title: Work related stress and European policy--a comparative exploration of contextual stressors in the rehabilitation sector in five European countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dealing with work related stress is a declared priority of European Union mental health policy. A particularly under-researched sector in this regard is the community vocational support sector for people with mental health and intellectual disability problems.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report on the organisational profile of the vocational support and rehabilitation sector for people with mental health and intellectual disabilities as this relates to occupational stress, in five European countries (Austria, Ireland, Italy, Romania and UK).
  
  
  METHODS
  A sector profile questionnaire was distributed to representative organisations in five countries and a short face-to-face survey was conducted with 25 local managers (five from each country) to draw up a profile and facilitate a comparative description and analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that there is no national and European data collected at any level in this sector upon which to base effective policy interventions to combat occupational stress specific to professionals working in this sector. Results indicate that the sector in a number of the countries sampled does not have effective mechanisms in place to deal with occupational stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developing effective transnational occupational stress management policy that supports staff working in this sector and measuring its success is greatly impaired by a failure to effectively define the purpose of the sector and collect and collate national data to support it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland. jswells@wit.ie
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denny
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cunningham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires