Employer, use of personal protective equipment, and work safety climate: Latino poultry processing workers.

BACKGROUND: This analysis describes the work safety climate of Latino poultry processing workers and notes differences by worker personal characteristics and employer; describes the use of common personal protective equipment (PPE) among workers; and examines the associations of work safety climate with use of common PPE. METHODS: Data are from a cross-sectional study of 403 Latino poultry processing workers in western North Carolina. RESULTS: Work safety climate differed little by personal characteristics, but it did differ consistently by employer. Provision of PPE varied; for example, 27.2% of participants were provide with eye protection at no cost, 57.0% were provided with hand protection at no cost, and 84.7% were provided with protective clothing at no cost. PPE use varied by type. Provision of PPE at no cost was associated with lower work safety climate; this result was counter-intuitive. Consistent use of PPE was associated with higher work safety climate. CONCLUSIONS: Work safety climate is important for improving workplace safety for immigrant workers. Research among immigrant workers should document work safety climate for different employers and industries, and delineate how work safety climate affects safety behavior and injuries.

Increasing compliance with protective eyewear to reduce ocular injuries in stone-quarry workers in Tamil Nadu, India: a pragmatic, cluster randomised trial of a single education session versus an enhanced education package delivered over six months.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of standard education versus enhanced education in increasing compliance with protective eyewear to prevent ocular injuries in stone-quarry workers. DESIGN: Pragmatic, allocation concealed, participant and outcome assessor blinded, cluster randomised trial. SETTING: Six stone-quarries around Vellore, Tamil Nadu, South India. PARTICIPANTS: 204 consenting adult stone quarry workers. INTERVENTIONS: Protective eyewear plus enhanced education (one education session, plus 11 sessions of group education, individual discussions, and educational plays over six months) versus protective eyewear plus standard education (one education session and 5 follow up visits). OUTCOMES: The primary outcomes were observer-rated compliance with protective eyewear and reduction in incidence of ocular injuries (slit-lamp examination by an observer blinded to allocation status) at three and six months. Analysis was by intention to treat. RESULTS: Quarries and participants were similar at enrolment. All quarries; 92/103 (90%) of workers in three quarries given enhanced intervention, and 91/101 workers (89%) in three quarries given standard education, completed six months follow up. Compared to standard education, enhanced education significantly increased compliance with protective eyewear by 16% (95% CI 3-28%) at three months (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2-3.8); and by 25% (95% CI 11-35%) at six months (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.5-4.8). Protective eyewear and enhanced education reduced the incidence of eye injuries at three months by 16% (95% CI 7-24%); and standard education by 13% (95% CI 4-22%), compared to the three months before interventions. The cumulative reduction over baseline in eye injuries at the six months was greater with enhanced education (12% decrease; 95% CI 3-21%) than with standard education (7% decrease; 95% CI 17% decrease to 3% increase). However, this incidence did not differ significantly between intervention arms at three months (OR 0.7% 95% CI 0.3-2.1); and at six months (OR 0.8; 95% CI 0.4-1.5). CONCLUSION: Provision of appropriate protective eyewear reduces the incidence of eye injuries in stone-quarry workers. Periodic educational and motivational sessions with individuals and groups facilitates sustained use of protective eyewear.

Is it cost-effective to require recreational ice hockey players to wear face protection?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of requiring all recreational hockey players to wear facial protection. METHODS: The authors randomly surveyed recreational hockey players at two indoor hockey rinks in Evendale, Ohio. Data were collected on face protection, injuries, demographic variables and attitudes about protective gear from 11/2005 to 03/2006. RESULTS: We surveyed 190 players. The mean age was 34 +/- 8.7 years and 99% were male. The average hockey experience was 17 years. Forty-six percent of respondents reported at least one serious hockey injury in the last five years. Twenty-four percent of the surveyed population chose to not wear face protection (46/190). The average cost of face protection was $48. The cost to purchase two shields for the 46 players would be $4416. Individuals with face protection reported significantly more sprains and strains that resulted in significantly more physician office visits and specialty physician visits. The extra physician visits would add approximately $4590 for the 46 people needing face protection. Those with face protection reported significantly fewer facial lacerations and facial bone fractures. Requiring face protection should prevent seven facial lacerations and three facial bone fractures over five years. The savings would be approximately $15,000. The net savings by requiring face protection would be $6,000/5 years. In our population, with 24% choosing to not wear face protection, requiring face protection would save $250/5 years/person needing protection. CONCLUSION: It is cost-effective to require facial protection in all recreational hockey players.

Earplugs and eye masks: do they improve critical care patients' sleep?

Disturbed sleep and sleep deprivation is common in patients in critical care settings. Noise and inappropriate use of light/dark cycles are two of the causes of sleep interruptions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate eye masks and earplugs to help control patients' exposure to noise and light within the critical care environment. An intervention study using a two group post-test quasi-experimental design of high dependency patients within a cardiothoracic critical care unit was undertaken by a group of critical care nurses. Sleep assessment rating scales and open-ended questions were used to obtain patients' reported experiences of their sleep. Patients self-selected into either an intervention or non-intervention group. Sixty-four patients consented to take part in the study, 34 patients tried the interventions earplugs and eye masks and many found they improved sleep. However, noise was still a factor preventing sleep for both groups of patients. Mixed reports were found with the interventions from very comfortable to very uncomfortable. At a cost of 2.50 pounds sterling/patient, earplugs and eye masks were a relatively cheap intervention with notable improvements for some critically ill patients. Further research is required with a larger sample size, plus an examination of both earplugs and eye masks separately. Offering patient's earplugs and eye masks to improve sleep should be considered as a matter of routine nursing practice, this should include time to show patients how to use and try them out for comfort.

[Facial mask--effective protection against blood spattering]. / Ansigtsvisir--en effektiv beskyttelse mod blodstaenk.

The protective effect of a see-through face visor was evaluated in four different types of operation. In a clinical trial, the visor was used 150 times by eight different surgeons, and the number of blood spatters, type of operation and blood loss was registered. There was no correlation between the size of the blood loss and the number of blood spatters. At caesarean section, a median of four blood spatters per operation was found on the visor. At the other three types of operation (hysterectomy, operation for vaginal prolapse and episiotomy) the median was one blood spatter per operation. The area surrounding the eye constituted three percent of the visor's area. We thus found the risk of getting a blood spatter in the area of the eye at caesarean section to be four percent (95% confidence limits 0.1-20.4). In conclusion, we found the face visor offered good protection against blood spatters.

How infection control procedures are affecting dental practice today.

The past couple of years have given U.S. dentists a lot to think about. OSHA regulations, a declining economy, lingering concerns about fluoridation, dental amalgam and safety in health care settings have captured the attention of dentists everywhere.

Eye injuries in indoor cricket at Wellington Hospital: a survey January 1987 to June 1989.

About 30% of all sports injuries to the eye seen at Wellington Hospital are due to indoor cricket. An analysis of 29 eye injuries, January 1987 to June 1989 was carried out. Traumatic iritis, mydriasis and commotio retinae were the common injuries. There were eight blow out fractures of the orbit. Only two patients had permanent loss of vision due to choroidal tears with best vision in the damaged eye reduced to 6/9. A total of 88 eye clinic visits and 24 inpatient days were involved. The incidence of these injuries could be reduced by wearing eye and/or facial protection.

Eye protection in racquet sports.

This article summarizes the clinical and experimental data leading to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) certification of six eyeguards for racquet sports in Canada in November 1986. A parallel approach involving the American Standard of Testing and Materials (ASTM) is discussed and eyeguards meeting specifications are illustrated.

Inexpensive radiation protective glasses.

Using the services of a local optical supply house, fabrication and testing of eyeglasses of a high lead content that could be used to protect the eye from the hazards of radiation were evaluated. Two separate types of eyeglasses were manufactured (a prototype followed by a second pair), and these were tested against a commercially available pair of radiation protective glasses. The protection offered by the locally manufactured pair of glasses exceeded the commercial pair and the cost savings are significant.