scholarly journals Occupation as a Proxy for Job Exposures? Routine Data Analysis Using the Example of Rehabilitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S41-S51
Author(s):  
Martin Brünger ◽  
Sebastian Bernert ◽  
Karla Spyra

Abstract Aim of the study Job exposures are associated with health-related outcomes including sick leave and reduction in earning capacity. Rehabilitation of persons in working age aims primarily to secure or restore work capacity. Information concerning job exposures is, however, not directly available in routine data of healthcare payers. Since exposures relate to specific occupations and the current occupation is part of routine data, job exposures may be determined indirectly via job-exposure matrices (JEM). The aim of the study is to describe the possibilities and challenges of the representation of job exposures by the occupation according to routine data using the example of rehabilitation. Methods The Scientific Use File ‘SUFRSDLV15B’ of the German Pension Insurance was analysed. We used data from n=1 242 171 persons in work with at least one completed medical rehabilitation between 2008 and 2015 (dataset 1). The occupation is coded according to KldB 88 or KldB 2010 (German Classification of Occupations). In addition, data from a nationwide survey with 2530 rehabilitation patients was available (dataset 2). Job exposures are operationalized by the Job Exposure Index via JEM. The relationship to the return-to-work prognosis at the end of rehabilitation (dataset 1) and to patient reported outcome measures (dataset 2) is described. Results Information concerning the occupation is available for about 91% of rehabilitation measures of employed patients for the year prior to rehabilitation. At high levels of job exposures, the proportion of persons with a predicted working capacity in the last job of fewer than 3 h per day increased by a factor of 4 compared to low-level job exposures (23.5 vs. 6.1%). On the other hand, there is a low association only to reduced working capacity in the general labour market (2.9 vs. 2.4%). High-level job exposures are associated with self-reported, work-related impairments. Conclusion The Job Exposure Index may offer a valid approach to depict occupation-related exposures. The index can be used in the analysis of routine data of the pension insurance and other social security funds, as well as in the linkage of individual assessment data with routine data containing the occupation, without any additional data collection effort. Due to its construction based on job classifications, it will not replace the assessment of individual burdens.

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 913-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Bethge ◽  
Miriam Markus ◽  
Marco Streibelt ◽  
Christian Gerlich ◽  
Michael Schuler

ObjectivesSince 2014, the Federal German Pension Insurance has approved several departments to implement work-related medical rehabilitation programmes across Germany. Our cohort study was launched to assess the effects of work-related medical rehabilitation under real-life conditions.MethodsParticipants received either a common or a work-related medical rehabilitation programme. Propensity score matching was used to identify controls that were comparable to work-related medical rehabilitation patients. The effects were assessed by patient-reported outcome measures 10 months after completing the rehabilitation programme.ResultsWe compared 641 patients who were treated in work-related medical rehabilitation with 641 matched controls. Only half of the treated patients had high initial work disability risk scores and were intended to be reached by the new programmes. The dose of work-related components was on average in accordance with the guideline; however, the heterogeneity was high. Work-related medical rehabilitation increased the proportion of patients returning to work by 5.8 percentage points (95% CI 0.005 to 0.110), decreased the median time to return to work by 9.46 days (95% CI -18.14 to -0.79), and improved self-rated work ability by 0.38 points (95% CI 0.05 to 0.72) compared with common medical rehabilitation. A per-protocol analysis revealed that work-related medical rehabilitation was more effective if patients were assigned according to the guideline and the minimal mandatory treatment dose was actually delivered.ConclusionsThe implementation of work-related medical rehabilitation in German rehabilitation centres affected work participation outcomes. Improving guideline fidelity (reach and dose delivered) will probably improve the outcomes in real-world care.Trial Registration NumberDRKS00009780


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 1195-1204
Author(s):  
Florence D Mowlem ◽  
Brad Sanderson ◽  
Jill V Platko ◽  
Bill Byrom

Aim: To understand the impact of anticancer treatment on oncology patients’ ability to use electronic solutions for completing patient-reported outcomes (ePRO). Materials & methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven individuals who had experienced a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Results: Participants reported that the following would impact the ability to interact with an ePRO solution: peripheral neuropathy of the hands (4/7), fatigue and/or concentration and memory issues (6/7), where they are in a treatment cycle (5/7). Approaches to improve usability included: larger, well-spaced buttons to deal with finger numbness, the ability to pause a survey and complete at a later point and presenting the recall period with every question to reduce reliance on memory. Conclusion: Symptoms associated with cancers and anticancer treatments can impact the use of technologies. The recommendations for optimizing the electronic implementation of patient-reported outcome instruments in this population provides the potential to improve data quality in oncology trials and places patient needs at the forefront to ensure ‘fit-for-purpose’ solutions.


Spine ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Merrill ◽  
Lukas P. Zebala ◽  
Colleen Peters ◽  
Sheeraz A. Qureshi ◽  
Steven J. McAnany

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Goude ◽  
Sverre A. C. Kittelsen ◽  
Henrik Malchau ◽  
Maziar Mohaddes ◽  
Clas Rehnberg

Abstract Background Competition-promoting reforms and economic incentives are increasingly being introduced worldwide to improve the performance of healthcare delivery. This study considers such a reform which was initiated in 2009 for elective hip replacement surgery in Stockholm, Sweden. The reform involved patient choice of provider, free establishment of new providers and a bundled payment model. The study aimed to examine its effects on hip replacement surgery quality as captured by patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) of health gain (as indicated by the EQ-5D index and a visual analogue scale (VAS)), pain reduction (VAS) and patient satisfaction (VAS) one and six years after the surgery. Methods Using patient-level data collected from multiple national registers, we applied a quasi-experimental research design. Data were collected for elective primary total hip replacements that were carried out between 2008 and 2012, and contain information on patient demography, the surgery and PROMs at baseline and at one- and six-years follow-up. In total, 36,627 observations were included in the analysis. First, entropy balancing was applied in order to reduce differences in observable characteristics between treatment groups. Second, difference-in-difference analyses were conducted to eliminate unobserved time-invariant differences between treatment groups and to estimate the causal treatment effects. Results The entropy balancing was successful in creating balance in all covariates between treatment groups. No significant effects of the reform were found on any of the included PROMs at one- and six-years follow-up. The sensitivity analyses showed that the results were robust. Conclusions Competition and bundled payment had no effects on the quality of hip replacement surgery as captured by post-surgery PROMs of health gain, pain reduction and patient satisfaction. The study provides important insights to the limited knowledge on the effects of competition and economic incentives on PROMs.


Hand ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 155894472097412
Author(s):  
Ali Aneizi ◽  
Dominique Gelmann ◽  
Dominic J. Ventimiglia ◽  
Patrick M. J. Sajak ◽  
Vidushan Nadarajah ◽  
...  

Background: The objectives of this study were to determine the baseline patient characteristics associated with preoperative opioid use and to establish whether preoperative opioid use is associated with baseline patient-reported outcome measures in patients undergoing common hand surgeries. Methods: Patients undergoing common hand surgeries from 2015 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed from a prospective orthopedic registry at a single academic institution. Medical records were reviewed to determine whether patients were opioid users versus nonusers. On enrollment in the registry, patients completed 6 Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) domains (Physical Function, Pain Interference, Fatigue, Social Satisfaction, Anxiety, and Depression), the Brief Michigan Hand Questionnaire (BMHQ), a surgical expectations questionnaire, and Numeric Pain Scale (NPS). Statistical analysis included multivariable regression to determine whether preoperative opioid use was associated with patient characteristics and preoperative scores on patient-reported outcome measures. Results: After controlling for covariates, an analysis of 353 patients (opioid users, n = 122; nonusers, n = 231) showed that preoperative opioid use was associated with higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class (odds ratio [OR], 2.88), current smoking (OR, 1.91), and lower body mass index (OR, 0.95). Preoperative opioid use was also associated with significantly worse baseline PROMIS scores across 6 domains, lower BMHQ scores, and NPS hand scores. Conclusions: Preoperative opioid use is common in hand surgery patients with a rate of 35%. Preoperative opioid use is associated with multiple baseline patient characteristics and is predictive of worse baseline scores on patient-reported outcome measures. Future studies should determine whether such associations persist in the postoperative setting between opioid users and nonusers.


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