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A female lay perspective on the establishment of long‐term sickness absence
Author(s) -
Ockander Marlene,
Timpka Toomas
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2397.00154
Subject(s) - virtuous circle and vicious circle , sick leave , term (time) , perspective (graphical) , isolation (microbiology) , social isolation , space (punctuation) , psychology , social insurance , personal space , medicine , social psychology , psychiatry , physical therapy , political science , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , biology , computer science , microbiology and biotechnology , economics , macroeconomics
In Sweden women account for about 60% of the long‐term cases of sickness absence. The aim of this study was to describe women's explanations as to how long‐term sickness absence arises and becomes permanent, with reference to their personal experience. Semi‐structured interviews were performed with 82 middle‐aged women who have personal experience of long‐term sickness absence. Long‐term sickness absence can be said to arise in three distinguishable “spaces”: the work space, the medico‐legal space and the mental space. In the beginning, the women were positive about sick‐leave as such, which they saw as an opportunity for physical rest. But as time went on, they came to regard sick‐leave as creating a vicious circle of new problems related to inactivity and isolation. Apart from this vicious circle and chronic physical impairments, certain conditions at the workplace, at the hospital and the social insurance office transformed seemingly trivial sick‐leaves into long‐term and irreversible sickness absences