Services:

Small-scale enterprises are less often covered by occupational health services and have insufficient awareness about health and risks in the work environment. This study investigated how Swedish entrepreneurs in small-scale enterprises use occupational health services. The study used a questionnaire sent in two waves, 5 years apart. At baseline, 496 entrepreneurs responded, and 251 participated 5 years later. The questionnaire included items about affiliation with and use of occupational health services, physical and psychosocial work environments, work environment management, sources of work environment information, and membership in professional networks. Only 3% of entrepreneurs without employees and 19% of entrepreneurs with employees were affiliated with an occupational health service. Entrepreneurs affiliated with occupational health services were more active in work environment management and gathering information about the work environment. The occupational health services most used were health examinations, health care, and ergonomic risk assessments. Affiliation with occupational health services was 6% at both measurements, 4% at baseline, and 10% 5 years later.

Return to work in small enterprises

Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand and identify possible areas of improvement for the return-to-work process in small enterprises. The study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 small enterprises in Sweden. The employers in the enterprise have made efforts to adapt the workplace for employees on sick leave. However, there was no set procedure for handling contacts between the employer and employee during periods of sick leave and employers indicated that they were unsure how to cooperate with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in the return-to-work process. An area for improvement is extended professional competence and support in the return-to-work process in order to identify possibilities to enable adaption of the workplace and facilitate return to work. The occupational health service have or should have the knowledge required and could play an active role in improvement of the return-to-work process.

Utilizing occupational health services in small-scale enterprises: a 10-year perspective

The aim of this study was to explore how small-scale enterprises (SSEs) utilize occupational health services (OHS) and how the possibility of OHS providers to support occupational health and safety management (OHSM) has developed over a 10-year period. Qualitative interviews were carried out with four OHS providers and their SSE clients, with follow-up interviews being conducted with three of the four OHS providers and their clients after 10 years. The decade saw a change in market conditions for the OHS providers with each becoming larger and developing more effective marketing tools. Despite these changes, the OHS providers had not developed more collaborative or closer relationships with their small enterprise clients. Rather than increasing, the utilization of OHS had declined, with health examinations remaining the most purchased service. In addition, the three OHS providers had not improved their support for OHSM in small enterprises during the decade.

What pupils in vocational schools learn about risk at work

Negative health effects because of poor work environment is more common among young workers compared to older. One explanation might be that younger ones have a low awareness of risk, a lack of safety training, and inadequate introductions to the work. A study has been made focusing on the pupils in vocational schools knowledge and experiences about potential work environment risks in their future work. Questionnaires were distributed to 239 pupils in ten Swedish upper secondary schools’ graduating classes in four vocational programs focusing on basic knowledge about health risks at work as well as the work environment legislation. The programs were the Industrial Technology Program, the Restaurant Management and Food Program, the Transport Program, and the Handicraft Program (in which students specialize in wood). The results from the questionnaires were followed up with focus group discussions. The results showed that the pupils in general had limited knowledge that employers must, by law, conduct risk analyses and prevent risks. It was common that they mentioned themselves as the main responsible to work safe and was not clear about the employers’ duty to arrange for safe work. Pupils in all programs mentioned acute risk as the biggest risk at work. It was concluded that a systematic approach to pupils’ training in work environment is lacking. The results indicates a clear gap between what knowledge the pupils are offered and what’s intended by laws as well as state-of-the-art in occupational health risk research.