Healthful Workplace Research Articles

Leadership practices that enable healthful cultures in clinical practice: A realist evaluation.

To generate, test and refine programme theories that emerged from a rapid realist review investigating practising UK Nurses' and Midwives' experiences of effective leadership strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The realist review of literature generated six tentative theories of healthful leadership practices reflecting, working with people's beliefs and values; being facilitative; multiple means of communication and; practical support. The review yielded little insight into the actual impact of the leadership approaches advocated. A realist study, informed by person-centredness using mixed-methods. Online survey (n = 328) and semi-structured interviews (n = 14) of nurses and midwives across the UK in different career positions/specialities. Quantitative data analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. Framework analysis for qualitative data using context (C), mechanism (M), outcome (O) configurations of the tentative theories. Three refined theories were identified concerning: Visibility and availability; embodying values and; knowing self. Healthful leadership practices are only achievable within organisational cultures that privilege well-being. Leaders should intentionally adopt practices that promote well-being. 'Knowing self' as a leader, coaching and mentoring practice development is important for leadership development. Nurses who feel valued, heard, cared for and safe are more likely to remain in clinical practice. Job satisfaction and being motivated to practice with confidence and competence will impact positively on patient outcomes. The study addresses the role of leadership in developing healthful workplace cultures. The main findings were six leadership practices that promote healthful cultures. The research will have an impact on strategic and clinical leaders, nurses and midwives. This study used EQUATOR checklist, RAMASES II as reporting standards for realist evaluations. No patient or public contribution.

How local, first-line nurse leaders can positively influence nurse intent to stay and retention: A realist review.

To explore evidence on how local nurse leaders can positively influence nurse retention. Nurse turnover and retention is a wicked problem with multiple interrelated factors and no one solution. Local nurse leadership has the potential to positively influence nurse intent to stay directly or via various factors. A realist review. Having designed a search strategy based on a tentive programme theory, 1386 initial hits in three databases were screened and reduced to 48 research articles published between 2010-2021. The articles' content were coded for findings that supported, refined or contradicted four ContextMechanismOutcome configurations. Sufficient evidence was found to support four guiding lights encouraging local nurse leaders to: (1) foster relational connectedness; (2) enable professional practice autonomy; (3) cultivate healthful workplace cultures; (4) support professional growth and development. Mutuality and reciprocity is also key if leaders themselves are to experience wellbeing and growth. Person-centred, transformational and resonant local nurse leaders can positively influence nurse intent to stay within the workplace or organisation. Conform JCN guideline 'What to cover in the main tekst by article type' for reviews. No Patient or Public Contribution.

Process Safety Management Strategies and Risk Assessment

The benefits of achieving excellent process safety prevent or mitigate incidents. Well, the decision-making process has a benefit on risk reduction. This paper guides how an effective system can be established to develop methods and models for mandatory safety and a healthful workplace. The success of health and safety management depends on the discipline, commitment, and participation of all employees to ensure the success of management strategies and ensure the reduction of significant risks. The sustainability challenges are increasingly by evaluating risk and process safety due to the differences in the knowledge and experiences. Failure Mode and Effective Analysis (FMEA) combined with risk management principles provide an overall assessment to express the deviation that might occur in the process before failure and distinguish the importance of risk factors. This article intended to provide a method for integrating an organization's safety and health regardless of its size and work contributed to regulations and requirements. The benefits to implementing this model in the company will show returns in the investment. The main challenges include identification and discussion of the potential risks, in addition, to the collaborative of researchers between environmental protection and process system leading to the reliability and better understanding of the existing safety concepts.

Management of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Emergency Dental Settings: Current Knowledge and Personal Experience.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seen a violent and fast spread worldwide. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a predominantly respiratory transmission through droplets and aerosol with serious implications for dental settings. This article is based on recent research, guidelines issued by relevant authorities, as well as on the authors' experience acquired through their involvement in setting up an emergency dental care hub in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present article aims to provide a brief description of COVID-19 implications in dental office and to recommend preventive protocols for dental practitioners to ensure a safe and healthful workplace. The recommendations for infection control presented in this article address the specific risks of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The article provides a special customized guideline covering patient triage and entrance into the dental practice, personnel protection, dental treatment, and after-treatment management. The implementation of strict preventive measures has been found to be efficient in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 contamination because no infections have been reported among our staff or patients. COVID-19 is a major emergency worldwide marked by a rapid evolution and warranting a need for further assessment of the implications of COVID-19 outbreak in dental practice.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Coexistence in the Daily Practice.

The purpose of the present narrative review was to evaluate and discuss the actual available information regarding coronavirus disease 2019 and dental practice, and to share recommendations with the intent to help dentists in providing a safe and healthful workplace during pandemic. A step-by-step workflow is presented including prevention and measures to reduce risk for cross infections before, during, and after the dental treatments. Individualization of different risk-level zones and the establishment of a team-based chain control is also presented. The present manuscript may offer deeper knowledge and discussion regarding recommended procedures aimed to reduce risk for dental health care workers contamination and cross infections. Within these, infection prevention in dental settings, respect of general rules, containment measures, proper use of the personal protective equipments (PPE), and well-organized chain control of all the staff, with definition of risk zones and specific responsibility could be an adjunctive but important step to control the spread of the disease.

Achieving an actionable corporate workplace violence prevention programme

The US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies recommendations within the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) General Duty Clause for establishing a safe and healthful workplace for all workers covered by the act. Employers that do not take reasonable steps to prevent or abate a recognised violence hazard in the workplace can be cited. While failure to implement various recommendations and guidelines provided by OSHA is not in itself a violation of the General Duty Clause, organisations that implement a workplace violence programme are providing defensible risk mitigation operations while enhancing the overall safety of their employees. Successful implementation of a workplace violence programme requires finesse and enhanced partnerships with multiple functional groups within the organisation. This paper provides proven steps to establish and operate a value-added corporate workplace violence programme that promotes identification and reporting of potential internal and external threats, ongoing evaluation and monitoring of threats, swift action to mitigate threats to the workplace, and actionable awareness, training and exercising components to provide employees with the necessary skills to detect, deter, respond to and recover from an actual workplace violence incident.

Difference in Computer Vision Syndrome between Laptop and Desktop Computer Users

Background: Occupational health is a key component of an industry. This is because a strong safety culture boosts productivity, employee morale, and employee retention. A strong ergonomics integration prevents injuries and increases productivity. They make the workplace safer and reduce costs. Ergonomics also must be incorporated and seen as a value. It needs to be built into a corporate culture and be integrated into everything any company does on a daily basis, including that in the administrative office where workers frequently use computers. This study aimed to analyze difference in computer-attributed vision problem between laptop and desktop computer users.Subjects and Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in North Sumatera. A sample of 60 subjects consisting of 30 laptop users and 30 desktop users were selected for this study by purposive sampling. The dependent variable was vision problem. The independent variable was computer type. The data were collected by questionnaire and tested by Mann Whitney test.Results: Among the laptop users, 80% experienced neck pain, 77% eye strain, and 70% low back pain. Among the desktop-computer user, 50% experienced neck pain, 77% eye fatigue, and 33% eye irritation. Mean score of complaints in the laptop user group was 2.54 units higher than the desktop-computer user group (p= 0.001).Conclusion: Laptop users experienced more complaints than desktop-computer users. Workers using computers are suggested to have regular break to allow body organs to take a rest. Workers are also suggested to work at an ample distance between eyes and computer screen. Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers.Keywords: vision problem, computer-attributed, laptop, desktop computer, agronomyCorrespondence:Putri Anggrainy. Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty Public Health, Universitas North Sumatera. Email: putri.anggrainy@gmail.com. Mobile: +6285763191981.Indonesian Journal of Medicine (2018), 3(2): 65-70https://doi.org/10.26911/theijmed.2018.03.02.01

Millennials at work: workplace environments of young adults and associations with weight-related health

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to describe the workplace environments of young adults and examine associations with diet, physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI).MethodsCross-sectional data were collected...

Evaluation of Safety and Health Performance on Construction Sites (Kuala Lumpur)

Occupational safety and health Act (Act 514) obligate each employer to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for all his employees. Construction is a risky business with a lot of injuries and illness, due to poor safety performances. The aim of the study is to investigate the safety and health performance of contractors on construction sites. A comparative and sensitivity analysis conducted reveal that as allocation to the construction increases so also the rate of accidents increases and that fatal accidents contribute more to the total accidents rates, as such there is need to assess the performance of contractors as regard to safety and health operation. The result of the SHASSIC score reveal that the sites consider for the study were 3 – star in ranking, were its risks/hazards activities are well managed and documented, but still there are other risks/hazards activities that are not taken care off due to negligent on the side of the contractors. The finding affirm the importance of safety program in construction site, as such to ensure successful implementation of the safety program, the following condition must be made; management commitment, safe work condition and safe work habit.

Occupational Safety and Health in the USA: Now and the Future

In the USA, national worker protection legislation was enacted in 1970. The legislation required that research, recommendations and guidance be developed to aid employers and workers, that workplace health and safety standards be adopted, that employer comply with those rules and that the government police employer compliance, and that assistance be offered to employers and workers to help them maintain a safe and healthful workplace. In the 40 yr since passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, worker injury, illness and fatalities have declined but not been eliminated. Efforts to accelerate the standards adoption process are much discussed in the USA along with how to protect workers from emerging hazards like nanotechnology. New strategies which seek to eliminate not only the causes of work-related injury and illness, but also more broadly, worker injury and illness, are on the horizon.

Book Review: Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries, and Disaster Management for Libraries and Archives

Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries. By Miriam B. Kahn. Chicago: ALA, 2003. 152p. $40 softbound, ALA members $36 (ISBN 0-8389-0837-3). Disaster Management for Libraries and Archives. Ed. Graham Matthews and John Feather. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2003. 236p. $79.95 hardbound (ISBN 0-7546-0917-0). Disasters are by their nature unpredictable. This makes the content of these two works even more important for librarians today in a time of extremes (of weather and manmade problems) and tight budgets. A disaster plan is, as the cliche states, like a parachute. We hope never to have to use one, but it is better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it. This pair of books offers many valuable insights into the disaster planning and recovery processes. Both of these works emphasize the importance of having a disaster plan in place. During a crisis is no time to be making decisions that could affect one's institution for years to come. It is much easier to establish recovery criteria for collections and to delegate responsibilities before anything happens that would require their use. A well-trained and informed staff is able to react more quickly and efficiently to any situation as it arises. An effective disaster plan will also facilitate dealing with vendors, insurers, and helpful colleagues at other institutions. Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries provides clear instructions for creating a disaster plan for an institution and responding to a disaster after it occurs. Many forms and checklists are included in the book for quick reference. The author breaks the process down into four steps: response, recovery, prevention, and planning. Response covers the period immediately after the disaster. This section contains much detailed information on the cleaning and repair of books and other library materials damaged by water, fire, or other factors. Recovery concerns the long-term return of the library to its former level of service: replacement of lost or damaged materials, renovation and reconstruction of facilities, and so on. Included in an appendix is a thorough list of businesses and organizations that can be of help in a crisis. Prevention deals with the issue--all too easy for busy library managers to forget--of maintaining a safe and healthful workplace. Some of the suggestions included are obvious (like potential fire hazards), others less so (like damage incurred during a renovation project). If your library does not have a disaster plan, or if you would like to be sure it is as thorough as it ought to be, Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries is the book for you. Disaster Management for Libraries and Archives is an effective complement to the previous work. International in scope, it contains chapters dealing with the physical and emotional effects of disasters as well as case studies written by veterans of these events. These sections provide some of the most compelling portions of the book. …

Proper use of beryllium-containing alloys

To assist dentists in providing a safe and healthful workplace, the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs developed this advisory statement on the proper use of beryllium-containing alloys in the dental operatory and laboratory. Recommendations are made for reducing the potential risk of beryllium exposure for employees working in dental operatories or laboratories who fabricate or manipulate beryllium-containing alloys in dental prostheses. The Council recommends that practitioners adhere to the Ocupational Safety and Health Administration's recommendations for reducing beryllium exposure in the dental operatory and laboratory. These include the recommendation that--where possible--practitioners use alloys that do not contain beryllium in the fabrication of dental prostheses.

OSHA inspections. Workplace inspections.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires that every worker be provided with a safe and healthful workplace and authorizes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to conduct workplace inspections. OSHA conducts workplace inspections in hospitals and checks for compliance with the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, the Enforcement Policy and Procedures for Occupational Exposure to Tuberculosis, and the Hazardous Chemicals Standards, among others. The hospital epidemiologist bears considerable responsibility for developing and implementing plans to protect employees from occupational exposures to infectious hazards such as bloodborne pathogens and tuberculosis. To prepare for an inspection, the hospital epidemiologist must understand the basis on which OSHA operates and must proceed in a thoughtful, coordinated manner.

Violence Experienced by Nurses’ Aides in Nursing Homes

1. The growing aged population in the United States will result in an increase in nursing home patients, and in numbers of employees in these homes providing care to patients. Nurses' aides, an employee group that has not received much attention, will be the primary providers of this patient care. 2. In this preliminary study the abuse experienced by nurses' aides in nursing homes was both a psychosocial and ergonomic stressor, because it had emotional and psychological components, as well as actual physical injury. 3. Nurses' aides, like other workers, deserve a safe and healthful workplace. A large scale study should be done to determine the extent of abuse/violence directed toward nursing home employees. 4. If abuse is validated as a problem, aides should receive training in handling abusive patients. In addition, it is important to identify the factors related to patients' abusive behaviors and to test mechanisms for reducing these behaviors.

Surveillance, Monitoring, and Regulatory Concerns

An international conference in Luxembourg on Ambient and Biological Monitoring in the Workplace brought out the difference in meaning between medical "surveillance" and medical "monitoring." These are reviewed against the Health Standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The standards may be specification standards, that is, the details of the medical examinations and laboratory tests are specified; or they may be performance standards, where surveillance is largely left to the physician's discretion. Bearing in mind the limited number of qualified physicians available, OSHA, and therefore the Office of Occupational Medicine, treads a narrow line between specifics and performance to obtain a pragmatic approach that will meet the mandate of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and ensure a safe and healthful workplace for all American workers.