Showing papers by "Frank Popham published in 2009"
TL;DR: Comparing class mobility and deprivation mobility between 1971 and 1991 with health in 1991 in England and Wales shows that a reduction in inequalities is not a necessary consequence if the health of 'mobile' people falls between that of those they left and those they joined and this is particularly the case for deprivation mobility.
78 citations
TL;DR: The findings challenge the assumption that change will necessarily have an adverse effect on health, indicating areas, such as promotion and development, where a positive impact might be anticipated.
Abstract: This study is intended to improve understanding of the impact of workplace change on employee mental health and well-being. We construct and test a comprehensive measure of organizational change, which is then applied in a prospective longitudinal study of nearly 5400 employees in six UK National Health Service Trusts. Self-rated mental health was assessed using the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Just under a quarter of the sample were at increased risk of psychiatric morbidity (‘cases’). After controlling for a wide range of personal characteristics and work variables, it was found that respondents who reported an increase in the amount of work over the previous year were more likely to be classed as GHQ cases, whereas increased training and promotion and improved job security had a beneficial effect on employee mental health (less likelihood of being GHQ cases). Quantity or degree of change showed a somewhat ambiguous relationship with GHQ status. Our findings challenge the assumption that change will necessarily have an adverse effect on health, indicating areas, such as promotion and development, where a positive impact might be anticipated.
63 citations
TL;DR: No evidence was found of healthrelated selection for the unemployed in 1991, consistent across both studies, which suggests that the use of the five year wear-off period in many studies of mortality and unemployment may be an ineffective and unnecessary technique for mitigating the effects of health-related selection.
Abstract: Testing whether unemployment causes health deterioration is complicated because failing health may increase the probability of unemployment. In some previous studies of unemployment and mortality a ‘wear-off’ period is used to exclude any deaths occurring in the first few years after employment status was observed. It is assumed that selection effects will wear-off during this period. In this article the effectiveness of using wear-off periods is tested. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study and the England and Wales Longitudinal Study, logistic regression models were used for estimating the odds of death in a given time period after the 1991 Census for those aged 35–64 in 1991. The odds ratios for the different economic positions (in work, unemployed, retired, permanently sick and other inactive) were compared, as well as the changes in risk associated with cumulatively increasing the length of wear-off prior to follow-up. No evidence was found of healthrelated selection for the unemployed in 1991. This observation was consistent across both studies. This suggests that the use of the five year wear-off period in many studies of mortality and unemployment may be an ineffective and unnecessary technique for mitigating the effects of health-related selection.
20 citations