Occupational health nursing

Health literacy is a concern for older adults. Low health literacy can lead to adverse health outcomes; therefore, practitioners should address health literacy with clients. There is limited research addressing occupational therapy (OT) practitioners' knowledge of health literacy and its implementation in written communication in skilled nursing facility (SNF)/subacute settings. Researchers explored practitioners' knowledge and current practices when using written communication with older adult clients in skilled nursing and subacute settings...

At present, there are growing rates of psychiatric symptoms among some occupational categories, with emphasis on health professionals who work in hospitals. This study aimed to identify the occurrence of mental health problems (anxiety and depression) among 92 nursing workers in a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit. This is an exploratory, cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach. The research was conducted in a public university hospital specialising in cardiology, pneumology, and thoracic and cardiac surgery...

Objective: To examine the relationship between recovery experience, occupational stress, and physiological health of nurses in a municipal grade A tertiary hospital. Methods: A total of 296 in-service nurses from 7 municipal grade A tertiary hospitals were selected from October 2015 to February 2016. Individual characteristics of the subjects were collected using a self-made questionnaire. The recovery experience, occupational stress, and physiological health of the subjects were assessed based on the physiological health dimensions in the Chinese version of Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ-C) , Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) , and Quality of Work Life (QWL7-32) ...

Increased disinfectant use commonly takes place in hospitals and other health care settings. A cross-sectional study among active nurses in two Cypriot public hospitals (n=179) was conducted to examine the prevalence of exposure to disinfection byproducts (DBPs), such as trihalomethanes (THMs) using both self-reported information and biomarker measurements. The objectives of this study were to: i) quantify the magnitude and variability of occupational exposure to disinfectants/DBPs in nurses, ii) generate job exposure matrices (JEM) and job task exposure matrices (JTEM) for disinfectants, and iii) assess the major determinants of urinary THMs in nurses...

BACKGROUND: The Korea Nurses' Health Study (KNHS) is a prospective cohort study of female nurses, focusing on the effects of occupational, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors on the health of Korean women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female registered nurses aged 20-45 years and living in the Republic of Korea were invited to join the study, which began in July 2013. They were asked to complete a web-based baseline survey. The study protocols and questionnaires related to the KNHS are based on the Nurses' Health Study 3 (NHS3) in the United States, although they were modified to reflect the Korean lifestyle...

INTRODUCTION: Internationally Educated Health Professionals (IEHPs) constitute a major health care workforce in Canada. Interprofessional education is particularly important for IEHPs to integrate into the Canadian health care system. We designed an online interprofessional education curriculum for IEHPs. The curriculum is designed to cover the six interprofessional competency domains defined in the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative National Interprofessional Competency Framework...

Occupational and environmental health nurses play a critical role in educating the public about human papillomavirus (HPV). With HPV vaccination rates remaining low, creative educational models should be explored.

Nurses in Jamaica, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda are at risk for occupational exposure to HIV. Little is known about the experiences and policy supports related to nurses having themselves tested for the virus. This article reports a mixed-methods study about contextual influences on nurses' decision-making about HIV testing. Individual and focus group interviews, as well as a questionnaire on workplace polices and quality assurance and a human resource management assessment tool provided data. Fear of a positive diagnosis and stigma and lack of confidentiality along with gaps in the policy environment contributed to indecision about testing...

In June 2016, a US Department of Labor rule extending minimum wage and overtime pay protections to home care workers such as certified nursing assistants and home health aides survived its final legal challenge and became effective. However, Medicaid officials in certain states reported that during the intervening decades when these protections were not in place, their states had developed a range of innovative services and programs providing home care to people with disabilities-services and programs that would be at risk if workers were newly owed minimum wage and overtime pay...

BACKGROUND: National blood exposure (BE) surveys are valuable to health care facilities striving to reduce percutaneous sharps injuries (SIs) or mucocutaneous (MC) exposures among their health care workers (HCWs). In the Exposure Survey of Trends in Occupational Practice (EXPO-S.T.O.P.) 2015 we surveyed hospital BE incidence among members of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare. METHODS: A 23-item electronic survey requested 2015 data on total SI and MC; SI in nurses, doctors, and surgery; staffed beds; teaching status; full time equivalent staff (FTE), nurse FTE, average daily census (ADC), and adjusted patient days (APD)...

OBJECTIVES: To identify occupations with high-priority workforce development needs at public health departments in the United States. METHODS: We surveyed 46 state health agencies (SHAs) and 112 local health departments (LHDs). We asked respondents to prioritize workforce needs for 29 occupations and identify whether more positions, more qualified candidates, more competitive salaries for recruitment or retention, or new or different staff skills were needed. RESULTS: Forty-one SHAs (89%) and 36 LHDs (32%) participated...

Since 2012, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) faculty from nursing and physical therapy (PT) have been working together towards a common goal: to meet the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations in Malawi and Milwaukee. Sharing valuable knowledge and understanding one another's professions have allowed us to develop interprofessional education (IPE) learning experiences for students to help identify how quality of life could be improved or enhanced for children and their families across two different geographic spaces, one in rural Malawi and the other in urban Milwaukee...

Objectives This study aimed to identify predictors of cranial asymmetry. We hypothesize that among infants diagnosed with cranial asymmetry in the sampled region, there is an association between exposure to more time in baby gear and less awake time in prone and side-lying than in infants who do not present with this condition. Methods The study employed a cross sectional survey of caregivers of typically developing infants and infants diagnosed with cranial asymmetry. Results A mutivariable model reveals that caregivers of children who are diagnosed with cranial asymmetry report their children spending significantly less time in prone play than those children without a diagnosis of cranial asymmetry...

Home care, one of the services provided by the health system, requires health practitioners who are capable of understanding its specificities. This study aimed to build a substantive theory that describes experiences of home care teaching and learning during undergraduate degree courses in nursing, pharmacy, medicine, nutrition, dentistry and occupational therapy. A qualitative analysis was performed using the grounded theory approach based on the results of 63 semistructured interviews conducted with final year students, professors who taught subjects related to home care, and recent graduates working with home care, all participants in the above courses...

BACKGROUND: Hand eczema is more common in healthcare workers compared to the general population. The hands are subject to changing occupational exposures due to mandatory hygiene regulations for health care workers. OBJECTIVES: To describe the exposure due to hygiene procedures and investigate the associations between occupational hand washing, use of non-sterile gloves, and hand disinfectant and self-reported hand eczema. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with an electronic questionnaire distributed to 28 762 hospital employees in southern Sweden...

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have documented adverse psychosocial working conditions among health care staff. Working conditions may not only impair the health outcomes of this professional group, but can also affect the quality of care they deliver to patients. Previous work stress research has mainly focused on physicians and nurses. Comparable evidence remains limited, however, for physician assistants (Medizinische Fachangestellte, MFAs), who represent the largest professional group in German primary care...

Background: Physical activity recommendations emphasize a positive influence of exercise on health. It is particularly recognized during pregnancy for both the mother and fetus. Aim: This review aims to identify the main trends of activity undertaken by women during gestation and to find out how it affects the expecting mother and her child. Methods: Review of the literature comprising the following databases: PubMed, Academic Search Complete, Health Source-Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, EMBASE (2000 to May 2013), used detailed search strategies...

BACKGROUND: This article reports aspects of a systematic literature review commissioned by the UK Council of Deans of Health. The review collated and analysed UK and international literature on pre-registration healthcare students raising concerns with poor quality care. The research found in that review is summarised here. OBJECTIVE: To review research on healthcare students raising concerns with regard to the quality of practice published from 2009 to the present...

BACKGROUND/AIM: Continuing competence activities hold the promise of improving health-care service quality, especially given concerns about system inefficiencies and fragmentation. The aim of this scoping review was to describe the assessment and maintenance of occupational therapists' continuing competence and identify knowledge gaps for future research. A secondary aim was comparing scoping review findings with those from other health-care fields and considering possible impact of varying international regulations...

An employee undergoing cancer treatment was prescribed metformin, a medication used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and currently used as adjunct therapy for cancer. Metformin's anti-inflammatory properties inhibit tumor growth. It is speculated that cancer cells develop a metabolism that enhances aerobic glycolysis, which promotes cell growth and increases the need for glucose. Metformin decreases insulin in the blood, which decreases the amount of glucose available to cancer cells, thus starving the cells of nutrition, resulting in cell death...