Priority, methodological and conceptual issues regarding epidemiological research of occupational psychosocial risk factors for poor mental health and coronary heart disease

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Hermann Burr, Angelo d’Errico
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2018/150
Language English Pages 23 P. 159-181 File size 144 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2018-150009
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In psychosocial occupational epidemiology, most past research has focused on the demand-control (DC) model, and in recent decades also on the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model, in order to detect risk factors for health. The focus on these models raise: a) priority, b) conceptual and c) methodological issues that will be discussed in the article. The priority issues pertain to whether there is empirical evidence for the focus on the two models. For conceptual issues, main questions are whether the empirical confirmation of the assumptions of these models holds and if the sub-dimensions of the models’ scales have equally strong health effects. Concerning methodological issues, we discuss how exposure to job strain is categorized, how ERI has previously been measured, and the validity of self-reports of job strain. To tackle the open questions, main reviews were reviewed and supplemented by own assessments of the existing literature on mental health and coronary heart disease.

Keywords: Epidemiology, mental health, coronary heart disease, psychosocial factors, work, demand-control, effort-reward

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Hermann Burr, Angelo d’Errico, Priority, methodological and conceptual issues regarding epidemiological research of occupational psychosocial risk factors for poor mental health and coronary heart disease in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 150/2018, pp 159-181, DOI: 10.3280/SL2018-150009