Dataset Information

Associations between inflexible job conditions, health and healthcare utilisation in England: retrospective cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To estimate the strength of association between having an inflexible job and health-related quality of life and healthcare utilisation; and to explore heterogeneity in the effects by gender, age and area-level deprivation.

Design

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting

Seven waves of the English General Practice Patient Survey between 2012 and 2017.

Participants

1 232 884 people aged 16-64 years and in full-time employment. We measured job inflexibility by inability to take time away from work during usual working hours to seek medical care.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L); number of months since the respondent last saw a general practitioner (GP) or nurse; use of out-of-hours general practice in the past 6 months. We used regression analyses to estimate the strength of association between outcomes and having an inflexible job, adjusting for person and area-level characteristics.

Results

One-third of respondents reported job inflexibility. The probability of job inflexibility was higher at younger ages and in more deprived areas. Job inflexibility was associated with lower EQ-5D-5L utility scores of 0.017 (95% CI 0.016 to 0.018) for women and 0.016 (95% CI 0.015 to 0.017) for men. Women were more affected than men in the mental health domain. The reduction in health-related quality of life associated with having an inflexible job was greater for employees who were older or lived in more deprived areas. Having an inflexible job was associated with a longer time since the last visit to their GP of 0.234 (95% CI 0.201 to 0.268) months for women and 0.199 (95% CI 0.152 to 0.183) months for men.

Conclusions

Inequalities in the prevalence of inflexible jobs contribute to inequalities in health. One mechanism may be through reduced access to healthcare. Policymakers and employers should ensure that all employees have sufficient job flexibility to protect their health.

SUBMITTER: Moss C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9723827 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Associations between inflexible job conditions, health and healthcare utilisation in England: retrospective cross-sectional study.

Moss Charlie C Munford Luke Aaron LA Sutton Matt M

BMJ open 20221205 12

<h4>Objectives</h4>To estimate the strength of association between having an inflexible job and health-related quality of life and healthcare utilisation; and to explore heterogeneity in the effects by gender, age and area-level deprivation.<h4>Design</h4>Retrospective cross-sectional study.<h4>Setting</h4>Seven waves of the English General Practice Patient Survey between 2012 and 2017.<h4>Participants</h4>1 232 884 people aged 16-64 years and in full-time employment. We measured job inflexibili ...[more]

PMID: 36576194

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Dataset Information

Associations between inflexible job conditions, health and healthcare utilisation in England: retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Associations between inflexible job conditions, health and healthcare utilisation in England: retrospective cross-sectional study.

Similar Datasets

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