职业相关性哮喘患者46例生存质量分析

目的探讨职业相关性哮喘（work-related asthma,WRA）患者生理、心理等生存质量指标的变化。方法采用世界卫生组织生存质量测定量表简表（WHOQOL-BREF）对2010年1～12月发现的46例WRA患者（哮喘组）和50名健康工人（正常对照组）的生存质量的变化及影响因素进行评估。结果 WRA患者WHOQOL-BREF 4个领域的得分均显著低于正常对照组（P〈0.01）,生理、环境领域尤其明显;不同性别WRA患者评分差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）;文化程度、病情方面差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论 WRA患者生存质量明显下降,要努力改善其工作和生活环境及就医条件。     

Amoebae and humidifier fever

One hundred and nineteen sera from workers at four different work sites exposed to different contaminated humidifiers were examined by the immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) technique for antibodies to the amoebae Acanthamoeba polyphaga and Naegleria gruberi. Twenty-five of the sera were from workers with humidifier fever (HF) and six from workers with work related asthma (WRA) shown to be due to the contaminated humidifiers. A positive IFA test was found to correlate precipitin reaction to humidifier antigen, but did not correlate with smoking habit, work related symptoms (detected by standard questionnaire) or with HF or WRA. Amoebae were identified in all humidifiers studied.     

Identifying barriers to recovery from work related upper extremity disorders: use of a collaborative problem solving technique.

Improving health and work outcomes for individuals with work related upper extremity disorders (WRUEDs) may require a broad assessment of potential return to work barriers by engaging workers in collaborative problem solving. In this study, half of all nurse case managers from a large workers' compensation system were randomly selected and invited to participate in a randomized, controlled trial of an integrated case management (ICM) approach for WRUEDs. The focus of ICM was problem solving skills training and workplace accommodation. Volunteer nurses attended a 2 day ICM training workshop including instruction in a 6 step process to engage clients in problem solving to overcome barriers to recovery. A chart review of WRUED case management reports (n = 70) during the following 2 years was conducted to extract case managers' reports of barriers to recovery and return to work. Case managers documented from 0 to 21 barriers per case (M = 6.24, SD = 4.02) within 5 domains: signs and symptoms (36%), work environment (27%), medical care (13%), functional limitations (12%), and coping (12%). Compared with case managers who did not receive the training (n = 67), workshop participants identified more barriers related to signs and symptoms, work environment, functional limitations, and coping (p < .05), but not to medical care. Problem solving skills training may help focus case management services on the most salient recovery factors affecting return to work.     

Finnish occupational health nurses' work and expertise: the clients' perspective

AIMS: The aims of this study were to describe Finnish occupational health nurses' functions, characteristics, prerequisites, consequences, changes, development areas and expertise from the point of view of clients. METHODS: The background literature of this study is based on public health nursing models, Finnish social and health report, arguments of special education for occupational health nurses, and earlier studies concerning occupational health nurses' work. The data were collected from volunteer clients (n=26) by interviews. RESULTS: According to the qualitative content analysis, occupational health nurses' activities include health promotion and secondary health care among workers and at workplaces. The main work characteristics are holism, client-orientation, interaction and co-operation. Occupational health nurses need an extensive knowledge base and practical skills, client-orientation, courteous behaviour and a healthy and clean appearance. The outcomes of their work for clients are better health, healthier life habits and healthier working conditions. Nowadays, nurses are more client-orientated than 20 years ago. They are expected to develop their practical and interaction skills and expand their knowledge base. The expertise of occupational health nurses consists of an extensive knowledge base with practical skills, working experience and confidence, and it appeared when advising clients and answering their questions. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to arrange continuing education for occupational health nurses to ensure that they are always up to date in order to be able to respond to specific clients' needs. This study provides a foundation for further investigations into, for example, occupational health nurses' work from the point of view of employers, students of occupational health nursing and other occupational health experts and co-operative partners.     

职业模拟训练对工伤职工再就业的影响

目的 观察职业模拟训练的疗效,探讨有效的职业训练方法.方法 应用BTE PRIMUS职业模拟系统对65名工伤职工进行平均2.8个月的职业模拟训练,出院后对再就业情况跟踪调查6个月.结果 出院后6个月内重返原工作岗位29人（44.62%）,改变工种原单位工作24人（36.92%）,新单位工作6人（9.22%）,未能回到工作岗位6人（9.22%）.结论 应用BTE PRIMUS进行职业模拟训练有利于提高工伤职工的劳动能力,促进工伤职工重新就业.     

Substance abuse treatment duration for Medicaid versus commercial clients in a health maintenance organization

BACKGROUND: As Medicaid clients have come to be enrolled in managed care, concerns have arisen about the ability of private sector systems to meet the needs of enrollees with substance abuse problems. OBJECTIVES: This project describes treatment initiation and duration for Medicaid and commercial substance abuse treatment clients in a large health maintenance organization (HMO). RESEARCH DESIGN: This study was a prospective secondary analysis of information from HMO databases. Subjects were 641 adult Medicaid clients who contacted the HMO's addiction medicine department in 1996 or 1997 and commercial HMO addiction medicine patients (n=447). First contact with addiction medicine during the study period was the index event. MEASURES: Chief dependent variables were initiation and duration of substance abuse treatment after the index event. RESULTS: Logistic regression showed that longer HMO enrollment predicted treatment initiation after substance abuse assessment, but Medicaid status was not a significant predictor. A competing risks analysis using Cox proportional hazards models indicated that once subjects had initiated, Medicaid was not significantly related to exit from substance abuse treatment. Analysis of health plan disenrollment by Medicaid clients indicated that the most common reason was loss of Medicaid eligibility. CONCLUSIONS: These results raise the possibility that state Medicaid policies may make it difficult for clients to obtain suitable chemical dependency treatment services.     

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: is there an economic burden of illness?

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the economic burden associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) by assessing health care service use and related expenditures, work loss, role limitation, and productivity. METHODS: Women ages 21 to 45, randomly selected from membership of a northern California HMO (n = 1,194), provided prospective daily symptom ratings and survey data on health care use and productivity for two menstrual cycles. Summary measures of 12-month utilization and expenditures based on HMO encounter data also were constructed. Based on daily symptom ratings, we classified women as having minimal (n = 186), moderate (n = 801), and severe (n = 151) premenstrual symptoms, or PMDD (n = 56) and compared health care use and expenditures, predicted values of productivity and work loss, and marginal effects of symptom severity on outcome measures. RESULTS: Women with PMDD had higher degrees of luteal phase (premenstrual) productivity impairment than those with minimal symptoms. Compared with the minimal and moderate symptom groups, women with PMDD continued to report lower productivity (P <0.01) in the 5 to 10 days after onset of menses (follicular phase). We found little evidence that women spent more time in bed, reduced time at work, or decreased activities at home or school as a result of premenstrual symptoms. As symptom severity increased, the likelihood of health care service use increased only for an emergency department, obstetrician/gynecologist, or alternative medicine provider visit. There were no significant differences in health care expenditures across the symptom groups. CONCLUSION: The economic burden associated with PMDD manifests itself primarily in reported productivity decrements rather than health care utilization or costs associated with time away from work.     

Alcohol Use and Medical Care Utilization among Health Maintenance Organization Patients in the Emergency Department

Objective: To determine the association of an alcohol–related ED visit with medical care utilization during a two–year period surrounding the ED visit in an HMO.
Methods: A probability sample of ED patients were interviewed and underwent breath analysis in a large HMO in a Northern California county. Based on recent alcohol intake or documentation of an alcohol–related ED visit, the patients were assigned to an alcohol group ( n = 91) or a non–alcohol group ( n = 897). A 10% random sample of the health plan membership of the same county ( n = 19, 968) served as a comparison group. Utilization data were obtained from computerized files. Multiple linear regression was used to determine differences in subsequent outpatient visit rates between the alcohol and the non–alcohol groups. Logistic regression was used to compare the risks of hospitalization in the two groups.
Results: Annual outpatient visit rates were 7. 8 in the alcohol group and 8. 3 in the non–alcohol group (p = 0. 65), controlling for gender, age, and injury status, and were significantly different from the visit rate of 5. 5 for the random health plan sample (p = 0. 0001). No difference was found between the alcohol and the non–alcohol groups for risk of hospitalization; however, those in the health plan sample were less than half as likely to be hospitalized as were those in the non–alcohol group (odds ratio 0. 44, p = 0. 002).
Conclusions: No difference was found in utilization of medical services between the alcohol and the nonalcohol groups in this predominantly white, well–educated HMO ED population. However, both groups used significantly more inpatient and outpatient services than did the general HMO membership.     

Managing asthma in primary care through imperative outcomes

Rationale, aims and objectives To evaluate asthma management and control in primary care clinics so as to design improvements based on guideline‐directed outcomes. Methods In this study, all medical records of asthma‐diagnosed patients (children as well as adults, entire lifespan, asthma‐related visits or not) were retrospectively reviewed as a basis for assessing the level of guideline adherence and asthma control. Six primary health care clinics were visited in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda Municipal District, Potchefstroom, South Africa during May to July 2008, 2009 and 2010. Results A total of 323 asthma patient records were reviewed over the three time slots, resulting in 125, 87, and 111 patients respectively. A suboptimal clinical asthma control picture, with a mere 16% (n = 20) of females and 2% (n = 3) of males with Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) percentages above 60%, were observed in the initial assessment. Improvement in control was observed during the following time slot, but with an end result in 2010 of no PEF percentages above 60% for males and only 9% (n = 7) for females. Conclusion Over all three of the data collection periods adherence to effectively applied management of asthma guidelines proved to be below the minimum recommended clinical evaluation work‐up as set out by the Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3) of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP). Applying a greater focus on essential outcomes through different disease management documents resulted in an improved quality of managed care, but still requires dedicated and continuous education and motivation. (NWU‐0052‐08‐A5)     

Effect of acupuncture or acupressure on quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive asthma: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES: Acupuncture and acupressure are known to relieve symptoms associated with asthma, but the benefits to patients with chronic obstructive asthma have not been fully evaluated. In this pilot clinical study, acupuncture or acupressure was incorporated into the standard care for adult patients with chronic obstructive asthma to determine their contribution to the improvement of their quality of life and relief of symptoms. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized study that involved 8 weeks of treatment at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Tao-Yuan, Taiwan) was conducted between March 1997 and September 1998. Forty-one (n = 41) patients with chronic obstructive asthma were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture in addition to standard care (n = 11), acupressure and standard care (n = 17), or standard care alone (n = 13). Twenty (20) acupuncture treatments were administered, and self-administered acupressure was performed daily for 8 weeks. Six-minute walking, the Dyspnea Visual Analogue Scale, the modified Borg scale, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and the Bronchitis Emphysema Symptom Checklist (BESC) were used at the beginning and end of the 8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: The total SGRQ score of acupuncture subjects showed an average 18.5-fold improvement (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54-211.48, p = 0.02); the improvement for the acupressure subjects was 6.57-fold (95% C.I. 0.98-44.00, p = 0.05). Additionally, for patients who received acupressure, the irritability domain score determined by the BESC exhibited an 11.8-fold improvement (95% C.I. 0.88-158.64, p = 0.06) after adjustment for covariables. The other variables did not differ from those of the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with clinically stable, chronic obstructive asthma experienced clinically significant improvements in quality of life when their standard care was supplemented with acupuncture or acupressure.     

Concise guidance: diagnosis, management and prevention of occupational asthma

This concise guidance, prepared for physicians, summarises the British Occupational Health Research Foundation guideline for the prevention, identification and management of occupational asthma. Approximately one in six people of working age who develop asthma have work-related asthma, where work has either caused or aggravated their disease. Physicians who assess working adults with asthma need to ask the patient about their job and the materials they work with, and be aware of those that carry particular risks; they should also ask whether symptoms improve regularly on days away from work. A diagnosis of occupational asthma (ie asthma caused by work) should not be made on the basis of history alone, but be supported by immunological and physiological investigations of proven diagnostic benefit. Following a validated diagnosis of occupational asthma, physicians should recommend early avoidance of further exposure, because this offers the best chance of complete recovery. If appropriate and timely interventions are not taken, the prognosis of occupational asthma is poor, with only approximately one-third of workers achieving full symptomatic recovery.     

Home care personnel's perspectives on successful discharge of elderly clients from hospital to home setting

The successful discharge of elderly patients from hospital to home care is a process requiring co-operation between health and social care personnel in addition to their commitment and skills. During the discharge process it is important that health and social care professionals have a shared view of the health and mental status and needs of the patient so that appropriate plans for meeting these needs can be made. The aim of the study was to investigate home care personnel's (health and social care workers) views of which practices between the discharging hospital and home care are associated with the successful discharge of clients. Home care personnel in 22 Finnish municipalities (n = 1890, response rate 63%) received a questionnaire in spring 2001. When the respondents' background factors were standardized, the best predictors of successful discharge from the home care personnel's point of view were adequate information received about the treatment of the patient's illnesses and their functional ability and cognitive potentials, timely information about the discharge, and good co-operation between the discharging hospital, and the home care, social care and health care workers working in home care. There were differences in the opinions of social care workers and health care workers working in home care. From the home care personnel's point of view the most important correlates of an elderly client's discharge from hospital to a home setting were factors associated with how they can best plan their work. Their perspective on the discharge process may diverge from clients and their informal care givers point of view. To ensure the successful discharge process we must take them all into account.     

Increased pain tolerance as an indicator of return to work in low-back injuries after work hardening.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined retrospective data from a multidisciplinary work-hardening program that compared patients who did and did not return to work after low-back injury. The objective of this study was to identify differences between these groups to better guide work-hardening programs and return-to-work decisions. METHOD: Retrospective data from patients with low-back injuries (n = 115) who participated in a northern California work-hardening program were analyzed. Using two-way analysis of variance, male and female patients who did and did not return to work were compared. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between men and women for any of the variables studied. Patients who did and did not return to work were not significantly different in age, length of injury, and subjective pain at the beginning or end of the work-hardening program or in activity tolerance (p = .08). Patients who returned to work perceived a significantly (p < or = . 05) greater improvement in pain tolerance by the end of the work-hardening program than those who did not return to work. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that rehabilitation emphasis should not be placed on the reduction of subjective pain but, rather, on strategies to cope with existing pain while improving functional ability.     

Process of care for Medicaid-enrolled children with asthma: served by community health centers and other providers

OBJECTIVE: To compare the process of care received by Medicaid-enrolled children with asthma served by community health centers (CHCs) and other Medicaid providers. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Five provider types serving Massachusetts Medicaid enrollees: three provider groups--CHCs, hospital outpatient departments (OPDs), and solo/group physicians--participating in the statewide Primary Care Clinician Plan; a staff model health maintenance organization (HMO); and fee-for-service (FFS) providers. STUDY POPULATION: Six thousand three hundred twenty-one Medicaid-enrolled children (age 2-18) with asthma assigned to one of the above provider types in 1994. DATA: Person-level files were constructed by linking Medicaid claims, demographic and enrollment files with HMO encounter data. METHODS: Five claims-based process of care measures reflecting aspects of care recommended in national guidelines were developed and used to analyze patterns of care across provider types, controlling for case-mix and other covariates. RESULTS: Children served by CHCs and the HMO had significantly higher asthma visit rates compared with those served by OPDs, solo/group physicians and FFS providers. CHCs emergency department (ED) visit rates for asthma were lower than those of OPDs (P <0.001) and similar to other providers. However, CHC patients averaged more asthma hospitalizations relative to solo/group physicians or the HMO (P <0.0001). In multivariate analyses, children served by CHCs were 2.2 times as likely (95% CI, 1.02-4.91) as those served by solo/group physicians to receive a follow-up visit within 5 days of an asthma ED visit and 4.3 times as likely (95% CI, 1.45-12.68) to receive a follow-up visit within 5 days of hospital discharge. CHC patients with utilization suggestive of persistent asthma were less likely (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.13-0.59) than those served by solo/group physicians to be seen by an asthma specialist. There were no significant differences in measures of asthma pharmacotherapy across providers types. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that CHCs provide more timely follow-up care after an asthma ED visit or hospitalization relative to solo/group physicians, but diminished access to asthma specialists. There were no differences in asthma pharmacology across providers. Relatively low access to asthma specialists among children served by CHCs warrants further investigation.     

Impact of quality circles for improvement of asthma care: results of a randomized controlled trial

Rationale and aims Quality circles (QCs) are well established as a means of aiding doctors. New quality improvement strategies include benchmarking activities. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of QCs for asthma care working either with general feedback or with an open benchmark. Methods Twelve QCs, involving 96 general practitioners, were organized in a randomized controlled trial. Six worked with traditional anonymous feedback and six with an open benchmark; both had guided discussion from a trained moderator. Forty‐three primary care practices agreed to give out questionnaires to patients to evaluate the efficacy of QCs. Results A total of 256 patients participated in the survey, of whom 185 (72.3%) responded to the follow‐up 1 year later. Use of inhaled steroids at baseline was high (69%) and self‐management low (asthma education 27%, individual emergency plan 8%, and peak flow meter at home 21%). Guideline adherence in drug treatment increased (P = 0.19), and asthma steps improved (P = 0.02). Delivery of individual emergency plans increased (P = 0.008), and unscheduled emergency visits decreased (P = 0.064). There was no change in asthma education and peak flow meter usage. High medication guideline adherence was associated with reduced emergency visits (OR 0.24; 95% CI 0.07–0.89). Use of theophylline was associated with hospitalization (OR 7.1; 95% CI 1.5–34.3) and emergency visits (OR 4.9; 95% CI 1.6–14.7). There was no difference between traditional and benchmarking QCs. Conclusions Quality circles working with individualized feedback are effective at improving asthma care. The trial may have been underpowered to detect specific benchmarking effects. Further research is necessary to evaluate strategies for improving the self‐management of asthma patients.     

The impact of maternal depression on children with asthma

This integrative literature review focuses on the impact of maternal depression on children with asthma. Maternal depression has a negative impact on a child's growth, development, behavior, mental health, safety, and health care utilization. Mothers of children with chronic conditions such as asthma have higher rates of depression compared to mothers of children without a chronic condition. Research has shown that maternal depression has the potential to increase asthma morbidity and health care utilization. In addition, mothers with depressive symptoms report lower self-efficacy in their ability to care for their children with asthma, which can affect their ability to manage their child's asthma with the prescribed medication regimen. To provide optimal care for children with asthma and their families, pediatric care providers must perform periodic depression screening to mothers or caregivers. Depressed mothers or caregivers of children with asthma require care coordination and management that consists of increased education on asthma and depression, and more frequent follow up than families without maternal/caregiver depression. These additional care measures have numerous positive benefits, including enhancing the quality of life in both the child and caregiver by improving asthma management in the child and depressive symptoms in the mother, as well as decreasing costs imposed on the economy through reduced emergency department visits, hospitalizations, missed work days, and missed school days.     

The Finnish national asthma programme: communication in asthma care--quality assessment of asthma referral letters

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The Finnish National Asthma Programme, which was launched in year 1994, considered the management of asthma as a community problem. The role of the primary health care in the management of asthma was emphasized. Optimal asthma management includes good communication between health care professionals. Referral letters are an accepted tool for evaluation of the communication process. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of asthma-related referral letters. METHODS: All non-acute referral letters (n=3176) to three pulmonary departments were screened in 2001 and all those related to asthma were included (n=1289). The 14 previously derived asthma-specific criteria were applied: occupation, smoking, known allergies, current medication, other diseases, onset of symptoms, wheezing, dyspnoea, specified dyspnoea, cough, specified cough, use of asthma medication, peak-flow follow-up or spirometry with bronchodilatation test as an attachment. The study group was prepared to accept the maximum of 30% of the referral letters to be of poor quality. RESULTS: Twenty-one per cent of the referral letters were graded good, 34% satisfactory and 45% poor. Information on wheezing, smoking habits and current medication was mentioned in 44%, 42% and 41% of asthma letters respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Finnish National Asthma Programme calls for optimizing communication between doctors. The proportion of poor letters was 50% higher than the preset standard and clearly indicates a need for improvement. We found several issues, which need to be better communicated (smoking, lung function tests, wheezing, medication) when referring a patient with suspected asthma.     

Nursing students’ knowledge,attitude and readiness to work for clients with sexual health concerns

Aims. To investigate nursing students’ knowledge, attitude and readiness to work for clients with sexual health concerns and to identify strategies to help students develop as they take up their role in sexual health‐related care. Background. There is an increasing global demand for improving sexual health. A better understanding of nursing students’ attitude and readiness to work for clients with sexual health concerns is the beginning of this endeavour. The need to explore strategies for developing competent health care practitioners is timely. Design. A cross‐sectional survey. Methods. Nursing students (n = 377) studying in pre‐ and postregistration programmes were surveyed at a university in Hong Kong using a questionnaire with open‐ and closed‐ended questions about their knowledge, attitude and self‐perception on readiness to work for clients with sexual health concerns. Results. Students’ knowledge of sexual health was satisfactory. They were positive in acknowledging the nursing role in sexual health care, but hesitant in taking up an active role in practice. Students’ readiness to participate in related activities was below satisfactory. Their perception of inadequate knowledge, feelings of anxiety, worries about colleagues’ and clients’ possible adverse responses and inadequate exemplars were major factors affecting their readiness. This paper also highlighted some important learning areas and strategies that could help in enhancing students’ knowledge and confidence in sexual health care practices. Conclusion. Improving the educational programme and clinical practice for nursing students is necessary but may not be adequate. Valuing the affective aspect of education, formal recognition of this extended role and advancing related education to a postexperience level would also benefit the development of sexual health care. Relevance to clinical practice. Preparing more mentors as exemplars, inviting clinicians and managers as partners in sexual health‐related care would help nursing students to work efficiently for clients with sexual health concerns.     

Improving the psychosocial work environment

AIM: This paper reports a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory organizational intervention to improve the psychosocial work environment in one long-term care unit. BACKGROUND: Since the early 1990s, health care institutions in Quebec have been constantly changing in order to improve the efficiency of the health care system. These changes have affected the work environment and have contributed to higher rates of burnout and absenteeism among nurses and other health care workers. METHOD: The study participants were health care workers in a long-term care unit (n = 60). The participatory organizational intervention was based on a contract and carried out by a work team. Work constraints were identified, and an action plan implemented, The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated by pre- and postintervention questionnaires: the Job Content Questionnaire, Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire and Psychiatric Symptom Index. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in reward (P < or = 0.01) and a significant decrease in Effort-Reward Imbalance (P < or = 0.01) following the intervention. Absenteeism rates decreased from 8.26% to 1.86% over the study period, but in the rest of the institution remained the same. However, there was a significant decrease in social support from supervisors (P < 0.05) at post-test. CONCLUSION: Participation by health care workers and action plans targeting problematic aspects of the psychosocial work environment are key elements in interventions to improve their health. However, such interventions present challenges, such as the involvement of managers, involvement of all relevant participants, and re-establishment of trust within work teams. Recognition and respect must be re-established, and supervisors must engage with health care workers and give support at all stages of the intervention.     

Psychosocial work environment of hospital workers: validation of a comprehensive assessment scale

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that adverse workplace factors can increase the risk of ill-health in hospital workers, but more comprehensive measures of the psychosocial work environment are needed. OBJECTIVES: To test a comprehensive and theory-based psychosocial work environment questionnaire and analyze associations with mental health in a sample of Danish hospital workers. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional study with 343 female employees from a large Danish hospital, including patient care workers (nurses, nurse assistants, midwives) and laboratory technicians. METHODS: The psychosocial work environment was measured with 14 scales from the Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire, version I, covering three main areas: demands at work, work organization and interpersonal relations at work. We further measured self-rated mental health and sociodemographic and employment characteristics of the participants. Cronbach's alphas, analyses of covariance, one-sample t-tests, partial correlations and linear regression models were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Of the 14 work psychosocial workplace scales 12 showed a satisfactory internal consistency (alpha>0.70). Patient care workers had more quantitative, emotional and cognitive demands (all p-values <0.001), higher work pace (p<0.001) and more role conflicts (p=0.01) than laboratory technicians, but also better work organization, including more influence at work, better possibilities for development and a higher meaning of work (all p-values <0.001). Both patient care workers and laboratory technicians had substantially higher scores on the demand scales and lower scores on the influence at work scale than the general Danish working population. Further analyses showed that high levels of demands at work and low levels of work organization and problematic interpersonal relations at work were associated with lower self-rated mental health. CONCLUSION: The Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire is a suitable instrument to measure the psychosocial work environment of hospital workers. The comprehensive assessment of the psychosocial work environment helps tailoring interventions to the specific needs of different occupational groups.