Presenteeism Among Older Workers (≥ 45 years) with Coronary Heart Disease: An Integrative Literature Review

As the American workforce ages, health problems associated with the aging process, like coronary heart disease (CHD) raise new occupational health issues. To date, research on employment among patients with CHD has focused on return to work after an adverse event (e.g., heart attack) as an outcome with little attention paid to how workers function once back at work. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine presenteesim among older workers with CHD. The electronic databases that were utilized for this review include: Pubmed, CINAHL, Medline, and PsycInfo with limitations set as published in English from 1992 to 2012 and adults over age 45 (to capture studies focused on older workers). Twelve studies in which presenteeism was measured in older workers with CHD were reviewed. There were 3 key findings: 1) definitions and measurement of presenteeism and CHD diagnosis were inconsistent, 2) the primary focus was on quantifying the economic impact of presenteeism, and 3) job-level and individual-level factors that potentially influence presenteeism were not addressed. Implications for future research include the need for methods that address the gaps identified in this review. Recommendations include the need for longitudinal studies that specifically focus on older workers with CHD and development and testing of theoretical frameworks to guide research design.