Appraisal of work ability in relation to job-specific health requirements in ambulance workers.
OBJECTIVE
To gain insight into which job-specific health requirements relate to work ability, the following two research questions were formulated: Which job-specific health requirements are associated with the appraisal of work ability in ambulance drivers and paramedics? How are appraisals of physical and mental work ability associated with the appraisal of overall work ability in ambulance drivers and paramedics?


METHODS
Workers Health Surveillance cross-sectional data of 506 ambulance workers (236 drivers and 270 paramedics) were used. The tests for specific job requirements were divided into six categories. Work ability was appraised as overall, physical and mental/emotional. Multiple linear stepwise regression analyses were used to model the associations.


RESULTS
Outcomes in 'raised alertness and judgment ability' (R2= 0.09), 'job-specific physical abilities' (R2= 0.10) and 'emotional peak load' (R2= 0.07) significantly explained appraised overall, physical and mental/emotional work ability. Physical and mental/emotional work ability together explained 48.3% of the variance of overall work ability. The explained variance by physical and mental/emotional work ability was almost 4% higher in drivers than in paramedics.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall work ability was significantly explained by outcomes in 'raised alertness and judgment ability' and 'emotional peak load.' Physical work ability was significantly explained by 'job-specific physical abilities' and 'raised alertness and judgment ability' outcomes, while 'emotional peak load' and 'raised alertness and judgment ability' outcomes significantly explained mental/emotional work ability. Physical and mental/emotional work ability explains the same proportion of variance in overall work ability.
Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.vanschaaijk@amc.uva.nl.
A
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5900-3279
A
van Schaaijk
Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J S
JS
Boschman
Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
M H W
MH
Frings-Dresen
Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J K
JK
Sluiter
D000328:Adult; D000552:Ambulances; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D060731:Emergency Responders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology*; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation
Ambulance; Job-specific; Job-specific requirements; Work ability; Workers Health Surveillance (WHS)