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Objective: The aims were to validate linguistically British‐English versions of the Perceived Workplace Support Scale (PWSS), Work Accommodations, Benefits, Policies and Practices Scale (WABPPS), and Work Transitions Index (WTI) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), osteoarthritis (OA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Methods: The three scales were adapted into British‐English and reviewed by an expert panel prior to cognitive debriefing interviews. Participants completed postal questionnaires. Construct validity for the PWSS was assessed using Rasch analysis. Concurrent validity included testing between the three scales and work, job strain and work‐life balance scales. Two weeks later, participants were mailed a second questionnaire to measure test‐retest reliability. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 831 employed participants: 68% women, 53.50 (SD 8.9) years of age, with condition duration 7.70 (SD 8.00) years. The PWSS satisfied Rasch model requirements. Concurrent validity was mostly as hypothesised, that is, weak to moderate negative correlations for the PWSS (rs = 0.07 to −0.61), and weak to moderate positive correlations for the WABPPS and WTI (rs = 0.20–0.52). Some correlations were stronger, mostly in axSpA. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for all three scales was consistent with group use in all conditions. Test‐retest reliability was generally excellent, with intraclass coefficients (2,1) of 0.80–0.93 for the three scales in the four conditions. Discussion: Reliable, valid versions of the British‐English PWSS, WABPPS, and WTI are now available for use in research, organisational level studies and vocational rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims were to validate linguistically British‐English versions of the Long‐Term Conditions Job Strain Scale (LTCJSS), Long‐Term Conditions Work Spillover Scale (LTCWSS) and Work‐Health‐Personal Life Perceptions Scale (WHPLPS) in rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia (FM). Methods: The three scales were forward translated and reviewed by an expert panel prior to cognitive debriefing interviews. Participants completed a postal questionnaire. Construct validity was assessed using Rasch analysis. Concurrent validity included testing between the three scales and work (e.g., Workplace Activity Limitations Scale [WALS]) and condition‐specific health scales. Two weeks later, participants were mailed a second questionnaire to measure test‐retest reliability. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 831 employed participants: 68% women, 53.5 (SD 8.9) years of age, with condition duration 7.7 (SD 8.0) years. The LTCJSS, LTCWSS and WHPLPS Parts 1 and 2 satisfied Rasch model requirements, but Part 3 did not. A Rasch transformation scale and Reference Metric equating scales with the WALS were created. Concurrent validity was generally good (rs = 0.41–0.85) for the three scales, except the WHPLPS Part 3. Internal consistency (Person Separation Index values) was consistent with group use in all conditions, and individual use except for the LTCWSS and WHPLSP Parts 1 and 2 in FM. Test‐retest reliability was excellent, with intraclass coefficients (2,1) of 0.80–0.96 for the three scales in the four conditions. Discussion: Reliable, valid versions of the British‐English LTCJSS, LTCWSS and WHPLPS Parts 1 and 2 are now available for use in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Sensibility refers to a tool's comprehensiveness, understandability, relevance, feasibility, and length. It is used in the early development phase to begin assessing a new tool or intervention. This study examined the sensibility of the job demands and accommodation planning tool (JDAPT). The JDAPT identifies job demands related to physical, cognitive, interpersonal, and working conditions to better target strategies for workplace supports and accommodations aimed at assisting individuals with chronic health conditions. Methods Workers with a chronic health condition and workplace representatives were recruited from health charities, workplaces, and newsletters using convenience sampling. Cognitive interviews assessed the JDAPT's sensibility. A 70% endorsement rate was the minimum level of acceptability for sensibility concepts. A short screening tool also was administered, and answers compared to the complete JDAPT. Results Participants were 46 workers and 23 organizational representatives (n = 69). Endorsements highly exceeded the 70% cut-off for understandability, relevance, and length. Congruence between screening questions and the complete JDAPT suggested both workers and organizational representatives overlooked job demands when completing the screener. Participants provided additional examples and three new items to improve comprehensiveness. The JDAPT was rated highly relevant and useful, although not always easy to complete for someone with an episodic condition. Conclusions This study highlights the need for tools that facilitate accommodations for workers with episodic disabilities and provides early evidence for the sensibility of the JDAPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Prevailing job stress models encourage a multidimensional view of the psychosocial work environment and highlight the role that multiple co-occurring stressors play in the aetiology of mental health problems. In this study, we develop a latent typology of psychosocial work environment profiles to describe how a comprehensive array of job stressors are clustered in the Canadian labour market. We also examine the association between these latent psychosocial work environment profiles and several indicators of mental health. Methods Data were collected from 6408 workers who completed the Canadian National Psychosocial Work Environment Survey. Psychosocial work exposures were measured using standard items from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. We employed latent profile analyses to identify groups of individuals with similar psychosocial work environment profiles. We used log-linear regression models to examine the association between latent psychosocial work environment profiles and burnout, stress, and cognitive strain. Results Four distinct groups with highly divergent psychosocial work environment profiles were identified. Adjusting for a range of demographic and socioeconomic factors, latent psychosocial work environment profiles were strongly related to mental health. Individuals who reported exposure to a comprehensive array of psychosocial job stressors (11% prevalence) reported the highest probability of burnout (PR: 7.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.56–10.15), stress (PR: 8.98, 95% CI: 6.20–13.0), and cognitive strain (PR: 7.29, 95% CI: 5.02–10.60). Conclusions Findings suggest that psychosocial work stressors are tightly clustered in the Canadian labour market, and that the clustering of work stressors is strongly associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Future scholarship may benefit from adopting a more comprehensive approach to the assessment of psychosocial job quality as a determinant of health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To understand the similarities and differences in the employment participation of people living with arthritis across the life course. Method: Focus groups and interviews were conducted with young (ages 18-34 years, n = 7), middle-aged (ages 35-54 years, n = 13) and older adults (>55 years, n = 25) with arthritis. Participants were asked about the impact of arthritis on employment, experiences with health-related changes, career progression and social role involvement. A modified grounded theory approach was used to inductively analyze the data. Results: Young adults indicated the school-to-work transition as being influential in their employment and described the need to direct their time and energy toward finding work that accommodated health and met career aspirations. Middle-aged adults described how the transition from good health to an arthritis diagnosis disrupted involvement in diverse social roles. However, they often downplayed the impact of arthritis on employment. Older adults described the work-to-retirement transition and their decline in physical functioning as contributing to changing involvement in the labor market. Conclusion: Transitions related to health, career progression and social role involvement shaped employment experiences, and represent opportunities for future research and practice that is tailored to life course issues. Implications for rehabilitation: Little is known about the work experiences of young- and middle-aged adults with arthritis and how they compare to their older counterparts. Life course theory offers an important framework for research and practice by providing a perspective to enhance our understanding of how employment participation differs across phases of life. Salient and diverse changes related to health, career and social role involvement were identified at each life phase and shaped employment. Rehabilitation practitioners should pay special attention to a client’s age, life phase and work history as a strategy to enhance the delivery of interventions that promote work participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]