Stress and health in an International Organization

Abstract

Master thesis, Programme in Medicine. TITLE: Stress and health in an International Organization – Identifying the stressors through a self-assessed health risk survey. AUTHOR: Nima Peyravi Latif. Introduction: Occupational stress has been recognized in occupational health care for decades but remains partly unexplained. Although not included in job strain models like Karasek’s Job Demand-Control-Support nor Effort-Reward imbalance model interpersonal conflicts have been described as one of the most common stressors and a risk factor for health outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate if interpersonal conflicts (with managers or colleagues) would predict the impact of stress on health, and if so, to what extent compared to other sources of stress? Also, if there were any gender differences in reporting stress and health? Method: A cross-sectional study conducted at the Fund Health Services Department in Washington, DC. Data was collected from a health appraisal survey. Logistic regression was conducted with the question “During the past year, to what extent has stress (regardless of the source) affected your health?” as outcome. Twenty-five stressors including interpersonal conflicts from the survey was used as predictors. Results: The sample size was n=988. Fifty percent of responders stated that stress affected self-reported health to a moderate/large extent. The following stressors showed a significantly higher likelihood of stress affecting self-reported health to a moderate/large extent: health problems (OR=2.8 95% CI 1.8, 4.2) , high demands (OR=2.2 95% CI 1.5, 3.3), insufficient support from manager (OR= 1.8 95% CI 1.2, 2.8), conflicts with colleagues (OR=1.7, 95% CI 1.1, 2.5), lack of free time (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.4), other personal/family problem (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.0, 2.2), caring for ill/elderly/infirm family member(s) (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.0, 2.3). Females tended to report that stress affects their health to a larger extent compared to males, although differences were non-significant. Conclusion: In accordance with previous studies, data showed a positive correlation between stress affecting health and conflicts with colleagues. Results suggest conflict resolution for future prevention programs.