Presentations at at 5th ICOH-WOPS Congress, 2014

Our presentations got accepted at the 2014 Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health – Work Organisation and Psychosocial Factors

in Adelaide.

So come to Adelaide in September and attend our presentations:

One oral presentation:

"What predicts burnout? A systematic review" (Nilsen et al., 2014)

Background: Burnout has gained increased interest the last decade. Burnout has been linked to ill health behaviour, ill somatic and mental health, and long-term sickness absence. In addition, burnout has been associated with poor subjective and objective job performance (e.g., turnover, low effectiveness and decreased job satisfaction), and might also have a spill-over effect from the work to home arena. By identifying longitudinal predictors and causal mechanisms behind the development of burnout, one might be able to further develop intervention and prevention efforts to be able to prevent or reduce burnout and hopefully the associated negative consequences for both the individual and the society at large.
Aim: The current systematic review overall aim is thus to examine the longitudinal predictors of burnout with these two aims: 1) Systematically map studies examining longitudinal predictors of burnout with regards to mental health, work and family related factors, and 2) Systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis the findings.

Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in September 2013, with the electronic databases Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase using medical subject heading terms and key words. The search was not limited to years or language. Grey literature was identified in PsychInfo as well as in a separate search in Google. Two review authors will independently screen the abstracts by titles and abstracts. Full text articles will be retrieved for inclusion/exclusion. Papers were included when: 1) The aim of the article was to measure predictors of burnout; 2) Burnout was measured by already established standardized validated scales; 3) The study design was quantitative prospective studies. All populations were included. Quality assessment of the included studies will be conducted. If possible, a meta-analysis will be conducted.

and two poster presentations:

 1. "What predicts burnout? A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers over a six year period." (Nilsen & Skipstein, 2014)

Background: Burnout has been linked to ill somatic and mental health, and long-term sickness absence. Also, burnout has been associated with poor subjective and objective job performance (e.g., turnover, low effectiveness and decreased job satisfaction). By identifying longitudinal predictors and causal mechanisms behind the development of burnout, one might be able to further develop intervention and prevention efforts to be able to prevent or reduce burnout and hopefully the associated negative consequences for both the individual and the society at large
Aim: The current paper thus examines the role of psychological distress and strains as longitudinal predictors of burnout (disengagement and exhaustion) in mothers and fathers with a gender-specific perspective.

Method: Data from the longitudinal Tracking Opportunities and Problems in Childhood and Adolescence Study (TOPP) comprising of 913 families will be used. Measures of mothers' and fathers' psychological distress (measured by Hopkins Symptom Checklist) and strains (home, partner, child work, economy) at three time points across a four time period (Q1-Q2) is used to predict self-reported frequency of burnout (measured by the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory) at the last time point (Q3). Structural equation modeling will be used to examine 1) Longitudinal relations between the distress and strains and burnout, and 2) group differences and similarities between mothers and fathers concerning these longitudinal relations.

2.  "Longitudinal predictors of sick leave among mothers and fathers – A systematic review" (Skipstein & Nilsen, 2014)

Background: Sickness absence rates are higher for women than for men. This gender difference has often been linked to the high rate of women in the labour-force who have children. A possible reason is that the combination of work participation and taking care of children may lead to role conflict or role overload. This may in turn lead to psychological distress and subsequent sickness absence. Another explanation might be related to psychological distress since women typically report more symptoms than men. However, knowledge about different predictors for sickness absence among parents is scarce, and there is a lack of systematic reviews covering this field.

Aim: To systematically review the knowledge regarding longitudinal predictors of sickness absence among mothers and fathers.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in February 2014, with the electronic databases Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase using medical subject heading terms and key words. The search was not limited to years or language. The two review authors will independently screen the abstracts by titles and abstracts. Full text articles will be retrieved for inclusion/exclusion, and quality assessment of the included studies will be conducted. If possible, a meta-analysis will also be conducted.

Results: After removing the duplicates, the literature search revealed 2292 titles, before the screening. Final findings will be presented at the conference.