Medycyna pracy最新文献

Intensive care units are characterized by the high risk of infections in patients. Pneumonia is one of the most common forms of infection with a high risk of death. Hence, to improve patient safety, specific packages of procedures, the so-called "bundle care," are recommended by experts in the field. The usage of selected protective procedures carries the risk of transmitting microbes from patients to staff, which in the case of pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 can have serious health consequences for staff. Therefore, medical staff of intensive care units should strictly follow recommendation concerning healthcare workers safety and the rules of isolation, which in the current pandemic should be supplemented with specific elements. The paper presents an overview of the optimization of patient care and staff safety within the so-called "bundle care" in the COVID-19 pandemic. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):721-8.

This article discusses issues related to exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the work environment and employee's vaccination against COVID-19. The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus identified as the etiologic agent of COVID-19 prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic in March 2020. The droplet route transmits the virus. Therefore, health care workers in contact with sick people and anyone employed in direct contact with large numbers of people are particularly vulnerable to infection. The introduction of COVID-19 vaccination removes the need for quarantine, reduces the risk of disease, limits transmission within the workplace, and reduces sickness absence. The role of the occupational health services is to promote vaccination against COVID-19 by providing reliable information on the safety and efficacy of immunization and organizing and carrying out vaccination in workplaces. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):701-10.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic re-raised the subject of vaccines and their importance for public health. Given the number of employees, one of the key environments in which vaccination should be promoted is the workplace.

Material and methods: An original, anonymous and voluntary questionnaire with 13 questions regarding health behaviors of employees in Poland was distributed through HR departments of the companies invited to the research (Computer-Assisted Web Interview - CAWI technique) This publication presents the results of answers to the 3 chosen questions concerning: health issues related to work, interest in health promoting initiatives and following recommendations for physical activity.

Results: According to the research presented in this article, 39% of employees in Poland were interested in vaccination against COVID-19. The most popular preventive initiatives are still healthy eating and sport activities. The government allowed organizing vaccinations at the workplace, which gives new opportunities but also obligations and risks. Overall, the potential of a workplace in fighting the coronavirus seems to be used to a very small extent. This carries the need to consult systemic solutions with representatives of employers and occupational medicine practitioners as well as the government.

Conclusions: The workplace should be one of the key habitats for health promoting activities, including vaccinations. The above-mentioned issue should still be the subject of research for solutions tailored to the needs and capabilities of each group (employers, occupational medicine professionals and government). One of the circumstances of promoting the health of employees should be preventive examinations of employees - a doctor's visit and contact with an occupational medicine nurse. The potential of preventive employee examinations in this area seems to be unused and limited. The level of immunization of employees has an obvious impact on the state of the economy. In view of the voluntary vaccination against COVID-19, this requires educational campaigns aimed at both employees and employers. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):653-9.

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has completely transformed the functioning of health care facilities. These changes have also significantly affected the work of dental health professionals. Due to the high infectivity of the virus and the fact that transmission occurs primarily through respiratory droplets, both dental patients and professionals are particularly exposed to coronavirus infection. In order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, a number of medical societies have issued recommendations for the provision of health care services during the pandemic. The article is based mainly on the recommendations of the Polish Ministry of Health, since WHO recommendations underline that following updated local guidelines is of highest importance. It is impossible to outline uniform guidelines for all dental specialists in the world, as the pandemic develops at differing rates in different countries and each country requires guidelines adapted to the current local epidemiological situation. The publication features an additional review of foreign literature and guidelines proposed by individual dental societies. The article presents an overview of guidelines related to the functioning of dental offices, dental treatment procedures and recommended personal protective equipment, as well as underlines the overriding principle that both physicians and dental practitioners should first and foremost take care of their own health in order to be able to protect others. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):561-8.

Background: Nursing involves numerous stressful situations, such as overwork, night shifts, responsibility for the patients' health, rapid pace of work, emotional demands, contact with suffering individuals, and patients' aggressive behaviors. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is an additional demand on the already demanding profession. Thus, the aim of the current study was to assess the character of the relationship between overwork and subjectively experienced stress, taking into account the moderating role of contact with patients and work in facilities dedicated for COVID-19 patients, and the strategies of coping with stress, including resilience, in countries affected by the pandemic to various degrees.

Material and methods: The study was carried out on 151 Iranian and 158 Polish nurses at the beginning of June 2020. The following research tools were used: the Overwork Climate Scale, the Brief COPE, the Resilience Scale, and the Perception of Stress Questionnaire. The participants were also asked about their contacts with patients infected with COVID-19, and work in facilities dedicated for such patients.

Results: Polish and Iranian nurses reported similar levels of overwork, but they differed with respect to the level of subjectively experienced stress and they used different coping strategies to various degrees. Contact with patients infected with COVID-19 and work in facilities dedicated for such patients also moderated the relationship between overwork climate and resilience.

Conclusions: Stress levels among Iranian and Polish nurses during the pandemic are different and are related to the intensity of contact with patients infected with COVID-19. Culture and context have an important impact on coping strategies which requires further studies with a multinational approach. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):457-65.

The review provides a comprehensive summary of existing literature focusing on the most serious risk factors of non-communicable diseases and collects current knowledge on their distribution, determinants, clusters, psychological and socio-economic consequences. Especially, the life-course approach is stressed, early life consequences of the later onset of chronic diseases, the risk behavior and its social, socio-economic and psychosocial determination is reviewed. Potential of preventing these harmful consequences has a lifelong approach. The aim is to demonstrate the opportunity for future health system transformation in terms of public health prevention regarding the non-communicable diseases. It is concluded that personalized lifestyle medicine should address a patient's health by empowering them with the information they need to regain control of their health. Preventive methods should be tailored for each patient, considering such patient's specific genes, environment, lifestyle, early life factors and social patterns of risk factors to avoid burden of health in later age. Intervention and preventive measures should target not only to individual factors but should reflect wider social, psychosocial and socio-economic consequences. It is also crucial from the point of view of public health to consider data on exposome, which are not included in epidemiological studies as well as its impact on health in the context of non-communicable diseases. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):535-48.

The current spread of SARS-CoV-2 indicates a long-term fight against the widespread and exponential increase in morbidity and mortality across the globe. A variety of non-pharmacological strategies to mitigate and suppress virus transmission have been investigated and introduced. Currently, emerging studies focus mostly on the management of hospital-treated patients in the acute phase of the disease, including the legitimacy of using physiotherapeutic procedures. However, current literature lacks guidelines for rehabilitation related to maintaining continuity and universality of the therapy after the end of the acute phase of the disease and discharge from hospital. The authors suggest implementing an immediate rehabilitation program in post-infection patients as data from previous epidemics of respiratory-related viral diseases shows that COVID-19 survivors should be expected to have impaired lung ventilation function, and reduced exercise tolerance and muscular weakness, and prolonged return to work and participation. It should be assumed that only the introduction of immediate recommendations for the implementation of rehabilitation procedures based on simple and well-known tests, as well as their obligatory regime, can contribute to the reduction of respiratory disability leading, in a short time, to infections recurrence and, in the long run, to a lower quality of life and socioeconomic burden on the population. This article presents a respiratory rehabilitation program for COVID-19 survivors, recommended by the Polish Society of Physiotherapy. This program was approved by the Polish Minister of Health and implemented as a pilot program at the Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Głuchołazy, Poland. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):611-6.

Due to the controversy related to the necessity to wear protective masks and the negative perceptions of users, an attempt was made to analyze the available scientific research on the physiological consequences of wearing various types of masks. The literature review includes publications available in the PubMed bibliographic database, describing symptoms and complaints of mask users (e.g., the feeling of discomfort, fatigue, headaches), different physiological reactions depending on the type of mask (surgical masks, masks with an exhalation valve, with air flow, etc.) as well as the influence of air composition, temperature and humidity in the space under the mask. The impact of using the mask on the ability to exercise (maximal effort, moderate effort) and mental work was outlined. The consequences of wearing masks by people in a different physiological state (pregnancy) were discussed. Proposals for the organization of work were also presented in order to minimize the negative consequences for people wearing masks. The analysis of the presented studies shows that, regardless of the type of masks worn, they can intensify the body's reactions to a varying degree, increasing the physiological cost of work and worsening the ability to make both physical and mental effort. In addition, the mask can contribute, among others, to more frequent headaches, symptoms of fatigue or the subjective feeling of discomfort. However, despite these adverse effects, the use of masks is important to protect people against harmful factors in the work and communal environments, and during the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it has become a necessity. The discomfort of wearing a mask can be reduced by taking appropriate breaks. It should be emphasized that the rhythm of work and breaks in wearing the mask should take into account the individual limitations of the employee. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):569-89.

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the major global health and economic challenges. An efficient method for reducing the transmission of the virus is a still unmet medical need. Existing experimental data have shown that coronavirus survival is negatively impacted by ozone, high temperature, and low humidity. Therefore, it is feasible to use area ozonation in pharmacies - the front line of the healthcare system. Nevertheless, further work is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone disinfection to reduce the transmission of this virus in pharmacies, hospitals, and other public environments. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):529-34.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the correct insertion of earplugs in the ear canal by people with different knowledge regarding this matter. The use of hearing protectors leads to a reduction in the risk of hearing loss, which is part of environmental engineering.

Material and methods: Measurements of sound attenuation by earplugs were carried out with the participation of 21 people with no experience in the use of earplugs. The measurements were repeated until the subjects had read the instructions for the use of earplugs, and then after the subjects had been trained in the correct insertion of earplugs in the ear canal. The tests were carried out using a newly developed portable device for quick measurements of sound attenuation.

Results: Familiarizing the subjects with the instructions for use resulted in a sound attenuation value being 6.7 and 3.3 dB higher, at 250 and 4000 Hz, respectively, compared to the measurement when the subjects inserted earplugs in the ear canal without any guidance. An even greater increase in attenuation was observed when the subjects were trained to insert earplugs, at 9.2 dB (250 Hz) and 5.4 dB (4000 Hz), respectively. In most cases, the changes in attenuation as a result of providing guidance were statistically significant.

Conclusions: Persons who have no experience in using earplugs have significant problems with their correct insertion. Reading the instructions for use does not guarantee that earplugs will be inserted correctly. Only the training showing how to insert the earplugs correctly results in people being able to do it correctly in most cases. Med Pr. 2021;72(5):521-8.