Research Review June 2019

Research review keeps you up to date with the latest peer-reviewed work on health and productivity. Here’s a sample of what caught our attention that you may have missed in June.

In This Issue:

• Legal Promise of Equal Mental Health Treatment Often Falls Short
• When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers' Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health
• Impacts of Adherence to Evidence-Based Medicine Guidelines for the Management of Acute Low Back Pain on Costs of Worker's Compensation Claims
• Impact of a Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policies Intervention: A Prospective Economic Evaluation
• Individual, Workplace, and Combined Effects Modeling of Employee Productivity Loss
• The Relationship of Body Mass Index (BMI) to Job Performance, Absenteeism and Risk of Eating Disorder Among Hospital-Based Nurses
• Understanding The Societal Impact of Treatment of Early Breast Cancer
• Patient Willingness to Pay for Reductions in Chronic Low Back Pain and Chronic Neck Pain
• Degree of Integration Between Occupational Safety and Health Programs and Wellness Programs
• Workplace Indirect Cost Impacts of Nasal and Sinus Symptoms and Related Conditions
• Characteristics of Claimants on Long-Term Disability Benefits a Year After Report of an Occupational Injury
• Which Healthcare Workers Work With Acute Respiratory Illness?
• The Medical Hospital Readmission Reduction Program: Does It Do Any Good?
• As The Economy Surges, A Dramatic Drop In Workers On Disability

“Access to mental health care still has not caught up to need despite laws that have been put in place to try to remedy this disparity. And there are additional issues with cost containment for mental health issues when need is difficult to prove, and best practices and guidelines are lacking.”

Legal Promise of Equal Mental Health Treatment Often Falls Short
Kaiser Health News

“When new fathers have the ability to take flexible leave after birth, mothers experience a reduced risk of health complications.”

When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers' Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health
The National Bureau of Economic Research

“Treatments for lower back pain that adhered to ACOEM guidelines were associated with a significant reduction in workers’ compensation claim cost.”

Impacts of Adherence to Evidence-Based Medicine Guidelines for the Management of Acute Low Back Pain on Costs of Worker's Compensation Claims
JOEM

“Many caregivers who provide assistance to an elderly loved one do so informally and in addition to a paid job. This additional burden on employees has costs to employers in absenteeism, turnover, presenteeism, as well as the productivity of coworkers and supervisors. Interventions have the potential to provide benefits from $48,000 to $676,500 based on multiple effectiveness scenarios.”

Impact of a Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policies Intervention: A Prospective Economic Evaluation
JOEM

“Factors that influence employee productivity are complex. A study from the UK shows that there is a strong relationship between mental and physical health, job characteristics and organizational support with productivity.”

Individual, Workplace, and Combined Effects Modeling of Employee Productivity Loss
JOEM

“A study of nurses shows a significant relationship between body mass index with both job performance and a risk of eating disorders, positing that the nature of shift work may play a role in this association.”

The relationship of body mass index (BMI) to job performance, absenteeism and risk of eating disorder among hospital-based nurses
Applied Nursing Research

“Treating early breast cancer is more cost effective than treating the disease after metastases, and there are additional benefits beyond cost for treating breast cancer early. Indirect costs are associated with improved quality of life, decreased out-of-pocket expenses, and decreased loss of productivity.”

Understanding the societal impact of treatment of early breast cancer
RAND

“Chiropractic patients would pay about $46 per month for a one-point reduction in chronic back pain, and about $37 per month for a one-point reduction in chronic neck pain.”

Patient Willingness to Pay for Reductions in Chronic Low Back Pain and Chronic Neck Pain
The Journal of Pain

“Employers often don’t consider ergonomics, safety, or hazardous exposure when designing wellness programs.”

Degree of Integration Between Occupational Safety and Health Programs and Wellness Programs.
JOEM

“Sinus and nasal symptoms caused by chronic rhinosinusitis increase the number of missed workdays and levels of impaired performance on the job.”

Workplace Indirect Cost Impacts of Nasal and Sinus Symptoms and Related Conditions.
JOEM

“An employee’s perception of their ability to work was the only significant predictor of remaining on long-term disability one-year after an occupational injury. Factors that are observable at the time of injury or during the disability period—such as age, sex, obesity, utilization of therapy and medications—were not significant indicators.”

Characteristics of Claimants on Long-Term Disability Benefits a Year After Report of an Occupational Injury
JOEM

“During influenza season, healthcare workers worked almost four days with symptoms of viral respiratory infections for every day that they stayed home sick. Common reasons for working while ill included feeling that symptoms were mild and that there were work tasks that could not be put off.”

Which healthcare workers work with acute respiratory illness?
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

“Changes in coding co-morbidities and regression to the mean—as well as penalties for poor quality care—may explain why hospital readmissions decreased after a provision in the Affordable Care Act.”

The Medical Hospital Readmission Reduction Program: Does It Do Any Good?
JAMA Internal Medicine

"Workers collecting disability benefits has been decreasing - likely a result of multiple factors including the improving economy in which employers will make accommodations to hire those with disabilities."

As The Economy Surges, A Dramatic Drop In Workers On Disability
Kaiser Health News