Use of participatory ergonomics teams to address musculoskeletal hazards in the red meat packing industry

Participatory ergonomics teams from two departments of a pork slaughtering plant analyzed musculoskeletal hazards and proposed ergonomics solutions for several jobs in the plant. The jobs were targeted based on association with a large number of injuries, one or more particularly severe injuries, high workers' compensation expenses, and/or high turnover plus absence of obvious solutions to abate the hazards. The teams used a structured problem-solving method that was generally derived from principles associated with quality improvement processes. Workers performing the targeted jobs were involved in the problem-solving process, even if they were not members of the team. The effectiveness of each term was assessed and compared in terms of the numbers of problem jobs addressed and feedback from team members. One team addressed all nine of its targeted jobs; the other team addressed eight of 12 targeted jobs. Feedback from team members regarding their teams' methods and performance was generally favorable. The major obstacle to effective team functioning in this project was the scheduling of meetings. There were also some obstacles related to team leadership. Overall, this project demonstrated that the use of participatory ergonomics teams that rely on structured problem-solving methods are able to work effectively to address musculoskeletal hazards, especially related to the upper extremities, in the red meat packing industry. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Facilitator report: Bloodborne pathogens exposure among health care workers

Several psychosocial and organizational factors have been identified as important correlates of compliance with safe work practices among health care workers. In particular, compliance with “universal precautions”—a set of work practices which were designed to minimize exposure to bloodborne pathogens—has been found to be associated with several potentially modifiable factors. The development of interventional strategies designed specifically to target these factors (e.g., HIV/AIDS attitudes, safety climate) are important objectives in the overall risk management approach to occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tuberculosis among health care workers

To assess the annual risk for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among health care workers (HCWs), the incidence rate ratio for tuberculosis (TB) among HCWs worldwide, and the population-attributable fraction of TB to exposure of HCWs in their work settings, we reviewed the literature. Stratified pooled estimates for the LTBI rate for countries with low (<50 cases/100,000 population), intermediate (50-100/100,000 population), and high (>100/100,000 population) TB incidence were 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0%-4.6%), 6.9% (95% CI 3.4%-10.3%), and 8.4% (95% CI 2.7%-14.0%), respectively. For TB, estimated incident rate ratios were 2.4 (95% CI 1.2-3.6), 2.4 (95% CI 1.0-3.8), and 3.7 (95% CI 2.9-4.5), respectively. Median estimated population-attributable fraction for TB was as high as 0.4%. HCWs are at higher than average risk for TB. Sound TB infection control measures should be implemented in all health care facilities with patients suspected of having infectious TB.     

Emerging participatory approaches to ergonomic interventions in the construction industry

The Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel (CA/T) construction project in Boston is the largest and most costly highway construction project ever undertaken in the United States. The Construction Occupational Health Project (COHP) of the Work Environment Department at the University of Massachusetts—Lowell was established to conduct exposure assessment and to develop, introduce, and evaluate interventions in the areas of ergonomics and industrial hygiene on the CA/T project. For both political and practical reasons, COHP is using a participatory approach to intervention in the construction industry. The research process is employing participation at all the levels of the construction hierarchy in the form of various advisory groups. These advisory groups have been formed from existing joint labor-management advisory committees and are presently engaged in two participatory intervention activities: (1) evaluations of intervention ideas, and (2) comparisons of safety systems. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Occupational health in health care workers

Since the second half of the 20th century occupational health in health care workers is a well-established part of occupational medicine. Identification of environmental, biological, chemical, physical, and psychosocial hazards has lead to a number of preventive measures: Technical (e.g. use of safe instruments and double gloving as protection) and immunological (vaccinations) measures against biological hazards), and technical (lifting aides) and personal (back-schools) intervention to prevent musculoskeletal disorders are well-designed examples.     

At the interface of health and community care: developing linkages between aged care services in a rural context

This paper explores issues concerning the development of linkages across the interface between acute and community aged care services in a small regional Australian city. It addresses a participatory action research project that took place over a 2 year period involving an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). Aged Care Assessment Teams are multidisciplinary teams whose members mediate between hospitals and the aged care system in the community and have a key role in developing networks and linkages between various service providers in the field. In an age of economic rationalist-inspired reform agendas in health and community care, rural infrastructures have been compromised to such a degree that the role of rural ACAT in developing linkages between sectors has never been more important. This paper takes up this issue and addresses the project findings, which highlight a field characterised by ineffective linkages within and between the various sectors, a lack of understanding of the operation of the rural aged care system among nurses working in regional hospitals, and the efficacy of ACAT working collaboratively with nurses to create new and more effective linkages in aged care.     

211例医务人员锐器伤监测结果分析

目的分析医务人员锐器伤发生情况,为持续改进锐器伤安全管理工作提出建议。方法回顾性分析某院2006年8月—2015年7月上报的《锐器伤登记表》,分析统计相关资料。结果共上报211例锐器伤,主要人群为护士(118例,55.92%)和医生(83例,39.34%);工龄主要为5年及以下者(117例,55.45%);发生地点主要为外科病房(67例,31.75%)、内科病房(65例,30.81%)及门急诊(33例,15.64%);致伤物主要为注射器针头(91例,43.13%)、缝合针(34例,16.11%)和头皮针/输液器针头(27例,12.80%);主要致伤操作为各种注射(40例,18.95%)、静脉输液(38例,18.00%)、手术缝合/剪断(36例,17.06%)。主要致伤环节为操作中(治疗、检查、手术),共109例(51.66%)。血源性病原体污染的器械中,HBV污染95例(76.61%),HCV污染25例(20.16%),HIV污染4例(3.23%)。无血源性病原体感染病例发生。211例医务人员接种乙肝疫苗者155例(73.46%)。结论应重点针对工作时间≤5年的护士和医生,外科病房、内科病房及门急诊的医务人员,注射、静脉输液、缝合/剪断等操作时做好锐器伤防护工作。医院相关部门完善上报流程,加强追踪。     

徐州地区医务人员锐器伤现状调查分析

目的调查徐州地区各级医院医务人员锐器伤发生及上报情况,为制定本地区锐器伤防护措施、完善上报制度提供依据。方法 2016年7—8月,采用多阶段分层随机抽样方法随机抽取徐州市13所不同级别医院的医务人员,对其一般资料、锐器伤发生及上报情况等进行问卷调查。结果共收集2 694份有效问卷,医务人员锐器伤发生率为10.32%,例次发生率为12.84%,上报率为30.64%。医务人员锐器伤例次发生率一级医院为44.83%,二级医院为11.53%,三级医院为12.52%,不同级别医院锐器伤例次发生率比较,差异具有统计学意义(χ~2=55.148,P0.001)。锐器伤发生时机主要为医务人员在回套针帽时(79例次,22.83%),器具种类主要为中空针类(297例次,85.84%)。参加培训情况不同的医务人员锐器伤发生率比较,差异具有统计学意义(χ~2=66.760,P0.001)。结论本地区医务人员的锐器伤现状不容乐观,存在培训效果欠佳,上报率较低且安全器具使用率不高等问题,应进一步采取有效措施,建立有效的锐器伤监测追踪系统以减少锐器伤的发生。     

Prevention of latex allergy among health care workers: evaluation of the extractable latex protein content in different types of medical gloves

BACKGROUND: Since the 1980s, there has been increased use of latex gloves by health care workers and a concomitant increase of irritant and allergic reactions. The total protein content and the latex allergenic protein content in different types of medical gloves commonly used in our hospital were evaluated to acquire information useful for preventing latex allergy in our hospital personnel. METHODS: The total protein content and the allergic latex protein contents were evaluated with Lowry modified method and RAST inhibition assay in samples and extracts of 29 different types of medical gloves. RESULTS: The highest concentrations of total proteins and allergenic latex proteins were found in examination powdered latex gloves and in surgical powdered latex gloves; a significant amount of latex proteins was found in some brands of nitrile gloves. CONCLUSIONS: The clear association between the total protein levels and the allergenic latex protein levels suggests that the gloves with highest total protein content have the greatest allergenic potential. Therefore, it is recommended that manufacturing companies should provide package inserts including the total protein contents and possibly allergenic latex protein levels. They should declare whether they have added latex to their nitrile glove formulation. RAST-inhibition assays directly on glove samples instead of glove extract seems to be a good reliable and faster alternative for the evaluation of the allergenic potential of latex gloves.     

医疗卫生机构医务人员结核病感染控制现状

目的分析我国医务人员结核感染和患病情况以及相应的危险因素,为加强医疗卫生机构医务人员的结核病感染预防控制工作提供理论依据。方法采取系统综述的方法,对1995-2010年关于医疗卫生机构中医务人员结核感染和患病情况及其影响因素的相关文献资料进行综合分析。结果我国关于医务人员结核感染预防控制方面的研究很欠缺。文献资料显示,我国医务人员的结核感染率明显高于普通人群,其PPD阳性率达60.4%～62.8%;医务人员的结核病患病率也比一般人群高,达6.7/1 000人年。对医务人员感染结核的危险因素分析显示,其结核感染和患病风险主要与在工作场所暴露和感染预防控制措施不足等有关。结论医务人员的结核感染控制工作十分薄弱,相关研究不足,目前已成为我国结核病控制面临的重要问题。     

Rebuilding people-centred maternal health services in post-Ebola Liberia through participatory action research

During the March 2014–January 2016 Ebola crisis in Liberia, Redemption Hospital lost 12 staff and became a holding facility for suspected cases, prompting violent hostility from the surrounding New Kru Town community, in the capital city Monrovia. Inpatient services were closed for 6 months, leaving the population without maternity care. In January 2015, Redemption reopened, but utilization was low, especially for deliveries. A key barrier was community trust in health workers which worsened during the epidemic. The New Kru Town council, Redemption Hospital, the International Rescue Committee, and Training and Research Support Centre initiated participatory action research (PAR) in July 2015 to build communication between stakeholder groups, and to identify impacts of the epidemic and shared actions to improve the system. The PAR involved pregnant women, community-based trained traditional midwives (TTMs) and traditional birth attendants (TBAs), and community leaders, as well as health workers. Qualitative data and a pre-post survey of PAR participants and community members assessed changes in relationships and maternal health services. The results indicated that Ebola worsened community-hospital relations and pre-existing weaknesses in services, but also provided an opportunity to address these when rebuilding the system through shared action. Findings suggest that PAR generated evidence and improved communication and community and health worker interaction.     

某院医务人员职业暴露监测

目的了解医务人员发生职业暴露人群的分布特征、危险因素与风险环节。方法对某院所有医务人员2011年1月—2014年6月发生的职业暴露进行风险监控,分别从发生职业暴露者的职业类别,暴露的地点、环节以及方式进行数据统计。结果 286例次职业暴露者中,男性63例(22.03%),女性223例(77.97%);2011年111例次(38.81%),2012年75例次(26.22%),2013年67例次(23.43%),2014年1—6月份33例次(11.54%);对不同人群发生职业暴露者统计数据显示,各年度不同人群发生职业暴露所占百分比相似,由高到低依次为护士(31.97)%、医师(19.90%)、护工(15.79%)、技师(7.64%)、护师(4.17%)和保洁员(2.84%);整理废物、拔针或更换针头、丢弃锐器入利器盒、手术缝合或器械传递、各种穿刺(含抽血)操作时的锐器伤是医务人员发生职业暴露损伤的主要风险环节,其构成比分别为22.38%、19.58%、14.34%、12.94%和11.19%;各年度职业暴露发生地点相似,主要是病房、手术室和注射(治疗)室,其构成比分别为51.40%、19.58%和11.54%。结论医院应建立完善的职业暴露监控与风险管理体系,强化标准预防,加强对职业暴露高危人群的培训,对风险环节及危险因素进行监控和干预,以有效降低医务人员职业暴露发生率。     

Thinking teams thinking clients: issues of discourse and representation in the work of health care teams

Abstract The use of multi-disciplinary health care teams is an increasingly common aspect of service delivery in health care in Western countries. While the literature rehearses the putative benefits to practitioners and clients of such teams, there appears to be an absence of extensive evidence-based research on team practices to substantiate such claims. What evidence there is suggests that team work is in different ways problematic. This article is a progress report on a qualitative research project into the operation of health teams with responsibility for clients in hospitals and the community in New Zealand. The first part of the article presents some of the main themes in current research on health care teams. The second part argues that effective teamwork requires giving attention to a hitherto marginalised dimension of teamwork - the team's reflexive and representational practices. Attention to these practices appears to be particularly important in complex cases or when the team believes that its work with the client is not progressing as well as it might. The article concludes by highlighting the sociological significance of representational issues in team work and by drawing some inferences about factors affecting effective teamwork.     

重症监护室医务人员手卫生干预效果研究 FREE

目的了解重症监护室（ICU）医务人员手卫生干预效果及其影响因素,探讨切实可行的手卫生干预方法,以提高医务人员手卫生执行率。方法2008年为第1阶段,对综合ICU、神经外科ICU、新生儿ICU均实行教育干预和产品干预;2009年为第2阶段,在上述基础干预之上开展个性化的干预措施。采用自行设计的调查表并结合现场观察手卫生过程的方法,调查上述ICU医务人员手部卫生执行情况,分析干预前后手卫生的执行率变化。结果在干预前,ICU医务人员的手卫生执行率为25.06%,经过教育干预、产品干预后,手卫生执行率上升至41.52%,其中医务人员在不同工作状态下的手卫生执行率以医疗护理操作之间提高最明显,由干预前的10.11%上升至28.33%（P=0.01）。干预后,3个ICU医务人员手卫生执行率均有所提高,且3种不同教育干预之间差异存在高度显著性（P=0.01）。结论提供产品干预、基础及个性化教育干预对ICU医务人员手卫生依从性有一定的促进作用。