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Occupational Medicine 2005 55(5):364-368; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqi098
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

Ill-health retirement among healthcare workers in the Southern Health Board of the Republic of Ireland

Deirdre Gleeson1, and John Gallagher2

1 Civil Service Occupational Health Department, Frederick Buildings, Frederick Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.2 Southern Health Board, Occupational Health, Ireland

Aim To determine the incidence rates, trends and medical causes of ill-health retirement (IHR) among different occupational classes in the Southern Health Board (SHB).

Methods The 14 702 permanent employees of the SHB were divided into six occupational classes based on socio-economic status and occupational demands. The occupational classes were compared for incidence rates of IHR, age at IHR, years of service and medical causes of IHR. The total group of employees was used as the standard for statistical comparison. Incidence rates were compared using standardized IHR ratios (SIHRRs). Medical causes were compared using proportional ill-health retirement ratios (PIHRRs).

Results Three hundred and three employees were granted IHR from 1994 to 2000.The overall incidence rate of IHR was 2.9 per 1000 employees per annum. The highest SIHRRs occurred in male maintenance staff at 345 (CI: 221–513) and female support staff at 158 (CI: 123–201). With regard to age and years of service, IHR peaked at a time that coincided with enhancement to pension entitlements. The common causes of IHR were musculoskeletal disorder (38%), mental illness(17%), circulatory disorder (12%) and neoplasia (8%). PIHRRs did not vary significantly between the classes.

Conclusion IHR was more common among manual healthcare workers. The structure of the pension scheme appeared to influence the timing of IHR. Occupational class did not appear to influence the medical causes of IHR.

Keywords      Ill-health retirement; healthcare worker; pension scheme

Correspondence to: D. Gleeson, Medwise, 3 North Main Street, Nass, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Fax: +353 45 896470; Email: gleesondc{at}eircom.net


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