Occupational Health And Safety Risks Research Articles

An integrated OSH risk management approach to surgical flow disruptions in operating rooms

Surgical flow disruptions (SFDs) are the deviations from the natural progression of an operation in the operating rooms (ORs). Some tools and methodologies have been proposed in the literature for the systematic assessment of the SFDs especially for the cardiac surgeries. However, they lack a clear connection with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) risks for the surgical team and the risks for the patient safety. In this paper, an integrated OSH risk management methodology adapted from International Labor Office (ILO) approach is proposed to account for the SFDs, surgical flow disruption effects (SFDEs), and the OSH risks by using the fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) as a tool for the risk prioritization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper which proposes an integrated OSH risk management methodology in the surgical environments by using the FCM that incorporates the SFDs and other factors such that the critical SFDs and the critical OSH risks can be identified. Then, the respective preventive and protective measures (PPMs) can be put into effect for eliminating, controlling or minimizing the OSH risks for a safe OR environment for both the surgical team and the patient. The methodology is not limited to the surgical environments or the healthcare industry; rather, it can be adapted to different work environments for an integrated OSH risk management. The methodology has been illustrated by using the hypothetical data, the limitations and the improvement potentials of the methodology have also been discussed in detail for further research.

Occupational safety across jobs and shifts in emergency departments in Denmark

This paper explores whether occupational safety and health (OSH) risk perceptions, behaviour and exposure differ among Emergency Department (ED) doctors, nurses and medical secretaries, and whether observed safe working conditions and behaviour in EDs vary across work shifts. Staff from four public hospital-based EDs completed a survey regarding safety climate, risk behavior, work pressure, exposure to and reporting of injuries, violence and threats. Furthermore, safety observations of working conditions (e.g. order and tidiness) and behavior (e.g. discarding hypodermic needles) were carried out during day, evening and night shifts. Rates of self-reported violence and threats in ED doctors and nurses were two to three times greater than rates seen for doctors and nurses at hospitals in general. However, ED respondents perceived a greater managerial focus on certain aspects of the safety climate. Work pressure and lack of time (among doctors and nurses) and social pressure (among medical secretaries) were the primary reasons given for taking OSH risks. If OSH incidents (e.g. injuries or violence) were not reported, it was often because the process was perceived as too laborious, and some incidents were considered ‘part of the job’. Observations of order and tidiness in the EDs showed a gradual lower score in safety conditions from the day to the evening and night shift. Multifaceted and integrated interventions for educating and training ED personnel need to take into account their varying risk exposures, perceptions and behaviors in creating and sustaining an efficient, safe and healthy working environment.

Safety Risks Among Home Infusion Nurses and Other Home Health Care Providers.

In the United States, home health care (HHC) is a rapidly growing industry and home infusion therapy is a rapidly growing market. HHC can present substantial occupational safety and health (OSH) risks. This article summarizes major OSH risks relevant to home infusion therapy by illustrating them through real-life scenarios collected systematically using qualitative research methods by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-funded research projects at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The need for home infusion therapy will continue to grow in the future, and safety interventions to prevent or minimize OSH risks are essential.

Functional Symptoms and Syndromes in the General Danish Population

This paper explores whether occupational safety and health (OSH) risk perceptions, behaviour and exposure differ among Emergency Department (ED) doctors, nurses and medical secretaries, and whether observed safe working conditions and behaviour in EDs vary across work shifts. Staff from four public hospital-based EDs completed a survey regarding safety climate, risk behavior, work pressure, exposure to and reporting of injuries, violence and threats. Furthermore, safety observations of working conditions (e.g. order and tidiness) and behavior (e.g. discarding hypodermic needles) were carried out during day, evening and night shifts. Rates of self-reported violence and threats in ED doctors and nurses were two to three times greater than rates seen for doctors and nurses at hospitals in general. However, ED respondents perceived a greater managerial focus on certain aspects of the safety climate. Work pressure and lack of time (among doctors and nurses) and social pressure (among medical secretaries) were the primary reasons given for taking OSH risks. If OSH incidents (e.g. injuries or violence) were not reported, it was often because the process was perceived as too laborious, and some incidents were considered ‘part of the job’. Observations of order and tidiness in the EDs showed a gradual lower score in safety conditions from the day to the evening and night shift. Multifaceted and integrated interventions for educating and training ED personnel need to take into account their varying risk exposures, perceptions and behaviors in creating and sustaining an efficient, safe and healthy working environment.

Process evaluation of a Toolbox-training program for construction foremen in Denmark

Daily dialogue between leaders and workers on traditional construction sites is primarily focused on production, quality and time issues, and rarely involves occupational safety and health (OSH) issues. A leadership training program entitled 'Toolbox-training' was developed to improve construction foremen’s knowledge and communication skills in daily planning of work tasks and their related OSH risks on construction sites. The program builds on the popular 'toolbox meeting' concept, however there is very little research evaluating these types of meetings.This article describes the development, implementation and feasibility of the Toolbox-training program, and the results of the process evaluation and outcome evaluation. A total of 57 foremen from 12 companies participated in the training in five successive groups during 2014–2015. Following each group, the program was continuously evaluated and revised until the final version after the fifth group. The evaluation utilized an action research strategy with a mixed–methods approach of triangulating questionnaire, interview, and observation data.Process evaluation results showed that the eight Toolbox-training topics were relevant and useful for the majority of the foremen, who experienced positive changes in their daily work methods and interactions with their crews, colleagues, leaders, customers and other construction professions. The program is a unique contribution to leadership training in the construction industry, and can potentially be applied and adapted in many other sectors. However, there is still a need for testing the long-term effects of the program on safety climate, injuries and business in future studies.

A Study to Assess the effectiveness of an Information Booklet in terms of knowledge regarding Occupational hazards and Safety among workers working in selected chemical factories of Ahmedabad district of Gujarat state.

Background India is a growing economy, the world’s most vibrant and largest democracy and an aspiring superpower. Occupational safety and health (OSH) for India is a developmental tool’ and an empowering movement. As a result of globalization, Indian industry is exposed to the latest trends in OSH. Progressive industries have launched many initiatives to spread awareness on OSH among all stakeholders and to reduce OSH risks at workplace. A large number of companies have a corporate health, safety and environment (HSE) policy and have opted for various certifications in OHS [1] .Nearly 3.0 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry employers in 2012, resulting in an incidence rate of 3.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2] .India’s population has crossed 1.21 billion according to recently released figures of the last government census carried out in 2011. Of these, 833 million reside in rural area and 377 million reside in urban area. Those in working age group are estimated to be 63.6%. More than 90% work in the informal economy, mainly agriculture and services (60% self-employed and 30% without regular jobs) [3] .Statistics on accidents and occupational illnesses is not easily available. The Director General of the Factory Advisory Services and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) reported 1,509 fatal and 33,093 non-fatal injuries in 2009, using records from registered factories which employed about 5% of total workforce [4] . Research reports suggest that the official figures of fatalities and injuries may be grossly underestimated. The objectives of the study were 1) To assess the knowledge of workers regarding occupational hazards and safety. 2) To evaluate the effectiveness of information booklet on knowledge regarding occupational hazards and safety. 3) To find out association of pre-test knowledge score towards occupational hazards and safety with selected demographic variables of workers. Material and Methods- Data was collected from 6o samples with structured questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of informational booklet. Assessment done from 0day,7day and follow up to assess knowledge. Result- Majority of the samples (38.3%) was in the age group of 26-33 years. As regards to gender majority of samples (88.3%) were male. As regards to educational status majority of samples (36.7%) had Higher Education. As regards to the total work experience majority of samples (66.7%) had 1.1-5 years of experience. as regards to Monthly Income majority (68.3%) samples were in 5001-10,000. As regards to types of employment majority of samples (90%) were in temporary type. As regards to source of Information majority of samples (90%) had never attended any seminar or training on OHS. As regards to type of exposure majority of samples (76.7%) had direct exposure. As regards to duration of exposure to dye per day majority of samples (58.3%) had 6 to 9 hours of exposure. As regards to duration of periodical health checkup majority of samples (61.7%) had need base. As regards to presence of any occupational disease or illness majority of samples (83.3%) had no any disease or illness. The mean pre test knowledge score was 11.17 and the mean post test knowledge score was 18.17. Conclusion- The overall experience of conducting this study was satisfying one, as there was good co-operation from patient. The study was a new learning experience for the Researcher. The aim of the study was to assess the factors affecting to compliance of antiretroviral treatment, were 73% patients believe in ART, 72% aware about ART, 69% believe that ART increase life span. 75% stigma affect, 74%respond that special consideration given for ART where they doing job,89% patient said cost of transportation affect 71% experience the side effect, 49% patient said side effect of ART has impact in regularity of treatment, 58% patient said other medicine affects in compliance to ART. These data will assist the health workers to detect the high risk patient who need intervention for compliance to ART.

Towards a conceptual framework of OSH risk management in smart working environments based on smart PPE, ambient intelligence and the Internet of Things technologies

Recent developments in domains of ambient intelligence (AmI), Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems (CPS), ubiquitous/pervasive computing, etc., have led to numerous attempts to apply ICT solutions in the occupational safety and health (OSH) area. A literature review reveals a wide range of examples of smart materials, smart personal protective equipment and other AmI applications that have been developed to improve workers’ safety and health. Because the use of these solutions modifies work methods, increases complexity of production processes and introduces high dynamism into thus created smart working environments (SWE), a new conceptual framework for dynamic OSH management in SWE is called for. A proposed framework is based on a new paradigm of OSH risk management consisting of real-time risk assessment and the capacity to monitor the risk level of each worker individually. A rationale for context-based reasoning in SWE and a respective model of the SWE-dedicated CPS are also proposed.

INTEGRATING SAFETY CULTURE INTO OSH RISK MITIGATION: A PILOT STUDY ON THE ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Efforts have been taken for years to minimize the occupational safety and health (OSH) risk, but the injury records remain a constant reason for worldwide concerns. Many firms often implement technology as an administrative hierarchy of control (HOC). However, technologies may also actively influence safe practices at the managerial level for administrative HOC. This research examines electrical safety hazards in the U.S. construction industry as a basis for, studying the feasibility of using technology to integrate safety culture into the administrative level of OSH risk mitiga­tion. The researchers introduce the concept of “habitus”, which suggests one possibility for establishing a safety culture that increases workers’ safety performance and integrates into workers’ safety practices through cutting-edge information technology. A prototype application for OSH training based on mobile virtual reality (MVR) technology is demonstrated to help establish habitus in workers’ daily practices, and ultimately to mitigate OSH risks at the administrative level of construction projects. Results from a preliminary validation test strongly support human behavior influence and safe work knowledge comprehension by the prototyped application. Although this prototype is demonstrated as a pilot study of electrical safety, the application is not limited to this area and is scalable to other OSH risks.

Characterizing the nature of home care work and occupational hazards: a developmental intervention study.

Home care (HC) aide is the fastest growing occupation, yet job hazards are under-studied. This study documents the context of HC aide work, characterizes occupational safety and health (OSH) hazards, and identifies preventive interventions using qualitative methods. We conducted 12 focus groups among aides and 26 in-depth interviews comprising 15 HC agency, union, and insurance company representatives as well as 11 HC recipients in Massachusetts. All focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded with NVIVO software. Major OSH concerns were musculoskeletal disorders from client care tasks and verbal abuse. Performing tasks beyond specified job duties may be an OSH risk factor. HC aides' safety and clients' safety are closely linked. Client handling devices, client evaluation, care plan development, and training are key interventions for both aides' and clients' safety. Promoting OSH in HC is essential for maintaining a viable workforce.

Integrating major accidents hazard into occupational risk assessment: An index approach

Major Accident Hazard (MAH) and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) are two separated topics in both industrial practice and legislation; recently, interest is increasing toward an integrated risk assessment mainly forced by the tendency to a more efficient safety management system. The present study proposes a semi-quantitative approach to integrate MAH in OSH risk assessment. The two risk types are characterized by opposite features: the OSH analysis is usually task-based and focused on job profiles, while the MAH analysis is space-based and focused on plant characteristics. The basic idea of the proposed approach is to merge spatial information and job profile features in order to improve OSH assessment; thus, a risk index derived by the recent standard ISO 12100 (2010) has been adapted. In detail, the proposed index combines exposure times of each worker at each plant unit – derived from the OSH analysis – with damage areas derived from MAH analysis allowing a quantitative assessment of the MAH risk level for each individual job profile. The model has been tested in a large petrochemical plant; several hypotheses have been developed in order to validate the model. Results have showed the potentiality of the proposed approach in providing a common and coherent representation of both MAH and OSH risks, according to job profiles and plant units.

Are green building features safe for preventive maintenance workers? Examining the evidence

Many newly constructed green buildings (GB) are certified using the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new construction and major renovation which focuses on architectural and mechanical design to conserve energy, reduce environmental harm, and enhance indoor quality for occupants. This study evaluated the preventive maintenance (PM) worker occupational safety and health (OSH) risks related to the design of GB. PM job hazard analyses (JHA) were performed on the tasks required to operate and maintain five GB features selected from 13 LEED certified GB. A 22-item JHA and OSH risk scoring system were developed. Potentially serious OSH hazards included: green roofs made of slippery material without fall protection; energy recovery wheels and storm water harvesting systems in confined spaces; skylights without guard rails; and tight geothermal well mechanical rooms constraining safe preventive practices. GB can present PM OSH risks and these should be eliminated in the building design phase.

Time to Call it Quits? The Safety and Health of Older Workers

The workforces of many countries are aging, creating pressure for older workers to retire later despite greater vulnerability to various occupational safety and health (OSH) risks. Some specific risks to older workers arise from age-related physical or psychological changes, while others reflect exposures to poor work organization or employment conditions. This article reviews evidence on the nature of the OSH risks faced by older workers, focusing on work ability, contingent work, and working hours. Work ability, the capacity to meet the physical, mental, and social demands of a job, has been linked to positive health outcomes for older workers. However, work characteristics seem to be more critical than workers' individual capacities. Contingent work is generally associated with poorer OSH outcomes, and older workers are more likely to be contingent, with special implications for their safety and health. There has been limited research on age and working hours, but risks for many physical and mental health problems are known to increase with shift work experience, and physiological and psychosocial changes associated with age may also increase injury risks. The authors discuss organizational practices and regulatory policies to protect and enhance the OSH of older workers.