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Biomedical subjects

S L Lusk

Publications and source records attributed to S L Lusk.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Selling health promotion programs: recommendations for occupational health nurses.

1. Although some suggest that health promotion programs should not be conducted in the workplace, there is generally strong support for workplace programs by both the public and private sectors. 2. Many published reports of cost savings attributed to health promotion programs are available. The calculations of cost savings contain many flaws and generally do not reflect a comprehensive analysis of all costs associated with programs, especially those associated with changes in death rates and longevity. 3. Specific recommendations for occupational health nurses include: analysis of the corporate situation; integration of programs with occupational health and safety activities; involvement of all levels of workers in planning and promoting the programs; evaluation through employee participation and satisfaction, not by cost benefit analysis; and consideration of offering programs to family members. 4. Nursing as a whole should provide leadership for implementing programs to promote health and prevent disease. The worksite offers unique opportunities for occupational health nurses to implement the Healthy People 2000 objectives to enhance the health of working adults.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed1992

Violence experienced by nurses' aides in nursing homes: an exploratory study.

1. The growing aged population in the United States will result in an increase in nursing home patients, and in numbers of employees in these homes providing care to patients. Nurses' aides, an employee group that has not received much attention, will be the primary providers of this patient care. 2. In this preliminary study the abuse experienced by nurses' aides in nursing homes was both a psychosocial and ergonomic stressor, because it had emotional and psychological components, as well as actual physical injury. 3. Nurses' aides, like other workers, deserve a safe and healthful workplace. A large scale study should be done to determine the extent of abuse/violence directed toward nursing home employees. 4. If abuse is validated as a problem, aides should receive training in handling abusive patients. In addition, it is important to identify the factors related to patients' abusive behaviors and to test mechanisms for reducing these behaviors.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMed1990

Corporate expectations for occupational health nurses' activities.

1. Reports from corporate management personnel indicated occupational health nurses currently performing fewer activities than the reports from occupational health or medical personnel, but they did not differ in regard to future activities. 2. Two areas, "generate analyses on trends in health promotion, risk reduction, and health care expenditures" and "conduct research to determine cost effective alternatives for health care programs and services," may represent an opportunity for occupational health nurses to expand their roles and receive recognition for their contributions. 3. Occupational health nurses can use this information regarding corporate expectations: to promote support for the development of new programs; to select educational programs which will prepare them to perform these activities; and to justify corporate support for advanced education. 4. Many of the desired future activities relate to corporate interest in cost containment. Occupational health nurses may be able to use this knowledge to obtain support for new programs they wish to develop.

Health Promotion↗
PubMed1988

Interest of major corporations in expanded practice of occupational health nurses.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the interest by executives of major corporations in having occupational health nurses engage in more advanced activities, and to ascertain the available support for advanced educational preparation for nurses. A questionnaire was sent to a systematic sample of 404 of the 808 executives of the Forbes 500 corporations with a 57% return rate. Over 90% of the corporations with health care departments employed registered nurses. Functions nurses currently performed varied by size of the corporation and by type of industry. Activities corporations would like nurses to perform were more advanced, such as conducting research, analyzing trends, and developing special health programs.

Financing, Organized↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Applying the health promotion model to development of a worksite intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Consistent use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) decreases noise-induced hearing loss, however, many workers do not use them consistently. Past research has supported the need to use a conceptual framework to understand behaviors and guide intervention programs; however, few reports have specified a process to translate a conceptual model into an intervention. PURPOSE: The strongest predictors from the Health Promotion Model were used to design a training program to increase HPD use among construction workers. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Carpenters (n = 118), operating engineers (n = 109), and plumber/pipefitters (n = 129) in the Midwest were recruited to participate in the study. DESIGN: Written questionnaires including scales measuring the components of the Health Promotion Model were completed in classroom settings at worker trade group meetings. MEASURES: All items from scales predicting HPD use were reviewed to determine the basis for the content of a program to promote the use of HPDs. Three selection criteria were developed: (1) correlation with use of hearing protection (at least .20), (2) amenability to change, and (3) room for improvement (mean score not at ceiling). RESULTS: Linear regression and Pearson's correlation were used to assess the components of the model as predictors of HPD use. Five predictors had statistically significant regression coefficients: perceived noise exposure, self-efficacy, value of use, barriers to use, and modeling of use of hearing protection. Using items meeting the selection criteria, a 20-minute videotape with written handouts was developed as the core of an intervention. A clearly defined practice session was also incorporated in the training intervention. CONCLUSION: Determining salient factors for worker populations and specific protective equipment prior to designing an intervention is essential. These predictors provided the basis for a training program that addressed the specific needs of construction workers. Results of tests of the effectiveness of the program will be available in the near future.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychometric testing of the reduced Laffrey Health Conception Scale.

PURPOSE: Laffrey's Health Conception Scale (LHCS), an instrument designed to measure personal definitions of health, was reduced with the intent of creating a useful yet less cumbersome version of the LHCS. DESIGN: The original form of the LHCS was tested in a preliminary study, and results were used as a basis for the reduction of the instrument. The original clinical and new overall wellness subscales were subsequently tested with a larger population of manufacturing plant workers. SETTING: One chemical plant and three Midwestern manufacturing plants. SUBJECTS: The sample for the preliminary study comprised 94 chemical plant workers. For the larger study, the sample comprised 892 subjects; because this instrument was part of a larger questionnaire to identify predictors of workers' use of hearing protection, only those workers who spent some part of their work time in areas of the plant which required hearing protection use were eligible to participate. MEASURES: The original LHCS was used in the preliminary study. The reduced LHCS was used in the larger study and psychometrically evaluated. RESULTS: The reduced LHCS accounted for 51% of the variance in definition of health; all but one item had loaded on one of the two factors with a loading of .41 or greater. The revised LHCS demonstrated excellent internal consistency. Two distinct factors, the clinical subscale and the overall wellness subscale, were isolated. CONCLUSIONS: The researchers recommend the reduced LHCS be used for assessing subjects' definition of health; the reduced instrument requires fewer items, and therefore less time, to measure individuals' definitions of health with excellent reliability.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factor replication of the Reduced Laffrey Health Conception Scale.

This study replicated the factor model for the Reduced Laffrey Health Conception Scale (RLHCS), which was originally developed by Laffrey (1986) and reduced by Lusk, Kerr, and Baer (1995). Two independent samples of construction workers (n = 697 and n = 510) were used. The samples were predominately Caucasian males (over 97%), with mean ages of 35 and 38 years, respectively. Principal components factor analysis with direct oblimin rotation and structural equation modeling were used to replicate factors and to test the equality of the three observed covariance matrices (factory workers and two groups of construction workers), respectively. Results replicated the two-factor structure (clinical health and overall wellness) found in the earlier study with factory workers (Lusk et al., 1995) and demonstrated factor invariance across different samples.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Creating a tailored, multimedia, computer-based intervention.

Tailoring of health-related messages is effective in motivating behavior change. However, planning, designing, and implementing a tailored health promotion program can be a challenge. This article describes the process of creating a tailored multimedia program for presentation via computer to promote factory workers' use of hearing-protection devices to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. The creation process was segmented into 5 phases: 1) determination of program content; 2) creation of overall program design, including live action and still video and addition of sound and graphics; 3) development and integration of tailoring pathways into the final intervention; 4) development of a database and participant handouts; and 5) pilot testing of the intervention program. The approach used in this research program can serve as a prototype for future development of computerized multimedia health promotion interventions and can assist others in the effective use of this medium.

Algorithms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health-promoting lifestyles of blue-collar, skilled trade, and white-collar workers.

The health-promoting lifestyles of blue-collar, skilled trade, and white-collar workers were examined. Specific purposes included determining differences in health-promoting behaviors, especially according to worker category, as well as ethnic identification, age, gender, education, and marital status. A convenience sample of 638 workers in a midwestern automotive components plant completed the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) and demographics questionnaire. In a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) including all demographic variables, significant differences were found in the mean scores on subscales of the HPLP by job category (2 subscales), age (3), gender (2), and education (4). Prior to including education in the MANOVA, significant differences were found by job category on 5 subscales of the HPLP. The effects of education eliminated the majority of the effects of job category.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Test of the Health Promotion Model as a causal model of workers' use of hearing protection.

The Health Promotion Model (HPM) was tested as a causal model to predict workers' use of hearing protection (N = 645). Measures indicated an excellent fit of the theoretical model. The exploratory analyses found the same cognitive-perceptual factors most important in predicting use. However, in contrast to the theoretical model, two modifying factors (job category and situational factors) had direct effects on use. The hypothesized model accounted for 49.3% of variance and the exploratory models accounted for 50.7% to 52.7% of variance in hearing protection use. Results of testing the HPM are consistent with the recently proposed revision of the model by Pender, Walker, Frank-Stromborg, and Sechrist (1990a, 1990b). The strongest effects on behavior came from the behavior-specific influences and demographic characteristics. Situational factors had a direct effect on the health behavior.

Cognition↗