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Analysis of occupational infections among health care workers in Limpopo province of South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Occupational infections particularly hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a serious problem in the healthcare industry worldwide. This study purported to investigate their prevalence and risk factors among healthcare workers from Limpopo province of South Africa. METHODS: Cases about occupational infectious diseases of healthcare workers from Limpopo province that were submitted to the Compensation Commissioner from January 2006 to December 2009 were reviewed. RESULTS: The total number of cases of infectious diseases reported during the study period was 56; of these, 83.9% (47) of cases were for tuberculosis, 10.7% (6) for cholera, and 5.4% (3) for chickenpox. Nurses were the most affected. Risk factors associated with the acquisition of infection diseases were as follows. The majority of those infected were female (67.9%), aged over 40 years (57.1%), and who had worked for over 10 years (59.2%). With regard to length of time it took for one to be infected, overall it took 13.6±9.7 years from the year of employment to being infected. This duration was just 5.7±4.2 years in HCWs younger than 40 years versus 18.4±9.0 years in those 40 years and over (p=0.001); and 11.4±10.3 years in nurses versus 17.1±7.8 years in non-professional staff members (p=0.046). Mopani district, situated in a rural setting was the most affected as 24 of the 47 cases of tuberculosis occurred there. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the most common occupational infection or hospital acquired infection among healthcare workers in Limpopo province of South Africa was tuberculosis. It infected mainly nurses from the rural health district of Mopani. Younger age and being a nurse were significant risk factors associated with being infected early.

Web-based computer adaptive assessment of individual perceptions of job satisfaction for hospital workplace employees.

BACKGROUND: To develop a web-based computer adaptive testing (CAT) application for efficiently collecting data regarding workers' perceptions of job satisfaction, we examined whether a 37-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ-37) could evaluate the job satisfaction of individual employees as a single construct. METHODS: The JCQ-37 makes data collection via CAT on the internet easy, viable and fast. A Rasch rating scale model was applied to analyze data from 300 randomly selected hospital employees who participated in job-satisfaction surveys in 2008 and 2009 via non-adaptive and computer-adaptive testing, respectively. RESULTS: Of the 37 items on the questionnaire, 24 items fit the model fairly well. Person-separation reliability for the 2008 surveys was 0.88. Measures from both years and item-8 job satisfaction for groups were successfully evaluated through item-by-item analyses by using t-test. Workers aged 26 - 35 felt that job satisfaction was significantly worse in 2009 than in 2008. CONCLUSIONS: A Web-CAT developed in the present paper was shown to be more efficient than traditional computer-based or pen-and-paper assessments at collecting data regarding workers' perceptions of job content.

The effect of prolonged exposure to war stress on the comorbidity of PTSD and depression among hospital personnel.

The relationship between exposure to war stress and to traumatic and depressive symptoms among hospital personnel is understudied. Hospital personnel who were exposed to frequent missile attacks and casualties of war, both military and civilians (n=106), were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depression a month after the war between Lebanon and Israel erupted. Increased risk for PTSD symptoms was found to be highly associated with increased risk for depression. Logistic regression analysis showed that hospital personnel with increased risk for PTSD symptoms had a significantly elevated risk for depression in comparison to hospital personnel without increased risk for PTSD symptoms (odds ratio=18.86, 95%CI=4.08-87.07). These findings show that hospital personnel exposed to prolonged war stress exhibited higher levels of depression in comparison to previous single exposure researches. No profession differences were found in the levels of depression, but physicians were found to be less vulnerable than other hospital staff to develop PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with depression. The results warrant further longitudinal study.

Patient safety climate in 92 US hospitals: differences by work area and discipline.

BACKGROUND: Concern about patient safety has promoted efforts to improve safety climate. A better understanding of how patient safety climate differs among distinct work areas and disciplines in hospitals would facilitate the design and implementation of interventions. OBJECTIVES: To understand workers' perceptions of safety climate and ways in which climate varies among hospitals and by work area and discipline. RESEARCH DESIGN: We administered the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey in 2004-2005 to personnel in a stratified random sample of 92 US hospitals. SUBJECTS: We sampled 100% of senior managers and physicians and 10% of all other workers. We received 18,361 completed surveys (52% response). MEASURES: The survey measured safety climate perceptions and worker and job characteristics of hospital personnel. We calculated and compared the percent of responses inconsistent with a climate of safety among hospitals, work areas, and disciplines. RESULTS: Overall, 17% of responses were inconsistent with a safety climate. Patient safety climate differed by hospital and among and within work areas and disciplines. Emergency department personnel perceived worse safety climate and personnel in nonclinical areas perceived better safety climate than workers in other areas. Nurses were more negative than physicians regarding their work unit's support and recognition of safety efforts, and physicians showed marginally more fear of shame than nurses. For other dimensions of safety climate, physician-nurse differences depended on their work area. CONCLUSIONS: Differences among and within hospitals suggest that strategies for improving safety climate and patient safety should be tailored for work areas and disciplines.

The psychometric properties of the 'Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture' in Dutch hospitals.

BACKGROUND: In many different countries the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) is used to assess the safety culture in hospitals. Accordingly, the questionnaire has been translated into Dutch for application in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to examine the underlying dimensions and psychometric properties of the questionnaire in Dutch hospital settings, and to compare these results with the original questionnaire used in USA hospital settings. METHODS: The HSOPS was completed by 583 staff members of four general hospitals, three teaching hospitals, and one university hospital in the Netherlands. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to examine the applicability of the factor structure of the American questionnaire to the Dutch data. Explorative factor analyses were performed to examine whether another composition of items and factors would fit the data better. Supplementary psychometric analyses were performed, including internal consistency and construct validity. RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analyses were based on the 12-factor model of the original questionnaire and resulted in a few low reliability scores. 11 Factors were drawn with explorative factor analyses, with acceptable reliability scores and a good construct validity. Two items were removed from the questionnaire. The composition of the factors was very similar to that of the original questionnaire. A few items moved to another factor and two factors turned out to combine into a six-item dimension. All other dimensions consisted of two to five items. CONCLUSION: The Dutch translation of the HSOPS consists of 11 factors with acceptable reliability and good construct validity. and is similar to the original HSOPS factor structure.

Measuring hospital-wide activity volume for patient safety and infection control: a multi-centre study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, as in many other countries, several quality and safety assurance measures have been implemented since the 1990's. This has occurred in spite of cost containment efforts. Although government and hospital decision-makers demand comprehensive analysis of these activities at the hospital-wide level, there have been few studies that actually quantify them. Therefore, the aims of this study were to measure hospital-wide activities for patient safety and infection control through a systematic framework, and to identify the incremental volume of these activities implemented over the last five years. METHODS: Using the conceptual framework of incremental activity corresponding to incremental cost, we defined the scope of patient safety and infection control activities. We then drafted a questionnaire to analyze these realms. After implementing the questionnaire, we conducted several in-person interviews with managers and other staff in charge of patient safety and infection control in seven acute care teaching hospitals in Japan. RESULTS: At most hospitals, nurses and clerical employees acted as the main figures in patient safety practices. The annual amount of activity ranged from 14,557 to 72,996 person-hours (per 100 beds: 6,240; per 100 staff: 3,323) across participant hospitals. Pharmacists performed more incremental activities than their proportional share. With respect to infection control activities, the annual volume ranged from 3,015 to 12,196 person-hours (per 100 beds: 1,141; per 100 staff: 613). For infection control, medical doctors and nurses tended to perform somewhat more of the duties relative to their share. CONCLUSION: We developed a systematic framework to quantify hospital-wide activities for patient safety and infection control. We also assessed the incremental volume of these activities in Japanese hospitals under the reimbursement containment policy. Government and hospital decision makers can benefit from this type of analytic framework and its empirical findings.

[Specialist hospitals' management of care for cardiovascular in-patients]. / Les prises en charge hospitalières de référence des affections cardiovasculaires.

In order to identify and describe the organisation of specialist hospitals' technical services and activities for patients with cardiovascular disease, we applied the classification method of Barrubes et al. to their in-patients' hospitalisation period for a duration of 24 hours or more. Technical activities are defined as the state-of-the-art medicine for extremely complex diseases requiring specifically skilled attention. This simple method enabled the identification of specialist technical activities for treating patients with cardiovascular disease and to learn more about the role of the public and private providers of hospital care, roles which vary according to French geographic areas and regions.

The prevalence of fibromyalgia in Japanese workers.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the point prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) among hospital workers and to make a list of the reported FM prevalence using the classification criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for FM. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-three females and 196 males were surveyed using the 1990 ACR classification criteria of FM. The subjects were staff workers and non-staff workers (such as floor sweepers and personnel of pharmaceutical companies) who worked in medical institutions. RESULTS: One hundred and six of the 343 females (30.9%) and 34 of the 196 males (17.3%) had complained of widespread pain for at least 3 months. All subjects who had complained of widespread pain for at least 3 months were examined by one experienced physician. Seven of the 343 females (2.04%) and one of the 196 males (0.51%) met the ACR criteria for FM. All of these eight subjects had seen a physician after the occurrence of widespread pain. Four of the eight subjects with FM had seen a physician in the past year. Only one subject had been diagnosed with FM before this study. CONCLUSION: The advantage of this study was the extremely low dropout rate. FM is a common musculoskeletal disorder among Japanese adult workers, especially among female workers.

[Vaccination against influenza: results of a study on vaccination coverage among health care workers in the Croix-Rousse Hospital (Hospitals of Lyon)]. / Vaccination contre la grippe: résultats d'une enquête sur la couverture vaccinale du personnel hospitalier à l'hôpital de la Croix-Rousse (hôpitaux de Lyon).

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the vaccinal status among Croix-Rousse Hospital workers, attitude towards this vaccination, and the information delivered in order to promote this vaccination. METHODS: Questionnaires were delivered by electronic mailing. RESULTS: Six hundred (and) twenty-nine questionnaires were analyzed (26.7% of hospital workers); 30.7% of responders were vaccinated against influenza, 89.2% of responders were aware of influenza and vaccine. Vaccine coverage was lower in younger workers, non health-care workers, non physician health-care workers, and surgeons who responded. Motivation and reserve varied according to the status, position, and age, with some discrepancies. CONCLUSION: These results suggest implementing a better targeted vaccination campaign, according to the various categories of personnel.

Relations between ethnic Croats and ethnic Serbs at Vukovar General Hospital in wartime and peacetime.

This article examines war and peacetime ethnic relations at Vukovar General Hospital in Croatia's Eastern Slavonia region. A negotiated peace agreement paved the way for a multi-sectored approach to the reintegration of Eastern Slavonia back into the state and rapprochement between ethnic groups under the supervision of a United Nations transitional administration. This case study provides a glimpse into the realities of those peace-building processes on an institutional level in Eastern Slavonia's healthcare system. The reintegration of Vukovar hospital, the transition of Eastern Slavonia's health sector and peace-building in the region in general received much deserved accolades despite some flaws and minor setbacks. These experiences can still serve as a model for the rest of Croatia and for other countries emerging from civil conflicts.

Sickness-related absence among employees at a tertiary care center in Lebanon.

The authors studied the rate of sickness-related absence of employees at a tertiary care center. They examined sickness-related absence records of employees, including nurses, food service workers, housekeeping, and security personnel, in a university teaching hospital in Lebanon over a period of 1 year. These departments included 1,010 employees, of which 47% took sickness absences during the study period. In all, 49.02% of the nursing employees, 43.67% of the food service workers, 37.79% of the housekeeping employees, and 47.5% of the protection/security workers took sickness-related absences. Employees in younger age groups took the majority of sicknessrelated absences; in general, these constituted short-duration sickness-related absences (relative to those taken by emploees in older age groups; dietary personnel were the exception to this pattern). Principal causes of sickness-related absences were respiratory illness and musculoskeletal problems. The authors observed that distribution of sickness-related absences among the departments studied was similar to the actual distribution of employees. They considered reasons for sicknessrelated absences as pertinent to each category.

Training for terrorism-related conditions in hospitals: United States, 2003-04.

OBJECTIVE: This study estimates baseline data to determine which hospital characteristics are associated with providing terrorism preparedness training to clinical staff. METHODS: Information from a Bioterrorism and Mass Casualty Supplement to the 2003 and 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys was used to provide national estimates of variations in terrorism preparedness training by eight hospital characteristics. Of 874 hospitals in scope, 739 (84.6 percent) responded. Estimates are presented with 95 percent confidence intervals. RESULTS: Hospitals with Joint Commission accreditation were more likely to provide terrorism preparedness training to all types of clinical staff (staff physicians, residents, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and laboratory staff). Teaching hospitals, medical school affiliation, bed capacity, and urban location were also associated with training staff physicians, residents, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Hospitals with residency programs were associated with training only staff physicians and residents. There was more parity across hospital characteristics in training nurses and laboratory staff than for physicians, residents, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Joint Commission accreditation was the most consistent factor associated with providing training for all nine exposures studied (smallpox, anthrax, chemical and radiological exposures, botulism, plague, tularemia, viral encephalitis, and hemorrhagic fever).

Health status of health care workers at Srinagarind Hospital: experience from the Annual Health Check-up Program.

The authors conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of a health check-up program and the health status of health care workers at Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. The authors reviewed all yearly-check up charts of personnel who worked at Srinagarind Hospital from 2002 to 2003 including history taking, physical examination, and laboratory testings. There were 606 office workers and 1,024 nursing staff enrolled The mean ages of both groups were 38.9 and 36.5 years old, respectively. The office workers visited physicians significantly more often than the nursing staff (553 of 606 vs 271 of 1,024; p-value = 0.00). Obesity was found much more in office workers (127 of 472 versus 129 of 749). There were significant differences between the groups on impaired fasting plasma glucose, DM, HT, high cholesterol level, high triglyceride level, and significant elevation of ALT or AST (all p-value = 0.00). In the obese group, there was also a significantly higher number of cases who had high blood pressure, defined as IFG or DM, high cholesterol level, and high triglyceride level (p-value = 0.00) except the significant elevation of ALT or AST level. Cases of obesity with significant elevation of hepatic enzyme had many atherosclerotic risk factors. Therefore, metabolic derangements are the important problem for health care workers.

Psychological well-being among hospital personnel: the role of family demands and psychosocial work environment.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the effect of gender role and the psychosocial work environment on the psychological well-being of hospital staff in two general hospitals in the province of Valencia (Spain). METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 313 workers by means of a self-answered questionnaire. The outcome variable (psychological well-being) was evaluated with four dimensions of the "SF-36 Health Survey" (mental health, vitality, limitations in the emotional role and limitations in the social function). The explanatory variables were: characteristics related to gender role, professional characteristics and the psychosocial working environment evaluated according to Karasek and Johnson's demand-control-support model. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated by logistical regression. RESULTS: Those who have very good marital relationship have less risk of presenting bad mental health, OR 0.43 (0.24-0.78), and limitation in the social function, OR 0.43 (0.24-0.77), and in the emotional role, OR 0.35 (0.16-0.74). Those who dedicate more than 30 h a week to domestic chores have a higher risk of limitation of social function, OR 2.48 (1.16-5.31). Those exposed to high psychological demands present a higher probability of having bad mental health, OR 1.77 (1.04-3.00). Those exposed to low job social support have a higher risk of bad mental health, OR 1.86 (1.09-3.19), low vitality, OR 2.21 (1.30-3.77), and limitation in the social function, OR 1.88 (1.10-3.22). CONCLUSION: Gender role and psychosocial work environment have a negative influence on the psychological well-being of hospital staff.

Rubella serosurveys at three Aravind Eye Hospitals in Tamil Nadu, India.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the susceptibility of female eye hospital staff to rubella infection and the potential risk for hospital-based rubella outbreaks. METHODS: A prospective cohort study on the seroprevalence of rubella IgG antibodies was conducted at three large eye hospitals in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India, where young children with eye abnormalities attributable to congenital rubella are treated. A total of 1000 female hospital employees aged 18-40 years agreed to participate and gave written informed consent. FINDINGS: The proportions of rubella-seronegative women were: 11.7% at Coimbatore, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 8.1-16.5; 15% at Madurai (95% CI = 12.3-18.1), and 20.8 at Tirunelveli (95% CI = 14.7-28.6). For the entire cohort the proportion seronegative was significantly higher among married women (21.5%) than among single women (14.0%) (P = 0.02). Rates of seronegativity were highest among physicians and lowest among housekeepers. All 150 seronegative women in the study sample accepted a dose of rubella vaccine. CONCLUSION: These are the first rubella serosurveys to have been reported from eye hospitals in any country. The relatively high rate of susceptibility indicated a risk of a rubella outbreak, and this was reduced by vaccinating all seronegative women. A policy has been established at all three hospitals for the provision of rubella vaccine to new employees. Other hospitals, especially eye hospitals and hospitals in countries without routine rubella immunization, should consider the rubella susceptibility of staff and the risk of hospital-based rubella outbreaks.