This study investigates experiences of temporary work among care personnel in eldercare. Semi-structured interviews were performed with fifteen temporarily employed care personnel in municipal nursing homes or home care and analysedusing phenomenography. The informants’ experiences of having temporary employment were characterised by either a sense of flexibility or, more commonly,uncertainty, lack of control over life, time and economic situation, as well as difficulties associated with always being available. The informants’ experiences of working as temporary employees were characterised by the enjoyment of work and job satisfaction, differing experiences regarding the division of work and communication, but also being in an exposed position. The results reflect an experience of being in avulnerable position. Taking these results into consideration in developing interventions to enhance the working conditions for temporarily employed might as a secondary result decrease the turnover and increase the continuity of the care for the elder.

Objectives

To investigate which demographic and clinical factors were associated with psychological wellbeing in working-aged people in multimodal rehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods

116 participants met the criteria for inclusion: persistent or intermittent pain for at least three months; pain that adversely impacts daily life; potential for active change despite pain; no co-morbidity or condition that will hinder participation in the rehabilitation program. Primary outcome was psychological wellbeing and independent measures were general, physical and mental health, pain intensity, limitations in daily life, depression and sleep.

Results

The results show decreased odds of psychological wellbeing for persons rating high on depression. The results remained significant after adjusting for sex and age. Being a woman increased the odds of high psychological wellbeing. Logistic regression showed that psychological wellbeing was not significantly associated with pain intensity; sleep; functional limitations; general, physical, or mental health. None of the other independent variables was significantly associated with high vs. low psychological wellbeing.

Conclusions

Depression turned out to be significantly related to psychological wellbeing, contrary to pain and limitations in daily life. If further studies with larger, random samples can confirm these results, this knowledge may be important both in clinical settings and in future research.

Introduction: A systematic review is conducted in the study to investigate the relationship between telework and organizational economic performance indicators such as self-reported employee performance, organizational performance, actual employee turnover rates, or intentions.

Methods: The databases Scopus, Business Source Premier, and Web of Science were used to conduct a literature search. Original articles published from 2000 and up to May 2021 were selected. Studies were screened for inclusion independently by review pairs and data were extracted. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to evaluate the quality of the studies included.

Results: Forty-three studies were included with some addressing multiple outcomes. Self-reported performance was higher for teleworking employees compared to those working in the ordinary workplace. The extent of the change in performance was dependent on individual characteristics and the extent of the teleworking practice in the organization. Telework was also associated with increased organizational performance, particularly in homogenous samples with unique work tasks. When telework is voluntary, it appears that both actual employee turnover rates and intentions to leave the organization are lower.

Discussion: Further research with high-quality prospective designs is necessary to properly understand the contribution of telework to organizational economic performance indicators.

Purpose

The aim was to investigate how structured assessment of physical function can be performed in people with musculoskeletal disorders in arm-shoulder-hand. Specifically, we aimed to determine:

- Which questionnaires are available for structured assessment of physical function in people with musculoskeletal disorders in arm-shoulder-hand?

- What aspects of physical function do those questionnaires measure?

- What are the psychometric properties of the questionnaires?

Materials and methods

By means of a systematic review, questionnaires and psychometric tests of those were identified. ICF was used to categorise the content of the questionnaires, and COSMIN checklist was used to assess the psychometric evaluations.

Results

Nine questionnaires were identified. Most items focused on activities rather than function. Commonly, a couple of psychometric measurements had been tested, most often reported being adequate. Only one questionnaire had been tested for all aspects.  Variation in scope and insufficient reports regarding validity and reliability, makes comparisons and decision on use difficult both in clinical practice and for research purposes.

Conclusions

The level of psychometric evaluation differs, and often only few aspects of validity and reliability have been tested. The questionnaires address activity issues to a higher extent than function.

An increasing number of academic institutions offer their staff the option to work from other places than the conventional office, i.e., telework. Academic teaching and research staff are recognized as some of the most frequent teleworkers, and this seems to affect their well-being, work performance, and recovery in different ways. This study aimed to investigate academics’ experiences and perceptions of telework within the academic context. For this, we interviewed 26 academics from different Swedish universities. Interviews were analyzed with a phenomenographic approach, which showed that telework was perceived as a natural part of academic work and a necessary resource for coping with, and recovering from, high work demands. Telework was mostly self-regulated but the opportunity could be determined by work tasks, professional culture, and management. Telework could facilitate the individual’s work but could contribute to challenges for the workgroup. Formal regulations of telework were considered a threat to academics’ work autonomy and to their possibility to cope with the high work demands. The findings provide insight into academics’ working conditions during teleworking, which may be important for maintaining a sustainable work environment when academic institutions offer telework options.

The aim of this study was to determine if psychophysiological activity, postures and movements differ during telework (i.e., work performed at home) and work performed at the conventional office. We performed twenty-four-hour pulse recordings and accelerometry measurements on 23 academic teaching and research staff during five consecutive workdays, with at least one day of telework. Additionally, we conducted salivary sampling during one day of telework, and one day of office work. Heart rate and heart rate variability indices, postural exposure and cortisol concentration were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with Workplace and Time (i.e., before, during and after workhours) as within-subject effects. We found a significant interaction effect of Workplace and Time in heart rate variability indices and in the number of transitions between seated and standing postures. This shows more parasympathetic activity among academic teleworkers during telework than office work, which may indicate more relaxation during telework. They had an overall sedentary behavior at both workplaces but switched between sitting and standing more often during telework, which may be beneficial for their health.

As the development of technical aids for telework has progressed, work has become more flexible in time and space. Among academics, the opportunity to telework has been embraced by most, but it is unclear how it relates to their health and well-being. The aim of this study was to determine how frequency and amount of telework is associated with perceived health, stress, recuperation, work-life balance, and intrinsic work motivation among teaching and research academics. An electronic questionnaire was sent to junior lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors at Swedish public universities. It included the General Health Questionnaire, Work Stress Questionnaire, items for assessing recuperation, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work scale, and parts of Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, as well as questions about the frequency and amount of telework performed. In total, 392 academics responded to the survey. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences between groups of academics with different telework frequency (p < 0.05). Univariate analyses of variance showed that ratings of stress related to indistinct organization and conflicts were higher among academics that telework several times per week or more than among academics that telework less than once per month. In regression analyses of associations between amount of telework (in hours per week) and the dependent variables, no significant effects were found. Although it cannot be concluded whether stress is a cause or an effect of frequent telework, the findings warrant further attention to academics who telework frequently.

Purpose: The purpose was to investigate how physical function is assessed in people with musculoskeletal disorders in the low back. Specifically:

• Which questionnaires are used to assess physical function in people with musculoskeletal disorders in the low back?
• What aspects of physical function do those questionnaires measure?
• What are the measurement properties of the questionnaires?

Materials and methods: A systematic review was performed to identify questionnaires and psychometric evaluations of them. The content of the questionnaires was categorised according to the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health, and the psychometric evaluations were categorised using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist.

Results: The questionnaires measured disability or ability to cope in everyday life, rather than physical function as such. Different aspects of a person’s mobility and ability to attend to one’s personal care were most often included regarding activity and participation. For body functions, items about sleep and pain were most often included. The Oswestry Disability Index and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale showed adequate psychometric properties in most evaluations.

Conclusions: The extent of psychometric evaluations differed substantially, as did the items included. Focus of measurement was predominantly on activities in daily life.

• Implications for rehabilitation
• Valid and reliable instruments that measure relevant aspects of low back disorders are needed to provide early diagnostics and effective treatment.
• Most questionnaires need more psychometric evaluations to establish the quality.
• The Oswestry Disability Index and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale showed adequate psychometric properties in most evaluations.
• The results may be useful when making decisions about which measurement instruments to use when evaluating low back disorders.

Aim

The aim of present study was to assess if a previously suggested short-form questionnaire tested among women with non-specific neck-shoulder pain is suitable also for use among men and women with non-specific musculoskeletal disorders in any part of the body, by testing its construct validity by a confirmatory factor analysis. If not, the secondary aim was to investigate the evolving factor structure when performing an explorative factor analysis of data in the expanded sample.

Methods

Questionnaire data was collected in three different contexts, in primary care via eight different multimodal rehabilitation teams, in specialised care via two different specialist care centres. The sample consisted of 116 participants, male (n=29) and female (n=87) with non-specific musculoskeletal disorders.

Data was analysed using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis and a visual comparison between the result of the Principal Component Analysis in present study, and the results attained in a previous study with a similar aim and design.

Results

The confirmatory factor analyses did not end up in a model with acceptable measures for validity. Three models were tested, none of them met the criterion for an acceptable model and the goodness-of-fit statistics were not fully acceptable. The exploratory factor analysis had an only partly comparable result, compared to previous study.

Conclusion

The results of present study did not prove the suggested short form questionnaire to be suitable for evaluation of symptoms among men and women with non-specific musculoskeletal disorders in any part of the body. Further studies including larger samples are recommended.