To Örebro University

oru.seÖrebro University Publications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Preventing Pain and Stress-Related Ill-Health in Employees: A 6-Months Follow-Up of a Psychosocial Program in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Örebro University, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work. (The Center for Health and Medical Psychology)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1630-4418
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Örebro University, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work.
Show others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Journal of occupational rehabilitation, ISSN 1053-0487, E-ISSN 1573-3688, Vol. 33, no 2, p. 316-328Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Purpose: Pain and stress-related ill-health are major causes of long-term disability and sick leave. This study evaluated the effects of a brief psychosocial program, which previously has been tested for an at-risk population of employees.

Methods: The Effective Communication within the Organization (ECO) program, where supervisors and employees were trained in communication and problem solving, was compared to an active control consisting of psychoeducative lectures (PE) about pain and stress in a cluster randomized controlled trial. First-line supervisors were randomized to ECO or PE, and a total of 191 mainly female employees with self-reported pain and/or stress-related ill-health were included. The hybrid format programs consisted of 2-3 group sessions. Sick leave data was collected from social insurance registers, before and 6-months after the program. Secondary outcomes (work ability, work limitations, pain-disability risk, exhaustion symptoms, perceived stress, perceived health, quality of life, perceived communication and support from supervisors) were assessed at baseline, post intervention, and at 6-months follow-up.

Results: No effects were observed on primary or secondary outcome variables. Pain symptoms were common (89%), however a lower proportion (30%) were identified as at risk for long-term pain disability, which might explain the lack of evident effects. The Covid-19 pandemic affected participation rates and delivery of intervention.

Conclusion: In this study, preventive effects of the ECO program were not supported. Altogether, the findings point at the importance of selecting participants for prevention based on screening of psychosocial risk. Further research on workplace communication and support, and impact on employee health is warranted.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2023. Vol. 33, no 2, p. 316-328
Keywords [en]
Chronic pain, Communication, Prevention, Problem solving, Randomized controlled trial, Stress symptoms
National Category
Applied Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-101995DOI: 10.1007/s10926-022-10074-3ISI: 000875807400001PubMedID: 36308628Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85140993966OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-101995DiVA, id: diva2:1707461
Funder
Uppsala UniversityForte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2018-01273Available from: 2022-10-31 Created: 2022-10-31 Last updated: 2023-06-16Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Owiredua, ChristianaLennartsson, RebeccaBoersma, KatjaLinton, Steven J.Flink, Ida

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Owiredua, ChristianaLennartsson, RebeccaBoersma, KatjaLinton, Steven J.Flink, Ida
By organisation
School of Law, Psychology and Social Work
In the same journal
Journal of occupational rehabilitation
Applied Psychology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 109 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf