Sickness certification of patients--a work environment problem among physicians?
Occup Med (Lond)
; 63(1): 23-9, 2013 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23292342
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
According to several studies, physicians find sickness certification of patients to be problematic, and some smaller studies suggest that this is a psychosocial work environment problem (WEP).AIMS:
To explore to what extent physicians experience sickness certification as a WEP and the associations of this with the type of clinic and other workplace factors.METHODS:
Analyses of data from a questionnaire sent to all physicians who were living and working in Sweden. The study group consisted of physicians aged <65 years who performed sickness certification tasks (SCTs). Prevalence rates (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of finding SCTs as a WEP in relation to background factors were calculated.RESULTS:
The response rate was 61%. The final study group consisted of 14 210 responders. Half of the physicians (50%) experienced SCTs as a WEP, and 11% found them as a WEP to a great extent. The proportion of physicians experiencing certification tasks as a WEP varied with the type of clinic and were highest in general practice (73%), orthopaedics (68%), rheumatology (67%), neurology (59%) and psychiatry (58%). Using internal medicine as a reference group, the PRs for finding SCTs as a WEP to a great extent were 4.05 (95% CI 3.23-5.09) in general practice, 2.67 (2.05-3.47) in psychiatry and 2.66 (2.04-3.47) in orthopaedics, after adjusting for educational level and frequency of sickness certification consultations. In ear, nose and throat clinics, the PR was 0.43 (0.21-0.88).CONCLUSIONS:
The findings underline the importance of measures to improve the work situation for physicians regarding sickness certification practices.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physicians
/
Work
/
Work Capacity Evaluation
/
Attitude of Health Personnel
/
Certification
/
Workplace
/
Sick Leave
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Occup Med (Lond)
Journal subject:
MEDICINA OCUPACIONAL
Year:
2013
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Sweden