Management of human resources associated with misuse of prescription drugs: Analysis of a national survey

Nonmedical use of prescription drugs is increasingly prevalent in the United States, but limited research is available on prescription drugs misuse in the workforce. We investigated whether absenteeism and turnover are associated with having problems linked to prescription drug misuse among employees. We also further explored the moderating effects of employee drug policy and testing on the relation between having problems linked to misuse of prescription pain relievers (PPRs) and absenteeism and turnover. This is a crosssectional study (n=2,249) using the 2007 U.S. national survey data ("National Survey on Drug Use and Health"). The multivariate logistic analysis results illustrate, after controlling confounding factors (gender, age, tobacco use, and heroin use), absenteeism and turnover linked to having problems of PPRs misuse. Our findings suggest the moderating effects of employee drug policy on the association between absenteeism and turnover and having problems linked to misuse of PPRs. Also, drug testing was found to moderate the link between having negative outcomes of misuse of PPRs and absenteeism. Having problems associated with misuse of PPRs is linked to absenteeism and turnover. A drug policy program including drug testing may play a significant role in reducing absenteeism and turnover in relation to having problems linked to misuse of PPRs.