journal-of-occupational-and-environmental-medicine &laquo; WordPress.com Tag Feed http://en.wordpress.com/tag/journal-of-occupational-and-environmental-medicine/ Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "journal-of-occupational-and-environmental-medicine" Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:18:50 +0000 http://en.wordpress.com/tags/ en <![CDATA[Stress and Distress at Work]]> http://srxawordonhealth.com/2013/06/10/stress-and-distress-at-work/ Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:00:36 +0000 srxa http://srxawordonhealth.com/2013/06/10/stress-and-distress-at-work/ stress at workHere’s a classic Catch-22 conundrum for co-workers to consider. Psychological distress, such as feelings of  worthlessness, hopelessness, nervousness, and/or restlessness)  can be predictors  of early stage anxiety and depression. It can also lead to decreased job productivity and absenteeism. But, it may actually be the job that’s creating the mental distress in the first place. Norwegian researchers have identified that perceived role conflicts and emotional demands are the most important and most consistent risk factors for psychological distress. While other psychosocial working conditions have been linked to distress, this study is the first to highlight the importance of these two issues. Håkon A. Johannessen, PhD, and colleagues from the Norwegian National Institute of Occupational Health, looked at how the work environment affected employees’ levels of psychological distress. Sixteen percent of workers said they were at least slightly bothered by psychological distress over the past month. The study focused on two main risk factors: role conflict, such as being given work tasks without enough resources to complete them and receiving contradictory requests from different people; and emotional demands, defined as “dealing with strong feelings such as sorrow, anger, desperation and frustration” at work. contradiction_smallProblematic levels of distress were 53% more likely for workers reporting role conflict and 38% more likely for those facing high emotional demands. Other risk factors were low job control, bullying/harassment, and job insecurity. The researchers conclude that employers should focus on the identified risk factors to improve the psychosocial work environment and thus promote good mental health and productivity among employees. Is your job getting you down? Have you any tips for beating work-related stress?  We’d love to hear from you. SRxA-logo for web

]]> <![CDATA[Clean Up Your Act With These (Cleaning) Facts]]> http://3aclean.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/clean-up-your-act-with-these-cleaning-facts/ Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:02:44 +0000 3aclean http://3aclean.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/clean-up-your-act-with-these-cleaning-facts/ A clean business has a tremendous impact on the success of your company. Along with the major benefits of having a clean working environment, there are also some interesting facts that contribute to the long-term growth and success of your business. Check them out:

  • An entryway carpet can collect more than 39 pounds of dirt over the course of a single year.
  • Office break rooms and kitchens are teaming with illness-causing bacteria, housing contamination that can be spread throughout the workplace without proper, regular cleaning.
  • Respiratory illnesses contracted in the work place can cost employers as much as $134 per employee per year, according to a study reported in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
  • New customers form their first impression of your business within 30 seconds of entering it. In fact, their impressions began to form even before they enter the building, as customers relate the outside appearance to the quality of product or service inside.
  • According to a national online survey, customers of convenience stores and restaurants make a connection between the cleanliness of restrooms and the cleanliness of other parts of the facility. If they find restrooms that are unhygienic, smell badly, or are poorly stocked with supplies, they are much less likely to return and are more inclined to tell friends and family of their negative experience.
  • More than 20 states across the nation require hospitals to release their infection rates. With access to this information, patients are now choosing their hospital based on cleanliness and infectious disease rates, forcing hospitals with higher infection rates to quickly find ways to do better—or lose patients, revenues and their reputation.
  • According to Dr. Michael Berry, a retired EPA scientist and research professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a 5% loss of productivity due to an unclean building can cost your company thousands of dollars each year.
  • On the other hand, Dr. Berry has also found that a clean, healthy environment increases worker productivity, morale, and company spirit, and raises employee self-esteem.
  • Equally important, Dr. Berry’s studies show that a clean, healthy environment is a friendlier, less stressful workplace. It reduces liability (less accidents), tardiness, sick days, turnover, and the number of disgruntled employees.
]]> <![CDATA[Metal Debris in Patients' Bloodstream is "Harmless," J&J Toxicologists Say]]> http://earlsview.com/2013/02/28/metal-debris-in-patients-bloodstream-is-harmless-jj-toxicologists-say/ Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:36:04 +0000 Allison http://earlsview.com/2013/02/28/metal-debris-in-patients-bloodstream-is-harmless-jj-toxicologists-say/ The metal debris Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s DePuy ASR hip implant shed into a man’s bloodstream and tissue is harmless, a toxicologist claimed in the first of 10,000 lawsuits that allege J&J defectively designed the device. Dennis J. Paustenbach – a researcher paid by J&J – told jurors on J&J’s behalf that the cobalt and chromium from the implant did not cause or worsen plaintiff Loren Kransky’s health problems, and that his chromium levels were “basically of no health risk.”

89370516-hipJ&J’s lawyers claim Kransky already has diseased blood vessels in his body, and that the elevated metal levels in Kransky’s body can be traced to diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, stroke and kidney cancer instead of hip replacement failure, a Bloomberg article reported.

J&J recalled the ASR hip in August 2010 after 12 percent of the devices had failed. That number has since climbed to 40 percent in Australia.

Paustenbach was part of a team of researchers who claim they were unable to find previously published medical literature on the effects of cobalt on the body. The research conducted by the firm ChemRisk Inc. – which been retained in the past by companies accused of being responsible for chromium pollution – has cost J&J’s DePuy unit at least $5 million over the past 18 months. Paustenbach also claimed they found no evidence of an increased cancer risk associated with the device, and that cobalt is “not an issue to be concerned about at concentrations observed in patients with implants.”

Paustenbach cited several different studies to support his claims, including 1950s research of anemia patients given cobalt doses. “In the blood, we found that there were virtually no adverse effects in the people who had levels up to 300 parts per billion,” while Kransky’s highest cobalt reading was 57 parts per billion. He also cited an unpublished study of ten people who received cobalt doses for 30 days with no adverse effects (although the men’s blood levels reached 32 parts per billion and the women reached 91 parts per billion).

Kransky’s attorney read a list of dozens of corporations by which Paustenbach was paid to conduct research; his work has been used on numerous occasions to undermine carcinogen exposure concerns involving materials such as asbestos. When asked if he was referred to as the “go-to guy for industry,” Paustenbach reacted angrily and then acknowledged he had been described that way.

Paustenbach was also questioned extensively about ChemRisk’s Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine article that reversed a study that found a significant association between chromium in drinking water and high rates of cancer in certain regions of China. The journal retracted the article in 2006 for failing to disclose that it was written by his company.

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]]> <![CDATA[Health Updates 31 July 2012]]> http://rjwh617dotcom.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/health-updates-31-july-2012/ Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:25:05 +0000 R.J. Woods-Hill http://rjwh617dotcom.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/health-updates-31-july-2012/
  • ‘Obese‘ label may not apply to heavy ex-NFL players: “Standard definitions of obesity, which are based on height and weight, may not apply to former National Football League players and other groups with greater muscle mass, according to a new study.  ’We found [body-mass index] to overestimate the number of obesity cases in a population of retired professional football athletes,’ Dr. Mark Human and colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a new release from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  The study was published in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  Critics of the widespread use of BMI to determine obesity have noted that highly fit athletes such as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would be considered overweight using that measurement alone.  Researchers compared several measures of obesity among a group of nearly 130 former NFL players who had retired up to 32 years before the study began.  Based on the standard definition of obesity — having a BMI of 30 or higher — 67 percent of players would be considered obese.  The former plays also underwent a test called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DEXA, to provide a detailed measurement of their fat and lean body mass.  The researchers noted the DEXA cutoff point for obesity is 25 percent body fat, or 27 percent for those older than 40.  Based on this measure, only 13 percent of the retired athletes were classified as obese.  The study concluded that DEXA may provide a more accurate measure of obesity in this unique population…The longer a player’s NFL career, the more likely they were to be obese by either definition, the researchers found.  Those with a BMI of 30 or more also were more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea, a common obesity-related condition.” (HealthDay)
  • Panel advises against routine treadmill stress tests: “Every year, hundreds of thousands of older Americans get on a treadmill in a doctor’s office and walk or jog as an electrocardiogram monitors their heart function.  But a growing number of medical authorities  would like to make routine screening using the procedure, known as the treadmill or exercise stress test, largely a thing of the past.  On Monday an expert government panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, joined the call by recommending against routine testing with electrocardiograms, or EKGs, in people who have no known risk factors or symptoms of heart disease, like shortness of breath or chest pains.  The recommendations, published online in Annals of Internal Medicine, made the test the latest addition to an expanding list of once routine screening tools that have fallen out of favor.  Earlier this year, the task force advised against regular screening with the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, blood test, long considered the gold standard for early detection of prostate cancer.  The panel has also come out against measures like annual Pap smears for many women and regular mammograms for women in their 40s…The usefulness of the stress test has been questioned for some time, and in April, a group of nine medical specialty boards included it on its list of 45 common tests and procedures that doctors should perform less often.  Their reasoning, like that of the task force, was than problems associated with the test can outweigh its benefit in many people, perhaps even leading to unnecessary harm….An underlying point of the new recommendations is that the emphasis should no longer be on screening people without symptoms, but on keeping coronary artery disease from developing in the first place.” (NY Times)
  • Adverse drug reactions a major cause of unplanned hospitalizations of elderly veterans: “Veterans who are age 65 and older and taking multiple medications for various conditions are at risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) that can lead to unplanned hospitalizations.  In fact, a new study reveals that 10 percent of unplanned hospitalizations among this group were related to ADRs.  The study included a group of 678 veterans hospitalized directly from an ambulatory care setting for an unplanned admission.  There were 70 ADRs involving 113 drugs in 68 hospitalizations.  More than one-third (36.8 percent) of these hospitalizations were considered to be preventable.  The researchers estimated that if they applied these findings to the population of more than 2.4 million veterans receiving care during the study period (2003-2006), as many as 8,000 hospitalizations would have been preventable.  Multiple medication use, also known as ‘polypharmacy’,  has been shown to be the most consistent and strongest predictor of ADRs in older adults.  Overall, 44.8 percent of veterans took nine or more outpatient medications and 35.4 percent took five to eight.” (ahrq.gov)
  • Florida appeals ruling on gun gag law: “The state of Florida is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that halts implementation of a law preventing doctors from asking patients and families about guns in the home.  ’This law was carefully crafted to respect the First Amendment while ensuring a patient’s constitutional right to own or possess a firearm without discrimination,’ Florida governor Rick Scott (R) said in a Monday press release announcing the appeal, which was filed by the state Department of Health.  ’I signed this legislation into law because I believe it is constitutional and I will continue to defend it’.  Scott signed the measure, known as the Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act, on June 2, 2011.  The law made it illegal for physicians to ask patients about guns in their homes; violators faced $500 fines and loss of their medical licenses.  A few days after Scott signed the bill into law, medical groups filed suit to overturn it….In September 2011, US District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled the law unconstitutional.  In her 22-page opinion, she ridiculed the arguments by state officials that the law is necessary to protect gun rights.  ’Despite the State’s insistence that the right to ‘keep arms’ is the primary constitutional right at issue in this litigation, a plain reading of the statute reveals that this in no way affects such rights,’ she wrote.  Appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush, Cooke asserted that, instead, the legislation clearly violated both physicians’ and patients’ right to free speech….Pediatrics groups have recommended that physicians ask patients whether they keep guns at home, and discuss gun safety with those that do in order to prevent shootings involving children.  In 2009, according to the CDC, nearly 400 children younger than 15 were killed by firearms.  But gun-rights advocates contended that such questions are an invasion of patients’ privacy and an infringement of Second Amendment rights.”.  Cooke disagrees strongly.   “Although some people may be ‘offended or uncomfortable’ at the mere question about gun possession, Cooke added, there is not a compelling government interest in protecting them from such discomfort.” (Joyce Frieden, MedPage One)
    • ]]>         <![CDATA[Phone Counseling Helps Workers]]> http://ekim2012.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/phone-counseling-helps-workers/ Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:23:47 +0000 ekim2012 http://ekim2012.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/phone-counseling-helps-workers/

    Employers may be interested to learn that phone counseling programs targeted at depressed workers can help both their employees and their business by improving worker productivity and keeping costs down.

    A study, published in the the February 2012 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, evaluated a program in Maine called the Work and Health Initiative.  In the study, government employees with depression and reduced job productivity were randomly assigned to either the WHI program or usual care.

    The WHI’s phone counseling program involved coaching which targeted work problems related to depression, coordination of care with the patients’ doctors and cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies to help change depression-related thoughts and behaviors that were interfering with the patient’s daily functioning.

    The researchers found that over the course of eight weeks those who participated in the WHI phone counseling program had increased productivity and missed fewer work days, which led to cost savings for the employer.

    Those who participated in the WHI also had better results than those receiving usual care.

    These results may have occurred because the WHI program put an emphasis on returning the employees to effective functioning in their jobs rather than simply concentrating on the medical aspects of depression treatment, say the authors.

    While more research is needed in this area, the authors suggest that the WHI represents a shift away “from a strictly biomedical to a functional paradigm” in depression treatment.

     

    ]]>         <![CDATA[Phone Counseling Helps Workers]]> http://mikesanubis.com/2012/03/01/phone-counseling-helps-workers/ Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:23:47 +0000 Michael J Granata http://mikesanubis.com/2012/03/01/phone-counseling-helps-workers/ <![CDATA[They Must Participate for You to Save $Billions$]]> http://hcdwellnessnow.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/they-must-participate-for-you-to-save-billions/ Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:45:38 +0000 Phil Trotter http://hcdwellnessnow.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/they-must-participate-for-you-to-save-billions/ Dr. Eric Finkelstein. “Employers should consider both the medical and productivity costs of obesity when thinking about investments in weight management or other wellness programs.” Read more

    Each time HCD Consultant teams work with a client community, and in this case the community is the workplace, we assess what is working and design our Wellness Resource Network from there.  Part of the assessment can compare current costs associated with employees who are not physically active and ROI for a wellness participation solution.

    Obesity is expensive — for the person living with it, for the health-care system and now, according to a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, for employers. The U.S. economy suffers a $73.1 billion hit as a result of an obese work force.  Read more

    The oft quoted, “If you build it they will come” certainly does not hold true in the case of getting the least active or inactive among a population into the habit of participation.  Endless fitness rooms and piecemeal “team walking competitions” and such remain under-used and too sporadic.  Regular participation in physical activity is the first step to preventing conditions that negatively impact productivity and quality of work/life.

    Those who deliver stand alone wellness programming will remain as frustrated as those who buy such programs.  Unless a program is solidly bolstered by a process of engagement, validation and administration it’s tough to make it a success in terms of both employee participation and ROI.  Until we all become experts in behavioral change – and don’t look for that any time soon – we need to harness the best social networking, game=based marketing and participation, personal value and relevance components into the “engagement in physical activity” process.

    Because we don’t “own” any of those solutions we can provide what’s best for a particular community and population.  Because HCD is an organization of wellness participation specialists in all 7 areas of the Wellness Resource Network - we can work with the best and most expert in “Engagement.”  Without careful planning around that aspect of a program participation is spotty and savings are far less than optimal.

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