Protecting healthcare workers during a pandemic: what can a WHO collaborating centre research partnership contribute?

Objectives: To ascertain whether and how working as a partnership of two World Health Organization collaborating centres (WHOCCs), based respectively in the Global North and Global South, can add insights on "what works to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) during a pandemic, in what contexts, using what mechanism, to achieve what outcome". Methods: A realist synthesis of seven projects in this research program was carried out to characterize context (C) (including researcher positionality), mechanism (M) (including service relationships) and outcome (O) in each project. An assessment was then conducted of the role of the WHOCC partnership in each study and overall. Results: The research found that lower-resourced countries with higher economic disparity, including South Africa, incurred greater occupational health risk and had less acceptable measures to protect HCWs at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic than higher-income more-equal counterpart countries. It showed that rigorously adopting occupational health measures can indeed protect the healthcare workforce; training and preventive initiatives can reduce workplace stress; information systems are valued; and HCWs most at-risk (including care aides in the Canadian setting) can be readily identified to trigger adoption of protective actions. The C-M-O analysis showed that various ways of working through a WHOCC partnership not only enabled knowledge sharing, but allowed for triangulating results and, ultimately, initiatives for worker protection. Conclusions: The value of an international partnership on a North-South axis especially lies in providing contextualized global evidence regarding protecting HCWs as a pandemic emerges, particularly with bi-directional cross-jurisdiction participation by researchers working with practitioners.

Protecting health workers from infectious disease transmission: an exploration of a Canadian-South African partnership of partnerships.

BACKGROUND: Health workers are at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases at work, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) with critical health human resource deficiencies and limited implementation of occupational health and infection control measures. Amidst increasing interest in international partnerships to address such issues, how best to develop such collaborations is being actively debated. In 2006, a partnership developed between occupational health and infection control experts in Canada and institutions in South Africa (including an institute with a national mandate to conduct research and provide guidance to protect health workers from infectious diseases and promote improved working conditions). This article describes the collaboration, analyzes the determinants of success and shares lessons learned. METHODS: Synthesizing participant-observer experience from over 9 years of collaboration and 10 studies already published from this work, we applied a realist review analysis to describe the various achievements at global, national, provincial and hospital levels. Expectations of the various parties on developing new insights, providing training, and addressing service needs were examined through a micro-meso-macro lens, focusing on how each main partner organization contributed to and benefitted from working together. RESULTS: A state-of-the-art occupational health and safety surveillance program was established in South Africa following successful technology transfer from a similar undertaking in Canada and training was conducted that synergistically benefitted Northern as well as Southern trainees. Integrated policies combining infection control and occupational health to prevent and control infectious disease transmission among health workers were also launched. Having a national (South-South) network reinforced by the international (North-south) partnership was pivotal in mitigating the challenges that emerged. CONCLUSIONS: High-income country partnerships with experience in health system strengthening - particularly in much needed areas such as occupational health and infection control - can effectively work through strong collaborators in the Global South to build capacity. Partnerships are particularly well positioned to sustainably reinforce efforts at national and sub-national LMIC levels when they adopt a "communities of practice" model, characterized by multi-directional learning. The principles of effective collaboration learned in this "partnership of partnerships" to improve working conditions for health workers can be applied to other areas where health system strengthening is needed.

Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified in an 'Arts for Social Change' Project.

Academics from diverse disciplines are recognizing not only the procedural ethical issues involved in research, but also the complexity of everyday "micro" ethical issues that arise. While ethical guidelines are being developed for research in aboriginal populations and low-and-middle-income countries, multi-partnered research initiatives examining arts-based interventions to promote social change pose a unique set of ethical dilemmas not yet fully explored. Our research team, comprising health, education, and social scientists, critical theorists, artists and community-activists launched a five-year research partnership on arts-for-social change. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council in Canada and based in six universities, including over 40 community-based collaborators, and informed by five main field projects (circus with street youth, theatre by people with disabilities, dance for people with Parkinson's disease, participatory theatre with refugees and artsinfused dialogue), we set out to synthesize existing knowledge and lessons we learned. We summarized these learnings into 12 key points for reflection, grouped into three categories: community-university partnership concerns (n = 3), dilemmas related to the arts (n = 5), and team issues (n = 4). In addition to addressing previous concerns outlined in the literature (e.g., related to consent, anonymity, dangerous emotional terrain, etc.), we identified power dynamics (visible and hidden) hindering meaningful participation of community partners and university-based teams that need to be addressed within a reflective critical framework of ethical practice. We present how our team has been addressing these issues, as examples of how such concerns could be approached in community-university partnerships in arts for social change.

Are COVID-19 vaccination mandates for healthcare workers effective? A systematic review of the impact of mandates on increasing vaccination, alleviating staff shortages and decreasing staff illness.

INTRODUCTION: The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is a cornerstone in the global effort to combat the pandemic. Healthcare workers (HCWs), being at the forefront of the pandemic response, have been the focus of vaccine mandate policies. This review aims to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 vaccine mandates among HCWs, a critical step in understanding the broader implications of such policies in healthcare settings. OBJECTIVE: The review seeks to synthesize available literature to contribute to greater understanding of the outcomes associated with COVID-19 vaccine mandates for HCWs including vaccine uptake, infection rates, and staffing. METHODS: A systematic search of relevant literature published from March 2020 to September 2023 was conducted. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was employed for quality assessment of the included articles. A total of 4,779 publications were identified, with 15 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for the review. A narrative synthesis approach was used to analyze these studies. RESULTS: COVID-19 vaccine mandates for HCWs were broadly successful in increasing vaccine uptake in most settings. Although the penalties imposed on unvaccinated HCWs did not lead to major disruption of health services, less well-resourced areas may have been more impacted. Furthermore, there is insufficient literature on the impact of the vaccine mandate on reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccine mandates for HCWs have significant implications for public health policy and healthcare management. The findings underscore the need for tailored approaches in mandate policies, considering the specific contexts of healthcare settings and the diverse populations of HCWs. While mandates have shown potential in increasing vaccine uptake with minimal impacts to staffing, more work is needed to investigate the impacts of mandates across various contexts. In addition to these impacts, future research should focus on long-term effects and implications on broader public health strategies.

Did the health care vaccine mandate work? An evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on vaccine uptake and infection risk in a large cohort of Canadian health care workers.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the impact of health care vaccine mandates on vaccine uptake and infection risk in a cohort of Canadian health care workers (HCWs). METHODS: We conduct interrupted time series analysis through a regression discontinuity in time approach to estimate the immediate and delayed impact of the mandate. Multilevel mixed effect modeling fitted with restricted maximum likelihood was used to estimate impact on infection risk. RESULTS: The immediate and sustained effects of the mandate was a 0.19% (P < .05) and a 0.012% (P < .05) increase in the daily proportion of unvaccinated HCWs getting their first dose, respectively. An additional 623 (95% confidence interval: 613-667) HCWs received first doses compared to the predicted uptake absent the mandate. Adjusted test positivity declined by 0.053% (95% confidence interval: 0.035%, 0.069) for every additional day the mandate was in effect. DISCUSSION: Our results indicate that the mandate was associated with significant increases in vaccine uptake and infection risk reduction in the cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Given the benefit that vaccination could bring to HCWs, understanding strategies to enhance uptake is crucial for bolstering health system resilience, but steps must be taken to avert approaches that sacrifice trust, foster animosity, or exacerbate staffing constraints for short-term results.

Workplace programmes for HIV and tuberculosis: a systematic review to support development of international guidelines for the health workforce.

The health service sector has a vital role to play in delivering human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) prevention, treatment and care, yet evidence indicates that healthcare workers (HCWs) themselves lack adequate access to HIV and TB services. HCWs are also at increased risk from TB and other infectious diseases at work, and therefore accessing HIV services is particularly important. A systematic review was therefore conducted to inform the development of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to improve access to HIV and TB services, and specifically, to assess the evidence regarding providing such services through workplace-based programmes. We identified any study published since 1984 that addressed outcomes of interest as defined through multi-stakeholder consultations, and were related to workplace interventions in (1) the healthcare workplace and (2) any workplace that included HIV and/or TB diagnosis and/or treatment. Interventions focusing solely on primary prevention with no diagnostic or treatment services were excluded, as they were the subject of other guidelines. A minimum of two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the articles against pre-set selection criteria; studies were also profiled and quality assessed by a minimum of two reviewers. Three studies met these criteria specifically for HCWs; all showed a preponderance of positive benefits, with minimal negative outcome. Seven studies met these criteria regarding workplace HIV and/or TB diagnosis and/or treatment from other sectors, public or private. Again, all showed positive results. The paucity of high-quality evidence in this field of research was itself an important finding, beckoning further research on workplace-based programmes for health workers. Nonetheless, while more well-designed intervention studies are definitely desirable, providing programmes for HCWs to obtain HIV and TB diagnosis and treatment at the workplace is supported by the literature and is consistent with the values of the stakeholders, justifying the WHO-International Labour Organization-UNAIDS guidelines that emerged.

Effectiveness of joint health and safety committees: a realist review.

BACKGROUND: Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) are widely acknowledged as important to a healthy and safe work environment. However, it is also generally believed that having a JHSC is necessary but not sufficient; the JHSC must be effective. METHODS: A systematic review was undertaken to find empirical studies regarding the effectiveness of JHSCs; realist review methodology was applied to determine context-mechanism-outcome patterns. Experts from across Canada and from various sectors and perspectives including government, employers, and unions, were brought together to inform the synthesis. RESULTS: Thirty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Mechanisms identified as important determinants of JHSC effectiveness across various jurisdictions include adequate information, education and training; appropriate committee composition; senior management commitment to JHSCs; and especially a clear mandate with a broad scope and corresponding empowerment (through legislation and/or union presence). CONCLUSIONS: Consistent empowerment mechanisms emerge as determinants of successful JHSCs across contexts despite few evidence-based details for best practice implementation. Intervention research is warranted.

Work-relatedness of low back pain in nursing personnel: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Although non-specific low back pain (LBP) is known to be multifactorial, studies from across the globe have documented their higher prevalence in nurses. This systematic review was conducted to ascertain whether this much-documented association constitutes a causal relationship, and whether there is a discernible threshold of exposures associated with this elevated risk. METHODS: PRISMA guidelines were followed and standard critical appraisal tools were applied. The outcome of interest was non-specific LBP or back injury; exposure was "performing nursing duties." Applicable studies, published in English during 1980-2012, were identified through database searches, screened against preset inclusion/exclusion criteria. Ergonomic assessments of nursing tasks were included along with epidemiological studies. Bradford Hill considerations for causation were utilized as a framework for discussing findings. FINDINGS: Of 987 studies identified, 89 qualified for inclusion, comprising 21 longitudinal, 36 cross-sectional analytic, 23 descriptive biomechanical/ergonomic, and 9 review studies. Overall studies showed that nursing activities conferred increased risk for, and were associated with back disorders regardless of nursing technique, personal characteristics, and non-work-related factors. Patient handling appears to confer the highest risk, but other nursing duties are also associated with elevated risk, and confound dose-response assessments related to patient handling alone. Associations were strong, consistent, temporally possible, plausible, coherent, and analogous to other exposure-outcomes, with risk estimates ranging from 1·2 to 5·5 depending on definitions. A threshold of nursing activities below which the risk of back disorders is not elevated has not been established. INTERPRETATION: Notwithstanding the bio-psycho-social nature of LBP, and complexities of studying this area, sufficient evidence exists of a causal relationship between nursing tasks and back disorders to warrant new policies.

Vaccination, time lost from work, and COVID-19 infections: a Canadian healthcare worker retrospective cohort study.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted hurdles for healthcare delivery and personnel globally. Vaccination has been an important tool for preventing severe illness and death in healthcare workers (HCWs) as well as the public at large. However, vaccination has resulted in some HCWs requiring time off work post-vaccination to recover from adverse events. We aimed to understand which HCWs needed to take time off work post-vaccination, for which vaccine types and sequence, and how post-vaccination absence impacted uptake of booster doses in a cohort of 26,267 Canadian HCWs. By March 31, 2022, more than 98% had received at least two doses of the approved COVID-19 vaccines, following a two-dose mandate. We found that recent vaccination and longer intervals between doses were associated with significantly higher odds of time-loss, whereas being a medical resident and receiving the BNT162b2 vaccine were associated with lower odds. A history of lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with lower odds of receiving a booster dose compared with no documented infection, aOR 0.61 (95% CI: 0.55, 0.68). Similarly, taking sick time following the first or second dose was associated with lower odds of receiving a booster dose, aOR 0.83 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.90). As SARS-CoV-2 becomes endemic, the number and timing of additional doses for HCWs requires consideration of prevention of illness as well as service disruption from post-vaccination time-loss. Care should be taken to ensure adequate staffing if many HCWs are being vaccinated, especially for coverage for those who are more likely to need time off to recover.

Systematizing Information Use to Address Determinants of Health Worker Health in South Africa: A Cross-sectional Mixed Method Study.

Background: Recognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems' building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia. Results: There were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role. Conclusion: Given the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker's rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.

Urban-rural divide in COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates in healthcare workers in British Columbia, Canada.

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a critical role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the pandemic, urban centres were hit hardest globally; rural areas gradually became more impacted. We compared COVID-19 infection and vaccine uptake in HCWs living in urban versus rural locations within, and between, two health regions in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We also analysed the impact of a vaccine mandate for HCWs. Methods: We tracked laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, positivity rates and vaccine uptake in all 29,021 HCWs in Interior Health (IH) and all 24,634 HCWs in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), by occupation, age and home location, comparing to the general population in that region. We then evaluated the impact of infection rates as well as the mandate on vaccination uptake. Results: While we found an association between vaccine uptake by HCWs and HCW COVID-19 rates in the preceding 2-week period, the higher rates of COVID-19 infection in some occupational groups did not lead to increased vaccination in these groups. By 27 October 2021, the date that unvaccinated HCWs were prohibited from providing healthcare, only 1.6% in VCH compared with 6.5% in IH remained unvaccinated. Rural workers in both areas had significantly higher unvaccinated rates compared with urban dwellers. Over 1800 workers, comprising 6.7% of rural HCWs and 3.6% of urban HCWs, remained unvaccinated and set to be terminated from their employment. While the mandate prompted a significant increase in uptake of second doses, the impact on the unvaccinated was less clear. Conclusions: As rural areas often suffer from under-staffing, loss of HCWs could have serious impacts on healthcare provision as well as on the livelihoods of unvaccinated HCWs. Greater efforts are needed to understand how to better address the drivers of rural-related vaccine hesitancy.

Résumé Introduction: Les travailleurs de la santé (TS) jouent un rôle essentiel dans la réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19. Au début de la pandémie, les centres urbains ont été les plus durement touchés à l'échelle mondiale; les zones rurales ont progressivement été plus touchées. Nous avons comparé l'infection à la COVID-19 et l'adoption du vaccin chez les travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé vivant dans des zones urbaines et rurales au sein de deux régions sanitaires de la Colombie-Britannique (C.-B.), au Canada, et entre ces régions. Nous avons également analysé l'impact d'un mandat de vaccination pour les travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé. Méthodes: Nous avons suivi les infections au SRAS-CoV-2 confirmées en laboratoire, les taux de positivité et l'adoption du vaccin chez les 29 021 TS d'Interior Health (IH) et les 24 634 TS de Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), par profession, âge et lieu de résidence, en les comparant à la population générale de cette région. Nous avons ensuite évalué l'impact des taux d'infection ainsi que du mandat sur le recours à la vaccination. Résultats: Bien que nous ayons trouvé une association entre l'adoption du vaccin par les TS et les taux de COVID-19 des travailleurs de la santé au cours de la période de deux semaines précédentes, les taux plus élevés d'infection par la COVID-19 dans certains groupes professionnels n'ont pas entraîné une augmentation de la vaccination dans ces groupes. En date du 27 octobre 2021, date à laquelle il était interdit aux travailleuses et travailleurs de santé non vaccinés de fournir des soins de santé, seul 1,6% des travailleuses et travailleurs de la VCH, contre 6,5% des travailleuses et travailleurs de l'IH, n'étaient toujours pas vaccinés. Les travailleuses et travailleurs ruraux des deux zones présentaient des taux de non-vaccination significativement plus élevés que les citadins. Plus de 1 800 travailleuses et travailleurs, soit 6,7% des TS ruraux et 3,6% des TS urbains, n'étaient toujours pas vaccinés et devaient être licenciés. Bien que le mandat ait entraîné une augmentation significative de la prise des deuxièmes doses, l'impact sur les personnes non-vaccinées était moins clair. Conclusions: Comme les zones rurales souffrent souvent d'un manque de personnel, la perte de TS pourrait avoir de graves répercussions sur la prestation des soins de santé ainsi que sur les moyens de subsistance des TS non-vaccinés. Des efforts plus importants sont nécessaires pour comprendre comment mieux aborder les facteurs d'hésitation à SE faire vacciner en milieu rural. Mots-clés: Travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé, COVID-19, vaccination, mandat de vaccination, milieu rural.

Tool, weapon, or white elephant? A realist analysis of the five phases of a twenty-year programme of occupational health information system implementation in the health sector.

BACKGROUND: Although information systems (IS) have been extensively applied in the health sector worldwide, few initiatives have addressed the health and safety of health workers, a group acknowledged to be at high risk of injury and illness, as well as in great shortage globally, particularly in low and middle-income countries. METHODS: Adapting a context-mechanism-outcome case study design, we analyze our team's own experience over two decades to address this gap: in two different Canadian provinces; and two distinct South African settings. Applying a realist analysis within an adapted structuration theory framing sensitive to power relations, we explore contextual (socio-political and technological) characteristics and mechanisms affecting outcomes at micro, meso and macro levels. RESULTS: Technological limitations hindered IS usefulness in the initial Canadian locale, while staffing inadequacies amid pronounced power imbalances affecting governance restricted IS usefulness in the subsequent Canadian application. Implementation in South Africa highlighted the special care needed to address power dynamics regarding both worker-employer relations (relevant to all occupational health settings) and North-south imbalances (common to all international interactions). Researchers, managers and front-line workers all view IS implementation differently; relationships amongst the workplace parties and between community and academic partners have been pivotal in determining outcome in all circumstances. Capacity building and applying creative commons and open source solutions are showing promise, as is international collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: There is worldwide consensus on the need for IS use to protect the health workforce. However, IS implementation is a resource-intensive undertaking; regardless of how carefully designed the software, contextual factors and the mechanisms adopted to address these are critical to mitigate threats and achieve outcomes of interest to all parties. Issues specific to IS development, including technological support and software licensing models, can also affect outcome and sustainability - especially in the North-south context. Careful attention must be given to power relations between the various stakeholders at macro, meso and micro levels when implementing IS. North-South-South collaborations should be encouraged. Governance as well as technological issues are crucial determinants of IS application, and ultimately whether the system is seen as a tool, weapon, or white elephant by the various involved parties."You may call me a fool, But was there a rule The weapon should be turned into a tool? And what do we see? The first tool I step on Turned into a weapon. - Robert Frost""White (albino) elephants were regarded as holy in ancient times in Thailand and other Asian countries. Keeping a white elephant was a very expensive undertaking, since the owner had to provide the elephant with special food and provide access for people who wanted to worship it. If a Thai King became dissatisfied with a subordinate, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the recipient. - The Phrase Finder"

A Mixed-Methods Study of Risk Factors and Experiences of Health Care Workers Tested for the Novel Coronavirus in Canada.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to investigate occupational and non-work-related risk factors of coronavirus disease 2019 among health care workers (HCWs) in Vancouver Coastal Health, British Columbia, Canada, and to examine how HCWs described their experiences. METHODS: This was a matched case-control study using data from online and phone questionnaires with optional open-ended questions completed by HCWs who sought severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 testing between March 2020 and March 2021. Conditional logistic regression and thematic analysis were utilized. RESULTS: Providing direct care to coronavirus disease 2019 patients during the intermediate cohort period (adjusted odds ratio, 1.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 3.46) and community exposure to a known case in the late cohort period (adjusted odds ratio, 3.595%; confidence interval, 1.86 to 6.83) were associated with higher infection odds. Suboptimal communication, mental stress, and situations perceived as unsafe were common sources of dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Varying levels of risk between occupational groups call for wider targeting of infection prevention measures. Strategies for mitigating community exposure and supporting HCW resilience are required.

Collaboration between infection control and occupational health in three continents: a success story with international impact.

Globalization has been accompanied by the rapid spread of infectious diseases, and further strain on working conditions for health workers globally. Post-SARS, Canadian occupational health and infection control researchers got together to study how to better protect health workers, and found that training was indeed perceived as key to a positive safety culture. This led to developing information and communication technology (ICT) tools. The research conducted also showed the need for better workplace inspections, so a workplace audit tool was also developed to supplement worker questionnaires and the ICT. When invited to join Ecuadorean colleagues to promote occupational health and infection control, these tools were collectively adapted and improved, including face-to-face as well as on-line problem-based learning scenarios. The South African government then invited the team to work with local colleagues to improve occupational health and infection control, resulting in an improved web-based health information system to track incidents, exposures, and occupational injury and diseases. As the H1N1 pandemic struck, the online infection control course was adapted and translated into Spanish, as was a novel skill-building learning tool that permits health workers to practice selecting personal protective equipment. This tool was originally developed in collaboration with the countries from the Caribbean region and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Research from these experiences led to strengthened focus on building capacity of health and safety committees, and new modules are thus being created, informed by that work.The products developed have been widely heralded as innovative and interactive, leading to their inclusion into "toolkits" used internationally. The tools used in Canada were substantially improved from the collaborative adaptation process for South and Central America and South Africa. This international collaboration between occupational health and infection control researchers led to the improvement of the research framework and development of tools, guidelines and information systems. Furthermore, the research and knowledge-transfer experience highlighted the value of partnership amongst Northern and Southern researchers in terms of sharing resources, experiences and knowledge.

Using Artificial Intelligence for High-Volume Identification of Silicosis and Tuberculosis: A Bio-Ethics Approach.

Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly applied, considerable distrust about introducing "disruptive" technologies persists. Intrinsic and contextual factors influencing where and how such innovations are introduced therefore require careful scrutiny to ensure that health equity is promoted. To illustrate one such critical approach, we describe and appraise an AI application - the development of computer assisted diagnosis (CAD) to support more efficient adjudication of compensation claims from former gold miners with occupational lung disease in Southern Africa. In doing so, we apply a bio-ethical lens that considers the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice and add explicability as a core principle. We draw on the AI literature, our research on CAD validation and process efficiency, as well as apprehensions of users and stakeholders. Issues of concern included AI accuracy, biased training of AI systems, data privacy, impact on human skill development, transparency and accountability in AI use, as well as intellectual property ownership. We discuss ways in which each of these potential obstacles to successful use of CAD could be mitigated. We conclude that efforts to overcoming technical challenges in applying AI must be accompanied from the onset by attention to ensuring its ethical use.

Infection control, occupational and public health measures including mRNA-based vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infections to protect healthcare workers from variants of concern: A 14-month observational study using surveillance data.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated measures to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) in Vancouver, Canada, where variants of concern (VOC) went from <1% VOC in February 2021 to >92% in mid-May. Canada has amongst the longest periods between vaccine doses worldwide, despite Vancouver having the highest P.1 variant rate outside Brazil. METHODS: With surveillance data since the pandemic began, we tracked laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, positivity rates, and vaccine uptake in all 25,558 HCWs in Vancouver Coastal Health, by occupation and subsector, and compared to the general population. Cox regression modelling adjusted for age and calendar-time calculated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against SARS-CoV-2 in fully vaccinated (≥ 7 days post-second dose), partially vaccinated infection (after 14 days) and unvaccinated HCWs; we also compared with unvaccinated community members of the same age-range. FINDINGS: Only 3.3% of our HCWs became infected, mirroring community rates, with peak positivity of 9.1%, compared to 11.8% in the community. As vaccine coverage increased, SARS-CoV-2 infections declined significantly in HCWs, despite a surge with predominantly VOC; unvaccinated HCWs had an infection rate of 1.3/10,000 person-days compared to 0.89 for HCWs post first dose, and 0.30 for fully vaccinated HCWs. VE compared to unvaccinated HCWs was 37.2% (95% CI: 16.6-52.7%) 14 days post-first dose, 79.2% (CI: 64.6-87.8%) 7 days post-second dose; one dose provided significant protection against infection until at least day 42. Compared with community infection rates, VE after one dose was 54.7% (CI: 44.8-62.9%); and 84.8% (CI: 75.2-90.7%) when fully vaccinated. INTERPRETATION: Rigorous droplet-contact precautions with N95s for aerosol-generating procedures are effective in preventing occupational infection in HCWs, with one dose of mRNA vaccination further reducing infection risk despite VOC and transmissibility concerns. Delaying second doses to allow more widespread vaccination against severe disease, with strict public health, occupational health and infection control measures, has been effective in protecting the healthcare workforce.

Vaccination of health care workers for influenza: promote safety culture, not coercion.

OBJECTIVES: In British Columbia (BC), Canada, all health care facilities must have a written staff policy on influenza immunization that includes notice that non-immunized staff can be excluded from work without pay during an influenza outbreak in the facility. In light of this policy, our objectives were to explore the views of BC health care workers (HCWs) regarding how best to promote vaccine uptake. METHODS: Long-term care, and acute and community health sites in three of six health regions were divided into thirds, according to their previous season's vaccine uptake rates, and the upper and lower thirds targeted. Ten focus groups were held. NVivo software (QSR International) and a separate editing style were used for analysis. RESULTS: Four dominant themes emerged: knowledge, communication, perceived punitive nature of workplace policy, and safety climate. HCWs across all focus groups noted that influenza campaign communications should include reinforcement of basic infection control, workplace health and healthy lifestyle choices that affect overall health. HCWs indicated that they wanted a workplace policy that is easy to understand, respectful of individual choice and not punitive. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the importance of comprehensive approaches, a message that has not appeared as strongly in previous literature. Focus group participants pointed out the importance of health and safety at work generally and felt that creating a healthy workplace culture is necessary to promoting vaccine uptake. Future vaccine promotion initiatives should be integrated into facility-wide workplace health campaigns and care taken to ensure that vaccination campaigns do not appear coercive to HCWs.

Workload and workforce planning: devolving the programme.

This article describes how implementing the Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning programme has been devolved from central government to individual NHS boards, and how its implementation has helped to ensure that senior nursing staff have become aware of their accountability for workload and workforce planning.

Workload and workforce planning: supplementary staffing.

This article describes how an over-reliance on agency staff in the NHS in Scotland has been addressed by the creation of unified, board-wide nurse banks; the development of a national nurse agency contract; and the use of tools devised by the Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning programme.

Workload and workforce planning: taking a national approach.

In response to an Audit Scotland report, the Scottish Executive, now the Scottish Government, set up the national Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning (NMWWP) programme to define workload and workforce needs, and to analyse the use of bank and agency staff. After extensive research, a systematic, national approach to nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning was recommended. This article, the first in a series of five on this topic, describes the legislation and policies that underpin the NMWWP programme, and highlights the demographic issues that are pertinent to the nursing and midwifery workforce in Scotland.