Full-time Equivalent Workers Research Articles

The Effects of Public Subsidies on R&D Employment: Evidence from OECD Countries

Existing empirical evidence suggests that public subsidies and fiscal incentives have a positive effect on the amount of private R&D expenditure. However, most studies have failed to address the possibility at least some of this increase may simply reflect the fact that R&D workers are being paid higher wages. Such an omission may imply that past research has over-estimated the effectiveness of R&D tax concessions. In the absence of widely-available R&D deflators, we consider the impact of a range of public subsidies on the number of full-time equivalent workers employed in R&D (i.e., researchers) in the business sector. Our findings strongly support the effectiveness of both direct subsidies and fiscal incentives.

Nursing Home Social Services Directors' Opinions About the Number of Residents They Can Serve

An appropriate number of qualified staff is a key factor contributing to quality of care and quality of life for nursing home residents. While much of the literature focuses on the importance of adequate nursing ratios, this descriptive study is the first to focus on the social services staff ratio. Nationally representative survey results from over 1,000 nursing home social services directors reveal that the mean number of residents per full-time equivalent social worker in the United States is 89.3 and the median is 79 residents (note that this figure includes both long-term and subacute residents). Furthermore, although the federal government requires nursing homes with more than 120 beds to employ 1 full-time qualified social worker to meet resident psychosocial needs, when asked their opinion, the majority of respondents indicated that 1 full-time social worker could handle 60 or fewer long-term care residents or 20 or fewer subacute care residents. Nursing home characteristics helped to explain the variation in social services directors' opinions. These findings suggest that the federal policy related to social services staffing should be revisited. Policy makers would benefit from reliable and current data regarding social service staffing. Research is needed to understand the relationship between social services staffing and resident outcomes.

Occupational injuries among emergency responders

Emergency responders frequently incur injuries while providing medical, fire, and law enforcement services. National surveillance systems provide fragmented perspectives on responder injuries because they omit specific classes of workers (e.g., government or volunteers); they report only selected injuries; and employment information is incomplete. We characterized injuries among emergency medical services (EMS), firefighting, and police occupations by using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Occupational Supplement (NEISS-Work) for injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2000-2001. Sprains and strains were the leading injury (33-41%) among EMS, firefighter, and police occupations. Police officers and career firefighters had the highest injury rates (8.5 and 7.4 injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers, respectively). The physical demands of emergency response are a leading cause of injuries that may benefit from similar interventions across the occupations. To assess risk, improved exposure data need to be acquired, particularly for volunteers.

Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses—United States, 2004

Data collected through a National Electronic Injury Surveillance System occupational supplement (NEISS-Work) provide information on persons treated for nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs). CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health uses these data to monitor injury trends and aid prevention activities. This report summarizes 2004 NEISS-Work injury and illness surveillance data. In 2004, an estimated 3.4 million nonfatal ED-treated injuries and illnesses occurred among workers of all ages, with a rate of 2.5 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers aged > or =15 years. Workers aged <25 years had the highest injury/illness rates. More than three fourths of all nonfatal workplace injuries/illnesses were attributed to contact with objects or equipment (e.g., being struck by a falling tool or caught in machinery), bodily reaction or exertion (e.g., a sprain or strain), and falls. No substantial reduction was observed in the overall number and rate of ED-treated occupational injuries/illnesses during 1996-2004. To reduce occupational injuries/illnesses, interventions should continue to target workers at highest risk and reduce exposure to those workplace hazards with the greatest potential for causing severe injury or death. More emphasis should be placed on prevention-effectiveness studies and dissemination of successful interventions to reduce work-related injuries and illnesses.

Saving Medicare: "It's the Workforce, Stupid!"

A dysfunctional health care system and an aging population spell trouble for Medicare. For the 30-year period from 1970 to 2000, CMS reports a manageable 13% decline in the ratio of full-time equivalent workers to Medicare beneficiaries. However, the United States is now in the midst of a

The Environment and Staff of Residential Facilities: Findings from the Italian ‘Progres’ National Survey

We administered structured interviews to managers and staff of a random sample of 265 Italian psychiatric Residential Facilities (RFs). Most are independent buildings, located in urban and suburban areas. The median number of residents is 10. The few RFs (5.7%) with more than 20 beds have a higher rate of drop-outs and escapes. The average indoor space per resident is 36 square meters, there is often a garden, and residents generally live in two-bed rooms. Most facilities are located within walking distance of shopping centers or recreational facilities. Three-quarters have 24-hour staff coverage. On average, each facility has about 10 full-time equivalent workers, with a staff:resident ratio of 0.92. Most of the professional input is provided by nurses and auxiliary staff. Critical issues to be considered in planning facilities include the physical environment, the size, and the staffing patterns.

Macro-organizational factors, the incidence of work disability, and work ability among the total workforce of home care workers in Sweden

To investigate the importance of macro-organizational factors, i.e. organizational sociodemographic and socioeconomic preconditions, of the municipal incidence of long-term sick leave, disability pension, and prevalence of workers with long-term work ability among home care workers. In an ecological study design, data from national databases were combined by record linkage. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to estimate and interpret macro-organizational factors (economic resources, region, unemployment, employment, occupational rehabilitation, return to work, age structures of inhabitants and home care workers). The incidence of long-term sick leave among female home care workers was twice as high as that of male home care workers, and incidence of disability pension was about four times as high for the women. A great variation in municipal incidence of long-term sick leave, disability pension, and long-term work ability (101-264, 0.6-19.6, and 913-1,279 per 1,000 full-time equivalent workers and year) was also found. The strongest single factor for long-term work ability was a high proportion of part-time or hourly paid employees, which explained 35% of the municipal variation. Macro-organizational factors explained long-term work ability (47-62% explained variance) better than long-term sick leave (33% explained variance). There was a low rehabilitation activity; only 2% received occupational rehabilitation and 5% of those on sick leave longer than 2 weeks returned to work within 30 days. The differences in the municipal proportion of work ability incidence indicate a preventive potential, especially related to employment and return to work after sick leave.

Informal jobs and non-fatal occupational injuries.

In Brazil, workers without a formal job contract represent approximately half of the labor force but there are no official statistics on occupational injuries for them. This study estimates the annual incidence of non-fatal work-related injuries for workers with and without job contracts and examines gender differences. This is a community-based study carried out with a random cluster area sample of the residents of Salvador, a city with 2.7 million inhabitants, the capital of the state of Bahia, northeast Brazil. Individuals from 18 to 65 years of age who reported having a paid job comprise the study population (n=2907). Data were obtained in individual household interviews with questionnaires applied by trained field workers. The overall estimated annual incidence rate (IR) was 5.6/100 full-time equivalent workers (FTE). The incidence of injuries differed between workers with informal (IR=6.2/100 FTE) and formal jobs (IR=5.1/100 FTE), and according to gender (IR=5.8/100 FTE for female and 5.5/100 FTE for male), but these differences were not statistically significant. Statistically significant positive associations between informal jobs and non-fatal work injuries were observed among women with medium education [incident rate ratio (IRR) 2.02, 95% CI 1.00-4.00] and women with black skin (IRR 1.71, 95% CI 0.99-2.97) who perceived a job as dangerous (IRR 2.00; 95% CI 1.09-3.64) or who had no occupational training (IRR 2.08; 95% CI 1.05-4.20). This study shows that non-fatal work injuries are a common health problem among adults in urban Brazil, regardless of the type of job contract or gender, which points to a need to improve workers' health and safety programs for formal and informal hired workers.

Re-engineering the Inpatient Meal Delivery Process for Today’s Healthcare System

Decreases in length of hospital stay and inpatient census have had numerous implications on inpatient feeding. Historically, 115 patients were fed with a 9-position patient tray assembly line. The assembly process was re-designed to include only 5 positions due to a decrease in average inpatient census to 65. Currently, with an average inpatient census of 35, there is a need to re-engineer the meal delivery system once again. The hot/cold food cart meal delivery system was selected based on the hospital's present and projected future inpatient census, time constraints, equipment needed, staffing requirements and space limitations. Several facilities with hot/cold food cart systems were contacted to provide information on task lists, implementation plans, and cart specifications. An in-house employee focus group was conducted to increase awareness, discuss potential problems, and recommend solutions. The design of the hot and cold food stations was based on input received. A floor plan was developed to illustrate equipment placement at each station, utilizing in-house equipment. New task lists outline duties and responsibilities. Data was collected throughout the planning and evaluating processes to show the benefits of this quality improvement. Preliminary tests show an increase in patient satisfaction via questionnaire responses and a decrease of 18.6% and 22% in temperature fluctuations of hot and cold food items, respectively. Thus, foods were maintained with less variation between food plating and food delivery temperatures. The hot/cold food cart system also enables a decrease in approximately 2.5 full time equivalent workers. Implementation of this system will save approximately 7,300 man-hours and $92,126 annually.

Occupational burns in Washington State, 1989-1993.

Occupational burns cause significant morbidity in the United States each year; however, there are few studies that report industries or workplaces where workers are at an increased risk of burn injuries. Washington State's Department of Labor and Industries (L and I) computerized workers' compensation database was used to describe work-related burns over 5 years. From 1989 to 1993, L and I accepted 27,323 claims for occupational burns, 71.4% of them thermal burns and 26.8% chemical burns. The most common sources of injury were cooking oils (14%) and hot water/steam (13%). Workers involved in food preparation or food handling accounted for the highest proportion of injured workers (30%). Industries involved in the smelting, sintering, or refining of ore had the highest rate for thermal burns, with a rate of 15.0 burn injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers per year, followed by paper, pulp, or wood fiber manufacturing, with a rate of 5.8, then roof work, with a rate of 4.3. Industries involved in hazardous waste landfill clean-up had the highest rate for chemical burns, with a rate of 4.9, followed by portable cleaning and washing, with a rate of 3.5, and paper, pulp, and wood fiber manufacturing, with a rate of 2.6. Further study is needed to identify work practices that result in burn injuries in order to decrease the incidence of this preventable occupational injury.

STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND EXPERIENCES WITH LAND REFORM IN GERMAN AGRICULTURE SINCE UNIFICATION / STRUKTURELE VERANDERINGE EN ERVARINGS MET GRONDHERVORMING IN DIE DUITSE LANDBOU SEDERT HERENIGING

Following unification of East and West Germany in 1990, the principal objective of the government was to restore previous property rights in the new federal states and to encourage competitive production structures. Institutions were quickly established to facilitate the required adjustments to a market economy. Privatisation of most firms (farms), which was an intricate and costly procedure, was accomplished within five years and resulted in a completely new farm structure in the new federal states. By 1996 over 80 percent of agricultural enterprises comprised private (individual) operations (cultivating 22 percent of land), 9,1 percent partnerships (22 percent of land), while about 3000 legal entities managed 56 percent of farm land. About 90 percent of farmland in the new states is being rented compared to 47percent in the old states. Significantly, leasing and not selling became the most important method to privatise land in the new federal states. In 1996 the number of farming operations in Germany totalled about 540000. While worker employment in German agriculture is steadily decreasing, worker productivity is increasing—from 17 hectares of farm land per full-time equivalent worker (FTE) in 1991 to 43 hectares per FTE in the new states in 1996.

Risk of job-related injury among construction laborers with a diagnosis of substance abuse.

This study attempts to determine whether a diagnosis of substance abuse among construction laborers is associated with an increased risk of work-related injuries. Records for construction laborers in Washington State who were covered by health insurance through the local union were matched against workers' compensation records in the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Using the health insurance records, we identified those who had a diagnosis of substance abuse during the two-year period 1990-1991. Using the workers' compensation records, we were then able to compare injury rates for those with substance abuse diagnoses with the rates for those without such diagnoses. The total cohort consisted of 7,895 laborers. Among the 422 who had a substance abuse diagnosis, the rate of time-loss injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers was 15.1, compared with 10.9 among the remainder of the cohort. Most of the difference appeared in the 25-34-year age group, in which the rate of injury per 100 full-time equivalent workers was 23.6 for substance abusers, compared with a rate of 12.2 for non-substance abusers, for a statistically significant relative risk of 1.93. The study suggests that younger workers might be an appropriate target for interventions aimed at reducing the level of substance abuse as a way of preventing injuries on the job. Studies by others have indicated some degree of success in this direction through the use of employee assistance programs in which the worker is referred to specific programs or providers for treatment. The state legislature in Washington has recently passed legislation providing incentives for the use of employee assistance programs. More effort is needed, however, to evaluate the effectiveness of such programs.

Work-related traumatic brain injury in Washington State, 1988 through 1990.

Brain trauma is a major cause of disability in the United States, especially among young adults. Work-related brain trauma cases represent a subpopulation that may be amenable to intervention efforts, but largely because of unavailability of data, this group has not previously been studied. Washington State workers' compensation data were used to identify brain trauma cases and to describe incidence rates with respect to age, gender, and industrial classification. Cause of injury was evaluated for industrial classifications with numerous cases. Washington State workers experienced 301 brain traumas over a 3-year period (9.4/100,000 full-time equivalent workers per year). One third of all traumatic brain injury claims were concentrated among seven industrial classifications. Cause of injury was highly correlated with specific industrial classifications. This study demonstrates the usefulness of diagnosis-related group codes to identify cases of traumatic brain injury. These injuries are concentrated among a few industries, with a dominant specific cause for each industry. This suggests that intervention methods may be efficiently introduced to reduce traumatic brain injuries in the workplace.

Occupational injury deaths of 16- and 17-year-olds in the United States.

Data from the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities surveillance system were used to analyze occupational injury deaths of civilian 16- and 17-year-olds during 1980 through 1989. There were 670 deaths; the rate was 5.11 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. The leading causes of death were incidents involving motor vehicles and machines, electrocution, and homicide. Workers 16 and 17 years old appear to be at greater risk than adults for occupational death by electrocution, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, and natural and environmental factors. Improved enforcement of and compliance with federal child labor laws, evaluation of the appropriateness of currently permitted activities, and education are encouraged.

Laboratory-acquired infections and injuries in clinical laboratories: a 1986 survey.

A mail survey of all 54 US State and Territorial Public Health Laboratories and the 165 Hospital Clinical Laboratories in Minnesota was carried out, soliciting information on laboratory-acquired infections and injuries for calendar year 1986. The aggregate infection incidence rates were 3.5/1,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers for hospital laboratories and 1.43/1,000 for public health laboratories. Injury rates were 21.2/100 FTE workers for hospital laboratories and 7.21/100 for public health labs.

Variables affecting productivity in food service systems of nursing homes

Data were collected in food service systems of 14 nursing homes to measure and correlate 16 variables hypothesized to affect quantitative productivity, defined as minutes per meal equivalent. Analysis of data showed that as two variables--ratio of the number of employees to full-time equivalent positions and total labor hours--increased, minutes per meal equivalent increased; thus quantitative productivity decreased. As four variables--turnover of full-time employees and of all employees, ratio of number of residents to full-time equivalent worker, and total meal equivalents served--increased, minutes per meal equivalent decreased; thus quantitative productivity increased.