Occupational Medicine-Oxford最新文献

Background: Mental ill health has a high economic impact on society and employers. National and international policy advocates line manager (LM) training in mental health as a key intervention, but little is known about employer training provisions.

Aims: To explore the prevalence and characteristics of organizations that offer LM training in mental health.

Methods: Secondary analysis of existing longitudinal anonymised organizational-level survey data derived from computer-assisted telephone interview surveys collected in four waves (2020:1900 firms, 2021:1551, 2022:1904, 2023:1902) in England, before, during and after a global pandemic.

Results: The proportion of organizations offering LM training in mental health increased pre- to post-pandemic (2020:50%, 2023:59%) but 41% do not currently provide it. Logistic regression confirmed that LM training is more likely to be offered by large-sized enterprises, organizations with a larger proportion of employees who are younger (aged 25-49), female, disabled and from ethnic minority communities. Sector patterns were inconsistent, but in 2023, organizations from the 'Hospitality' and 'Business Services' sectors were more likely to provide LM training than other sectors.

Conclusions: Continued efforts are needed to increase the proportion of employers offering LM training in mental health, particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises, and organizations with predominantly male, White and/or older workforces.

Background: The intricate interplay between work-related stress and its physiological impact has drawn extensive research attention. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) emerges as a potential biomarker reflecting stress-related endocrine changes.

Aims: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between job demands and DHEA-S levels among healthcare workers. The study also explored potential correlations between DHEA-S levels and psychophysical symptoms commonly linked to work-related stress.

Methods: A sample of 488 healthcare workers from a local health authority participated. Job demands were measured using the Demands scale of the Health and Safety Management Standards Indicator Tool. DHEA-S levels and symptom prevalence were assessed through serum analysis and questionnaires, respectively.

Results: Workers exposed to high job demands exhibited significantly lower DHEA-S levels compared to those with low job demands. Psychophysical symptoms, including sleep disorders, depression, and headache, were more prevalent in the high-demands group. DHEA-S levels showed significant negative correlations with the prevalence of all considered symptoms.

Conclusions: The study shows the inverse relationship between job demands and DHEA-S levels among healthcare workers, indicating that high job demands correlate with reduced DHEA-S secretion and increased symptom prevalence. The findings suggest DHEA-S as a potential biomarker for assessing the physiological consequences of work-related stress. Proactive interventions in managing job demands are crucial for promoting employee well-being and productivity in demanding work environments. By recognizing DHEA-S as a stress biomarker, organizations can effectively address stress-related health risks and implement targeted interventions for enhancing employees' overall health and work performance.

Background: Occupational footwear is intended to provide protection against the risks associated with work activities. The choice of footwear is complex due to the welfare, health and safety conditions of workers.

Aims: To identify the injuries and problems caused by occupational footwear through a systematic review of the existing literature.

Methods: A literature search was carried out in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Dialnet Plus, Pubmed, Scientific Electronic Library Online, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science databases over the period 2000-23, following the PRISMA Declaration guidelines.

Results: A total of 27 studies were included in the review. The results indicated that there is a wide variety of injuries caused by occupational footwear: from dermal injuries (e.g. calluses) and injuries to the nail apparatus to inflammatory pathologies such as plantar fasciitis or bursitis. In addition, inappropriate footwear can cause pain in the ankle and foot, knees, hips and lower back. Other results include the discomfort derived from the footwear itself.

Conclusions: Inappropriate footwear can cause injuries to the foot and other related bone structures. Further studies are needed on the detection of foot injuries caused by occupational footwear and the levels of action at this level to improve the worker's health, the adaptability of the footwear to the wearer, and the worker's comfort and adherence to the footwear.

This case report describes a 22-year-old female Ambulance Technician student who displayed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) false positivity following a recent hepatitis B vaccination. Occupational health clinicians who work in a healthcare setting (with healthcare staff and/or students) should be aware of the possibility of false-positive HIV screening test results, and where a false positive is suspected, they should consider what the underlying cause could be and should consider whether further medical investigation is required.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic placed unprecedented stress on healthcare professionals and resulted in teams being scattered by shielding, working from home and redeployment. The Recovery, Readjustment and Reintegration programme (R3P) was implemented and evaluated in an acute NHS hospital Trust with the aim of supporting those staff involved.

Aims: To explore the impact of offering themed reflective sessions to staff in an acute hospital and to disseminate this learning for application in other settings and future pandemics.

Methods: During the initial recovery phase of the pandemic, all Trust staff were invited to attend an R3P where themed discussions were facilitated by psychologists. Feedback was requested pre- and post-session, and a mixed-methods design was followed to gain quantitative and qualitative information.

Results: A total of 430 staff members attended an R3P between April 2021 and January 2022. A significant majority found attendance helpful and agreed that it had provided them with the opportunity to reflect on their own and their teams' experience of pandemic working and led them to feel more supported by their organization.

Conclusions: Finding meaning in experiences through facilitated reflective discussion can help limit the negative psychological impact of working in an acute hospital during a pandemic. Staff are likely to benefit from such opportunities in any future pandemic recovery phase.

Background: Evidence synthesis in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) has been continuously growing over the last two decades. With over 100 systematic reviews now published, the Cochrane Work Review group has played an important role in this development and the Cochrane Thematic Group 'Work & Health & Social Security' was established recently to combine evidence from both the OSH and insurance medicine fields. Worldwide, many organizations produce and synthesize evidence in OSH that can complement and support each other. We believe that a global network including Cochrane and others can collaborate on methods development and in the production, synthesis, use and dissemination of different types of evidence even more effectively.

Aims: To determine if establishing a global network for evidence synthesis in OSH is feasible.

Methods: We conducted a survey of international and national institutions between November 2022 and January 2023 using LimeSurvey. Participants included representatives of affiliated and sustaining members of the International Commission on Occupational Health, national institutes for OSH, academia and other international organizations.

Results: From 151 invitations, we received responses from 57 representatives of 54 organizations. Representatives reported that their organization will contribute financially on an annual basis (n = 1) or provide in-kind support (n = 10), and will probably be able to provide financial or in-kind support (n = 25).

Conclusions: The feasibility criterion was met and an international network is being established.

Background: Occupational Health Services (OHS) workers in the police are exposed to stressful and pressurized environments where they try to help employees deal with serious physical and mental health conditions.

Aims: This study used psychological surveillance to identify the level of mental health conditions within each of the police OHS (POHS) roles and to identify whether it was possible to identify the main hazards and resilience factors related to these conditions.

Methods: Data on mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and secondary trauma) were gathered with questionnaires measuring lifestyle, coping skills, workability and illness behaviour. Personal information and average symptoms, hazards, and resilience factors were measured and compared between the POHS groups. Stepwise linear regression was used to identify the variable that explained the symptoms' level.

Results: Data were gathered from 251 POHS team members working in multidisciplinary services, including OH physicians, psychologists, advisors, nurses, technicians, well-being and administrators. The results showed that POHS teams are experiencing levels of symptoms significantly higher than those found in the general population and that OH counsellors had lower levels of symptoms and sickness absence than their colleagues. The stepwise regression identified managing workloads to be associated with lower symptom levels.

Conclusions: The findings illustrated the importance of a manageable workload, a stable, resilient personality and a positive attitude towards work. Using coping skills, including physical fitness, social support, involvement and getting enough sleep is associated with lower anxiety, depression, PTSD and secondary trauma symptoms.

Background: In response to the high rates of poor mental health in the construction industry, numerous workplace interventions have been designed to address the known and suspected risk factors to employee mental health and well-being. A key challenge of these strategies is low engagement in support services.

Aims: The goals of this research were to investigate the help-seeking intentions of employees in the construction industry, explore levels of mental well-being in this population and provide insight into employee engagement with mental health support strategies.

Methods: Employees from two UK construction companies completed an online cross-sectional questionnaire (n = 119), designed to measure help-seeking intentions, levels of mental well-being and worker attitudes towards workplace mental health support strategies.

Results: One-third of the sample reported experiencing an episode of mental health difficulties in the past 6 months. Employees reported a greater preference for seeking support from informal versus formal help sources. Participants were most likely to seek help from a partner and least likely to seek help from a Mental Health First Aider/ Champion. The study also showed some association between help-seeking intention and age of employees.

Conclusions: Given the poor levels of mental well-being in this population, it is essential that adequate workplace support is provided. Whilst formal help sources are important for this population, our study highlights the potential benefits of informal help sources to support employees. Future interventions may therefore wish to consider developing tailored, informal workplace support networks and programmes.

Background: The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) has been under strain for more than a decade, which has been exacerbated by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. According to NHS staff, this is felt especially during the winter (also called 'winter pressure'), when both absenteeism and presenteeism rates are high in the healthcare workforce.

Aims: To understand the culture of presenteeism amongst NHS staff, focusing specifically on how presenteeism both persisted and changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and during periods of annual winter pressure.

Methods: Data for this study were derived from 20 in-depth interviews conducted with NHS staff, drawn from a convenience sample of primary- and secondary-care services. Interviews were guided by a semi-structured interview protocol.

Results: This study contributes to an understanding of presenteeism by describing the ways in which the practice both changed and, in some ways, stayed the same during COVID-19 self-isolation regulations, with remote work arrangements enabling some healthcare workers to continue working even when unwell. Despite this, isolation guidelines threw into stark relief NHS workers' deeply held beliefs about duty, service, and commitment to the wider healthcare system, while exposing their experiences and perceptions of profound systemic challenges and a lack of wider support to carry out their work.

Conclusions: The emergent findings from this study suggest that the culture of presenteeism is linked to wider NHS staff's identification with the institutional goals of the NHS, resulting in their motivation to continue working, even if remotely; yet, the consequences are not fully understood.