@Article{Nurminen2002, author = "Nurminen, Eija and Malmivaara, Antti and Ilmarinen, Juhani and Ylöstalo, Pekka and Mutanen, Pertti and Ahonen, Guy and Aro, Timo", title = "Effectiveness of a worksite exercise program with respect to perceived work ability and sick leaves among women with physical work", journal = "Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health", year = "2002", month = "Apr", day = "28", number = "2", pages = "85--93", keywords = "absenteeism; female; intervention; job satisfaction; perceived work ability; physical activity; physical work; promotion; randomized controlled trial; self-assessment; self-report; sick leave; stress; woman; workplace; worksite exercise program", abstract = "'
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OBJECTIVES ': 'This multicentered randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of worksite exercise intervention on perceived work ability and sick leaves.
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METHODS ': 'Women (N=260, mean age 40 years) engaged in physically demanding laundry work were individually randomized into an intervention (N=133) or control (N=127) group. Perceived work ability was assessed with questionnaires at 3, 8, 12, and 15 months. Sick leave information was obtained from the personnel administration. Follow-up attendance was 100% at 3 months but declined gradually to 90% by 15 months. Both the intervention and control subjects received a 30-minute feedback on their physical capacity from a physiotherapist and individual exercise prescription and counseling. The intervention subjects also participated in worksite exercise training guided by a physiotherapist. Sixty-minute sessions (N=26) were held once a week for 8 months. About 50% of the intervention group participated in at least two-thirds of the sessions.
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RESULTS ': 'According to a dichotomized work ability index, at 12 months, workers with ``good'' or ``excellent'' work ability increased more in the intervention group than in the control group (11.0%, 95% CI 0.2-21.9), as did the health-related prognosis of work ability at 8 months (8.1%, 95% CI 0.5-16.3). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups as regards job satisfaction, work ability index (including series of questions on 7 items), or sick leaves.
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CONCLUSIONS ': 'Physical activity once a week at worksites improves the perceived work ability of women with physically demanding work only slightly. Perceived work ability and sick leaves cannot be affected very positively using single-component exercise intervention. Work ability promotion may need a more multiprofessional approach.
", issn = "0355-3140", doi = "10.5271/sjweh.652", url = "https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=652", url = "https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.652" }