Psychosocial Health and Workability among Staff Working with People with Cognitive Restrictions and Intellectual Disabilities

Professionals, working with people with cognitive restrictions, have an important job not only as caregivers, but also as role models for the care recipients and they may have an important impact on the health of the care recipients. It is also a psychosocially demanding job with high psychosocial and emotional workload, which can influence wellbeing and quality of life and influence their level of caring for the patients. It is important to promote health and well-being for this professional group. Earlier knowledge about this professional group is scarce, but earlier research results show that the staff perceive high stress and need more support and opportunities to interact with supervisors to improve their work situation. It is important to increase the knowledge of how professionals working with people with cognitive restrictions perceive their psychosocial working environment in terms of job demands, job control, decision control and challenges at work.

The aim of this study was to describe the symptom panorama and psychosocial work situation of staff working with people with cognitive restrictions and to identify predictors for their job satisfaction and workability. A cross sectional study was performed. The Questionnaire Psycho Social Nordic (QPS-Nordic questionnaire) was used. A multiple regression analysis (linear regression method stepwise analysis) were performed with the work-ability index and job satisfaction respectively as dependent variables and with individual background variables such as age and sex and all psychosocial indexes as independent variables.

The results showed that the majority of the staff working with people with cognitive restrictions were satisfied with their job, but musculoskeletal symptoms were described by 40%. Decision demands at work were high compared to quantitative and learning demands. Musculoskeletal symptoms were related to low ability to master the work, low job control and high job demands. Symptoms from the neck region were correlated to stress. A low level of neck pain was related to a high level of job satisfaction. Predictors for workability were positive challenges in work and not being hindered by musculoskeletal symptoms in work. Predictors for job satisfaction were mastery, workability and not having pain during the last 7 days.

In conclusion, the majority of the staff working with people with cognitive restrictions was satisfied with their current job and had a high ability to master their work situation. The decision demands at work were high compared to the quantitative job demands and the learning demands. Positive challenges in work and not being hindered by musculoskeletal disorders could predict workability. Mastery, workability and not having pain during the last 7 days predicted job satisfaction. However, due to the relatively small sample the results have to be interpreted with caution.

Article by Cathrine Oscarsson Kjellstrand and Gunvor Gard, from Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

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