Practical Solutions for Pesticide Safety: A Farm and Research Team Participatory Model

Development of the Practical Solutions for Pesticide Safety guide used participatory research strategies to identify and evaluate solutions that reduce pesticide exposures for workers and their families and to disseminate these solutions. Project principles were (1) workplace chemicals belong in the workplace, and (2) pesticide handlers and farm managers are experts, with direct knowledge of production practices. The project’s participatory methods were grounded in self-determination theory. Practical solutions were identified and evaluated based on five criteria: practicality, adaptability, health and safety, novelty, and regulatory compliance. Research activities that had more personal contact provided better outcomes. The Expert Working Group, composed of farm managers and pesticide handlers, was key to the identification of solutions, as were farm site visits. Audience participation, hands-on testing, and orchard field trials were particularly effective in the evaluation of potential solutions. Small work groups in a Regional Advisory Committee provided the best direction and guidance for a “user-friendly” translational document that provided evidence-based practical solutions. The “farmer to farmer” format of the guide was endorsed by both the Expert Working Group and the Regional Advisory Committee. Managers and pesticide handlers wanted to share their solutions in order to “help others stay safe,” and they appreciated attribution in the guide. The guide is now being used in educational programs across the region. The fundamental concept that farmers and farmworkers are innovators and experts in agricultural production was affirmed by this study. The success of this process demonstrates the value of participatory industrial hygiene in agriculture.     

Determinants of Regional Variation in Health Expenditures in Germany

Health care expenditure in Germany shows clear regional differences. Such geographic variations are often seen as an indicator for inefficiency. With its homogeneous health care system, low co‐payments and uniform prices, Germany is a particularly suited example to analyse regional variations. We use data for the year 2011 on expenditure, utilization of health services and state of health in Germany's statutory health insurance system. This data, which originate from a variety of administrative sources and cover about 90% of the population, are enriched with a wealth of socio‐economic variables, data on pollutants, prices and individual preferences. State of health and demography explains 55% of the differences as measured by the standard deviation while all control variables account for a total of 72% of the differences at county level. With other measures of variation, we can account for an even greater proportion. A higher proportion of variation than usually supposed can thus be explained. Whilst this study cannot quantify inefficiencies, our results contradict the thesis that regional variations reflect inefficiency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

床旁多普勒超声引导下经皮气管切开术在重症脑出血患者中的应用

目的探讨床旁多普勒超声引导下经皮气管切开术（PDT）在重症脑出血患者中的应用价值。方法选取2014年1月—2019年4月南方医科大学附属小榄医院重症医学科监护治疗的重症脑出血患者126例，在ICU床旁采用超声引导下行PDT。术前采用超声进行检查，明确气管位置、周围组织及血管情况，确定穿刺部位及深度，指导术前气管导管退管。术中实时超声引导，确保手术安全。术后超声确认气管切开套管位置，筛查排除气胸等相关并发症。观察操作时间（从皮肤穿刺到成功置入气管套管时间）、一针穿刺成功率、置管成功率、气管插管意外脱管率；观察术中及术后并发症：出血量、血管/甲状腺损伤、气管后壁损伤、皮下气肿、气胸、低氧血症发生率等。结果126例患者手术均一次操作成功，一针穿刺成功率及置管成功率均为100%，未发生气管插管意外脱管。操作时间5~12 min，平均操作时间7.5 min。术中及术后未发生难以控制的大出血、严重低氧血症、血管/甲状腺损伤、气管后壁损伤、皮下气肿及气胸等并发症。结论对重症脑出血患者行床旁实时超声引导下行PDT，提高了手术的可视性、操作性和安全性，提高PDT成功率，降低相关并发症，具有良好的临床价值。     

The Dangerous Middle: Situational Awareness and Worker Perception of Beetle Kill

ABSTRACT

Forest workers, including loggers, foresters, and wildland firefighters, are regularly exposed to some of the most fatal occupational environments in the United States. These hazardous work environments may become even more complex and dynamic when subject to bark beetle outbreaks that have resulted in significant tree mortality. The impacts of tree death from bark beetles are significant, with the cumulative 17-year (2000–2016) footprint for bark beetle caused tree mortality estimated at 54 million acres. However, how workers think about and act in these environments is understudied. This study, therefore, approaches the issue of beetle kill and forest worker safety by examining the perspectives or workers themselves. Its contribution is to leverage ethnographic research to provide insights that can generate new research questions, better inform outreach, and ultimately improve worker safety outcomes. The resulting insights show that beetle kill was understood by workers as a hazard that increased the complexity and dynamism of the work environment, making situational awareness both more necessary and more difficult to maintain. While much research about situational awareness focuses on hazardous situations, it is suggested that building adequate situational awareness should also include broader considerations of organizational communication, as well as training and experience considered over the course of entire careers.