This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Perceived health, illness control may impact labor participation by patients with IBD
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients with IBD who perceive themselves as less healthy and in control of their illness tend to participate less in the workforce, according to study results.
Researchers analyzed data from a survey conducted in December 2010 of 1,115 patients aged 15 to 64 years with IBD in the Netherlands. Respondents were asked about their participation in the workforce, their sociodemographic status, the characteristics of their illness, their perception of their own health, and their social and psychological characteristics. Their answers were used to determine the labor participation of patients with IBD, as well as what factors might contribute to differences from the general population. Patients who worked more than 12 paid hours per week were considered active in the workforce.
Among survey participants, 72% were active compared with 67% of the general Dutch population. Investigators found, however, that patients with IBD tended to work fewer hours: Most participants worked between 20 and 34 hours per week (34%) or more than 35 hours weekly (31%), compared with the more than half of the general population that works more than 35 hours weekly. Perceived vitality, mental health, pain levels and the patient’s sense of control over their illness were significantly associated with the number of hours worked (P<.001) by patients with IBD, along with other factors, including gender, age and education level (P<.001), as well as the duration (P<.001) and type of illness (P<.005).
“There may be a reciprocal relation between working a certain number of hours and the perceived health status or psychological characteristics of IBD patients,” the researchers wrote. “It is likely that patients who experience less vitality, more pain, and/or less personal control over the disease are more often unable to work full time. At the same time, it is possible that patients may feel more vital and experience less pain or more personal control because they succeed in working full time.”
Investigators added that psychological interventions developed for patients with chronic illnesses in order to improve labor participation and patients’ sense of autonomy also may be helpful for patients with IBD.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts