Investigating the impact of smoking habits through photoplethysmography analysis.

Smoking is widely recognized as a significant risk factor in the progression of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular diseases. Valuable information related to cardiac arrhythmias and heart function can be obtained by analyzing biosignals such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) and the photoplethysmogram (PPG). The PPG signal is a non-invasive optical technique that can be used to evaluate the changes in blood volume, and thus it can be linked to the health of the vascular system.Objective. In this study, the impact of three smoking habits-cigarettes, shisha, and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes)-on the features of the PPG signal were investigated.Approach. The PPG signals are measured for 45 healthy smokers before, during, and after the smoking session and then processed to extract the morphological features. Quantitative statistical techniques were used to analyze the PPG features and provide the most significant features of the three smoking habits. The impact of smoking is observed through significant changes in the features of the PPG signal, indicating blood volume instability.Main results. The results revealed that the three smoking habits influence the characteristics of the PPG signal significantly, which presentseven after 15 min of smoking. Among them, shisha has the greatest impact on PPG features, particularly on heart rate, systolic time, augmentation index, and peak pulse interval change. In contrast, e-cigarettes have the least effect on PPG features. Interestingly, smoking electronic cigarettes, which many participants use as a substitute for traditional cigarettes when attempting to quit smoking, has nearly a comparable effect to regular smoking.Significance. The findings suggest that individuals who smoke shisha are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases at an earlier age compared to those who have other smoking habits. Understanding the variations in the PPG signal caused by smoking can aid in the early detection of cardiovascular disorders and provide insight into cardiac conditions. This ultimately contributes to the prevention of the development of cardiovascular diseases and the development of a health screening system.

The Interaction Between Physical and Psychosocial Stressors.

Do physical and psychosocial stressors interact to increase stress in ways not explainable by the stressors alone? A preliminary study compared participants' stress response while subjected to a physical stressor (reduced or full physical load) and a predetermined social stressor (confronted by calm or aggressive behavior). Salivary cortisol samples measured endocrine stress. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) measured autonomic stress. Perceived stress was measured via discomfort and stress state surveys. Participants with a heavier load reported increased distress and discomfort. Encountering an aggressive individual increased endocrine stress, distress levels, and perceived discomfort. Higher autonomic stress and discomfort were found in participants with heavier physical load and aggressive individuals. The results suggest a relationship where physical load increases the stressfulness of aggressive behavior in ways not explainable by the effects of the stressors alone. Future research is needed to confirm this investigation's findings.

Improving Employees' Safety Awareness in Healthcare Organizations Using the DMAIC Quality Improvement Approach.

Occupational injuries and illnesses in healthcare can cause great human suffering, incur high cost, and have an adverse impact on the quality of patient care. One of the most effective solutions for addressing health and safety issues and improving decisions at the point of care rests in raising employees' safety awareness to recognize, avoid, or respond to potential problems before they arise. In this article, the DMAIC Six Sigma model (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is used as a systematic program to measure, improve, and sustain employees' safety awareness in healthcare organizations. We report on a case study using the model, which was implemented and validated at a local hospital. First, the occupational health and safety knowledge that each job requires was identified. Next, the degree of competence of jobholders to meet these requirements was assessed. Based on the assessment, different awareness-raising efforts were proposed and implemented. The results showed significant improvement in the overall safety awareness compliance assessed: from 74.2% to 84.4% (p < .001) after the intervention. The proposed model ensures that the organization's awareness-raising efforts serve its actual needs and produce optimized and sustained results that eventually lead to safer healthcare service.