Documents Artazcoz, Lucía 23 results

"Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between full- and part-time employment (FTE and PTE) in terms of working conditions, on the one hand, and job satisfaction, health status, and work-related psychosocial problems according to gender and welfare state regime, on the other hand, and to analyze the role of working conditions in the association between PTE and FTE.Methods This cross-sectional study was based on a sample of 7921 men and 8220 women from the European Working Conditions Survey aged 16–64 years, who were employed part-time (5–19 or 20–30 hours per week) or full-time (31–40 hours/week). Multiple logistic regression models were fitted separately for each gender and welfare state regime.Results PTE is associated with poorer working conditions than FTE for all national welfare types. Among women, only those in southern European countries experienced low job satisfaction [odds ratio after adjustment (ORadj) for sociodemographic variables, ORadj 1.73, and 1.66, for those working 20–30 and 5–19 hours/week, respectively; reference group: FTE workers], but this association disappeared after further adjustment for working conditions. Low job satisfaction and poorer health status was more common among PTE men from continental (low job satisfaction, ORadj 1.80 and 3.61, for 20–30 and 5–19 working hours/week, respectively), and southern European (ORadj, 2.98, for 5–19 working hours/week) countries. PTE tended to be associated with fewer psychosocial problems among women, but with more psychosocial problems among men in continental Europe and those those engaged in “mini-jobs” in southern European welfare regimes.Conclusions The association between FTE and PTE and job satisfaction, health status, and psychosocial problems is partly driven by working conditions and differs between gender and welfare regime. This highlights the importance of promoting effective measures to ensure equal treatment between FTE and PTE workers and the role of the social norms that form part of these different welfare states regimes."

"Objectives This study aimed to (i) identify family responsibilities associated with moderately long working hours (41–60 hours a week); (ii) examine the relationship between moderately long working hours and three health outcomes; and (iii) analyze whether patterns differ by welfare state regimes. Methods The sample was composed of all employees aged 16–64 years working 30–60 hours a week interviewed in the 2005 European Working Conditions Survey (9288 men and 6295 women). We fitted multiple logistic regression models separated by sex and welfare state regime typologies.Results Married males were more likely to work long hours in countries with male breadwinner models whereas family responsibilities were related to long working hours among both sexes in countries with dual breadwinner models. The association between long working hours and health was (i) stronger among men in countries with male breadwinner models, primarily in Anglo-Saxon countries [adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) associated with working 51–60 hours of 6.43, 6.04 and 9.60 for work-related poor health status, stress and psychological distress, respectively); (ii) similar among both sexes in Nordic countries; and (iii) stronger among women in Eastern European countries.Conclusions In the European Union of 25 members (EU-25), working moderately long hours is associated with poor health outcomes with different patterns depending on welfare state regimes. The findings from this study suggest that the family responsibilities and breadwinner models can help explain the relationship between long working hours and health status."

"Background: Gender inequalities in the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards are well established. However, little is known about how welfare state regimes influence these inequalities.Objectives: To examine the relationship between welfare state regimes and gender inequalities in the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards in Europe, considering occupational social class.Methods: We used a sample of 27,?465 workers from 28 European countries. Dependent variables were high strain, iso-strain, and effort-reward imbalance, and the independent was gender. We calculated the prevalence and prevalence ratio separately for each welfare state regime and occupational social class, using multivariate logistic regression models.Results: More female than male managers/professionals were exposed to: high strain, iso-strain, and effort?reward imbalance in Scandinavian and Continental regimes, Southern, and Eastern regimes.Conclusion: Gender inequalities in the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards were not lower in those welfare state regimes with higher levels of universal social protection policies"

"L'homme "gagne-pain" et la femme "gardienne du foyer". Bien qu'en décalage total avec la réalité contemporaine du monde du travail, ces schémas traditionnels ont la vie dure. Ils contribuent à minorer l'impact des tâches domestiques sur la santé des femmes. Inégalités de genre et inégalités sociales se combinant, ce sont les travailleuses occupant les niveaux les plus bas sur l'échelle socioprofessionnelle qui subissent la plus forte dégradation de leur santé, tant sur le plan physique que psychologique."

"Background:
The objectives of this study are to identify family and job characteristics associated with long work hours, to analyse the relationship between long work hours and several health indicators, and to examine whether gender differences for both objectives exist.
Methods:
The sample was composed of all salaried workers aged 16–64 years (3950 men and 3153 women) interviewed in the 2006 Catalonian Health Survey. Weekly work hours were categorised as less than 30 h (part-time), 30–40 (reference category), 41–50 and 51–60 h. Multiple logistic regression models separated by sex were fitted.
Results:
Factors associated with long working hours differed by gender. Among men, extended work hours were related with being married or cohabiting and with being separated or divorced. In men, working 51–60 h a week was consistently associated with poor mental health status (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.31 to 3.24), self-reported hypertension (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.29), job dissatisfaction (aOR 2.05, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.82), smoking (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.72), shortage of sleep (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.85) and no leisure-time physical activity (aOR 2.43, 95% CI 1.64 to 3.60). Moreover, a gradient from standard working hours to 51–60 h a week was found for these six outcomes. Among women it was only related to smoking and to shortage of sleep.
Conclusion:
The association of overtime with different health indicators among men could be explained by their role as the family breadwinner: in situations of family financial stress men work overtime in order to increase the income and/or accept poor working conditions for fear of job loss, one of them being long working hours. "

"The objective of this study is to analyse the social inequalities in health status, health related behaviours and mortality among the 25-64 years Spanish population. Data come from the 1997 Spanish National Health Survey, the 1999 Spanish National Survey on Working Conditions, the 2001 Yearbook of Labour and Social Affairs Statistics and the 1998 Mortality Statistics.
Most health-related behaviours are more unfavourable for men (smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight) and for less privileged social classes. Among women, entrance into the labour market is associated with more unhealthy behaviours except for overweight. Low weight, however, is more frequent among employed females. Self-perceived health status is better among men, more privileged social class persons and among workers. Whereas classical physical job hazards and work injuries mostly affect men, the impact of psychosocial job hazards and of exposures derived from the domestic work is higher for women.
As in other developed countries, the paradox exists that whereas women have a poorer self-perceived health status, mortality is higher among men. The male excess in mortality is related to health-related behaviours that to a great extent are determined by traditional values assigned to masculinity, with higher consumption of tobacco (lung cancer), alcohol (cirrhosis), drugs (HIV and AIDS) and risky behaviours related to injuries.
Health policies should take into account social inequalities in health determined by gender, social class and employment status. For doing so, it is important to increase the development of research on social inequalities and of health information systems sensitive to social inequalities."

"OBJECTIVES:
To analyse whether there are gender inequalities in health among male and female workers who are married or cohabiting and to assess whether there are gender differences in the relation between family demands and health. Additionally, for both objectives it will be examined whether these gender patterns are similar for manual and non-manual workers.

DESIGN AND SETTING:
The data have been taken from the 1994 Catalonian Health Survey (CHS), a cross sectional survey based on a representative sample of the non-institutionalised population of Catalonia, a region in the north east of Spain that has about 6 million inhabitants. The dependent variables were four ill health indicators (self perceived health status, limiting longstanding illness, having at least one chronic condition and mental health) and two health related behaviours closely related to having time for oneself (no leisure time physical activity and sleeping six hours or less a day). Family demands were measured with three variables: household size, living with children under 15 years and living with adults older than 65 years. The analysis was separated for gender and social class (manual and non-manual workers) and additionally adjusted for age. Gender differences for all dependent and independent variables were first tested at the bivariate level using the chi(2) test for categorical variables and the t test for age. Secondly, multivariate logistic regression models were fitted.

PARTICIPANTS:
Persons who were employed, married or cohabiting, aged 25 to 64 years (2148 men and 1185 women).

RESULTS:
A female excess for all the ill health indicators was found, while there were no gender differences in the health related behaviours analysed. Family demands had a greater impact on health and health related behaviours of female manual workers. In this group household size was positively related to four dependent variables. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) to living in family units of more than four persons versus living only with the spouse were 2.74 (95%CI=1.22, 6.17) for poor self perceived health status, 3.16 (95%CI=0.98, 10.15) for limiting long standing illness, 3.28 (95%CI=1.45, 7.44) for having at least one chronic condition, and 2.60 (95%CI=1.12, 6.00) for sleeping six hours or less a day. Among female manual workers living with children under 15 years was positively associated with no leisure time physical activity (adjusted OR=2.37; 95% CI=1.43, 3.92) and with sleeping six hours or less a day (adjusted OR=1.91; 95% CI=1.13, 3.32). Living with adults older than 65 years had an unexpected negative relation with poor self perceived health status (adjusted OR=0.33; 95%CI=0.16, 0.66), and with chronic conditions (adjusted OR=0.45; 95%CI=0.24, 0.87) in female manual workers. Among male manual workers living with children under 15 years was positively associated with longstanding limiting illness (adjusted OR=2.44; 95%CI=1.36, 4.38).

CONCLUSION:
When gender differences in health are analysed, both the paid and the non-paid work should be considered as well as the interaction between these two dimensions, gender and social class. In Catalonia, as probably in Spain and in other countries, private changes such as sharing domestic responsibilities, as well as active public policies for facilitating family care are needed in order to reduce gender health inequalities attributable to the unequal distribution of family demands."

"The objective of this study is to analyse gender inequalities in the combination of job and family life and their effect on health status and use of health care services. The data come from the Navarra Survey of Working Conditions (Spain, 1997) carried out on a sample of 2185 workers. The analysis was restricted to 881 men and 400 women, aged 25-64 years, who were married or cohabiting. Dependent variables were self-perceived health status, psychosomatic symptoms, and medical visits, all of them dichotomized. Independent variables were family demands and number of hours of paid work a week. The analysis was adjusted for age and occupational social class. Multivariate logistic regression models, separated by sex.
Family demands were not associated with men's health whereas married women who lived in family units of more than three members had a higher risk of poor self-perceived health status and of psychosomatic symptoms. Among women, working more than 40 hours a week was also associated with both health indicators and, additionally, with a higher probability of medical visits. In order to fully understand social determinants of workers' health, besides social class, gender inequalities in the distribution of family responsibilities should be considered."