Medicina Del Lavoro最新文献

Background: The frequency of alarms from monitors and other electro-medical devices is of great utility but can increase the professional's workload and expose nurses in the intensive care unit to Alarm Fatigue. A recent study suggested that students in training can also experience the problem during their first clinical experiences in intensive care. Unfortunately, no data are available about the Italian panorama. To explore Alarm Fatigue among Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at the end of their internship experience in intensive care settings.

Methods: Multicenter cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of nurses from 3 Italian university hospitals was recruited. The students completed the revised version of the "Alarm Fatigue questionnaire-ita" at the end of the clinical internship in intensive care settings.

Results: 130 nursing students were enrolled (response rate 59.36%). The overall level of Alarm Fatigue was Me= 24.5 IQR [17.5, 30.5]. In addition, 9.23% of the sample reported errors or near misses related to Alarm Fatigue during the internship experience. The alarm fatigue level was higher in students who committed "errors/almost errors" (p=0.038) and in "student workers" (p=0.005).

Discussion: The extent of alarm fatigue experienced by nursing students requires developing a preventive strategy.

Increased attention to psychosocial risks and their potential impacts on workers' mental and physical health has flourished due to the changes taking place in the world of work. The changes in the world of work and the recent worldwide events have exacerbated the existing psychosocial risks and brought out new psychosocial risks to be considered for protecting workers' health. This favors the opening up of national and international debate on prioritizing psychosocial risks at work at the policies, strategies, and actions level. This contribution highlights the critical issues to be addressed, the needs to be covered, and the opportunities for better and more effective OSH protection in the workplace. Starting from a definition of psychosocial risks and their potential impacts, we offer an overview of the most recent developments in policies and strategies and the contribution of research in this field over time. A critical reflection on emerging topics, main needs, and challenges for organizations and stakeholders is offered. This time of change poses great concerns but also offers a great opportunity of moving from a culture of assessment to a culture of psychosocial risk management for improving workers' well-being, productivity, and health, where the risk assessment is an important step but not a point of arrival.

Background:  The major public dispute between John Gofman and his colleague Arthur Tamplin and the United States (US) Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) at the end of the 1960s and during the early 1970s significantly impacted the course of cancer risk assessment in the US and worldwide. The challenging and provocative testimony of Gofman to the US Senate in early 1970 lead to the formation of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) I Committee in order to evaluate the accuracy of claims by Gofman and Tamplin that emissions from nuclear power plants would significantly increase the occurrence of genetic defects and cancers. BEIR I recommended the adoption of the linear non-threshold (LNT) dose response model for the assessment of cancer risks from radiation exposures. The US EPA adopted this recommendation and generalized it to incorporate chemical carcinogens, thereby affecting cancer risk assessments over the next decades. Despite the scientific limitations and ideological framework of their perspectives, Gofman and Tamplin are of considerable historical importance since they had essential roles in affecting the adoption of LNT by regulatory agencies.

Background: The creation of a working organization with a high safety level ensures employees' health in their workplaces, therefore current study evaluated effect the organizational structure on the safety and health in the stone industry.

Methods: The study was done among the 100 stone industries in Isfahan, Iran. We asked selected participants to complete the organizational structure questionnaire and ELMERI checklists. tested the hypothesis with Smart PLS 3.0.

Results: The model fit index showed the standardized root mean square (SRMR=0.08), the normalized fit index (NFI=0.9), The coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.362), Effect size (ƒ2 was less than 0.2), and the Predictive relevance of the model (Q2=0.216) which is considered a good fit for mode. Also, the relation between formalization and health and safety was significant (β = -0.47).

Conclusion: findings suggest that Organization factors are the basic reasons associated with occupational accidents and the main indicator of safety and health performance.

Background: The health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) has been in-creasingly investigated in health sciences. The Objectives of this study are to evaluate the HR-QoL among nurses in Tunisian public hospitals and to identify the determinants of its mental dimension.

Methods: A cross-sectional, bi-centric study was conducted within a representative sample of the 1,179 nurses assigned to 28 departments of two Tunisian public hospitals. A structured inquiry (socio-professional characteristics, occupational perceived workload) and validated questionnaires (SF12, Job Content Questionnaire of Karasek, Work Ability Index) have been completed.

Results: Response rate was equal to 97.34%. The mean age of nurses was 42.60 ± 21 years. Nearly half of caregivers (49.07%) had a poor mental quality of life. The multivariate analysis concluded that mental HR-QoL was correlated with the female gender (0.010), obesity and the non-practice of regular physical activity (0.027), musculoskeletal diseases (<10-3), the low ability to work (<10-3). This deterioration of the mental HR-QoL dimension was also associated with the job tenure (0.002), the perceived workload (0.015), and conflictual relationships with colleagues (0.006) the feeling of insecurity at work (0.034), and the intention to leave the profession early (0.007) Conclusion: The results of this study showed that a considerable number of nurses had a poor mental quality of life. This study also identified factors associated with this deterioration. Acting on these determining factors may improve the well-being and global health of nurses, as well as their work performance and quality of care provided.

Background: Dairy farmworkers are exposed to a variety of respiratory hazards, including organic and inorganic dust, allergens, disinfectants, and gases emitted by cows and their wastes resulting in a range of adverse health effects. In Egypt, large herd dairy farms (>1000 cattle) are growing in both size and number and thereby more workers are employed. However, there is a lack of studies on the respiratory health status of these workers. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of respiratory problems, assess ventilatory functions, and highlight the predictors of abnormal spirometry patterns among Egyptian dairy farmworkers.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 282 male workers, of whom 141 were dairy farmworkers and the other 141, not involved in livestock handling, were enrolled as controls. Full history, clinical examination, and ventilatory function measurements were done for both groups.

Results: Dairy farmworkers had a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms (throat irritation and/or sore throat, cough, sputum production, and difficulty breathing) than controls as well as bronchitis, wheezes on chest auscultation, and obstructive ventilatory patterns. Older age (>37 years), longer smoking duration (>10 years), and longer working duration (>4 years) were independent predictors of abnormal spirometry patterns, particularly obstructive patterns, in dairy farmworkers.

Conclusions: Large herd dairy farms, despite being open and naturally ventilated, are hazardous to workers' respiratory health. Hence, the provision of personal protective equipment, periodic spirometry examinations as well as mandatory breaks and days off, are highly urged.

Background: The study aimed to examine the conditions and factors affecting pneumoconiosis cases to determine the dimensions of the pneumoconiosis problem.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary research hospital between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2021. Five hundred ninety-seven patients with pneumo- coniosis were included in the study.

Results: Large opacities were detected in 157 cases. When we compared cases with and without Pulmonary Massive Fibrosis (PMF), age and concomitant pulmonary disease were higher in PMF cases, which also showed lower FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC. PMF was more frequent in subjects with long dust exposure duration (more than 20 years) and concomitant pulmonary diseases, particularly tuberculosis. Three occupations, sandblasters, dental technicians, and ceramic workers, showed the earliest onset of pneumoconiosis.

Conclusions: The study presents pneumoconiosis data in a mixed and large population and contributes to the imple- mentation of evidence-based policies and interventions for countries like Turkey striving to cope with the problem of pneumoconiosis.

Background:  Prolonged computer use and poor ergonomics among IT professionals are considered risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. This research aims to analyze the degree of forward head posture and workplace ergonomics in young IT professionals to assess the risk for a neck disability. Methods: A prospective study was carried out by assessing the sitting posture at work, neck disability in the cervical region, quality of life, physical activity, and ergonomics of the workspace in 73 young IT professionals (32.56±5.46 years). Results: The score for the cervical functional disability index (NDI) showed a mild neck disability (8.19±7.51). The craniovertebral angle has an average value of 32.01±11.46, corresponding to a light forward head posture, and it positively correlated with age and work experience and negatively correlated with ROSA (r=0.24, p<0.05). The NDI positively correlated with physical activity (r =00.32 p<0.05) and with ROSA (r= 0.24, p<0.05). Conclusions: In IT professionals, neck disability is associated with the lack of workspace ergonomics and the amount of physical activity. Forward head posture correlated with age, work experience, and poor workspace ergonomics. According to our findings, there are real concerns about the influence of head posture and workplace ergonomics on health among IT professionals. We consider that it is necessary to adopt preventive measures to address neck disability and improve workspace ergonomics.

Background: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is a widely used tool, both in clinical and research settings, due to its brevity and easy administration. Researchers often adopt a dichotomous measurement method, considering a total score above or below a certain threshold. This leads to an extreme simplification of the gathered data and therefore to the loss of clinical details. In a multi-step evaluation study aimed at assessing health care workers' mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic, GHQ-12 proved to be the most effective tool to detect psychological distress compared to other scales adopted. These results led to deepen the understanding of GHQ-12 properties through a statistical study by focusing on items' properties and characteristics.

Methods: GHQ-12 responses were analyzed using Item Response Theory (IRT), a suitable method for scale assessment. Instead of considering the single overall score, in which each item accounts equally, it focuses on individual items' characteristics. Moreover, IRT models were applied combined with the latent class (LC) analysis, aiming to the determination of subgroups of individuals according to their level of psychological distress.

Results: GHQ-12 was administered to 990 health-care workers and responses were scored using the binary method (0-0-1-1). We applied the two-parameter logistic (2-PL) model, finding that the items showed different ways of responses and features. The latent class analysis classified subjects into three sub-groups according to their responses to GHQ-12 only: 47% of individuals with general well-being, 38% expressing signs of discomfort without severity and 15% of subjects with a high level of impairment. This result almost reproduces subjects' classification obtained after administering the six questionnaires of the study protocol.

Conclusions: Accurate statistical techniques and a deep understanding of the latent factors underlying the GHQ-12 resulted in a more effective usage of such psychometric questionnaire - i.e. a more refined gathering of data and a significant time and resource efficiency. We underlined the need to maximize the extraction of data from questionnaires and the necessity of them being less lengthy and repetitive.