There is limited knowledge regarding people with intellectual disability and their occupations in Sweden. The aim of the study was to examine young adults with intellectual disability who after secondary school participate in disability day programs (daily activity), with a focus on characteristics and longitudinal analyses of movements between occupations. The study used a national register of 26,908 people with intellectual disability, of which 13,128 individuals (48.8%) participated in daily activity. The group had slightly more men than women, many had attended individual programs in school, and significant associations were found between background factors and participating in daily activity. Proportions in daily activity remained stable over time; however, some individuals transitioned to employment or no known occupation. The study presents national and longitudinal understanding, highlighting the dominance of daily activity as an occupation. Further research is needed to increase knowledge on meaningful occupations for people with intellectual disability. © The Author(s) 2024.

Background: To combat discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates equal work opportunities. Individuals with intellectual disabilities engage in work spanning from competitive jobs to vocational activities. Little is known about their occupational patterns, and knowledge about how these evolve over time is lacking. This study aimed to address these gaps, using longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches.

Method: Through record linkage of Swedish population-based registers, data on intellectual disability and occupational status in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2020 were obtained. Two cohorts were examined. Cohort 1 (individuals who left Upper Secondary School for pupils with Intellectual Disability (USSID) in 2001–2011, n = 11 704) was used to study changes in different occupational groups (daily activity, work, studies, and unknown) between 2011 and 2020. Cohort 2 (individuals who left USSID in 2001–2020, n = 26 424) was used to describe occupational patterns in 2020.

Findings: By 2020, the proportion of cohort 1 individuals in daily activity was significantly lower compared to 2011. The proportion of working individuals increased each year until 2017. Simultaneously, the proportion of students decreased. The proportion of individuals with an unknown occupation decreased until 2015. Nearly half of the cohort 2 individuals were engaged in daily activity, approximately a third were working, about 4% were studying, and around one-sixth had no known occupation in 2020.

Conclusions: Minor, yet significant, shifts in proportions were evident across all years within all cohort 1 groups compared to baseline. A positive trend emerged with a steadily increasing proportion of working individuals until 2017, suggesting that as time progresses, more individuals seem to enter the workforce. The findings can serve as a foundation for informed decisions in the pursuit of equal opportunities. However, further research is required to understand the underlying factors behind the findings. © 2024 John Wiley & Sons and MENCAP.

Introduction: The healthcare sector in many countries, including Sweden, is highly gender segregated with more female than male employees. During the last decades, reports on exacerbating job demands and sickness absence have increased.

Methods: Register data on sickness absence, comprising all female employees in the healthcare sector in Sweden in 2014 (N=210,909) and in 2018 (N=223,715), were analyzed. Logistic regressions yielding odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of new SA (in SA spells >14 days) and of long-term SA (>90 days) due to all cause diagnoses and mental diagnoses respectively, in 2018 compared to 2014, were estimated, adjusting for age, educational level and country of birth.

Results: The risk of new SA and long-term SA due to a mental diagnosis were somewhat higher in 2018, OR 1.14, CI; 1.11 - 1.17 and OR 1.13, CI; 1.08 - 1.18, while no significant associations could be established in relation to SA due to all-cause diagnoses. After adjustments, the results did not change and remained significant.

Discussion: The somewhat higher risk of SA in mental diagnoses over time was not significantly affected by sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors previously shown to influence SA. Psychosocial and emotional work demands together with reports on threats and violence may increase job strain in health workers and influence the risk of SA due to mental diagnoses.

Conclusion: In preventing SA due to mental diagnoses among health workers an effective measure may be to closely monitor various dimensions of work demands.

© The Author(s) 2024

Background

Common mental disorders (CMD) such as depression, anxiety and stress-related disorders have increased in the working-age population in many countries but are still often associated with social stigma in workplaces. Managers have a key role in supporting employees with impaired health. Identifying factors that can improve stigmatizing attitudes among managers towards CMD is crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate managers’ knowledge of CMD on managerial stigma; more specifically knowledge aquired through training and education and through occupational and personal experience of CMD on low managerial stigma towards employee depression.

Methods

Data from a web-based survey conducted in 2017 among 3038 managers in Sweden were used. Managers’ attitudes towards employee depression were measured using the Swedish version of the Managerial Stigma towards Employee Depression questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis, with adjustments for work setting and managerial experience, was conducted for associations between sources of knowledge of CMD and low managerial stigma.

Results

With regard to knowledge acquired through training, medical training on CMD was significantly associated with a higher probability for low managerial stigma towards employee depression after adjustments (odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26–3.01), whereas no significant associations were found between knowledge acquired through managerial training on CMD or level of formal education and low managerial stigma. With regard to knowledge acquired through professional and personal experience, occupational experience of treating people with CMD was significantly associated with a higher probability for low managerial stigma (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.40–2.94) as was occupational experience of employees with CMD (1 employee: OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.04–1.66); >1 employee, OR 1.35 (CI 1.05–1.73). Personal experience of CMD was significantly associated with low managerial stigma (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.60–2.46).

Conclusions

Managers’ knowledge and understanding of CMD may increase the probability of a low level of managerial stigma towards employees with depression. Managers’ professional and/or personal experiences of CMD were important sources of knowledge in relation to a low level of stigmatizing attitudes. Organizations should encourage the use of managers’ experience-based knowledge of CMD in addition to training on CMD to reduce managerial stigma.

Knowledge about the living conditions for people with intellectual disability (ID) is limited, not least since they constitute such a small group, which puts them at risk of being invisible in the general statistics. Thus, there is a great need of a complete register of individuals in this group.

The Swedish Halmstad University Register on Pupils with Intellectual Disability (HURPID) is the first population-based, nationwide sample of former pupils in upper secondary school for pupils with intellectual disability (n = 26 906). The aim of this presentation is to provide a description of that register.

HURPID consists of pupils who were assessed as not having the ability to reach the knowledge requirements of upper secondary school, due to ID, during the academic years of 2000/2001 – 2019/2020. The cohort was established to study the transition from school to working age and to follow the development regarding living conditions, occupational patterns, and health over time. 

School leaving certificates and corresponding documents of former pupils who attended the school form in question during the academic years of 2000/2001 - 2010/2011 were collected in 2011-2012. Information on national identification number, sex, program, municipality, graduation year and complete/incomplete degree were registered. In 2020-2022, a similar data collection was carried out and corresponding information for the academic years of 2011/2012 - 2019/2020 was added (total n = 11 077 women and 15 829 men).

So far, HURPID has been used to study occupational patterns in general (also including exploration of those not involved in employment, education, or daily activity), comorbidity, mortality, heritability, substance abuse, crime, and victimization. Future studies may, for example, examine occupational patterns over time, changes after reforms, need of support, financial situation, access to health care, comparisons with individuals with low intellectual ability (without ID), risk factors for ID and penal sanctions.

Uneven division of domestic factors may contribute to sex differences in sickness absence with psychiatric disorders. The aim of this scoping review was to compile current Nordic research on domestic factors and sickness absence with psychiatric disorders. A systematic search was performed to identify studies from the Nordic countries published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019. Twelve studies were included. Marital status, family situation, work-home interference (in both directions), social affiliation, and loss of child/young adult (suicide, accident, or natural death) were identified as measures of domestic factors. In 8 of the 12 studies, domestic factors were used as co-variates, while four used them as the main exposure. Social affiliation, home-to-work conflict, and total workload were not associated with the outcome. One study found that parents with children older than two years, widows/widowers, and those divorced or unmarried had an increased risk of sickness absence with psychiatric disorders. One study found that work-to-home conflict was associated with sickness absence with stress-related diagnoses in men, and with other mental disorders in women. Finally, one study found that losing a son or daughter aged 16–24 years increased the risk of future sickness absence with a psychiatric disorder regardless of the cause of death. Future studies need to develop concepts, study designs, and measurements to move this research area further. In particular, the concept of “unpaid domestic work” needs theoretical and empirical development. © 2023 by the authors

Objective: To investigate the association between managers' attitudes towards subordinates with common mental disorders (CMD), self-confidence in supporting these subordinates and managerial preventive actions (MPAs).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Swedish managers (n = 2988) and two types of MPAs: reviewing assignments and work situation (MPA-review); talking about CMD at the workplace (MPA-talk). Binary logistic regression models were applied and adjusted for individual and organizational covariates.

Results: Managers with negative attitudes towards subordinates with CMD were less likely to have done both MPAs. Managers with higher self-confidence in supporting these subordinates were more likely to have done both MPAs compared with managers with lower self-confidence.

Conclusions: Managerial negative attitudes towards CMD and self-confidence in supporting subordinates with CMD have a role in MPAs and should be addressed in manager training programmes to encourage preventive actions. Copyright © 2023 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.