Exploring risk factors for developing occupational ill health–departing from an occupational perspective

Abstract

Background: Sick leave due to stress-related mental ill health increases in society. In occupational therapy, occupational balance is considered important for experiencing health and well-being. Thus, knowledge regarding occupational balance and occupational value constitute essential parts of occupational therapists’ work with people suffering from occupational ill health. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between sociodemographic factors, occupational value, occupational balance and perceived health in people suffering from occupational ill health. Methods: In a quantitative cross-sectional study data from a total of 218 individuals were included, 192 women, 22 men and 4 individuals who did not specify their gender. Data were collected by means of surveys prior to an occupational therapy intervention. The instruments used included OVal-pd, OBQ, EQ5D and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Data were analysed using regression and decision tree analysis. Results: The results show that individuals who experience an imbalance in their everyday life and who have few or no experiences of daily occupations imprinted by socio-symbolic occupational value experienced lower perceived health. Conclusions: Low level of experiences of balance in daily life and occupational value seems to be the main risk factors for the development of occupational ill health, rather than sociodemographic factors.