Occupational health nursing

BACKGROUND: Nurses' physical performance at work has implications both for nurses' occupational health and patient care. Although nurses are the largest healthcare workforce, are present 24-hours a day, and engage in many physically demanding tasks, nurses' occupational physical activity levels are poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review was to examine nurses' occupational physical activity levels, and explore how nurses accumulate their physical activity during a shift...

Thermal comfort (TC) parameters were measured in 130 rooms from nursing homes (NH), following ISO 7730:2005 in order to evaluate the influence of winter season TC indices on quality of life (QoL) in older individuals. Mean radiant temperature (mrT), predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percent of dissatisfied people (PPD) indices, and the respective measurement uncertainties were calculated using Monte Carlo Method. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was conducted from September 2012 to April 2013, during the winter season TC sampling campaign...

On July 3, 1928, the Wonsan Labor Union established the Wonsan Laborers' Hospital in Seoku-dong, Wonsan for the purpose of reducing medical consultation fees for its members. The union's efforts to improve the welfare of its members include the establishment of an educational institute, a consumers union, a barbershop, and a relief department. The Laborers' Hospital, which began with ten wards, was led by a team of two doctors, one midwife, two pharmacists, and four nurses. The two doctors were Cheol-sun Cha and Jeong-kwon Lee, and the midwife/nurse was Sun-jeong Kim...

PURPOSE: Although burnout occurs in almost all occupational groups, it is mostly observed in professions requiring face-to-face relationships with people, especially among health care workers who deal constantly with problems and expectations of people. DESIGN: The objective of this study was to determine the burnout levels of nurses working in surgical clinics in two countries. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted between June and September 2013...

Adverse workplace factors such as job stress are reported to be associated with poor physical and mental health of nurses. However, associations between occupational factors and sexual life satisfaction (SLS) of nurses remain understudied. This study investigated SLS of Chinese female nurses of tertiary general hospitals and socio-demographic and occupational factors associated with reduced SLS of nurses. In this cross-sectional survey, 393 Chinese female nurses of four tertiary general hospitals completed a standardized socio-demographic and occupational characteristics questionnaire, Zung's Self-rating Scale for Depression, Job Content Questionnaire, and a self-report SLS question...

Hospital workers are exposed to many occupational hazards that may threaten their health and safety. Physical hazards encountered in hospital working environment include temperature, illumination, noise, electrical injuries, and radiation. To assess the awareness of healthcare workers (HCWs) about physical hazards in Tanta university hospitals, this cross-sectional study included 401 HCWs (physicians, nurses, technicians, and workers) from seven departments (general surgery, orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, kitchen, incinerator, and laundry)...

BACKGROUND: Investigations on workplace bullying in the countries of Eastern Europe are yet not too extensive. The aim of the study has been to identify the most frequent bullying behavior and to explore the associations with psychological distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms in 3 female-dominated occupations in Kaunas, Lithuania. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This crosssectional study employed 517 teachers (response rate (RR) = 71.3%), 174 family physicians (RR = 65...

Human exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has become common as a result of widespread application of these chemicals to the food supply, environmental contamination, and occupational exposures (Caserta et al., 2011). However, relatively little is known about the effects of EDCs such as ethylene thiourea (ETU) in developing fetuses and the lasting implications of this disruption on human development from birth through adulthood. Of highest concern are chronic, low-dose exposures among industrial and agricultural workers...

BACKGROUND: Statistics indicate a high risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hospital nurses. The challenge is to understand the associations between musculoskeletal symptoms and various individual and occupational risk factors. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the direct and indirect interactions of various risk factors with musculoskeletal complaints in hospital nurses. METHOD: In a cross-sectional design, Iranian hospital nurses from Semnan University of Medical Sciences participated in a questionnaire survey reporting their perceived perceptions of various work-related risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms...

MJ is a janitor working in an office building for the past 5 years. He sustained a third-degree burn with a secondary infection and was sent to the county hospital. He was diagnosed with leprosy. The employees in the office building were concerned with the risk of transmission. This article reviews leprosy, and implications for occupational health nurses are discussed.

BACKGROUND: The threshold of 2.3 skilled health workers per 1,000 population, published in the World Health Report in 2006, has galvanized resources and efforts to attain high coverage of skilled birth attendance. With the inception of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new threshold of 4.45 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 population has been identified. This SDG index threshold indicates the minimum density to respond to the needs of health workers to deliver a much broader range of health services, such as management of non-communicable diseases to meet the targets under Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people of all ages...

Sleep is an active process; the body undergoes restoration and regeneration. Adequate sleep is essential to health and cognitive function. Sleep is critical for cell repair, a healthy immune system, and hormonal regulation, and aids in the process of learning, memory, and emotion. Inadequate sleep can lead to multiple chronic health and mental conditions over time. The occupational health nurse can be instrumental in screening for two of the most common sleep disorders, insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, by asking workers key questions and using simple screening tools...

Smoking is a major public health problem. Doctors and paramedical staff are not excluded from this plague. Smoking ban in hospitals originated from government effort to reduce passive smoking. The objectives were to evaluate smoking habits among doctors and paramedical staff in order to implement tobacco control strategy in this study population and to refer them to the smoking-cessation counselling. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of the entire staff of the Hospital University Center Mohammed VI, Marrakech based on the distribution of anonymous questionnaires...

OBJECTIVE: To determine medical errors associated with communication failures among physicians and nurses. METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted at 20 state hospitals and 14 training and research hospitals affiliated with the Istanbul City Health Directorate in Turkey, and comprised physicians and nurses. Data were collected between August 2012 and February 2013. A 16-item questionnaire was used that included questions regarding socio-demographic features such as age, gender, educational status, institution, occupation and working years...

People experiencing a severe mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar affective disorder or depression with psychotic features, have a 20-year mortality gap compared to the general population. This 'scandal of premature mortality' is primarily driven by preventable cardiometabolic disease, and recent research suggests that the mortality gap is widening. Multidisciplinary mental health teams often include psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, specialist mental health nurses, social workers and occupational therapists, offering a range of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments to enhance the recovery of clients who have experienced, or are experiencing a SMI...

A 2007 study in the United Kingdom showed that three of 98 surgeons surveyed admitted using dedicated smoke extractors; 72% of respondents believed inadequate precautions were in place to protect staff from the potential dangers of electrosurgical smoke. Surgical smoke contains harmful chemicals (e.g., hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, and butadiene) that can circumvent standard masks used in the operating room (OR). In addition, bacteria and viruses can be transmitted through this smoke. The topic of electrosurgical smoke is important to occupational health nurses not only because of their responsibility to protect workers, but also because they, like other health care providers, may be exposed to smoke routinely...

Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significant implications for the future of occupational health nursing practice. As changes are proposed and implemented, occupational health nurses must continue to prioritize preventive care, chronic disease management, healthy communities, environmental health, and sustainability. In particular, immigrant workers are a vulnerable population needing attention by occupational health nurses.

History, Passion, and Performance was chosen as the theme for the 75th anniversary of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) kickoff. The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses has a long history created by passionate, dedicated members. This article highlights historical foundations of the Association, describes the occupational health nurse's passion to drive quality care for workers and discusses future professional and organizational challenges.

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For the past 75 years, the American Association of Industrial Nurses, and later the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, has advocated for occupational and environmental health nurses by supporting quality undergraduate and graduate education in the specialty and certification through the American Board of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc., and providing funding for and dissemination of occupational health nursing research as well as by developing occupational health nursing practice standards, competencies, and code of ethics...