Affiliations: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department
Medical Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden | Statisticon AB, Uppsala, Sweden | Higher Education Unit/International, Programme Office
for Education and Training, Visby, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: A. Falkenberg, Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, Department Medical Science, Ulleråkersvägen
40, 75185 Uppsala, University, Uppsala, Sweden. Tel.: +46 870 619 60 96; Fax:
+46 018 51 99 78; E-mail: anna.falkenberg1@telia.com
Abstract: Objective: The aim of this longitudinal study is to investigate how
different aspects of social support at work and in leisure time are associated
with self rated health and sickness absence. Participants: The 541 participants in the study were representative
for a working population in the public sector in Sweden with a majority being
woman. Methods: Most of the variables were created from data from a
questionnaire in March – April 2005. There were four independent
variables and two dependent variables. The dependent were based on data from
November 2006. A logistic regression model was used for the analysis of
associations. A separate model was adapted for each of the explanatory
variables for each outcome, which gave five models per independent variable.
Results: The study has given a greater awareness of the importance
of employees receiving social support, regardless of type of support or from
whom the support is coming. Conclusion: Social support has a strong association with SRH in a
longitudinal perspective and no association between social support and sickness
absence.
Keywords: Environmental health, occupational health, sickness absence, social support
