Monica Bertilsson

Capacity to work while depressed and anxious--a phenomenological study.

Abstract Purpose: The aim was to explore experiences of capacity to work in persons working while depressed and anxious in order to identify the essence of the phenomenon capacity to work. Method: Four focus groups were conducted with 17 participants employed within the regular job market. Illness experiences ranged from symptoms to clinical diagnoses. A phenomenological approach was employed. Results: The phenomenon of capacity to work was distinguished by nine constituents related to task, time, context and social interactions. The phenomenon encompassed a lost familiarity with one’s ordinary work performance, the use of a working facade and adoption of new time-consuming work practices. Feelings of exposure in interpersonal encounters, disruption of work place order, lost “refueling” and a trade-off of between work capacity and leisure-time activities was also identified. The reduced capacity was pointed out as invisible, this invisibility was considered troublesome. Conclusions: A complex and comprehensive concept emerged, not earlier described in work capacity studies. Rehabilitation processes would benefit from deeper knowledge of the individual’s capacity to work in order to make efficient adjustments at work. Results can have particular relevance both in clinical and occupational health practice, as well as in the workplaces, in supporting re-entering workers after sickness absence. Implications for Rehabilitation The reduced capacity to work due to depression and anxiety is not always understandable or observable for others, therefore, the rehabilitation process would benefit from increased knowledge and understanding of the difficulties afflicted individuals experience at work. Identifying tasks that contribute to “refueling” at work might enhance the success of the rehabilitation. Rehabilitation programs could be tailored to better address the inabilities that impact on the capacity to work when depressed and anxious.

Self-assessed mental health problems and work capacity as determinants of return to work: a prospective general population-based study of individuals with all-cause sickness absence

BackgroundMental health problems are common in the work force and influence work capacity and sickness absence. The aim was to examine self-assessed mental health problems and work capacity as determinants of time until return to work (RTW).MethodsEmployed women and men (n=6140), aged 19–64 years, registered as sick with all-cause sickness absence between February 18 and April 15, 2008 received a self-administered questionnaire covering health and work situation (response rate 54%). Demographic data was collected from official registers. This follow-up study included 2502 individuals. Of these, 1082 were currently off sick when answering the questionnaire. Register data on total number of benefit compensated sick-leave days in the end of 2008 were used to determine the time until RTW. Self-reported persistent mental illness, the WHO (Ten) Mental Well-Being Index and self-assessed work capacity in relation to knowledge, mental, collaborative and physical demands at work were used as determinants. Multinomial and binary logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of RTW.ResultsThe likelihood of RTW (≥105 days) was higher among those with persistent mental illness OR= 2.97 (95% CI, 2.10-4.20) and those with low mental well-being OR= 2.89 (95% CI, 2.31-3.62) after adjusting for gender, age, SES, hours worked and sick leave 2007. An analysis of employees who were off sick when they answered the questionnaire, the likelihood of RTW (≥105 days) was higher among those who reported low capacity to work in relation to knowledge, mental, collaborative and physical demands at work. In a multivariable analysis, the likelihood of RTW (≥105 days) among those with low mental well-being remained significant OR=1.93 (95% CI 1.46-2.55) even after adjustment for all dimensions of capacity to work.ConclusionSelf-assessed persistent mental illness, low mental well-being and low work capacity increased the likelihood of prolonged RTW. This study is unique because it is based on new sick-leave spells and is the first to show that low mental well-being was a strong determinant of RTW even after adjustment for work capacity. Our findings support the importance of identifying individuals with low mental well-being as a way to promote RTW.

Health care professionals' experience-based understanding of individuals' capacity to work while depressed and anxious

Abstract Aim: The meaning of capacity to work while depressed and anxious is not well comprehended. The aim of this study was to explore and describe health care professionals’ experience-based understanding of capacity to work in individuals with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Method: An exploratory qualitative design was used. Four focus groups were conducted with 21 professionals from psychiatric, occupational, and primary health care. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: Capacity to work while depressed and anxious was understood as a change from the familiar to a no longer recognizable performance at work. Managing time, daily work demands, and emotions was described as difficult for the patients, and capacity to work could be fragmented by anxiety attacks. Patients were perceived as continuing to work while life outside work crumbled. Capacity to work was described as part of a greater whole, the work community, and the patient’s participation in the work community was considered problematic. Conclusions. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the reduced capacity to work compared with theoretical or medico-administrative descriptions. Applied to patient encounters it could promote fitness-for-work dialogues, rehabilitation, and tailor-made work interventions.

Involving the employer to enhance return to work among patients with stress-related mental disorders – study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial in Swedish primary health care

BackgroundWork-related stress has become a major challenge for social security and health care systems, employers and employees across Europe. In Sweden, sickness absence particularly due to stress-related disorders has increased excessively in recent years, and the issue of how to improve sustainable return to work in affected employees is high up on the political agenda. The literature on interventions for return to work in patients with common mental disorders is still inconclusive. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to contribute with knowledge about how physicians and rehabilitation coordinators in primary health care can involve the employer in the rehabilitation of patients with stress-related disorders. The objective is to evaluate whether the early involvement of the patient’s employer can reduce the time for return to work compared to treatment as usual. A process study will complete the RCT with information about what prerequisites primary health caregivers need to succeed with this endeavor.MethodsTwenty-two primary care centers were randomized to either intervention or control group. At the intervention centers, physicians and rehabilitation coordinators underwent training, providing them with both knowledge and practical tools to involve the employer in rehabilitation. At the patient level, employed patients with an ICD-10 F43 diagnosis were eligible for participation (n=132). Difference in proportion of patients on full- or part-time sick leave at three, six and 12 months after inclusion will be investigated. Register data, logbooks and interviews with coordinators and physicians at both intervention and control centers will be used for process evaluation.DiscussionAlthough the issue of how to tackle work-related stress can be recognized all across Europe, Sweden face an urgent need to curb the disproportional increase of stress-related disorders in the sick-leave statistics. Since physicians are limited by time constraints, the rehabilitation coordinator may be a helpful resource to take this contact. The current study will contribute to knowledge about how this collaboration can be organized to facilitate employer involvement and reduce time to return to work among patients suffering from work related stress.Trial registrationRegistered on 1 November 2016, ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03022760.

The capacity to work puzzle: a qualitative study of physicians’ assessments for patients with common mental disorders

BackgroundEntitlement to sickness benefits is a legal process requiring health-related reduced work capacity confirmed by a physician via a sickness certificate. However, there is a knowledge gap concerning physicians’ clinical practice of work capacity assessments for patients with common mental disorders (CMD). Physicians claim more knowledge and skills in how to actually do the assessments. The aim of this study was to explore physicians’ tacit knowledge of performing assessments of capacity to work and the need for sickness absence in patients with depression and anxiety disorders.MethodsWe performed a qualitative study with open-ended interviews and a short video vignette of a physician and a patient with depression as stimuli. Participating physicians (n = 24) were specialized in general practice, occupational health or psychiatry and experienced in treating patients with depression and anxiety. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive content analysis was used as the analytical tool.ResultsFive categories were identified. Category 1 identified work capacity assessment as doing a jigsaw puzzle without any master model. The physicians both identified and created the pieces of the puzzle, mainly by facilitating strategies to make the patient a better supplier of essential information. The finished puzzle made up a highly individualized comprehensive picture required for adequate assessment. Categories 2–4 identified the particular essential pieces of information the participants used, relating to the patient’s disorder, capacity in the work place and contextual everyday life. For the sickness absence assessment, apart from decreased work capacity, the physicians also took particulars of the work place into account; e.g. could the work place handle an employee with reduced capacity.ConclusionsPhysicians’ tacit knowledge of assessing work capacity and the need for sickness absence for patients with CMD was identified as doing a jigsaw puzzle. The physicians became identifiers and creators of the pieces of the puzzle using a broad palette of essential information. Our findings contribute to the knowledge gap on clinical assessment and can be used as an educational tool. Because they are based on the professions’ tacit knowledge, acceptance of the model can be expected to be high.