Do Workplace Health Promotion (Wellness) Programs Work? Goetzel, Ron Z.; Henke, Rachel Mosher; Tabrizi, Maryam ...
Journal of occupational and environmental medicine,
2014-September, Letnik:
56, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
OBJECTIVE:To respond to the question, “Do workplace health promotion programs work?”
METHODS:A compilation of the evidence on workplace programsʼ effectiveness coupled with recommendations for ...critical review of outcome studies. Also, reviewed are recent studies questioning the value of workplace programs.
RESULTS:Evidence accumulated over the past three decades shows that well-designed and well-executed programs that are founded on evidence-based principles can achieve positive health and financial outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS:Employers seeking a program that “works” are urged to consider their goals and whether they have an organizational culture that can facilitate success. Employers who choose to adopt a health promotion program should use best and promising practices to maximize the likelihood of achieving positive results.
To evaluate the provision of occupational health services at hospitals following the establishment of the Network of Occupational Disease and Injury Service in 2007.
A review of occupational health ...services during 2008 to 2021 was conducted. The medical practice-based reporting system was compared with the database of compensated occupational diseases (ODs) from Taiwan's Labor Insurance.
First-time outpatient visits for occupational evaluation and total visits to Network of Occupational Disease and Injury Service health care institutions increased from 1777 and 9435 to 12,092 and 23,210, respectively. Reported ODs increased from 1626 to 2043 with a peak of 2791. Up to 1380 workers evaluated for work resumption in 2021. Similar to the increasing trend in reported ODs, the number of compensated ODs increased over years.
The health service needs of Taiwanese workers from OD evaluation to vocational rehabilitation are increasing.
ObjectivesTo assess if improvement of working conditions related to heat stress was associated with improved kidney health outcomes among sugarcane harvest workers in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, a region ...heavily affected by the epidemic of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin.MethodsBased on our findings during the 2017–2018 harvest (harvest 1), recommendations that enhanced the rest schedule and improved access to hydration and shade were given before the 2018–2019 harvest (harvest 2). Actual work conditions during harvest 2 were then observed. Serum creatinine (SCr) was measured before and at end-harvest, and cross-harvest changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and incident kidney injury (IKI, ie, SCr increase by ≥0.30 mg/dL or ≥1.5 times the baseline value) were compared between harvest 1 and harvest 2 for three jobs with different physical workloads using regression modelling. Workers who left during harvest were contacted at home, to address the healthy worker selection effect.ResultsIn burned cane cutters, mean cross-harvest eGFR decreased 6 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI 2 to 9 mL/min/1.73 m2) less and IKI was 70% (95% CI 90% to 50%) lower in harvest 2 as compared with harvest 1 data. No such improvements were seen among seed cutters groups with less successful intervention implementation.ConclusionKidney injury risk was again elevated in workers with strenuous jobs. The results support further efforts to prevent kidney injury among sugarcane workers, and other heat-stressed workers, by improving access to water, rest and shade. The distinction between design and implementation of such interventions should be recognised.
These are challenging times for health care executives. The health care field is experiencing unprecedented changes that threaten the survival of many health care organizations. To successfully ...navigate these challenges, health care executives need committed and productive physicians working in collaboration with organization leaders. Unfortunately, national studies suggest that at least 50% of US physicians are experiencing professional burnout, indicating that most executives face this challenge with a disillusioned physician workforce. Burnout is a syndrome characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. Physician burnout has been shown to influence quality of care, patient safety, physician turnover, and patient satisfaction. Although burnout is a system issue, most institutions operate under the erroneous framework that burnout and professional satisfaction are solely the responsibility of the individual physician. Engagement is the positive antithesis of burnout and is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption in work. There is a strong business case for organizations to invest in efforts to reduce physician burnout and promote engagement. Herein, we summarize 9 organizational strategies to promote physician engagement and describe how we have operationalized some of these approaches at Mayo Clinic. Our experience demonstrates that deliberate, sustained, and comprehensive efforts by the organization to reduce burnout and promote engagement can make a difference. Many effective interventions are relatively inexpensive, and small investments can have a large impact. Leadership and sustained attention from the highest level of the organization are the keys to making progress.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has deeply altered social and working environments in several ways. Social distancing policies, mandatory lockdowns, isolation periods, and anxiety of ...getting sick, along with the suspension of productive activity, loss of income, and fear of the future, jointly influence the mental health of citizens and workers. Workplace aspects can play a crucial role on moderating or worsening mental health of people facing this pandemic scenario. The purpose of this literature review is to deepen the psychological aspects linked to workplace factors, following the epidemic rise of COVID-19, in order to address upcoming psychological critical issues in the workplaces. We performed a literature search using Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus, selecting papers focusing on workers' psychological problems that can be related to the workplace during the pandemic. Thirty-five articles were included. Mental issues related to the health emergency, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and sleep disorders are more likely to affect healthcare workers, especially those on the frontline, migrant workers, and workers in contact with the public. Job insecurity, long periods of isolation, and uncertainty of the future worsen the psychological condition, especially in younger people and in those with a higher educational background. Multiple organizational and work-related interventions can mitigate this scenario, such as the improvement of workplace infrastructures, the adoption of correct and shared anti-contagion measures, including regular personal protective equipment (PPE) supply, and the implementation of resilience training programs. This review sets the basis for a better understanding of the psychological conditions of workers during the pandemic, integrating individual and social perspectives, and providing insight into possible individual, social, and occupational approaches to this "psychological pandemic".
There is an increasing concern about indoor air quality (IAQ) and its impact on health, comfort, and work-performance in office-like environments and their workers, which account for most of the ...labor force. The Scientific Committee on Indoor Air Quality and Health of the ICOH (Int. Comm. Occup. Health) has discussed the assessment and management of IAQ problems and proposed a stepwise approach to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team. It is recommended to integrate the building assessment, inspection by walk-through of the office workplace, questionnaire survey, and environmental measurements, in that order. The survey should cover perceived IAQ, symptoms, and psychosocial working aspects. The outcome can be used for mapping the IAQ and to prioritize the order in which problems should be dealt with. Individual health surveillance in relation to IAQ is proposed only when periodical health surveillance is already performed for other risks (e.g., video display units) or when specific clinical examination of workers is required due to the occurrence of diseases that may be linked to IAQ (e.g., Legionnaire's disease), recurrent inflammation, infections of eyes, respiratory airway effects, and sensorial disturbances. Environmental and personal risk factors should also be compiled and assessed. Workplace health promotion should include programs for smoking cessation and stress and IAQ management.
This article has investigated the considerations of healthcare facilities to utilize reusable respirators as an alternative to disposable respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to ...choose specific equipment should be based on the protection factors and also on the overall analysis of given conditions. International scientific databases, such as Web of Science, PubMed and MedLine, were searched on May 5, 2020, with the following key words: COVID-19, respiratory protection, surgical masks, filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and disposable respirators. The differences between various respiratory protective equipment, i.e., surgical masks, respirators such as FFRs, elastomeric half-facepiece respirators, elastomeric full-facepiece respirators and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), were compared. Reusable elastomeric respirators (RERs) may provide a better adaptation to the face and may be more stable when used by healthcare providers (HCPs). Protection factors were found to be higher in FFRs compared to surgical masks. While FFRs provide a one-tenth decrease in the inhaled aerosol concentration, PAPRs diminish the inhaled aerosol up to one-twenty-fifth. Even with some full-face PAPRs and helmets, the protection factor assigned by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can reach a value up to 1000. For HCPs, the evidence shown in this article provides an additional support for the utilization of RERs. Such equipment might be less prone to leakages, can provide a better fit, and indicates a better stability compared to disposable FFRs (N95 and similar). By providing higher protection factors, reusable elastomeric respirators are recommended to be used by HCPs under controlled cleaning and disinfection protocols. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(2):307-18 Key words: occupational health services, respiratory protective devices, pandemics, respirators, healthcare providers, occupational health of physicians
The institution of specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programs open to international trainees from developing countries in some European, American and Asian universities is now a ...well-established reality. Courses and seminars that focus particularly on this subject, widely varying in approach and duration, have been held for years at these universities; these academic institutions have combined their potential to attract students from developing countries with the scheduling of interesting lectures and training activities, depending on the availability of funds sufficient to cover travel and lodging costs. Interdisciplinarity is the key to the entire program and is its main strength, as the trainees have the opportunity to condense the technical notions and methodological aspects of different disciplines (occupational health, industrial hygiene, safety management, ergonomics) in one course. We firmly believe that these programs are a precious instrument for the training of occupational health professionals from low-income countries, as they are able to address their choices correctly, hopefully achieving the goal of reducing the human costs of development.
Purpose of Review
Comparative research on sex and/or gender differences in occupational hazard exposures is necessary for effective work injury and illness prevention strategies. This scoping review ...summarizes the peer-reviewed literature from 2009 to 2019 on exposure differences to occupational hazards between men and women, across occupations, and within the same occupation.
Recent Findings
Fifty-eight studies retrieved from eight databases met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 30 studies were found on physical hazards, 38 studies on psychological/psychosocial hazards, 5 studies on biological hazards, and 17 studies on chemical hazards. The majority of studies reported that men were exposed to noise, vibration, medical radiation, physically demanding work, solar radiation, falls, biomechanical risks, chemical hazards, and blood contamination; while women were exposed to wet work, bullying and discrimination, work stress, and biological agents. Within the same occupations, men were more likely to be exposed to physical hazards, with the exception of women in health care occupations and exposure to prolonged standing. Women compared to men in the same occupations were more likely to experience harassment, while men compared to women in the same occupations reported higher work stress. Men reported more exposure to hazardous chemicals in the same occupations as women.
Summary
The review suggests that men and women have different exposures to occupational hazards and that these differences are not solely due to a gendered distribution of the labor force by occupation. Findings may inform prevention efforts seeking to reduce gender inequalities in occupational health. Future research is needed to explain the reasons for sex/gender inequality differences in exposures within the same occupation.
Objectives: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among professionals in occupational health (OH) services is crucial when rendering a service to clients and customers. The aim of this study was to ...describe and compare perceptions relating to IPC among professionals working as OH providers in Sweden.Methods: This cross-sectional study with a descriptive and comparative design included 456 respondents representing different OH professions in Sweden. Data were collected using the Swedish short version of the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale adapted for OH (AITCS-SIIOH), with its 3 subscales Partnership, Cooperation, and Coordination, and were analyzed and presented descriptively. Items and sum scores were dichotomized into inadequate and adequate and compared between sexes, workplaces, types of employment, and professions.Results: According to the responses, items related to openness, honesty, and trust were perceived as adequate among the respondents. The findings show that perceptions about IPC differed among the professions. The perception of IPC also differed between different types of organizations.Conclusions: The results show diverse perceptions between professionals and organizations. The perception of IPC may be influenced by the professional’s education in occupational safety and health. Study findings may be used to support further development of IPC in the OH service for the benefit of the clients. To develop IPC in the best interests of both professionals and customers/clients, further studies need to be performed to gain a deeper understanding of IPC in the OH context.
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