Occupational health nursing

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...

Workplace incivility (WPI) is a growing issue across all public and private sectors. Occupational and environmental health nurses can educate employees and management about WPI, its risk factors and characteristics, and ways to reduce incidents of WPI.

AIMS: Frail elderly patients who have multiple illnesses do not fare well in modern health care systems, mainly due to a lack of care planning and flawed communication between health professionals in different care organisations. This is especially noticeable when patients are discharged from hospital. The aim of this study was to explore health care professionals' experience of obstacles and opportunities for collaboration. METHODS: Health professionals were invited to participate in three focus groups, each consisting of a hospital physician, a primary care physician, a hospital nurse, a primary care nurse, a municipal home care nurse or an assistant officer, a physical or occupational therapist and a patient or a family member representative...

INTRODUCTION: Various definitions for bariatric surgery (BS) success exist, with weight loss and comorbidity resolution outcomes being the most prominent. The study's aim was to compare how various healthcare professionals perceive success in BS. METHODS: A 29-item, 10-point Likert scale online survey was distributed via email to Israeli healthcare professionals involved in the different BS aspects using common national professional organizations. These included bariatric surgeons, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, primary care physicians, gastroenterologists, and nurses...

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to provide an overview of the current falls prevention activities in community-dwelling elderly with an increased risk of falling in the Netherlands. Therefore, we determined: a) how health professionals detect community-dwelling elderly with an increased risk of falling; b) which falls prevention activities are used by health professionals and why; c) how elderly can be stimulated to participate in falls prevention programs; and d) how to finance falls prevention...

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 transition from a pediatric to adult health care system is challenging for many youths with epilepsy and their families. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of the Province of Ontario, Canada, created a transition working group (TWG) to develop recommendations for the transition process for patients with epilepsy in the Province of Ontario. Herein we present an executive summary of this work. The TWG was composed of a multidisciplinary group of pediatric and adult epileptologists, psychiatrists, and family doctors from academia and from the community; neurologists from the community; nurses and social workers from pediatric and adult epilepsy programs; adolescent medicine physician specialists; a team of physicians, nurses, and social workers dedicated to patients with complex care needs; a lawyer; an occupational therapist; representatives from community epilepsy agencies; patients with epilepsy; parents of patients with epilepsy and severe intellectual disability; and project managers...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances among clinical nurses in general hospitals in Mainland China, and identify its associate factors. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a total of 5012 clinical nurses selected by random cluster sampling completed the survey on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), measures of quality of life indexed by the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, occupational stress evaluated by the Job Content Questionnaire, lifestyle and sociodemographic details...

BACKGROUND: Whistle-blowing provides an avenue for healthcare workers to express their concerns when there is a breach of patients' safety. Most healthcare organizations have policies in place to prevent reprisals on whistle-blowers. Despite these protective measures, whistle-blowing often leads to negative consequences. METHODS: A search of articles on whistle-blowing was conducted on MEDLINE (PubMed). Articles were included if they described the consequences of whistle-blowing in the following 3 areas: medical, nursing, and research/pharmaceutical research (Fig...

The aim of the current study was to examine the prevalence of psychological ill-being among university nursing professors in Spain and determine their grade of positive mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2013 to December 2013 with a sample of 263 university nursing professors. Sociodemographic and occupational variables, as well as variables related to daily habits and lifestyle, were collected. Psychological ill-being was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and positive mental health was evaluated with the Positive Mental Health Questionnaire (PMHQ)...

BACKGROUND: Working the night shift interferes with the circadian chronobiological rhythm, causing sleep disturbances, fatigue, and diminished wellbeing, and increases the risk of serious disease. The question whether night work increases the risk of depression has not been adequately studied to date. METHODS: We carried out a systematic, broadly conceived literature search in the PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PSYNDEX databases and the Medpilot search portal on the topic of nighttime shift work and mental illness...