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PubMed2002

Epidemiological aspects of headache in a workplace setting and the impact on the economic loss.

The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological aspects of headache in a workplace setting and the economical impact. By sending a questionnaire to 1781 employees of a Dutch manufacturing company we tried to assess the prevalence of headache and headache subtype within this working place. Besides the personal view of each responder regarding his/her headache subtype, the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria were used to classify headaches on the basis of reported features. Moreover the missing labour days, as a result of headache, during the previous 4 weeks were measured, as well as the loss of productivity at the working place during an episode of headache; from this an estimate of the economic loss could be calculated. The response rate of the questionnaire was 60.8%. The lifetime prevalence of headache amongst the responders was 53.3%. Of these, 34.5% thought their headache was tension-type headache, 10.6% thought it was migraine, 5.4% mentioned daily headache, and 18.2% mentioned another type of headache. According to the IHS criteria the differentiation was somewhat different: 26.2% of the headache could be classified as tension-type headache and 15% as migraine. When the costs for lost labour days and loss of productivity as a result of all types of headache were accumulated, the economic loss was estimated at 18.933 US dollars in 4 weeks (for the group of responders). In conclusion, headache is related to a substantial economic loss; migraine is probably underestimated in a workplace setting.

Cost of Illness↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Work attendance despite headache and its economic impact: a comparison between two workplaces.

OBJECTIVE: To study work attendance despite headache in 2 different workplaces and its economic impact. BACKGROUND: Literature on the economic impact of headache traditionally has focused on direct costs. Little is known concerning headache experienced at work and its costs due to loss of effectiveness and productivity. METHOD: We sent a questionnaire to 800 employees in Sweden--400 at a technology company (private employee population) and 400 at a university hospital (public employee population). We attempted to assess the prevalence of headache, work attendance despite the presence of acute headache, and the impact of acute headache upon work effectiveness. Subjects self-scored decreased work effectiveness resulting from headache during the previous 3 months and recorded the number of days at work despite headache. From these data, we estimated the economic loss resulting from headache. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 71.5%. The prevalence of headache was 64% in the private employee population and 78% in the public employee population. Thirty-nine percent of the private employees and 57% of the public employees reported experiencing headache as a result of stress. Fifty percent reported that they went to work despite headache, and the mean number of days at work despite headache, during the previous 3 months, was 6.6 days in the private employee group and 6.1 days in the public employee group. A 25% decrease in work effectiveness was estimated, and, extrapolating from our data, we calculated the cost of lost effectiveness due to headache among employers in Sweden to be approximately 1.4 billion euros a year. CONCLUSION: The economic burden of headache experienced at work is substantial, suggesting that workplace-based treatment and prevention programs emphasizing stress management may be financially, as well as clinically, advantageous.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2000

Exposure to mite and cat allergens on a range of clothing items at home and the transfer of cat allergen in the workplace.

BACKGROUND: Clothing has been proposed as an additional source of exposure to mite and cat allergens. Dispersal of allergen into public places has also been attributed to clothing. OBJECTIVES: We sought to study the contribution of various types of clothing on mite and cat exposure in a domestic environment. Also, we studied the ability of clothing to transfer allergen in a workplace. METHODS: Personal exposure to mite and cat allergen from a range of clothing was measured by using intranasal air samplers in 11 homes. Five categories of clothing were tested. Wearing no upper clothing was the sixth category tested to distinguish the contribution of clothing over ambient background exposure. An adhesive tape was used to sample allergen from the surface of clothing, and reservoir dust samples were also collected. The above techniques were also used in the workplace to examine the amount of cat allergen transferred from cat owners to non-cat owners. RESULTS: The amount of mite and cat allergen inhaled differed among the clothing types worn and whether they had been washed recently. Wearing a woolen sweater increased personal allergen exposure to cat and mite allergen by a mean of 11 and 10 times, respectively. Clothing items that were less frequently washed carried more allergen whether assessed by vacuuming or sampled with adhesive tape. This corresponded to the amount of allergen inhaled. We also found that cat levels on non-cat owners' clothing increased significantly at the end of a working day, which lead to the increase in their personal allergen exposure to cat. CONCLUSIONS: These studies strongly support the emerging model that personal clothing is an important source of both mite and cat allergen exposure. This article also demonstrates the importance of clothing as a means of distributing cat allergen into cat-free environments.

Allergens↗
PubMed2002

The significant impacts of workplace change on medical scientists in Victoria.

Pathology in Victoria has undergone considerable change in the last decade. The need for productivity gains, the effects of downsizing and budget cuts, alongside the effects of casemix funding, privatisation and the advent of Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs) have all placed considerable strain on medical scientists. This paper outlines the impacts of workplace change on medical scientists in Victoria, the most significant workplace stressors on medical scientists today, and what medical scientists feel needs to happen to enable them to regain control over their working lives. The findings from key informant interviews and focus groups of medical scientists show that radical changes in service requirements have occurred. The restructuring of laboratories to 'core' business and subsequent changes in client expectations has impacted on the standards of service delivery in pathology. These changes have resulted in considerable stress as the scientists struggle to cope with work intensification, increases in rostered work during 'unsociable' hours, the lack of control over change, and challenges to their professionalism as they feel that quality standards are not being met.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Violence in the workplace: awareness and prevention.

Occupational violence is of growing interest to both individuals and organisations in the health field. Not surprisingly, staff who work directly on the front line are more vulnerable to episodes of physical violence from the general public. However, violence manifests in a number of ways, and any person in the workplace can experience it at anytime. Occupational violence should be viewed as an event to be identified, understood and managed, with a consequent need to identify types of violence in order to provide policy direction and preventive strategies to enhance workplace safety. Violence cannot be totally prevented but the risk of violence and its negative impacts on the individual can be reduced with carefully considered planningand swift action following a violent event. This paper reports various types of violence, the magnitude of the problem and who is at risk. Policy initiatives are suggested and methods of prevention discussed.

Australia↗
PubMed2004

A survey of workplace bullying in a health sector organisation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency, nature and extent of workplace bullying in a health care organisation in New South Wales. The survey methodology achieved a 79% response rate (n = 311). Overall, 155 respondents (50%) reported that they had experienced one or more forms of bullying behaviour in the past 12 months. The largest reported source of workplace bullying was peers or fellow workers (49%), followed by clients (42%) and managers or supervisors (38%). Only 36% of respondents who had been bullied had formally reported the episode. The level of bullying reported was unexpectedly high and will require development of strategies to address the issue.

Bullying↗
PubMed1997

Strengthening health promotion in Australian workplaces.

The Australian workplace has emerged as an important venue for influencing the health of employees through regulations and behaviour change programs. Recent surveys have highlighted a growth in this activity but the effectiveness of these programs in changing unhealthy work practices and policies is questionable. The need for strengthening programs by stronger designs and evaluation, and addressing organisational factors and employee participation in planning and implementation processes is documented. Efforts in that direction in Queensland are cited, Building on these existing foundations, redirecting existing resources, and building intersectoral cooperation in public-private partnerships hold a creative, exemplary vision of the future for Australian workplace programming.

Australia↗
PubMed1997

Australian registered nurses describe the health care workplace and its responsiveness to sexual harassment: an empirical study.

This report is a summary of findings from a 1995 study of Australian registered nurses and their perceptions of their health care workplaces, especially as it relates to sexual harassment. There is little Australian-based empirical research available to guide hospitals and health care facilities in developing appropriate policies regarding sexual harassment. Additionally, hospitals have few assessment tools at their disposal to determine if policies and procedures are well known and effective. As the major employer of registered nurses, hospitals and health care facilities need to be concerned about employees' perceptions of the workplace.

Female↗
PubMed2003

Workplace exacerbation of asthma symptoms: findings from a population-based study in Maine.

In this population-based study of asthma in the State of Maine, the authors investigated how often asthma symptoms were exacerbated in the workplace. Participants from 5 hospital service areas in Maine completed a telephone questionnaire. Of 474 adult participants (18-65 yr of age) employed during the preceding year and for whom information on occupation and industry was available, 64 (13.5%) were identified with current asthma, including 28 (5.9%) with current physician-diagnosed asthma and 36 (7.6%) who met criteria for symptoms consistent with asthma. Jobs were identified a priori as "high-risk" or "low-risk" for asthma. Of the 64 asthma cases, 16 (25%) reported that their coughing or wheezing worsened at work. Among the symptom-based cases, the percentage with workplace exacerbation of asthma was elevated for high-risk jobs (7/14 = 50%) vs. low-risk jobs (3/22 = 13.6%) (p = 0.03). No similar elevation was observed for individuals with current physician-diagnosed asthma, which might have resulted, in part, from a healthy worker effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A statistical human resources costing and accounting model for analysing the economic effects of an intervention at a workplace.

The study had two primary aims. The first aim was to combine a human resources costing and accounting approach (HRCA) with a quantitative statistical approach in order to get an integrated model. The second aim was to apply this integrated model in a quasi-experimental study in order to investigate whether preventive intervention affected sickness absence costs at the company level. The intervention studied contained occupational organizational measures, competence development, physical and psychosocial working environmental measures and individual and rehabilitation measures on both an individual and a group basis. The study is a quasi-experimental design with a non-randomized control group. Both groups involved cleaning jobs at predominantly female workplaces. The study plan involved carrying out before and after studies on both groups. The study included only those who were at the same workplace during the whole of the study period. In the HRCA model used here, the cost of sickness absence is the net difference between the costs, in the form of the value of the loss of production and the administrative cost, and the benefits in the form of lower labour costs. According to the HRCA model, the intervention used counteracted a rise in sickness absence costs at the company level, giving an average net effect of 266.5 Euros per person (full-time working) during an 8-month period. Using an analogue statistical analysis on the whole of the material, the contribution of the intervention counteracted a rise in sickness absence costs at the company level giving an average net effect of 283.2 Euros. Using a statistical method it was possible to study the regression coefficients in sub-groups and calculate the p-values for these coefficients; in the younger group the intervention gave a calculated net contribution of 605.6 Euros with a p-value of 0.073, while the intervention net contribution in the older group had a very high p-value. Using the statistical model it was also possible to study contributions of other variables and interactions. This study established that the HRCA model and the integrated model produced approximately the same monetary outcomes. The integrated model, however, allowed a deeper understanding of the various possible relationships and quantified the results with confidence intervals.

Accounting↗
PubMed2002

Workplace violence: are some nurses more vulnerable?

Workplace violence pervades the healthcare setting. This study describes workplace violence events (WPVE) by type, frequency, perpetrator, and contributing factors and explores the relationship between WPVE and a history of childhood/adult abuse. Sixty-seven randomly selected registered nurses responded to the study. Both closed and open-ended responses were obtained. The majority of nurses experienced WPVE, typically emotional and verbal events. Physicians were commonly the perpetrators. Contributing factors included drugs, poor staffing, hospital location, gangs, easy access to triage, long hours worked, no training, power/control, stress, and negative characteristics of perpetrators. Over half of the nurses reported being victims of childhood or adult abuse; this abuse history was found to influence type (sexual and physical), frequency, and timing of WPVE. In an effort to prevent and reduce the frequency of WPVE, risk assessments of all health care environments should be made, followed with education discussing prevalency, type of WPVE, perpetrators, and contributing factors, including past victimization.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using study circles in the workplace as an educational method of facilitating readjustment after a traumatic life experience.

While employees who have undergone a traumatic life experience (TLE) are often referred for counseling and therapy, most organizations do not prepare managers and co-workers for the unique issues posed by TLE employees when they first return to the workplace. The Study Circle, a "democratic," interactive adult learning format, is introduced to make up for this lack by educating managers and co-workers about the various stages in the trauma recovery process and teaching them how to facilitate a TLE employee's re-entry to the workplace.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

More inclusive workplaces: fact or fiction? The case of Norway.

Over the past years focus on different workfare programmes in Norway has increased in order to meet a number of identified problems in the labour market. The Tripartite Agreement on a More Inclusive Workplace of October 2001 is one of the measures introduced to create a more inclusive workplace, reduce the utilization of disability benefits and sick leave, and retain senior employees longer. Recommended methodology is improved employee-employer dialogue and increased focus on what the employee can do (workability). This paper is a critical review of why the Agreement has, so far, not lived up to the expectations. We also question whether the logic of the Tripartite Agreement is the solution to the problem.

Health Benefit Plans, Employee↗
PubMed2004

Success in the workplace following traumatic brain injury: are we evaluating what is most important?

PURPOSE: Vocational outcome, and in particular full-time paid work, is considered an important indicator of successful rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However it has not been established that these outcomes adequately or accurately represent the values of the people with TBI. This paper describes a study exploring the experiences of individuals who attempted returning to work following TBI, with emphasis on factors that related to perceptions of 'success' or 'failure'. METHOD: A phenomenological study, interviewing seven people with moderate to severe TBI was conducted. The interview data were analysed for themes relating to experiences of success or failure in the workplace. Community consultation provided additional perspectives in the interpretation and validation of results. RESULTS: The results of this study support in part the assumption that paid employment is indicative of success following TBI. Equally prevalent were findings that challenged this assumption, including situations where: (1) return to employment contributed to catastrophic personal events, (2) feelings of success were achieved even though paid employment was not, and (3) success in the workplace was associated with factors other than hours worked or pay earned. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that the use of work placement as a measure of successful rehabilitation might misrepresent the perspective of individuals with TBI. A multifactorial approach to evaluating vocational rehabilitation is recommended, which incorporates the subjective experience of work.

Achievement↗
PubMed2002

Observations on the suitability of the aethalometer for vehicular and workplace monitoring.

A field study was undertaken to evaluate the suitability of the aethalometer, an instrument capable of performing near-real-time measurement of low-level (10-1,000 ng/m3) airborne combustion products, for vehicular and workplace monitoring. Several technical limitations were identified: (1) there was no ready means for external calibration of optical measurements; (2) airflow rates were unstable; (3) effective range of concentrations was limited; and (4) the aethalometer demonstrated sensitivity to movement and vibration. Unless addressed, these limitations will restrict future uses of the aethalometer for vehicular and workplace monitoring.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2003

Residential indoor, outdoor, and workplace concentrations of carbonyl compounds: relationships with personal exposure concentrations and correlation with sources.

Personal 48-hr exposures of 15 randomly selected participants as well as microenvironment concentrations in each participant's residence and workplace were measured for 16 carbonyl compounds during summer-fall 1997 as a part of the Air Pollution Exposure Distributions within Adult Urban Populations in Europe (EXPOLIS) study in Helsinki, Finland. When formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were excluded, geometric mean ambient air concentrations outside each participant's residence were less than 1 ppb for all target compounds. Geometric mean residential indoor concentrations of carbonyls were systematically higher than geometric mean personal exposures and indoor workplace concentrations. Additionally, residential indoor/outdoor ratios indicated substantial indoor sources for most target compounds. Carbonyls in residential indoor air correlated significantly, suggesting similar mechanisms of entry into indoor environments. Overall, this study demonstrated the important role of non-traffic-related emissions in the personal exposures of participants in Helsinki and that comprehensive apportionment of population risk to air toxics should include exposure concentrations derived from product emissions and chemical formation in indoor air.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of passive card monitors for hydrogen sulfide for use in kraft pulp mill workplace atmospheres.

Six different brands of passive card monitors representing three different types of card monitor were evaluated for their effectiveness in testing for hydrogen sulfide in workplace atmospheres. The cards were evaluated both in the laboratory and in a kraft pulp mill according to a protocol that closely follows that recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and other researchers for passive samplers. The performances of the Envirometrics Air-Chem Technologies and the Gilian ChemAir quantitative cards, the Gilian ChromAir and VICI Metronics Colortec semiquantitative cards, and the American Gas & Chemical Co. Leak-Tec and Gilian SafeAir indicator cards were evaluated. The detection limits of the cards were determined, and the cards were exposed to a range of hydrogen sulfide concentrations (1, 5, 10, 20 ppm), face velocities (0, 50 ft/min), and temperature/humidity combinations (95 degrees F/90% humidity, 77 degrees F/50% humidity, 40 degrees F/20% humidity). The cards' responses to short-term and variable concentration exposures as well as to the potential interferents methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide were assessed. Each of the cards tested demonstrated a usefulness for the detection and/or quantification of hydrogen sulfide at concentrations and under conditions relevant to kraft pulp mill workplace atmospheres. Which card is best depends on the application, sampling conditions, and level of confidence necessary in the results. The Gilian ChemAir quantitative card performed well under most conditions with acceptable accuracy (13% lab, 26% field), and no response to potential interferents or to changes in face velocity, temperature, and humidity. The Envirometrics ACT quantitative cards did not perform as well, with an accuracy level of only 46% in the lab. They also seemed to be more affected by changes in face velocity, temperature, and humidity. Both semiquantitative cards (Gillian ChromAir, VICI Metronics Colortec) provided reasonable approximations of hydrogen sulfide levels in the range of the hydrogen sulfide occupational exposure levels although the VICI card had a much lower detection limit. Neither performed well at high temperature and humidity. The response of VICI card was more affected by changes in face velocity, whereas the Gilian ChromAir showed some response to reduced sulfur gas interferents. Both indicator cards (Leak-Tec, Gilian SafeAir) performed well, responding to 20 ppm hydrogen sulfide within 1 min and to 5 ppm within 5 min. Neither was significantly affected by extremes of temperature and humidity.

Air Movements↗
PubMed2002

Methods for assessing risks of dermal exposures in the workplace.

The skin as a route of entry for toxic chemicals has caused increasing concern over the last decade. The assessment of systemic hazards from dermal exposures has evolved over time, often limited by the amount of experimental data available. The result is that there are many methods being used to assess safety of chemicals in the workplace. The process of assessing hazards of skin contact includes estimating the amount of substance that may end up on the skin and estimating the amount that might reach internal organs. Most times, toxicology studies by the dermal route are not available and extrapolations from other exposure routes are necessary. The hazards of particular chemicals can be expressed as "skin notations", actual exposure levels, or safe exposure times. Characterizing the risk of a specific procedure in the workplace involves determining the ratio of exposure standards to an expected exposure. The purpose of this review is to address each of the steps in the process and describe the assumptions that are part of the process. Methods are compared by describing their strengths and weaknesses. Recommendations for research in this area are also included.

Animals↗