Co-Design of Smartphone- and Smartwatch-Based Occupational Health Visualisations in Office Environments.

Promoting health is an important part of occupational health (OH) professionals' daily practice. Occupational health services (OHS) support work ability and prevent both work-related diseases and lifestyle-related illnesses. We focused on how interprofessional collaboration (IPC), regardless of whether the OHS provider is public, private or in-house, influences the implementation of smoking cessation treatment and support (SCTS). We studied IPC of OH professionals in SCTS and whether they differ depending on OHS providers. We collected data through an online survey of a cross-sectional sample of OH professionals of physicians (n = 182), nurses (n = 296) and physiotherapists (n = 96) at two different time-points, in 2013 and 2017. The questionnaire contained questions on interprofessional SCTS practices, so that we could assess how the professionals' experiences differed from each other. We used explanatory factor analysis to study the collaboration, and the Kruskall-Wallis test to detect the differences between the OH professional groups as a post-hoc data analysis. OH physicians (mean 3.4, SD 1.2) and OH nurses (mean 3.2, SD 1.1) experienced smooth collaboration in SCTS whereas OH physiotherapists (mean 2.5, SD 1.1) felt excluded from IPC. In-house OH centres (mean 3.5, SD 1.0) seemed to offer the best opportunities for implementing IPC in SCTS comparing to public (mean 3.1, SD 0.9) or private (mean 2.9, SD 0.9) OHS. The IPC of OH professionals in SCTS interventions need to be rearranged. This requires boundary-crossing SCTS practices involving all professionals. All OH professionals should implement IPC in SCTS and share their specific competence.

Introduction Occupational health (OH) professionals need skills and knowledge, motivation, interprofessional collaboration (IPC), and OH service providers organizational support to contribute to employers and employees smoking cessation treatment and support (SCTS). To improve SCTS, there is a need to develop scientific based digital applications. Hence, we decided to develop an app based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Methods We evaluated OH professionals’ attitude, knowledge, motivation and the interprofessional collaboration related to SCTS. We collected data through an online survey completed by a cross-sectional sample of OH physicians (n = 182), OH nurses (n = 296), and OH physiotherapists (n = 96). We surveyed Finnish mCessations and recognized the lack of their theoretical background. We focused on co-developing a gamified app based on SDT. The app stimulates autonomous and intrinsic motivation, and it was assessed using co-design methods among multi-professional collaborators. Results All OH professionals had a positive attitude towards offering SCTS and they were highly motivated to further training. IPC between OH physicians, nurses, and physiotherapists in SCTS was unorganized. The co-design participants ranked the most important mobile app features as follows: Information about user´s progress in health, gamified rewards and “Stop the craving” games. Discussion OHS should organize its SCTS more systematically, strengthen its contributions to smoking cessation programs, and recognize and utilize more actively modern mCessation apps. Conclusion An effective collaboration in SCTS between OH and employers requires a structured smoking cessation model in OH, competent OH professionals and proper tools in practice.

Choosing a professional code for ethical conduct in occupational and environmental medicine. The AOEC Board of Directors. Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics.

Safely Returning America to Work Part II: Industry-Specific Guidance.

Evaluating Interactive Fatigue Management Workshops for Occupational Health Professionals in the United Kingdom

A nuclear accident occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) as a result of a mega-earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011. A large number of workers were engaged in response and recovery operations under a complex structure of involved companies. They were exposed not only to radiation but also to other health hazards. TEPCO implemented programs to prevent radiation exposure, but had no effective systems for managing the other health risks and few occupational health (OH) professionals contributed to the health risk management. The University of Occupational and Environmental Health (UOEH), Japan, dispatched physicians to a quake-proof building at the plant to provide first-aid services from mid-May, 2011, and took a strategic approach to protecting workers from existing health risks. UOEH presented recommendations on OH systems and preventive measures against heat stress to the Government and TEPCO. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare issued guidelines to TEPCO and contractors. TEPCO implemented a comprehensive program against heat stress according to the guidelines and in cooperation with UOEH. As a result, we successfully prevented severe heat illness during summer 2011. From our experiences, we believe that the following recommendations should be considered: (1) the role of OH and the participation of experts should be defined in emergency response plans; (2) regulations should allow the national government and main companies involved to lead safety and health initiatives for all workers at disaster sites; and (3) OH professionals, response manuals and drills should be organized at a national level.

Manual workers in the public sector have previously been found to be at risk of mental sickness absence (SA). As the impact of mental illness differs across economic sectors, this study investigated mental SA in the industrial sector, differentiating between office and production workers. Ten-year observational cohort study including 14 369 (8164 production and 6205 office) workers with a total of 101 118 person years. SA data were retrieved from an occupational health register. Mental SA episodes were medically certified as emotional disturbances [10th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10 R45)] or mental and behavioural disorders (ICD-10 F00-F99). The first mental SA episode since baseline was called index mental SA. Recurrences were defined as any mental SA episode occurring >28 days after recovery from index mental SA. The incidence of mental SA was higher in production workers than in office workers, but office workers needed longer time to recover from mental SA. Mental SA recurred as frequently in production workers as in office workers. The median time to recurrence was 15.9 months and tangibly shorter in office workers (14.9 months) than in production workers (16.7 months). Production and office workers aged >55 years were at increased risk of recurrent mental SA within 12 months of recovery from index mental SA. The incidence of mental SA was higher in production workers than in office workers, whereas recurrence rates did not differ between them. Occupational health providers should pay special attention to older workers as they are at increased risk of recurrent mental SA.

The Constitution of India states that ‘State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work’. This provides the basis for provision of occupational health services to all citizens of the country. However, in reality, there is plenty of opportunity to provide occupational health services to all working population, not only in India, but even in the developed world. Occupational health services are available only to 10-15% of workers worldwide and to a miniscule of working population in developing countries. Even where services are available, the quality and relevance may be low. Though there is an intense economic pressure on cost of production all over the world, there cannot be a trade-off between health and productivity at work. The Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) are an application of the primary health care principles in the occupational health sector. The BOHS seek to provide occupational health services for all working people in the world regardless of mode of employment, size of workplace or geographic location, that is, according to the principle of universal services provision. These services are most needed in countries and sectors which do not have services at all or which are seriously underserved. It lays stress on the importance of a national strategy and plan of action to incorporate occupational health in all policies. The concept of BOHS has been developed jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Labor Organization (ILO), and International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and has its roots in the ‘Alma Ata’ declaration (1978) by the WHO. The BOHS principles were first discussed at the WHO/ILO Joint Committee of Occupational Health in 2003. The BOHS has become a central piece of global occupational health services development plans of the WHO and ILO. The WHO, with its collaborating centers in occupational health, the ILO, ICOH and other international organizations, work for the BOHS. The BOHS shot into limelight with outgoing ICOH President, Prof. Jorma Rantanen, championing the cause. The BOHS concept envisages coverage of all workers, and has a strong focus on prevention. They are to be provided for SMEs as well as self employed persons through public services. There will have to be different modalities for the same. There has to be a strong primary health care approach, which needs strong coordination between health and labor ministries, in our country. The expert institutions on occupational health have an important role to play in BOHS and they need to support the provision of BOHS by developing low-cost solutions. The BOHS aim at: Protection of health at work, Promotion of health, well being, work ability and Prevention of occupational diseases and accidents. Activities under BOHS encompass not only health surveillance, emergency preparedness and first aid services but also include surveillance of work environment, risk assessment and preventive and control measures. Health education and health promotion are also an integral part of BOHS. The BOHS provide a practical tool in identifying priorities and pooling scarce resources to develop an integrated and effective occupational health system and services, tailored to suit the national conditions and needs of each country. Improved conditions of work will lead to a healthier work force and, in turn, improved productivity. It is estimated that India has a working population of approximately 500 million. According to 2001 census, around 70% of the population resides in rural areas. Less than 10% of the workforce is organized, 60% self-employed and 30% do not have regular jobs. The increasing proportion of females in the workforce adds to the traditional OSH issues. The changing face of service sector, in view of the exponential growth on account of globalization and increasing use of information technology, is expected to present new challenges. Proper diagnosis and reporting of occupational diseases is necessary to achieve and implement BOHS. As all of us are aware, the statistics on accidents and occupational illnesses are far from accurate. There are research reports that show the official estimates are vastly low. The organized sector, both private and public, has reasonably well developed OHS based on ILO conventions. However, this sector is miniscule. The OHS are almost non-existent in the unorganized sector. Currently, there is no government agency or department which deals exclusively with occupational safety and health matters. The director general of the Factory Advisory Services and Labor Institutes deals with the safety and health of workers employed in factories and ports, whereas, the director general of Mines Safety deals with the safety and health of miners. While there are other departments under the Ministry of Labour, which deal with OSH issues in different sectors, e.g. the construction sector, no agency covers safety and health for workers in unorganized sectors. In India, we face the twin challenges of integration of occupational health with general health services and delivery of occupational health from medical college hospitals. There is separate training on occupational safety and health for safety professionals and occupational health professionals. The training on occupational health is still at an early stage and there are still no Chairs on occupational health in Indian universities and there are hardly any postgraduate training facilities on OH. The BOHS demands government leadership with tripartite or better still, quadripartite collaboration between government, employers, employees and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like IAOH. We need development of appropriate OSH infrastructure and proper dissemination of health and safety information. Our institutions need to provide simple tools for practical health and safety work at workplaces. Needless to add, our focus needs to be on small and medium sized enterprises, self-employed persons and informal sector. Recently, the national occupational health and safety policy has been finalized by the government and let us hope that it will take the country one step closer towards BOHS for all.

Review question/objective The objectives of this review are to examine studies that evaluate offices with windows to the external environment which permit the entry of natural light on the health and productivity of the workers as monitored by output, staff turnover, sickness and absence from work and measures of their health status. The specific question to be answered: • Do office workers with exposure to daylight experience better general health? • Do office workers with exposure to daylight demonstrate a higher productivity of work output? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include adults who work in an office environment. It is anticipated that all study participants will be over 18 years of age and regularly working in an office or office-like environment. Studies considering effects on night-shift office workers will be included with outcomes considered separately from day-time office workers. Studies that consider regular part-time or full-time workers will be included in the review. This review will consider studies including males and females regardless of any pre-existing medical conditions. However, participants with pre-existing medical conditions will be examined in a sub-group analysis. Types of intervention For the purpose of this the office environment is considered to be an administrative work place as opposed to a factory, school or retail facility. Office workers within other facilities may be included, however this population must be able to be considered discretely. The review will consider studies that evaluate office space with windows, skylights, atria or any facility allowing exposure to daylight from the external environment with our without a nature view compared to office space without facility to allow exposure to daylight and having lighting provided exclusively by electric light sources. i.e. • Intervention: office space with windows, skylights, atria or any facility allowing exposure to daylight from the external environment with our without a nature view • Comparator: office space without facility to allow exposure to daylight and having lighting provided exclusively by electric light sources. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include health and work productivity outcome measures TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

Some Finnish studies have dealt with how occupational health nurses divide their working hours but other occupational health professionals have not been evaluated. This study describes how occupational health professionals allocate their working hours between main tasks. Questionnaires were sent to 250 occupational health professionals, of whom 176 (70%) returned the completed forms. The data were analysed by using frequencies, means and one-way analysis of variance test. Employee-oriented tasks accounted for roughly 50% of working hours from all occupational health professionals. The remaining working hours were shared between workplace visits, co-operation with partners, other occupational health care responsibilities and tasks in other health care fields, especially in the health care centres. These working hours varied greatly between the different occupational health professional groups. All units employed full-time occupational health nurses, but the services of physicians, physiotherapists and psychologists were usually provided part-time or even restricted to a few hours each week because these services were difficult to obtain. Occupational health nurses working in the municipal health care centres spent more time on workplace visits than other nurses. Employee-oriented tasks were emphasized more in physicians', physiotherapists' and psychologists' work, especially in private medical health care units and in the jointly owned health care units. The amount of time occupational health professionals are able to spend on workplace activities appears to be determined by the type of their employer.

A change from a quarter system to a semester system presented a convenient opportunity for faculty at the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (a 27-year-old National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-sponsored education and research center) to evaluate the current curriculum. As part of this process faculty identified both individual and crosscutting competencies for four programs: Occupational Medicine, Occupational Health Nursing, Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Injury Epidemiology and Control. Faculty identified potential competency sets using published literature, course objectives, and content summaries. Common themes, termed crosscutting competencies, were identified. Seventy program graduates (58%) responded to a survey designed to assess the value of, and proficiency in, these competencies based on their postgraduation job experience. All 29 crosscutting competencies were rated as valuable or very valuable by respondents in each of the four programs. There was less agreement between respondents in proficiency ratings, with 24 of 29 competencies rated either proficient or very proficient. Comparing value and proficiency provided an opportunity to further refine the curriculum and a model for enhancing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of future environmental and occupational health professionals. With further testing, we propose this set of crosscutting competencies be considered for adoption as a set of interdisciplinary core competencies for Occupational Health and Safety professionals.

Objective:This study aims to investigate the correlation between office environment satisfaction levels and workers" subjective symptoms by conducting surveys asking office workers to state their subjective symptoms and office satisfaction levels. Background: The increased number of office workers and their work hours have led to new understandings of the importance of office environments including its temperature, humidity, noise levels, lighting, space arrangements, and quality of air. Method: Specific details on office work, office environment, office space satisfaction levels, workplace related symptoms, absence from work, due to workplace-related symptoms, were analyzed based on the survey answers given by 451 office workers who were the subjects of this research. Results: Office workers showed different characteristics of subjective symptoms depending on their gender, age, work experience, and time spent resting and on computers. Also, differences in symptoms were found for workers with different satisfaction levels for office environment (temperature, humidity, noise levels, quality of air, lighting) and office space arrangements (location of monitors, area and display of office space, chairs and desks). Conclusion and Application: Relationship between workers" satisfaction levels with the office environment and their subjective symptoms is expected to be serve as essential data for systematic management of the workplace.

The objectives of this study were to analyze current trends in occupational health activities by classifying reports from medical facilities in Japan. Reports of current workplace-level occupational health activities from medical activities that were collected by the Japan Medical Association Occupational Health Committee were used for the study. Of 5,000 questionnaire forms sent to medical facilities, 1,920 responses were returned. The freely described reports on ongoing occupational health activities contained in these responses were classified according to each of the following aspects of reported activities: 1) details of occupational health activities including main actors in workplace-level actions; and 2) approaches taken for occupational safety and health. The classification of the reports was implemented by a working group comprising selected occupational health practitioners and researchers. Among 1,920 survey responses, 581 valid texts were analyzed. Altogether, 1,044 occupational health activities currently undertaken by the facilities were extracted. The reported activities that were classified according to details of occupational health activities mainly comprised "Measures for preventing overwork, labor management, and work-style reform" (35.7%), "Measures for improving mental health" (21.0%), and "Review of occupational safety and health management systems" (19.3%). Medical facilities implementing "Measures for mental health" alongside "Measures for preventing overwork, labor management, and work-style reform" were reported in 13.2% of the responding medical facilities. "Occupational health professionals or safety and health management staff" (71.7%) were the most frequent main actors of these activities, followed by "Members of the workplace" (18.4%) and "Outsourced experts" (2.4%). "Comprehensive safety and health management" (42.0%) was the most common approach taken for occupational safety and health, followed by "Management focusing on topics" (23.8%) and "Case management" (16.5%). Most of these activities focused on primary prevention aimed at labor management including prevention of overwork, work-style reform, and mental health promotion. Another key trend could be "Teamwork among occupational safety and health staff, workers, and employers at respective workplaces as well as outsourced experts." Several key trends were extracted from current occupational health activities at medical facilities. In most cases, these measures were implemented simultaneously. This suggests the importance of combining primary prevention measures for mental health with measures for labor management including prevention of overwork. These activities reflect emerging trends that incorporate teamwork between experts, workers, and employers, and provide new perspectives on workplace-level occupational safety and health activities.

Nearing the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and companies had decided to continue their operations and strive forwards, posing superfluous challenges to occupational health (OH) professionals in keeping workers safe against the continuous threat of infections. The novelty of COVID-19 results in a myriad of medical questions, all of which needs to be answered promptly and reliably through medical research followed by dissemination of answer through publications. Making the knowledge accessible through publications ensures that OH professionals and other relevant parties can collectively develop new policies, determine preventive action, the standard of procedures and care, and administer medical procedures – all of which eases the fight against pandemics in the workplace. Despite its complications and challenges, the author hoped that OH professionals realized the importance of research and publishing in the fight against this pandemic.

Expertise on work and health topics is the foundation for the added value of occupational health (OH) professionals to the health of the working population. Professionals should therefore practice in accordance with high quality standards and latest evidence. As adequate knowledge management and a supportive knowledge infrastructure is needed, OH professionals can discuss opportunities to strengthen both. Occupational health services ought to offer ICT facilities, stimulate organizational conditions and human resource development to implement evidence-based practice. On national level a portal including a virtual library, tailor-made for occupational health, providing access to high quality websites, abstracts and full text articles and books, is a backbone for further developments. Expert groups on various topics can function as a top reference level for new or complicated questions and issues. As an example of an initiative to foster progress, the Dutch Knowledge Infra Structure program for OH professionals (2004-2006) is introduced. This program included efforts to develop the infrastructure itself and projects to develop concrete tools and instruments.