Impact of hospital security programmes and workplace aggression on nurse perceptions of safety

Aim To assess how nurses’ perception of their safety and risk of violence was affected by their work environment and whether this perception correlated with their actual risk. Background The work environment has an impact on nurses’ perception of their risk of violence and this perception affects worker productivity, quality, employee retention, worker satisfaction and their actual safety. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in person of 314 emergency department nurses and 143 psychiatric nurses, and assault data was collected from injury logs. Results This study found that nurses in the emergency and psychiatric units differed in their perception of violence and safety. The workplace elements that led to a perception of lower risk of violence were not correlated with a lower rate of injury from violent acts. The nurses’ beliefs about the adequacy of security equipment, security guards and the frequency of verbal abuse were strongly correlated with perceived safety. Conclusion Several factors that influence nurses’ perception of their risk of violence are not well correlated with their actual risk. Implications for nursing management Managers must address workplace elements that affect nurse perceptions because this has an impact on quality and employee retention. They must also address factors that have an impact on the actual risk of violence because this study showed, for the first time, that these may differ from perceptions.     

Bioavailability of Lead to Juvenile Swine Dosed with Soil from the Smuggler Mountain NPL Site of Aspen, Colorado

Bioavailability of lead (Pb) has become an issue in quantifyingexposure of sensitive populations and, where necessary, establishingcleanup levels for contaminated soil. Immature swine were usedas a model for young children to estimate the degree to whichPb from two fully characterized composite samples from the SmugglerMountain Superfund Site in Aspen, Colorado may be bioavailableto resident children. The composite soils contained 14,200 and3870 µg Pb/g of soil. Relative and absolute enteric bioavailabilitiesof Pb in soil (oral dose groups of 75,225, and 675 µgPb/kg body wt/day) were estimated by comparison with an orallyadministered soluble Pb salt (lead acetate = PbAc₂·3H₂O)(dose groups of 0, 75, and 225 µg Pb/kg body wt/day) andan intravenously administered aqueous solution of Pb (100 µgPb/kg/day) from the same trihydrate salt administered dailyfor 15 days to 50 juvenile swine. The biological responses (areaunder the blood Pb concentration-time curve, and the terminalliver-, kidney-, and bone-lead concentrations) produced by Pbfrom PbAc₂·3H₂O and lead-contaminated soils were determined.This study revealed Pb from soil containing 14,200 µgPb/g of soil had a bioavailability relative to Pb from PbAc(RBA), ranging from 56% based on the area under the blood leadconcentration-time curve (AUC) versus dose, to 86% based oncalculations from liver- Pb loading versus dose. Similarly,Pb from soil containing 3870 µg Pb/g of soil had an RBAranging from 58% based on the AUC versus dose, to 74% basedon calculations from liver- and kidney- Pb loading versus dose.Bioavailability of Pb in soils may be more or less than EPA'sdefault RBA of 60%, therefore, measuring site- specific RBAsprovides a basis for improved exposure and risk assessment.     

Chronic Effects of Dietary Fumonisin on the Heart and Pulmonary Vasculature of Swine

Fumonisins, mycotoxins produced in Fusarium moniliforme infectedcorn, are hepatotoxic in several species and induce hepatocarcinomasin laboratory rats, leukoencephalomalacia in equine species,and fulminant pulmonary edema in swine. To date, the effectsof fumonisin on pigs has dealt solely with the high levels requiredto induce the dramatic development of acute fulminant, and usuallylethal, pulmonary edema. Less sensational, but equally important,are the chronic effects of fumonisin on swine health. In thefirst trial, six gilts were fed, ad libitum, a formulated completeration containing 100 mg fumonisin B₁ (FB₁ )/kg for 10 daysfollowed by a ration containing 190 mg FB₁/kg for up to 83 days.In the second trial, five gilts were fed, ad libitum, rationscontaining 150–170 mg FB₁/kg for up to 210 days. The concentrationof fumonisin B₂ (FB₂) was 31 ± 2% that of the FB₁ Weight-matchedcontrols were selected for cardiac parameter comparison. Pigsfed fumonisin for at least 93 days developed nodular hyperplasiaof the liver. Evidence from the microscopic examination of heartand lungs and gravimetric measurements of cardiac tissues fromfour pigs exposed to dietary fumonisins for 6 months suggeststhat the pulmonary vasculature is a target of chronic exposure.This study provides additional evidence linking the pathogenesisof fumonisin-induced lesions in a variety of organ systems ofvarious animal species to a vascular mechanism.