Physical activity, weight gain and occupational health among call centre employees

BACKGROUND: A need exists to address ergonomic, weight gain and obesity risks in sedentary occupations. AIM: To determine relationships between body mass index (BMI), weight gain, ergonomic and exercise variables in sedentary workers. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was administered regarding body weight, height, weight gained since employment, body part discomfort, shift fatigue, time to achieve job adaptation, physical activity, fitness centre membership, previous employment type and previous injury. RESULTS: Subjects were 393 volunteers (mean age 34 years, 71% female) employed in a call centre. Sixty-eight per cent of participants gained weight averaging 0.9 kg/month for 8 months. Significant findings (P < 0.05) were as follows: non-obese individuals gained less weight than obese individuals, fitness club members had higher BMIs and weight gains than non-members, previously injured individuals gained more weight than non-injured individuals, non-weight gainers reported higher metabolic equivalent-min/week expenditure in relation to vigorous exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Participants reported substantial weight gain over a period of 8 months. In contrast to walking and moderate exercise, only vigorous exercise was significantly associated with non-weight gain. Three risk factors were identified for weight gain: obese when hired, history of previous injury and lack of vigorous exercise.     

Design of the Dutch Obesity Intervention in Teenagers (NRG-DOiT): systematic development, implementation and evaluation of a school-based intervention aimed at the prevention of excessive weight gain in adolescents

Background

Immigrants to the U.S. are required to undergo overseas screening for tuberculosis (TB), but the value of evaluation and treatment following entry to the U.S. is not well understood. We determined the cost-effectiveness of domestic follow-up of immigrants identified as tuberculosis suspects through overseas screening.

Methods

Using a stochastic simulation for tuberculosis reactivation, transmission, and follow-up for a hypothetical cohort of 1000 individuals, we calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness of follow-up and evaluation interventions. We utilized published literature, California Reports of Verified Cases of Tuberculosis (RVCTs), demographic estimates from the California Department of Finance, Medicare reimbursement, and Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Our target population was legal immigrants to the United States, our time horizon is twenty years, and our perspective was that of all domestic health-care payers. We examined the intervention to offer latent tuberculosis therapy to infected individuals, to increase the yield of domestic evaluation, and to increase the starting and completion rates of LTBI therapy with INH (isoniazid). Our outcome measures were the number of cases averted, the number of deaths averted, the incremental dollar cost (year 2004), and the number of quality-adjusted life-years saved.

Results

Domestic follow-up of B-notification patients, including LTBI treatment for latently infected individuals, is highly cost-effective, and at times, cost-saving. B-notification follow-up in California would reduce the number of new tuberculosis cases by about 6–26 per year (out of a total of approximately 3000). Sensitivity analysis revealed that domestic follow-up remains cost-effective when the hepatitis rates due to INH therapy are over fifteen times our best estimates, when at least 0.4 percent of patients have active disease and when hospitalization of cases detected through domestic follow-up is no less likely than hospitalization of passively detected cases.

Conclusion

While the current immigration screening program is unlikely to result in a large change in case rates, domestic follow-up of B-notification patients, including LTBI treatment, is highly cost-effective. If as many as three percent of screened individuals have active TB, and early detection reduces the rate of hospitalization, net savings may be expected.     

Empowering employees with chronic diseases: process evaluation of an intervention aimed at job retention

Purpose  

Employees with a chronic disease may experience work-related problems that contribute to the risk of job loss. We developed a group-based intervention programme aimed at clarifying problems, making these a subject of discussion at work, and realizing solutions. This process evaluation investigates the intervention’s feasibility and the satisfaction of 64 participants in eight groups.     

某供电企业员工职业卫生知识认知与需求情况

目的调查某供电企业员工对职业卫生知识的认知和需求情况,为有针对性地开展供电作业场所健康促进工作奠定基础。方法随机整群抽取某供电企业400名员工,以调查问卷的方式进行职业卫生相关问题调查。结果员工对《中华人民共和国职业病防治法》知晓率为75．2％;员工对自己所在岗位存在的职业病危害因素知晓率为59．0％;35．2％的员工提出了防止职业病危害的建议措施;员工对职业病及工作相关疾病症状及防治知识的需求率为53．7％。结论员工对职业卫生知识认知度较高,但对职业病及其防治措施知识仍有较大的需求。供电企业应针对员工需求开展职业卫生相关领域知识培训,并进行健康促进干预。     

Relationship between health services, socioeconomic variables and inadequate weight gain among Brazilian children

This ecological analysis assessed the relative contribution of behavioural, health services and socioeconomic variables to inadequate weight gain in infants (0-11 months) and children (12-23 months) in 140 municipalities in the State of Ceara, north-east Brazil. To assess the total effect of selected variables, we fitted three unique sets of multivariate linear regression models to the prevalence of inadequate weight gain in infants and in children. The final predictive models included variables from the three sets. Findings showed that participation in growth monitoring and urbanization were inversely and significantly associated with the prevalence of inadequate weight gain in infants, accounting for 38.3% of the variation. Female illiteracy rate, participation in growth monitoring and degree of urbanization were all positively associated with prevalence of inadequate weight gain in children. Together, these factors explained 25.6% of the variation. Our results suggest that efforts to reduce the average municipality-specific female illiteracy rate, in combination with participation in growth monitoring, may be effective in reducing municipality-level prevalence of inadequate weight gain in infants and children in Ceara.     

黄石市3家企业职工职业卫生服务认知现状调查

摘要:目的　了解企业职工对职业卫生服务的认知状况,并分析影响职工职业卫生服务认知的因素。方法　采用系统抽样选择湖北省黄石市3家企业的90名职工为调查对象,并以问卷调查了解职工对职业卫生服务的认知情况;采用EpiData 3.1建立数据库,运用SPSS18.0软件对数据资料进行描述,并以χ2检验作统计分析。结果　约75%的职工知晓工作中所接触的职业性危害因素,只有50%的职工知晓职业性危害因素的检测浓度,且仅有33.0%的职工在工作企业接受过职业卫生相关知识培训;月收入、户籍状况和企业及工会对职工进行职业卫生服务的宣传力度是影响职工职业卫生服务认知率的主要因素;随着月收入的增加,职工对应签订劳动合同、缴纳保险金及进行职业健康监护的知晓率也随之增高。结论　企业应当定期对职工进行职业性危害因素浓度监测和作业人员的职业健康检查,发现问题、及时整改;同时应针对不同层次的企业职工开展多元化的职业卫生健康宣传和教育工作,加强企业的监管力度,以保障职工对职业有害因素的知情权,提高工人职业卫生服务认知总体水平。     

Impact of school-based health promotion interventions aimed at different behavioral domains: a systematic review

Objective

Given that lifestyleshave similar determinants and that school-based interventions are usually targeted at all the risks that affect adolescents, the objective of this systematic review was to summarize the characteristics and effects of school-based interventions acting on different behavioral domains of adolescent health promotion.

Methods

The review process was conducted by two independent reviewers who searched PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases for experimental or observational studies with at least two measures of results published from 2007 to 2011, given that the research information available doubles every 5 years. Methodological quality was assessed with a standardized tool.

Results

Information was extracted from 35 studies aiming to prevent risk behaviors and promote healthy nutrition, physical activity, and mental and holistic health. Activities were based on theoretical models and were classified into interactive lessons, peer mediation, environmental changes, parents’ and community activities, and tailored messages by computer-assisted training or other resources, usually including multiple components. In some cases, we identified some moderate to large, short- and long-term effects on behavioral and intermediate variable.

Conclusions

This exhaustive review found that well-implemented interventions can promote adolescent health. These findings are consistent with recent reviews. Implications for practice, public health, and research are discussed.     

Advances in participatory occupational health aimed at good practices in small enterprises and the informal sector

Participatory programmes for occupational risk reduction are gaining importance particularly in small workplaces in both industrially developing and developed countries. To discuss the types of effective support, participatory steps commonly seen in our "work improvement-Asia" network are reviewed. The review covered training programmes for small enterprises, farmers, home workers and trade union members. Participatory steps commonly focusing on low-cost good practices locally achieved have led to concrete improvements in multiple technical areas including materials handling, workstation ergonomics, physical environment and work organization. These steps take advantage of positive features of small workplaces in two distinct ways. First, local key persons are ready to accept local good practices conveyed through personal, informal approaches. Second, workers and farmers are capable of understanding technical problems affecting routine work and taking flexible actions leading to solving them. This process is facilitated by the use of locally adjusted training tools such as local good examples, action checklists and group work methods. It is suggested that participatory occupational health programmes can work in small workplaces when they utilize low-cost good practices in a flexible manner. Networking of these positive experiences is essential.     

Empowering employees with chronic diseases; development of an intervention aimed at job retention and design of a randomised controlled trial

Background  

Persons with a chronic disease are less often employed than healthy persons. If employed, many of them experience problems at work. Therefore, we developed a training programme aimed at job retention. The objective of this paper is to describe this intervention and to present the design of a study to evaluate its effectiveness.     

Housing and health inequalities: A synthesis of systematic reviews of interventions aimed at different pathways linking housing and health

Housing and neighbourhood conditions are widely acknowledged to be important social determinants of health, through three main pathways: (1) internal housing conditions, (2) area characteristics and (3) housing tenure. We conducted a systematic overview of systematic reviews of intervention studies to provide an overview of the evidence on the impact of housing and neighbourhood interventions on health and health inequalities. There is relatively strong evidence for interventions aimed at improving area characteristics and compelling evidence for warmth and energy efficiency interventions targeted at vulnerable individuals. However, the health impacts of area-level internal housing improvement interventions are as yet unclear. We found no reviews of interventions aimed at altering housing tenure. This remains an important area for further research and potentially new evidence syntheses.     

Secondary individual prevention of occupational skin diseases in health care workers,cleaners and kitchen employees: aims,experiences and descriptive results

OBJECTIVES: Due to increased occupational dermatoses in certain professions such as health care workers (HCW), cleaning and kitchen employees (CKE), measures of prevention and skin protection are of high significance. Skin protection courses focus on educational aims (e.g. improving skin care habits, influencing the participants' attitudes towards health) and medical aims (e.g. optimising diagnostic procedures, complementing individual therapy). METHODS: Participants are patients who have been suspected to suffer from an occupational skin disease and are insured with the German Accident Prevention & Insurance Association (BGW). Teaching units of the skin protection courses focus on basics of skin functioning and important aspects of occupational skin diseases. Practical parts include information and instructions about the correct implementation of skin protection, skin care and skin cleansing. Every participant is seen by a dermatologist obtaining a precise patient's history and performing a skin examination. All this results in working out individually adapted and professional skin protection strategies. RESULTS: In total, 791 participants (93 men and 698 women) completed the skin protections courses. Six hundred and sixty-seven patients (mean age: 36.9 years, SD = 11.6) were HCW and 124 patients (mean age: 40.4 years, SD = 10.8) were CKE. In HCW 82.5% (n = 550) and in CKE 86.3% (n = 107) suffered from hand eczema of the atopic, irritant or allergic type. Irritant contact dermatitis as a single diagnosis was the most frequent one in both groups (HCW: 34.5.%, n = 230; CKE: 49.2% n = 61). According to regularly performed evaluations, the participants rated the course as good to excellent. Nearly 80% of the participants had skin lesions while attending the course, in 27% the dermatosis was severe. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high need for health education, advisory services, diagnostics and additional therapy in occupational dermatology. Prevention of occupational skin diseases and maintenance of health through educational programmes are important complementary measures for dermatological care but still missing in endangered professions.     

Design, implementation and evaluation of a health education program for the elderly

The objective was to design, implement and evaluate a health education program, using the analysis of the habits that harm the health of people over 65 years old. An evaluative research was carried out from a multiple case study in the North-West area of Spain, combining both the quantitative and the qualitative approach. A questionnaire and interview were used as tools for data collection. The elderly take a lot of medicines and also treat themselves. A small group smoke and drink alcohol. Over 25% have sedentary habits and their average body mass rate was 30.55. The implementation of the programme has significantly influenced their quality of life. Elderly people have deep rooted unhealthy habits. The achievement of educational contents improved their quality of life. However, they are reluctant to assume new habits, even though they are healthy.