Workplace Participatory Occupational Health/Health Promotion Program: Facilitators and Barriers Observed in Three Nursing Homes.

Nursing home employees experience high physical and psychosocial workloads, resulting in poor health outcomes. An occupational health/health promotion program, designed to facilitate employee participation, was initiated in three nursing homes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate facilitators and barriers of the program after 3-year implementation. Focus groups with employees and in-depth interviews with top and middle managers were conducted. The Social Ecological Model was used to organize the evaluation. Facilitators and barriers were reported from both managers' and employees' perspectives, and were categorized as intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, and corporate level. Management support, financial resources, and release time for participation were identified as the three most important factors. Supports from multiple levels including both human and environment, and managers and employees, are important for a successful participatory occupational health/health promotion program. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42(6), 34-42.].

Managers' perceptions of the value and impact of HAZWOPER worker health and safety training.

BACKGROUND: Worker training is a core component of the OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard, but few studies have considered what motivates managers to provide HAZWOPER training to employees or what they value in that training. METHODS: In 2012, four university-based programs conducted an exploratory survey of managers who sent employees to HAZWOPER courses. Results from 109 respondents were analyzed. RESULTS: Forty-two percent of respondents cited regulations as the most important reason to provide HAZWOPER training; many indicated they would provide less training if there were no standard in place. Three-quarters (74%) reported training had improved workplace conditions. Fewer than half said they were likely to involve trained employees in aspects of the organization's H&S program. DISCUSSION: Compliance with regulatory requirements is an important factor shaping managers' training delivery decisions. Managers recognize positive impacts of training. These impacts could be enhanced by further leveraging employee H&S knowledge and skills.

Correlates and Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction for Older Adults in Same-Sex Relationships.

Study explored correlates and predictors of sexual satisfaction among older adults in same-sex relationships by examining internalized homophobia, resilience, sexual communication, and relationship satisfaction. Online survey elicited 265 participants (54% female, 46% male), aged 60-75, in same-sex relationships from 1 to 47 years. Participants reported high levels of relationship satisfaction and resilience, moderate levels of sexual communication and sexual satisfaction, and low levels of internalized homophobia. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated relationship satisfaction contributed uniquely to the prediction of sexual satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction was positively correlated with sexual satisfaction and resilience and negatively correlated with internalized homophobia. Internalized homophobia was also negatively correlated with resilience. Recent estimates indicate there are over three million U.S. citizens over 65 who consider themselves LGBTQ, many of whom are in same-sex relationships. Therefore, given the paucity of research and misconceptions about this population, findings, and recommendations are of value to educators, clinicians, and policymakers.

Prospective Evaluation of Fidelity, Impact and Sustainability of Participatory Workplace Health Teams in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Organizational features of work often pose obstacles to workforce health, and a participatory change process may address those obstacles. In this research, an intervention program sought to integrate occupational safety and health (OSH) with health promotion (HP) in three skilled nursing facilities. Three facilities with pre-existing HP programs served as control sites. The intervention was evaluated after 3-4 years through focus groups, interviews, surveys, and researcher observations. We assessed process fidelity in the intervention sites and compared the two groups on the scope of topics covered (integration), program impact, and medium-term sustainability. The intervention met with initial success as workers readily accepted and operationalized the concept of OSH/HP integration in all three intervention facilities. Process fidelity was high at first but diminished over time. At follow-up, team members in two intervention sites reported higher employee engagement and more attention to organizational issues. Two of the three control facilities remained status quo, with little OSH/HP integration. The intervention had limited but positive impact on the work environment and health climate: staff awareness and participation in activities, and organizational factors such as decision-making, respect, communication, and sharing of opinions improved slightly in all intervention sites. Resources available to the teams, management support, and changing corporate priorities affected potential program sustainability.

It will take persistence: the dynamics of a university-community partnership to sustain the New England worker health and safety movement.

The New England Consortium (TNEC) is a university-community partnership that since 1987 has delivered health and safety training for hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) workers. Through two decades of the relative loss of power by the labor and environmental movements and subsequent reductions in state support for worker health and safety, this selective history of TNEC demonstrates its ability to sustain a worker health and safety movement in New England. The evolution of TNEC's partnership process and the principles and policies by which it operates have helped to resolve several critical conflicts and strengthen its working relationships. Partnership dynamics are explored within their political and economic contexts and the need of member organizations to balance fiscal solvency with political objectives.