Topic Modeling mediante Machine Learning no supervisado de artículos científicos sobre Salud Laboral y Servicios de Atención de Salud a Domicilio / Topic Modeling through unsupervised Machine Learning of scientific articles on Occupational Health and Home Care Services

Objetivo: Identificar de manera no supervisada mediante topic modeling los temas de mayor in-terés en el campo de la Salud Laboral y los Ser-vicios de Atención a Domicilio de los artículos científicos publicados en la materia.Método: Este estudio empleó el algoritmo de Machine Learning no supervisado Asignación Latente de Dirichlet para el topic modeling y el lexicón NRC para la realización del análisis de sentimientos del corpus de las fichas docu-mentales obtenidas de MEDLINE (vía PubMed) usando los descriptores “Salud Laboral” y “Ser-vicios de Atención de Salud a Domicilio”.Resultados: Del total de 70 fichas documenta-les analizadas, se obtuvo que la intensidad de las emociones en los textos era baja (oscilando en valores de 5 a 10), teniendo una mayor re-presentación los sentimientos positivos frente a los negativos en una relación de 60/40. No hubo una variación de las proporciones de las emo-ciones con respecto al período del estudio. Se identificaron los cuatro temas de mayor interés en los artículos analizados: cuidado domicilia-rio y satisfacción de los cuidadores, período de lactancia, programas de rehabilitación, y activi-dad física para mitigación del dolor.Conclusiones: Se ha podido constatar que las metodologías del procesado de lenguaje natu-ral pueden ser una gran herramienta de apoyo al análisis de artículos científicos. Concretamen-te, se ha logrado determinar de manera clara y no supervisada los temas de mayor interés en el campo de la Salud Laboral y la Atención de Salud a Domicilio. (AU)

Objective: To identify in an unsupervised man-ner through topic modeling the topics of great-est interest in the field of Occupational Health and Home Care Services from the scientific arti-cles published on the subject.Method: The study used the unsupervised Ma-chine Learning algorithm Dirichlet Latent Assign-ment for topic modeling and the NRC lexicon to carry out the sentiment analysis of the corpus of document files obtained from MEDLINE (via PubMed) using the descriptors “Occupational Health” and “Home Care Services”.Results: Of the total of 70 documentary files analyzed, it was obtained that the intensity of the emotions in the texts was low (ranging in val-ues from 5 to 10), with positive feelings having a greater representation compared to negative ones in a ratio of 60/ 40. There was no variation in the proportions of emotions with respect to the study period. The four topics of greatest interest were identified in the articles analyzed: home care and caregiver satisfaction, breastfeeding period, rehabilitation programs, and physical activity to mitigate pain.Conclusions: It has been confirmed that natural language processing methodologies can be a great support tool for the analysis of scientific articles. Specifically, it has been possible to de-termine in a clear and unsupervised manner the topics of greatest interest in the field of Occupa-tional Health and Home Care Services. (AU)

Polish medical students facing the pandemic-Assessment of resilience, well-being and burnout in the COVID-19 era.

INTRODUCTION: Recent reports indicate that COVID-19 pandemic has significant influence on medical professionals' mental health. Strict limitations in clinical practice and social interactions within academic community, which had to be introduced, could lead to significant psychological distress in medical students. The aim of the study was to assess resilience, well-being and burnout among Polish medical students in the COVID-19 era. METHODS: The online survey consisting of validated questionnaires assessing resilience (Resilience Scale 14; RS-14), well-being (Medical Student Well-Being Index) and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) as well as self-created survey concerning mental health problems, use of stimulants, SARS-CoV-2 infection, work in COVID-19 units, medical education and social attitude towards health care professionals in the pandemic era was distributed via Facebook and other online students' platforms. 1858 MSs from all polish medical schools agreed to fill in the survey. RESULTS: 'Very low', 'low' and 'on the low end' levels of resilience were found in 26%, 19.1% and 26.9% of the study group, respectively. Students with higher resilience level presented better attitude towards online and hybrid classes. 16.8% of respondents stated that they worked, currently work or plan to work voluntarily at the pandemic frontline. In terms of burnout, these respondents presented lower exhaustion (p = 0.003) and cynicism (p = 0.02), and higher academic efficacy (p = 0.002). That group also showed greater resilience (p = 0.046). The SARS-CoV-2 infection among respondents, their relatives and friends did not influence the results. 39.1% of respondents declared the need of the psychological or psychiatric consultation in relation to pandemic challenges. 231 (26.4%) participants previously diagnosed with mental health disorders noticed worsening of their symptoms. Increased intake of alcohol, cigarettes or other stimulants was noticed by 340 (28.6%) respondents. 80.2% of respondents thought that social aversion and mistrust towards doctors increased during the pandemic and part of them claimed it affected their enthusiasm toward medical career. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of medical students presented low levels of resilience and high burnout at the time of pandemic. Providing necessary support especially in terms of mental health and building up the resilience of this vulnerable group seems crucial to minimize harm of current pandemic and similar future challenges.

Análise do perfil sociodemográfico, laboral e dos riscos ocupacionais de agentes comunitários de saúde / Analysis of the sociodemographic, work profile and occupational risks of community health agents / Análisis del perfil sociodemográfico, laboral y riesgos ocupacionales de los agentes de salud comunitarios

Objetivo: delinear o perfil sociodemográfico e laboral de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde bem como investigar os riscos ocupacionais aos quais estão expostos em um município da Região Nordeste. Método: realizado por meio de um questionário autoaplicado com 64 sujeitos, constituído por duas seções: uma relativa aos dados sociodemográficos e laborais e outra com questões acerca dos riscos ocupacionais. Resultados: a maioria dos participantes é do gênero feminino, casada, com o ensino médio completo, fez curso de qualificação, reside na microárea que trabalha e cumpre 40 horas semanais. Elencou-se 5 variáveis como riscos ocupacionais, sendo elas: contato com pessoas infectantes, agressão física, desgaste emocional, problemas interpessoais e ataques de animais. Conclusão: é imperativo que tal profissional seja reconhecido pelo seu potencial. Ademais, que possa ter as suas demandas atendidas e compreendidas, especialmente no que concerne ao modo de enfrentamento às adversidades laborais, o que o faz ser tão suscetível ao adoecimento, comprovado nessa pesquisa

Objective: to outline the sociodemographic and work profile of Community Health Agents as well as to investigate the occupational risks to which they are exposed in a municipality in the Northeast Region. Method: conducted by means of a self-administered questionnaire with 64 subjects, consisting of two sections: one related to sociodemographic and work data and the other with questions about occupational risks. Results: most of the participants are female, married, with complete high school, took a qualification course, live in the micro area that works and work 40 hours a week. Five variables were listed as occupational risks, namely: contact with infectious people, physical aggression, emotional exhaustion, interpersonal problems and attacks by animals. Conclusion: it is imperative that such a professional is recognized for his potential. Furthermore, that he can have his demands met and understood, especially with regard to coping with adversity at work, which makes him so susceptible to illness, as evidenced in this research

Objetivo: esbozar el perfil sociodemográfico y laboral de los Agentes Comunitarios de Salud así como investigar los riesgos laborales a los que están expuestos. Método: realizado mediante un cuestionario autoadministrado con 64 sujetos, que consta de dos apartados: uno relacionado con datos sociodemográficos y laborales y otro con preguntas sobre riesgos laborales. Resultados: la mayoría de los participantes son mujeres, casadas, con bachillerato completo, cursaron un curso de calificación, viven en el área micro que trabaja y trabajan 40 horas semanales. Se enumeraron cinco variables como riesgos laborales, a saber: contacto con personas infecciosas, agresión física, agotamiento emocional, problemas interpersonales y ataques de animales. Conclusión: es imperativo que dicho profesional sea reconocido por su potencial. Además, que sus demandas sean atendidas y comprendidas, especialmente en lo que respecta al afrontamiento de las adversidades laborales, que lo hacen tan susceptible a la enfermedad, como se evidencia en esta investigación

Validation and measurement invariance of the Occupational Depression Inventory in South Africa.

This study aimed to validate the recently developed Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) in South Africa. A total of 327 employees (60% female) participated in the study. Bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling analysis indicated that the ODI can be considered essentially unidimensional. The ODI displayed strong scalability (e.g., scale-level H = 0.657). No monotonicity violation was detected. The reliability of the instrument, as indexed by Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega-total, Guttman's λ2, and the Molenaar-Sijtsma statistic, was highly satisfactory. Measurement invariance was observed across age groups, sexes, and ethnicities, as well as between our sample and the ODI's original validation sample. As expected, the ODI showed both a degree of convergent validity and a degree of discriminant validity vis-à-vis a measure of "cause-neutral" depressive symptoms. Moreover, the ODI manifested substantial associations, in the anticipated directions, with measures of work engagement, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Overall, the ODI exhibited excellent structural and psychometric properties within the South African context. Consistent with previous research, this study suggests that occupational health specialists can confidently rely on the ODI to investigate job-related distress.

Modelling long-term COVID-19 impacts on the U.S. workforce of 2029.

While ensuring employment opportunities is critical for global progress and stability, workers are now subject to several disruptive trends, including automation, rapid changes in technology and skill requirements, and transitions to low-carbon energy production. Yet, these trends seem almost insignificant compared to labor impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While much has been written about the pandemic's short-term impacts, this study analyzes anticipated long-term impacts on the labor force of 2029 by comparing original 2029 labor projections to special COVID-adjusted projections recently published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Results show that future demand for nearly every type of labor skill and knowledge will increase, while the nature of work shifts from physical to more cognitive activities. Of the nearly three million jobs projected to disappear by 2029 due to COVID, over 91% are among workers without a bachelor's degree. Among workers with a degree demand shifts primarily from business-related degrees to computer and STEM degrees. Results further show that the socialness of labor, which is important for both innovation and productivity, increases in many more industries than it decreases. Finally, COVID will likely accelerate the adoption of teleworking and slightly decrease the rate of workforce automation. These impacts, combined with a shift to more cognitive worker activities, will likely impact the nature of workforce health and safety with less focus on physical injuries and more on illnesses related to sedentary lifestyles. Overall, results suggest that future workers will need to engage more often in training and skill acquisition, requiring life-long learning and skill maintenance strategies.

Occupational Health Update: Approach to Evaluation of Health Care Personnel and Preexposure Prophylaxis.

An effective occupational health program is a key aspect of preventing exposure to infectious agents and subsequent infection, as well as evaluation and management of postexposure prophylaxis and infections in health care personnel (HCP) by educating HCP regarding proper handling of sharps, early identification and isolation of potentially infectious patients, implementation of standard and transmission-based precautions, and offering counseling of HCP regarding nonroutine prophylaxis. Occupational health services (OHS) must also apply standardized processes for determining when exposures have occurred and providing appropriate management, and provide immediate availability of a medical evaluation following a nonprotected exposure to an infectious disease.

Occupational Health Update: Evaluation and Management of Exposures and Postexposure Prophylaxis.

Health care personnel (HCP) are at risk of exposure to infectious agents depending on their job duties and other factors. Risks include percutaneous exposure to blood-borne pathogens via sharp injuries (eg, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus); exposure by direct contact, droplet, or airborne transmission of pathogens through direct patient care (eg, pertussis, invasive meningococcus infections, tuberculosis); and through indirect contact transmission related to the contaminated health care environment (eg, Clostridioides difficile). Occupational health programs must effectively identify and respond to potential exposures and provide guidance to HCP on postexposure prophylaxis.

Rethinking the Paradigm and Practice of Occupational Health in a World Without Decent Work: A Perspective From East and Southern Africa.

The global political economy is generating new forms and growing shares of informal, insecure, and precarious labor, adding to histories of insecure work and an externalization of social costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the consequences of ignoring such signals in terms of the increased risk and vulnerability of insecure labor. This paper explores how such trends are generating intersecting adverse health outcomes for workers, communities, and environments and the implications for breaking siloes and building links between the paradigms, science, practice, and tools for occupational health, public health, and eco-health. Applying the principle of controlling hazards at the source is argued in this context to call for an understanding of the upstream production and socio-political factors that are jointly affecting the nature of work and employment and their impact on the health of workers, the public, and the planet.

Exploring Occupational Health Professionals Understanding and Needs in Regard to Total Worker Health (TWH).

BACKGROUND: Occupational health professionals (OHPs) are in a unique position to impact the health and well-being of employees at work and outside of work. One way of achieving this holistic health goal is to integrate the concept of Total Worker Health® (TWH) into the organization's culture. It is critical for OHPs to develop the ability to incorporate TWH into their practices, yet there are gaps in our understanding of OHP's attitudes toward change and toward TWH, their level of TWH knowledge, and the number of OHPs who have adopted TWH. METHODS: An electronic survey was administered to a national sample of 4,777. This cross-sectional study used Qualtrics to record survey responses measuring knowledge of TWH, attitude toward change, resistance to change, transformational leadership ability, perception of organizational readiness, and leadership commitment. FINDINGS: The total sample size was 253 (5.3%). Most respondents were bachelors prepared nurses (75.1%) with greater than 10 years' experience (71.5%) and employed in manufacturing (42.6%). Approximately 74% (n = 125) of respondents knew about TWH, but did not have a program in place or were unsure of the existence of one. A high percentage (74.0%) were open to implementing TWH, had favorable attitudes toward change (M = 3.9 on a 5-point Likert-type scale), but needed education on how to move forward (56.0%). CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: Findings suggest that most OHPs know about TWH, but generally have not adopted the TWH concept at their worksites. However, they are open to implementing TWH programs and have favorable attitudes toward change.

Factores generadores de calidad de vida en el trabajo del enfermero docente / Factors that Make up Quality of Life in the Work of Teaching Nurses

Introducción: La calidad de vida de cada grupo trabajador se da conforme a su inserción social, por medio de la reproducción social, que produce factores protectores y destructivos para la salud, modelando el perfil epidemiológico. Objetivo: Captar los factores generadores de calidad de vida referida por los enfermeros docentes según los procesos favorables y destructivos que conforman el perfil epidemiológico. Métodos: Estudio cualitativo desarrollado con enfoque en epidemiología crítica, realizado en una Escuela de Enfermería en Chile. Los sujetos de investigación corresponden a 17 enfermeros docentes, se les realizaron entrevistas individuales semiestructuradas hasta la saturación del fenómeno. Resultados: Perfil epidemiológico. Factores favorecedores: relación con estudiantes, satisfacción personal, medios que ofrece la institución, actividades saludables, apoyo económico e infraestructura, desarrollo profesional, libertad de cátedra, tener un objetivo común, compromiso docente, trabajo en equipo y sentimientos de trascendencia. Factores destructivos: falta de infraestructura y materiales, tiempo para desarrollar actividades docentes, extensa jornada y sobrecarga, ocupación del tiempo de descanso, tiempo de desplazamiento, demandas en la interacción con estudiantes, falta de introducción docente, ruidos en la comunicación, distribución de carga, remuneración, multiplicidad de tareas, dificultades en la enseñanza teórica y práctica. Conclusiones: Se establece el perfil epidemiológico de los enfermeros docentes de una Escuela de Enfermería en una Universidad Pública, identificando los factores generadores de calidad de vida que deben ser abordados para mejorar la vida de las personas(AU)

Introduction: The quality of life of each working group occurs according to its social insertion, through social reproduction, which produces protective and destructive factors for health, modeling the epidemiological profile. Objective: To identify the factors that generate quality of life referred by teaching nurses in accordance with the favorable and destructive processes that make up the epidemiological profile. Methods: Qualitative study developed with a focus on critical epidemiology, carried out at a School of Nursing in Chile. The research subjects were seventeen teaching nurses, who were conducted individual semistructured interviews until the phenomenon was saturated. Results: The epidemiological profile was obtained. The favorable factors identified are relationship with students, personal satisfaction, means offered by the institution, healthy activities, financial support and infrastructure, professional development, faculty freedom, having a common goal, teaching commitment, teamwork, and feelings of importance. The destructive factors identified are lack of infrastructure and materials, time to develop teaching activities, long hours and overload, occupation of rest time, travel time, demands on interaction with students, lack of teaching involvement, communication noises, load distribution, remuneration, multiplicity of tasks, and difficulties in theoretical or practical teaching. Conclusions: The epidemiological profile of the teaching nurses of a School of Nursing in a public university is established, which allowed identifying the factors that generate quality of life and must be addressed to improve people's lives(AU)

Employee psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: A longitudinal study of demands, resources, and exhaustion.

Many governments react to the current coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic by restricting daily (work) life. On the basis of theories from occupational health, we propose that the duration of the pandemic, its demands (e.g., having to work from home, closing of childcare facilities, job insecurity, work-privacy conflicts, privacy-work conflicts) and personal- and job-related resources (co-worker social support, job autonomy, partner support and corona self-efficacy) interact in their effect on employee exhaustion. We test the hypotheses with a three-wave sample of German employees during the pandemic from April to June 2020 (Nw1  = 2900, Nw12  = 1237, Nw123  = 789). Our findings show a curvilinear effect of pandemic duration on working women's exhaustion. The data also show that the introduction and the easing of lockdown measures affect exhaustion, and that women with children who work from home while childcare is unavailable are especially exhausted. Job autonomy and partner support mitigated some of these effects. In sum, women's psychological health was more strongly affected by the pandemic than men's. We discuss implications for occupational health theories and that interventions targeted at mitigating the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic should target women specifically.

Family medicine practitioners' stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in early 2020. In France, General Practitioners (GPs) were not involved in the care organization's decision-making process before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This omission could have generated stress for GPs. We aimed first to estimate the self-perception of stress as defined by the 10-item Perceived Stress Score (PSS-10), at the beginning of the pandemic in France, among GPs from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a french administrative area severely impacted by COVID-19. Second, we aimed to identify factors associated with a self-perceived stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) among socio-demographic characteristics of GPs, their access to reliable information and to personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and their exposure to well established psychosocial risk at work. METHODS: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey between 8th April and 10th May 2020. The self-perception of stress was evaluated using the PSS-10, so to see the proportion of "not stressed" (≤20), "borderline" (21 ≤ PSS-10 ≤ 26), and "stressed" (≥27) GPs. The agreement to 31 positive assertions related to possible sources of stress identified by the scientific study committee was measured using a 10-point numeric scale. In complete cases, factors associated with stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) were investigated using logistic regression, adjusted on gender, age and practice location. A supplementary analysis of the verbatims was made. RESULTS: Overall, 898 individual answers were collected, of which 879 were complete. A total of 437 GPs (49%) were stressed (PSS-10 ≥ 27), and 283 GPs (32%) had a very high level of stress (PSS-10 ≥ 30). Self-perceived stress was associated with multiple components, and involved classic psychosocial risk factors such as emotional requirements. However, in this context of health crisis, the primary source of stress was the diversity and quantity of information from diverse sources (614 GPs (69%, OR = 2.21, 95%CI [1.40-3.50], p < 0.001). Analysis of verbatims revealed that GPs felt isolated in a hospital-based model. CONCLUSION: The first wave of the pandemic was a source of stress for GPs. The diversity and quantity of information received from the health authorities were among the main sources of stress.

The challenge of maintaining necessary vascular and endovascular services at a referral center in Northern Italy during the COVID-19 outbreak.

OBJECTIVES: The Padova Hospital Vascular Surgery Division is located in Veneto, one of the area of the Northern Italy most hit by the Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. The aim of this paper is to describe the protocols adopted and to evaluate their impact during the acute phase of Coronavirus spread, focusing on the management of elective and urgent/emergent surgery, outpatients activity, and also health staff preservation from intra-hospital Coronavirus disease 2019 infection. METHODS: Several measures were progressively adopted in the Padova University Hospital to front the Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, with a clear strong asset established by 9 March 2020, after the Northern Italy lockdown. Since this date, the Vascular Surgery Unit started a "scaled-down" activity, both for elective surgical procedures and for the outpatient Clinical activities; different protocols were developed for health preservation of staff and patients. We compared a two months period, 30 days before and 30 days after this time point. In particular, emergent vascular surgery was regularly guaranteed as well as urgent surgery (to be performed within 24 h). Elective cases were scheduled for "non-deferrable" pathology. A swab test protocol for COVID-19 was applied to health-care professionals and hospitalized patients. RESULTS: The number of urgent or emergent aortic cases remained stable during the two months period, while the number of Hospital admissions via Emergency Room related to critical limb ischemia decreased after national lockdown by about 20%. Elective vascular surgery was scaled down by 50% starting from 9 March; 35% of scheduled elective cases refused hospitalization during the lockdown period and 20% of those contacted for hospitalization where postponed due to fever, respiratory symptoms, or close contacts with Coronavirus disease 2019 suspected cases. Elective surgery reduction did not negatively influence overall carotid or aortic outcomes, while we reported a higher major limb amputation rate for critical limb ischemia (about 10%, compared to 4% for the standard practice period). We found that 4 out of 98 (4%) health-care providers on the floor had an asymptomatic positive swab test. Among 22 vascular doctors, 3 had a confirmed Coronavirus disease 2019 infection (asymptomatic); a total of 72 swab were performed (mean = 3.4 swab/person/month) during this period; no cases of severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (deaths or requiring intensive care treatment) infection were reported within this period for the staff or hospitalized patients. CONCLUSIONS: Elective vascular surgery needs to be guaranteed as possible during Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. The number of truly emergent cases did not reduce, on the other side, Emergency Room accesses for non-emergent cases decreased. Our preliminary results seem to describe a scenario where, if the curve of the outbreak in the regional population is flattened, in association with appropriate hospitals containment rules, it may be possible to continue the activity of the Vascular Surgery Units and guarantee the minimal standard of care.

Smoking and Long-Term Sick Leave in a Japanese Working Population: Findings of the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the association between tobacco smoking and sick leave (SL) in Japan. METHODS: We followed 70 896 workers aged 20-59 years (60 133 males, 10 763 females) between April 2012 and March 2017. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the associations between smoking (smoking status and intensity) and long-term SL (ie, SL lasting ≥30 consecutive days). Cause-specific analyses were also conducted. RESULTS: A total of 1777 people took long-term SL during a follow-up of 307 749 person years. Compared with never-smokers, current smokers were at a higher risk of long-term SL (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19 to 1.48). Cause-specific analyses revealed that current smoking was associated with a higher risk of SL due to all physical disorders (HR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.22 to 1.69), cancer (HR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.10 to 2.01), cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.31 to 3.55), and injuries/external causes (HR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.31 to 2.58). Former smokers were at a higher risk of SL due to cancer at a borderline significance level (HR = 1.38, 95% CI = 0.99 to 1.92). Low-intensity smoking (ie, 1-10 cigarettes smoked per day) was associated with all-cause SL, SL due to CVD, and SL due to injuries/external causes compared with never-smokers. CONCLUSION: In a large cohort of working-age Japanese, smoking was associated with a greater risk of long-term SL. Greater effort is needed to mitigate disease burden associated with smoking at workplace in Japan. IMPLICATIONS: Our study contributes to the literature on the association between smoking and SL in several ways. First, the study was conducted among a Japanese working population. While the association has been extensively studied in Western setting, few attempts have been made elsewhere. Second, cause-specific analyses were undertaken in our study. Third, we paid attention to the effect of low-intensity smoking on SL given that there is growing evidence of an elevated health risk associated with low-intensity smoking.