Post-traumatic stress reactions and doctor-certified sick leave after a workplace terrorist attack: Norwegian cohort study

Dale, Maria Teresa Grønning; Nissen, Alexander; Berthelsen, Mona; Heir, Trond

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032693

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Both studies evidence the emergence of concentrated emotional responses in the aftermath of a man-made disaster. The findings agree with previous research [4,54], suggesting a significant increase in fear, distress, and severe stress symptoms associated with the terrorist attack sites.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Violent events result in substantial adverse consequences in mental health [3][4][5]. As geopolitical tensions escalated intimately interwoven with domestic and regional conflict, terrorism, and dysfunction of political powers, violence-introduced trauma may continue to have a devastated impact on the public [22].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Terrorism continues on all scales [1,2] and has substantial consequences on mental health in public [3][4][5]. Research to date has documented a variety of short-or long-term mental health effects in the aftermath of disasters [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space-Time Surveillance of Negative Emotions after Consecutive Terrorist Attacks in London

Dai

2020

IJERPH

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Terrorist attacks pose significant threats to mental health. There is dearth information about the impact of consecutive terrorist attacks on space-time concentrations of emotional reactions. This study collected (1) Twitter data following the two terrorist attacks in London in March and June of 2017, respectively, and (2) deprivation data at small areal levels in the United Kingdom. The space-time permutation model was used to detect the significant clusters of negative emotions, including fear, sadness, and anger in tweets. Logistic regression models were used to examine the social deprivation of communities associated with negative tweeting. The results reported two significant clusters after the March attack, one was in London, ten days after the attack, and the other was far from the attack site between Manchester and Birmingham, three days after the attack. Attention to the reoccurring attack in June diminished quickly. The socially deprived communities experienced double disadvantage—sending fewer tweets but expressing more negative emotions than their counterparts. The findings suggest that terrorism can affect public emotions far and broad. There is a potential for surveillance to rapidly identify geographically concentrated emotions after consecutive or prolonged disasters using social media data.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space-Time Surveillance of Negative Emotions after Consecutive Terrorist Attacks in London

Dai

2020

IJERPH

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“…Following the 2011 Oslo bombing, control over decisions at work, support from superiors, and support from co-workers reduced the odds of sick leave, whereas role conflicts increased the odds [ 9 ]. For employees who met the symptom criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), predictability and control over decisions at work reduced the probability of sick leave [ 10 ]. To the best of our knowledge, no post-trauma research has been conducted using qualitative in-depth interviews.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Workplace on Work Participation and Sick Leave after a Terrorist Attack: A Qualitative Study

Heir

Stokke

Tvenge

2021

IJERPH

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Returning to work after large-scale traumatic events is desirable for employees, their organization, and society. The aim of the present study was to identify work-related factors that are perceived as important for work participation versus sick leave after a terrorist attack. We conducted in-depth interviews of 98 employees in the Norwegian governmental ministries that were the target of the 2011 Oslo bombing. Participants were randomly selected from 2519 employees who had responded to a web-based survey. We used a stratified sampling procedure to ensure inclusion of a wide range of experiences in terms of exposure and stress reactions. Participants were asked what, if any, factors contributed to work participation or sick leave, and which factors made a difference in how quickly people on sick leave returned to work. Thematic analyses provided three themes that stimulate work participation and prevent sick leave: supportive management, the ability of a leader to accept individual needs and help people cope with stress; sense of cohesion, feelings of being close, caring for each other, and working well together; and working as a coping strategy, basic assumptions that it is best to stick to work and familiar routines, or a strong belief in one’s ability to master. A fourth theme, high demands and lack of acceptance, included experiences that promoted an absence from work, such as too much business as usual, management’s lack of priorities for which tasks could be left out, or a lack of recognition of individual needs. The findings point to key factors that workers perceive as important for work participation in the aftermath of a disaster. We suggest that health and productivity benefits can be achieved by organizing work and the work environment in line with these experiences.

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“…Terrorist attacks have been shown to affect mental and physical health of exposed individuals including symptoms of anxiety and depression [1], post-traumatic stress disorder [2][3][4], and musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal pain [5]. Such health problems may affect the workability of workers and contribute to sickness absence [4,[6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of exposure to workplace terrorism on subsequent doctor certified sickness absence, and the modifying role of psychological and social work factors: a combined survey and register study

et al. 2020

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Background: Studies have shown that terrorist attacks affect the mental and physical health of persons exposed to terrorism. When terror strikes at the workplace where people spend much time, and should feel safe, the health consequences for those affected might be severe. The aim of the study was to determine whether psychological and social work factors moderates effects of exposure to a workplace terrorist attack on subsequent doctor-certified sickness absence. Methods: The study design combined survey data with register data on sickness absence. Data on exposure to the attack, and psychosocial working conditions were collected by a web-based questionnaire 10 months after the attack. Survey data was linked to registry data on doctor-certified sickness absence over the one-year time period following baseline. The survey response rate was 56% (n = 1974), where 80.6% (1591) gave consent to link survey data to data on sickness absence. Exposure to the attack was assessed as "Directly-", or "Indirectly exposed". Psychological and social work factors were measured by the General Questionnaire for Psychological and Social factors at Work (QPS Nordic). Data were analyzed with negative binominal hurdle regressions. Results: Direct exposure to the attack increased the odds of becoming sick-listed if role clarity was average (OR = 1.50) or high (OR = 2.13), but not if low (OR = 1.17). Direct exposure was associated with higher sickness absence rates if control over work pace was low (RR = 1.61). Role conflict, support from co-workers, and-superior showed weaker evidence of moderating effects of exposure on sickness absence.

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Post-traumatic stress reactions and doctor-certified sick leave after a workplace terrorist attack: Norwegian cohort study

Cited by 9 publications

References 39 publications

Space-Time Surveillance of Negative Emotions after Consecutive Terrorist Attacks in London

Space-Time Surveillance of Negative Emotions after Consecutive Terrorist Attacks in London

The Role of Workplace on Work Participation and Sick Leave after a Terrorist Attack: A Qualitative Study

Effects of exposure to workplace terrorism on subsequent doctor certified sickness absence, and the modifying role of psychological and social work factors: a combined survey and register study

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