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Yvette Martyn, In this issue of Occupational Medicine, Occupational Medicine, Volume 69, Issue 4, June 2019, Page 229, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqz080
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In this issue, we cover a range of occupational health topics focusing on both physical and mental health in the workplace. Employees absent secondary to mental health conditions are a regular occurrence in occupational health clinics. In a cross-sectional study, See et al. surveyed 49 occupational health providers serving the National Health Service (NHS) [1] with the aim of establishing how absences secondary to common mental health disorders are managed. The results highlighted that evidence-based guidelines on interventions to improve a return to work in these cases, such as case management, regular reviews and communication with treating practitioners, were not being consistently implemented across departments.
Remaining on the theme of the well-being of healthcare professionals, a review of the effect of shift work on nurse’s health by Rosa et al. has concluded that working shifts can cause psychological and physiological problems [2]. The study analysed 24 articles, the findings suggest that the physiological consequences of shift work include biochemical changes and lifestyle consequences. Psychologically, the impact can result in an increased risk of the development of conditions such as anxiety, stress and depression. The study authors suggest that an investment in the adoption of better shifts alongside the promotion of healthy lifestyles is likely to yield results which outweigh the financial investment involved.
