Is organizational intervention using Layered Voice Analysis effective in addressing operator mental health in call centers? A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To verify the effects of organizational interventions on mental health using Layered Voice Analysis (LVA). METHODS: A 12-week single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with call center operators. Sixty-six participants were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 26), an LVA intervention group (n = 20), or a one-on-one intervention group (n = 20). The control group received general self-care information about preventing mental health problems from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, Japan website. The organizational LVA intervention involved group sessions using participants' voice calls with customers, whereas the one-on-one intervention consisted of meetings or consultations with participants and their supervisors to discuss preventing mental health issues at work. To verify the effectiveness of the intervention program, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered 4 times (baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks) as the primary outcome, and the data were analyzed using a linear mixed model. The intervention of LVA was subdivided and analyzed into LVA ≥5 times and LVA ≤4 times out of the total 6 interventions. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, a significant CES-D reduction effect was observed at 8/12 weeks for the difference of coefficients (DOC; [ßint - ßctrl]) for the intervention of LVA ≥5 times (DOC -1.86 and -2.36, respectively). Similarly, even intervention LVA ≤4 times also showed a significant decrease of CES-D scores at 8/12 weeks (DOC -2.20 and -2.38, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: An organizational intervention using LVA has the potential to reduce the risk of depression among call center operators.

[Expected Duties of Pharmacists and Potential Needs of Physicians and Nurses on a Kaifukuki Rehabilitation Ward].

This study investigated the required duties of pharmacists in a kaifukuki rehabilitation ward from the viewpoint of the ward physicians and nurses. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 27 facilities with kaifukuki rehabilitation wards. The questionnaire examined which duties the physicians and nurses expected from pharmacists while on the ward (4 areas, 10 items), as well as the time required for pharmacists to carry out those duties. Multivariate analysis was used to investigate which types of work took the most time for pharmacists on kaifukuki rehabilitation wards. Responses were received from 43 physicians and 184 nurses who worked on the kaifukuki rehabilitation wards of 19 facilities. The results revealed that the essential duties performed by pharmacists were the management of medical supplies, instruction on the use of self-medicating drugs at the time of introduction, and monitoring drug side effects. Furthermore, some duties, such as the distribution of medicines and changing or suggesting new drugs, required pharmacists to spend extended time on the ward. The responses indicated that physicians and nurses recognized the necessity for pharmacists to perform ward duties along with their routine work. This study shows that physicians and nurses working in kaifukuki rehabilitation wards demand proactive participation from pharmacists in appropriate medical therapy, such as instruction in the administration of medications and assessment at the time of prescription changes.

Local application of fluvastatin improves peri-implant bone quantity and mechanical properties: a rodent study.

Statins are known to stimulate osteoblast activity and bone formation. This study examines whether local application of fluvastatin enhances osteogenesis around titanium implants in vivo. Ten-week-old rats received a vehicle gel (propylene glycol alginate (PGA)) or PGA containing fluvastatin (3, 15, 75 or 300 microg) in their tibiae just before insertion of the implants. For both histological and histomorphometric evaluations undecalcified ground sections were obtained and the bone-implant contact (BIC), peri-implant osteoid volume and mineralized bone volume (MBV) were calculated after 1, 2 and 4 weeks. Using the same models mechanical push-in tests were also performed to evaluate the implant fixation strength. After 1 week the MBV and push-in strength were significantly lower in the 300 microg fluvastatin-treated group than in the other groups (P<0.01). At 2 weeks, however, the BIC and MBV were both significantly higher in the 75 microg fluvastatin-treated group than in the non-fluvastatin-treated groups (P<0.01). Similar tendencies were observed at week 4. Furthermore, the data showed a good correlation between the MBV and the push-in strength. These results demonstrate positive effects of locally applied fluvastatin on the bone around titanium implants and suggest that this improvement in osseointegration may be attributed to calcification of the peri-implant bone.