Employee Screening Research Articles

Increased seroprevalence of IgG-class antibodies against cytomegalovirus, parvovirus B19, and varicella-zoster virus in women working in child day care

BackgroundPrimary maternal infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV), parvovirus B19 (B19V), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) may result in adverse pregnancy outcomes like congenital infection or foetal loss. Women working in child day care have an increased exposure to CMV, B19V, and VZV. By comparing the seroprevalence of IgG-class antibodies against CMV, VZV and B19V in female day care workers (DCW) with the seroprevalence in women not working in day care this study aimed to assess the association between occupation and infection.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used. Out of a random sample of 266 day care centres, demographic data, data on work history, and blood samples were collected from 285 women from 38 centres. In addition, blood samples and basic demographics from women who participated in a cross-sectional survey of the Amsterdam population (2004) were used. All blood samples were tested for IgG-class antibodies against CMV, B19V, and VZV.ResultsTwenty-seven percent of the DCW were still susceptible to B19V or CMV. Working in day care was independently associated with B19V infection in all DCW (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.2; 95 % CI 1.1–1.3), and with CMV infection in DCW of European origin only (PR 1.7; 95 % CI 1.3–2.3). Almost all women born outside Europe tested seropositive for CMV (96 %). All DCW tested seropositive for VZV, compared to only 94 % of the women not working in day care.ConclusionThis study confirms the clear association between employment in child day care centres and infection with CMV and B19V. Intervention policies, like screening of new employees and awareness campaigns emphasizing hygienic measures among DCW, should be implemented urgently to improve the maternal health of these women and the health of their offspring.

The Lagerlunda Collision and the Introduction of Color Vision Testing

In histories of vision testing, the origins of occupational screening for color blindness are often traced to a fatal railroad accident that occurred in Sweden on the night of 14–15 November 1875. The scene of the accident was the estate of Baron Lagerfelt in Östergötland, but the critical events were played out at Linköping (the normal passing place for the northbound and southbound expresses) and at Bankeberg (a small station to which the passing place was reassigned at a few minutes' notice). First to arrive at Bankeberg, the northbound express slowed almost to a halt, but then inexplicably accelerated forwards towards the Lagerlunda estate, despite a sequence of signals from the stationmaster, Uno Björkelund, and a lineman, Oskar Johansson. Soon after the accident, the ophthalmologist Frithiof Holmgren suggested that the engineer of the northbound express, Andersson, or his oiler, Larsson, had been color blind. Neither survived to be tested. Using the records of the subsequent trial and other archival materials, we have re-examined the role of color blindness in the Lagerlunda incident and conclude that the accident cannot be attributed to color blindness alone. Yet the accident undoubtedly had a central role in the introduction of color vision testing by European and North American railroads. To persuade the railroad management to introduce universal screening of employees for color blindness, Holmgren used a dramatic coup de theatre and some unashamed subterfuge.

Cost-effectiveness of interferon-γ release assay versus chest X-ray for tuberculosis screening of employees

Currently, an annual chest X-ray examination (CXR) for detection of active tuberculosis (TB) in employees aged ≥40 years is recommended in the guidelines of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Law. Interferon-γ release assays are new alternatives to the tuberculin skin test for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, with higher specificity than the tuberculin skin test and without cross-reactivity with the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of employee TB screening using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) versus CXR. Markov models were constructed. The target population was a hypothetical cohort of immunocompetent 40-year-old individuals, using a societal perspective and a lifetime horizon. All costs and clinical benefits were discounted at a fixed annual rate of 3%. In a base-case analysis, the QFT strategy was the most cost-effective ($US 262.84; 22.87049 quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]) compared with no screening ($448.38; 22.85452 QALYs) and CXR ($543.50; 22.85453 QALYs) [year 2009 values]. The QFT strategy is currently robust for screening Bacille Calmette-Guérin- vaccinated employees in Japan. There appears to be little role for CXR. These findings may be applicable to other countries in terms of choosing optimal TB screening for employees.

The sexual abuse of young people with a disability or chronic health condition.

For several reasons, children and youth with a disability or chronic health condition are at an increased risk of sexual abuse. Health care providers, along with parents and caregivers, need to maintain a high level of suspicion concerning possible sexual abuse of this population. Physicians especially need to advocate for policies to prevent or detect abuse in hospitals, schools and other institutional settings. Such policies include the thorough screening and monitoring of employees and volunteers; chaperoning physical examinations and treatment procedures; supervising outings; and ensuring an institutional culture that promotes patient privacy. In addition, physicians should promote patient self-awareness and empowerment, and provide early anticipatory guidance concerning sexuality, personal empowerment and abuse risks. The present document replaces the previous Canadian Paediatric Society position statement published in 1997.

Examining the Criterion-Related Validity of the Employee Screening Questionnaire: A Three-Sample Investigation

Across three samples (N=475, 358, and 112), the authors examined the criterion-related validity of the Employee Screening Questionnaire (ESQ), a brief forced-choice measure of integrity in the workplace. Results suggested that ESQ scores correlate highly with self- and other-reports of counterproductive work behaviors (rs of .59, .50, and .47 on the consolidated scores), as well as self-reports of job satisfaction (rs of −.41 and −.22 on the consolidated scores), and intention to leave the organization (rs of .30 and .21 on the consolidated scores). No predictive bias by gender was found for the ESQ scores. Based on these results, the authors encourage more research on the use of personality-based (covert), forced-choice integrity tests in selection contexts.

Vocabularies of motive among employers conducting criminal background checks

The use of criminal records in the recruitment process has increased dramatically in Sweden over the past decade. The article analyses the various vocabularies of motive used to account for the practice in order to examine how it is justified and legitimized by those resorting to it: employers, representatives of employers’ organizations and union representatives in the business sector who endorse criminal background checks as part of the employee screening processes. The dominant vocabulary as articulated in the interviews appealed to notions of corporate risk and security. However, it was contested by an alternative vocabulary focusing on an individual’s right to privacy and reintegration, and by a third vocabulary centring on the notion of trust. To stress their character as moral actors, employers who checked criminal records avoided relying on the risk vocabulary alone. They tended in addition to incorporate elements of the rights vocabulary to justify their actions against the values embodied in it. Even though the results of the study suggest parallels between the increase in the use of criminal background checks and a shift toward a ‘control society’ or a ‘society of exclusion’, they also show that legal rights of the individual still inform the justificatory discourses at least in Sweden.

Loss of Productivity due to Depression among Korean Employees

The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in productivity between those who are depressed and those who are not. A cross-sectional study of depressive and non-depressive employees at a workplace was performed. Data was collected between April and June 2008 through self-reported questionnaires including the Stanford Presenteeism Scale. One thousand employees participated in this study. Inappropriate responses including missing data or non-relevant responses were excluded. Finally, data of 612 subjects was analyzed using the SPSS program. The productivity of employees with depression was lower than that of employees without depression. The difference in productivity loss due to impaired presenteeism was significantly different between the two groups, but the productivity loss due to absenteeism was not. From the results of this study, we can deduce that depression among employees leads to productivity loss. Therefore, we must consider the management of depression in the workplace and improve the activities of occupational nurses and doctors during the mental health screening of employees.

Employee Screening: Theory and Evidence

Arguably the fundamental problem faced by employers is how to elicit effort from employees. Most models suggest that employers meet this challenge by monitoring employees carefully to prevent shirking. But there is another option that relies on heterogeneity across employees, and that is to screen job candidates to find workers with a stronger work ethic who require less monitoring. This should be especially useful in work systems where monitoring by supervisors is more difficult, such as teamwork systems. We analyze the relationship between screening and monitoring in the context of a principal-agent model and test the theoretical results using a national sample of U.S. establishments, which includes information on employee selection. We find that employers screen applicants more intensively for work ethic where they make greater use of systems such as teamwork where monitoring is more difficult. This screening is also associated with higher productivity and higher wages and benefits, as predicted by the theory: The synergies between reduced monitoring costs and high performance work systems enable the firm to pay higher wages to attract and retain such workers. Screening for other attributes, such as cognitive ability, does not produce these results.

Marketing depression care management to employers: design of a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundRandomized trials demonstrate that depression care management can improve clinical and work outcomes sufficiently for selected employers to realize a return on investment. Employers can now purchase depression products that provide depression care management, defined as employee screening, education, monitoring, and clinician feedback for all depressed employees. We developed an intervention to encourage employers to purchase a depression product that offers the type, intensity, and duration of care management shown to improve clinical and work outcomes.MethodsIn a randomized controlled trial conducted with 360 employers of 30 regional business coalitions, the research team proposes to compare the impact of a value-based marketing intervention to usual-care marketing on employer purchase of depression products. The study will also identify mediators and organizational-level moderators of intervention impact. Employers randomized to the value-based condition receive a presentation encouraging them to purchase depression products scientifically shown to benefit the employee and the employer. Employers randomized to the usual-care condition receive a presentation encouraging them to monitor and improve quality indicators for outpatient depression treatment. Because previous research demonstrates that the usual-care intervention will have little to no impact on employer purchasing, depression product purchasing rates in the usual-care condition capture vendor efforts to market depression products to employers in both conditions while the value-based intervention is being conducted. Employers in both conditions are also provided free technical assistance to undertake the actions each presentation encourages. The research team will use intent-to-treat models of all available data to evaluate intervention impact on the purchase of depression products using a cumulative incidence analysis of 12- and 24-month data.DiscussionBy addressing the 'value to whom?' question, the study advances knowledge about one of the most pivotal problems in the translation of evidence-based care to 'real world' settings: whether purchasers can be influenced to buy healthcare products on the basis of value and not exclusively on the basis of cost. If value-based marketing increases depression product purchase rates over usual care, this study will provide encouragement to market new healthcare products on the basis of the product's value to the purchaser as well as the recipient of care.Trial RegistrationClinical Trials Registration Number: NCT01013220

Validity of a Questionnaire for Periodontitis Screening of Japanese Employees

Workplaces are suitable for screening for periodontal disease effectively. However, the majority of workplaces do not have a screening program. One possible reason may be that pocket probing, which is commonly used for the screening, needs qualified examiners and is time-consuming. In this study, the validity of a self-reported questionnaire was assessed for screening of periodontitis in 50- to 59-yr-old male employees in Japan. A total of 250 people were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire regarding signs and symptoms of periodontal disease, and experience of periodontal treatment, followed by a clinical examination by a dentist. Subjects with at least one tooth having a clinical attachment loss of 7 mm or more were defined as periodontitis patients. Thirteen percent of the subjects were diagnosed as having periodontitis. Logistic regression selected 4 questions, "Are you a current or past smoker?", "Have your gums bled recently?", "Do you think that you can see more roots of teeth than in the past?", and "Have you ever been told that you need periodontal or gum treatment?" as potential predictors of periodontitis. When subjects with at least 3 "yes" responses to the 4 questions were separated from the others, the subjects with periodontitis were separated most effectively (showing the highest sensitivity + specificity: 1.524) from those without. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.81. These results suggest that the self-reported questions are useful for screening of periodontitis in 50- to 59-yr-old Japanese workers.

Assessing barriers to change in drinking behavior: Results of an online employee screening program

The impact of alcohol abuse on worker productivity is considerable and appears to be increasing over time. Although early screening and intervention may help prevent or reduce the damaging health and productivity effects of problem drinking, barriers to behavioral change may render broad-based prevention efforts ineffectual. This study examined the correlates of two potential barriers to changes in drinking behavior--underestimation of drinking and lack of knowledge of helping resources--using data from web-based employee alcohol screenings. Anonymous screening data from 1185 employees of ten companies participating in the 2003 National Alcohol Screening Day were analyzed. The AUDIT, a 10-item screening instrument developed by the World Health Organization, was used to measure drinking behavior; employees' subjective assessments of their drinking were also obtained. Over 53% of participants subjectively underestimated their drinking relative to their AUDIT results, and 58% of respondents did not know whether their medical insurance included benefits for alcohol treatment. Logistic regression analysis revealed that younger and male respondents tended to have the highest AUDIT scores and also (along with married respondents) were most likely to underestimate their drinking. Younger, unmarried respondents were least likely to be aware of their alcohol treatment insurance benefits. Current corporate efforts to curtail problem drinking among employees may not adequately address barriers to change. Targeting at-risk employee groups for alcohol screening and dissemination of information about health insurance benefits and treatment options is recommended, as is providing personalized feedback based on screening results to raise awareness of at-risk drinking and available helping resources.

Depression management in the workplace: a case study.

To review a case of a depression management program at PPG Industries with the potential to improve outcomes on functioning and productivity in the workplace. The need for major improvements in depression management has been well established. While most in the corporate world are aware of these deficiencies, the perception is that this fragmented system is difficult to change. PPG Industries, a medium-sized, Fortune 500 company manufacturing paints, stains, and sealants, has launched a successful and comprehensive program in the workplace that has improved outcomes for depressed employees. The PPG approach is practical, addressing each step in the process one at a time. This process began by establishing a close working relationship between all entities responsible for employee health, many of which are currently carved out. This enabled the company to have a comprehensive view of their depressed population and to examine their functional outcomes as well. In an effort to help identify depressed employees, the company educated their physicians and care managers and launched a confidential Web site to reduce mental health stigma and aid in employee screening and education. A multidisciplinary team was then assembled to facilitate the treatment of these patients. All of these steps were measurable, and the preliminary results of this process are summarized. A disease management program that incorporates a multifaceted, collaborative approach to treat depression is feasible and may improve care and decrease cost to employers.

Administrative Issues Related to Infectious Disease Research in the Age of Bioterrorism

The recent unprecedented growth in infectious disease research funding and infrastructure has resulted in part from an outgrowth of concern about newly emerging and re-emerging diseases and the progressive development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. However, the most compelling impetus is the suspected and demonstrated capability and will of unknown individuals, groups, or states to use biological agents and/or toxins as weapons. Although the actual number of known victims and fatalities from bioterrorism in the United States has been miniscule compared with many other daily hazards, biological agents have the potential to cause human mass casualties, severely damage segments of our economy or agricultural infrastructure, poison or compromise our food or water supply, and, perhaps most damaging, disrupt our society physically and psychologically. The significant institutional commitment necessary to participate in infectious disease research is described, with a focus on programs that involve research with pathogens thought to have potential for use by bioterrorists. Administrative considerations are described, and include obtaining necessary research funding to offset high operating costs; complying with "select agent" regulations, security screening of employees; building or renovating a biocontainment facility; finding skilled professional and technical manpower; providing adequate physical security in a threat environment; conducting targeted training; overcoming potential internal and external dissent; developing and/or providing sufficient occupational health and safety programs; achieving and maintaining compliance standards in a fluid regulatory environment; mitigating potentially hazardous working conditions; understanding personal and institutional liability; and reassuring and dealing with a concerned, skeptical, or even hostile public.

Effective employment screening practices

Contends that an employer must reduce his risk, and that therefore choosing the right employee is important for this. An effective employee screening practice helps employers to make the right hiring decisions, benefitting both employer and employee alike. Lists out the employer’s seven deadly hiring mistakes in full. Looks also at negligent hiring and retention. Discusses pre‐employment screening, listing out what to look for in an employee’s resumé, and also discusses post‐employment screening, which keeps employers aware of employees’ changing attitudes, etc., thereby avoiding possible pitfalls.

Homocysteine levels in newly admitted schizophrenic patients

We previously found a marked elevation of plasma homocysteine in young male schizophrenic patients in hospital. It seemed important to determine if this finding is already present in newly admitted schizophrenic patients. Serum homocysteine levels were studied in 184 consecutively admitted schizophrenic patients and 305 control subjects from an employee screening program. Homocysteine levels were markedly increased in this population of newly admitted schizophrenic patients, especially in young males. Newly admitted male schizophrenic patients have elevated homocysteine levels that cannot be explained on the basis of poor hospital nutrition. Smoking may raise homocysteine by 1–2 μM/L but this is not a large enough effect to explain our findings.

Effective employment screening in the American health care industry

The purpose of this article is to show the importance of pre‐employment screening for hospitals. Pre‐employment screening in the hiring process is a must for hospitals, especially in the health care industry, where financial damages and lawsuits for hospitals recently increased because of negligent hiring. The information in this article is based on books about human resources in the health care industry, journals about medicine and law, and mostly articles from outsourced screening firms that provide service in the health care field. The scope of the article is to show the effectiveness of employee screening for hospitals in order to prevent or minimise lawsuits because of negligent hiring. Based on information about the benefits of employment screening in the health care industry, it is important for hospitals to implement “due diligence” by including screening programmes in their hiring process. The screening process can be done in‐house or be delegated to outside service providers that match the criteria. It is better to outsource these tasks so that hospitals can focus on other human resources tasks such as managing their employees to improve services for their visitors or customers.

The prevention of occupational asthma

There is sufficient understanding of the causation of occupational asthma for preventive action to be appropriate. To date, attempts appear to have been largely unsuccessful and this appears to be largely due to nonscientific/technical obstacles. These include the fragmented nature of the disease, its low public and industrial profile, and its comparative rarity in single workplaces. Nonetheless the disease has high individual and societal costs. Prevention strategies should be concentrated on workplace-exposure controls, accompanied by intense educational and managerial improvements. Methods of secondary prevention appear to be successful but require considerable refinement. Screening (out) of potential new employees is inefficient and likely to remain so; and in any case is beset by difficult ethical and legal issues. There are only a handful of published studies reporting evaluations of preventive programmes. None is entirely rigorous but each suggests that primary and secondary prevention are both feasible and highly effective. The evaluation of preventive strategies is difficult, not only because of the low incidence of the disease in individual workplaces but also because of the failure of many epidemiologists to engage in this work. Considerably more cooperation between scientists in the field, regulatory authorities and industry is required.

CARDIORESPIRATORY AND MUSCLE OXYGENATION COMPARISONS DURING ARM CRANKING AND TASK-SPECIFIC PUSHING-PULLING IN HEALTHY WOMEN

Fitness assessment is an important part of employee screening programs and for determination of return to work following rehabilitation. The validity of standardized upper or lower body test protocols for the assessment of occupational fitness has been questioned. PURPOSE: To compare the cardiorespiratory and localized muscle oxygenation responses between arm cranking (AC) and task-specific pushing-pulling (PP). METHODS: Eleven healthy women (mean ± SD for age: 24.5 ± 3.5 y; height: 163 ± 7 cm; mass: 57.6 ± 9.4 kg) consented to perform stepwise incremental AC (Cybex, MET300, CA) and PP (BTE Work Simulator, MD) tests until voluntary fatigue in random order in two sessions. Specific load increments were: AC - 25 watts every 2 minutes; and PP - 30 lb-in torque every 2 minutes. Cardiorespiratory responses were monitored using an automated metabolic cart and wireless heart rate monitor. Muscle deoxygenation (Mdeox) was recorded noninvasively from the right biceps using near infrared spectroscopy (MicroRunman, NIM Inc., PA). Mechanical efficiency (peak power/peak oxygen uptake[pVO2]) and deoxygenation ratio (peak power/Mdeox) were calculated at peak exercise. RESULTS: The respective values of peak power output (114 vs 25 Watts), pVO2 (1.56 vs 1.23 L/min) and oxygen pulse (8.9 vs 7.1 ml/beat) were significantly (p < 0.5) higher during AC compared to PP, while peak heart rate (176 vs 171) was not significantly different (P > .05). Muscle deoxygenation was significantly (P < .05) higher (greater deoxygenation) during PP compared to AC (−0.212 vs −0.121 optical density units). As a result, mechanical efficiency was significantly lower (P < .01) and deoxygenation ratio was significantly higher (P < .01) during PP compared to AC. CONCLUSIONS: These findings: (1) suggest greater peripheral limitation during PP compared to AC, and (2) highlight the importance of using task-specific tests for employee fitness screening. SUPPORT: Small Faculties Council, Univ. of Alberta.

Preventing Home Health Nursing Assistant Back and Shoulder Injuries

Franklin County Home Health Agency (St Albans, Vermont) undertook a performance improvement project in 1996 to reduce employee injuries. A review of recent injuries led to the prevention of licensed nursing assistants' (LNAs') back and shoulder injuries as the first priority. Root causes of injuries were agency communication, employee training, patient home environment, nursing assistant body mechanics, and failure to use safety measures. Given that injury causality is complex and multifactorial, a variety of improvement strategies were implemented over the following two to three years. IMPLEMENTATION OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS: Short-term (a few months), mid-term (six months), and long-term (one year) potential solutions to the LNA back and shoulder injury problem were charted. Safety and health training was the major focus of the team's short-term plan. Risk management forms were to be used to identify and follow up on hazardous situations. Project plans that were successfully implemented included revision of LNA plans of care, standardization of the return-to-work process after injury, development of guidelines for identifying unsafe patient lifts and transfers, improved follow-up of employee reports of injury-risk situations in patient homes, improved body mechanics screening of new employees, and a stronger injury-prevention training program for current employees. A less successful initiative was aimed at collecting more data about injuries and causal factors. Employee injuries were gradually reduced from 4-10 per quarter to 0-3 per quarter. Injury prevention requires commitment, persistence, and patience--but not expensive improvements. Multiple interventions increase the chances of success when there are many root causes and lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of various approaches.

The importance of networks in the market for university graduates in Japan: a longitudinal analysis of hiring patterns

This study examines the extent to which the transition from university education to work is characterised by persistent hiring flows between university faculties and employers, rather than being characterised by an open market process. More than half of all hires may be attributed to persistence in hiring by employers from specific faculties. Persistence appears to be related to the screening of potential employees and to the assurance of supply. Persistence is also stronger in hiring from faculties with higher percentages of male graduates, supporting the view that investment in employment ties rises with the expected tenure of the hired employee.