scholarly journals Occupational Allergic Diseases in Kitchen and Health Care Workers: An Underestimated Health Issue

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ugur Bilge ◽  
Ilhami Unluoglu ◽  
Nazan Son ◽  
Ahmet Keskin ◽  
Yasemin Korkut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
General Population ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Upper Respiratory ◽  
Tract Infections

Objective. This study evaluated the frequencies of allergic symptoms and rate of upper respiratory infections during the past year in the general population, kitchen workers (KW) and health care workers (HCW).Methods. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) was used to inquire retrospectively about asthma and asthma-like symptoms and the number of treatments required for previous upper respiratory tract infections (URTI: acute pharyngitis, acute sinusitis, etc.) during the past year for health care workers, kitchen workers, and members of the general population. Adjusted odds ratios by gender, age, and smoking status were calculated.Results. 579 subjects (186 from the general population, 205 KW, and 188 HCW; 263 females, 316 males) participated in the study. Noninfectious (allergic) rhinitis was significantly higher in the HCW and KW groups than in the general population (P<0.001). Cumulative asthma was significantly higher only in the HCW group (P<0.05). In addition, the HCW and KW groups had significantly higher risks of ≥2/year URTI (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.07–2.38 versus OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.05–2.38) than the general population.Conclusion. Occupational allergic respiratory diseases are an important and growing health issue. Health care providers should become familiar with workplace environments and environmental causes of occupational rhinitis and asthma.

Covid-19 and its financial effects on the dental fraternity and health-care workers: A literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 628-631
Author(s):  
Devangi Agrawal ◽  
Namisha Khara ◽  
Bhushan Mundada ◽  
Nitin Bhola ◽  
Rajiv Borle
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Dental Procedures ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Dental Practices ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up

In the wake of the current outbreak of novel Covid-19, which is now declared as a 'pandemic' by the WHO, people around the globe have been dealing with a lot of difficulties. This virus had come into light in December 2019 and since then has only grown exponentially. Amongst the most affected are the ones who have been working extremely hard to eradicate it, which includes the hospitals, dental fraternity and the health-care workers. These people are financially burdened due to limited practise. In the case of dentistry, to avoid the spread of the virus, only emergency treatments are being approved, and the rest of the standard procedures have been put on hold. In some cases, as the number of covid cases is rising, many countries are even trying to eliminate the emergency dental procedures to divert the finances towards the treatment of covid suffering patients. What we need to realise is that this is probably not the last time that we are facing such a situation. Instead of going down, we should set up guidelines with appropriate precautionary measures together with the use of standardised PPEs. The government should also establish specific policies to support dental practices and other health-care providers. Together, we can fight this pandemic and come out stronger.

scholarly journals Clinical evaluation of rapid point-of-care antigen tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes G. M. Koeleman ◽  
Henk Brand ◽  
Stijn J. de Man ◽  
David S. Y. Ong
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Antigen Test ◽  
Duration Of Symptoms ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Clinical Sensitivity ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Upper Respiratory ◽  
Antigen Tests ◽  
Respiratory Specimens

AbstractThe RT-qPCR in respiratory specimens is the gold standard for diagnosing acute COVID-19 infections. However, this test takes considerable time before test results become available, thereby delaying patients from being diagnosed, treated, and isolated immediately. Rapid antigen tests could overcome this problem. In the first study, clinical performances of five rapid antigen tests were compared to RT-qPCR in upper respiratory specimens from 40 patients with positive and 40 with negative RTq-PCR results. In the second study, the rapid antigen test with one of the best test characteristics (Romed) was evaluated in a large prospective collection of upper respiratory specimens from 900 different COVID-19-suspected patients (300 emergency room patients, 300 nursing home patients, and 300 health care workers). Test specificities ranged from 87.5 to 100.0%, and test sensitivities from 55.0 to 80.0%. The clinical specificity of the Romed test was 99.8% (95% CI 98.9–100). Overall clinical sensitivity in the study population was 73.3% (95% CI 67.9–78.2), whereas sensitivity in the different patient groups varied from 65.3 to 86.7%. Sensitivity was 83.0 to 86.7% in patients with short duration of symptoms. In a population with a COVID-19 prevalence of 1%, the negative predictive value in all patients was 99.7%. There is a large variability in diagnostic performance between rapid antigen tests. The Romed rapid antigen test showed a good clinical performance in patients with high viral loads (RT-qPCR cycle threshold ≤30), which makes this antigen test suitable for rapid identification of COVID-19-infected health care workers and patients.

FACTS, MYTHS AND INFODEMICS IN COVID-19 IN HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND GENERAL POPULATION: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-52
Author(s):  
Shrivastava P ◽  
Verma S ◽  
Khushboo Khushboo ◽  
Bhattacharya P K
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
General Population ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health Related

Despite the ubiquity of health-related communications via social media, no consensus has emerged what information should be conveyed and how it should be conveyed to avoid creating panic among general population. With lockdowns social media, mass media became as a habit by people for news, information regarding COVID-19 and it is practiced even after lockdown. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mass media, social media and local news has become as the source of a toxic “infodemic” source for public. It contained both solicited and unsolicited advice. No conceptual model exists for examining the roles of media. It is important to rst assess the important mis-information, role of infodemics and prevalent casualness among the public regarding the COVID-19. Till mass vaccination is not commenced it is prudent to emphasize guidelines and practices as per COVID guidelines like social distancing, wearing mask, hand hygiene

scholarly journals Evaluation of Sensitization Program on Occupational Health Hazards for Nursing and Allied Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Health Care Setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manisha Naithani ◽  
Meenakshi Khapre ◽  
Rajesh Kathrotia ◽  
Puneet Kumar Gupta ◽  
Vandana Kumar Dhingra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Needlestick Injury ◽  
Incident Reporting ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Workers

Background: Occupational health hazard pertaining to health care providers is one of the neglected areas that need serious attention. Any compromise in their safety would result in reduction in workforce, which may affect patient care, keeping in mind the wide gap between the required number and actual health care workers (HCWs) available in the world over.Aim: This study was undertaken to evaluate the change in knowledge through a sensitization training program on occupational health hazards and vaccination for HCWs.Materials and Methods: Participants of the study included nursing and allied HCWs of a tertiary care health institute in Uttarakhand, India. Multiple training sessions, each of around 180 min, were held periodically in small groups with 20–40 participants over 2 years. Participants were assessed with pretest and posttest questionnaires, and feedback was taken. Questionnaires comprised three categories: general safety and ergonomics, biological hazards, and chemical and radiation hazards. Data of incident reporting for needlestick injury from 2017 to 2019 were retrieved. All data were compiled in Excel sheet and analyzed.Results: A total of 352 participants were included in the study. Mean ± SD for pretest and posttest scores were 5.3 ± 2.13 and 11.22 ± 2.15, respectively. There was considerable improvement in knowledge, which was found to be statistically significant with p-value of 0.001 for all categories. Participants in their feedback suggested for inclusion of psychosocial aspect in further training programs.Conclusion: Low baseline knowledge prior to attending the course highlights a need for an intervention through such structured sensitization program to create awareness and educate HCWs on common occupational health hazards and vaccination. Statistically significant improvement in posttest knowledge highlights effectiveness of the training program. A drastic rise in incident reporting for needlestick injury reflects fairly good impact of training program. Regular and appropriate form of training can reduce injuries resulting from occupational hazards and ensure healthy workforce contributing toward a positive impact on national economy.

scholarly journals Awareness among health care professionals regarding nosocomial pathogens and role of fomites in their transmission.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (05) ◽  
pp. 1032-1037
Author(s):  
Khadija Mumtaz ◽  
Nadia Aslam ◽  
Naima Mehdi ◽  
Nazma Kiran ◽  
Sadaf Farzand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Nosocomial Infections ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Nosocomial Pathogens ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health Care Associated Infections ◽  
Tract Infections

Objectives: This study was performed to access the knowledge of health care professionals regarding health care associated infections, nosocomial pathogens, fomites and their role in transmission of nosocomial pathogens. Study Design: Descriptive, questionnaire based, cross-sectional study. Setting: Tertiary care hospital of Lahore, Punjab. Period: From October 2017 to January 2018. Material & Methods: Questionnaires were carefully formulated to access basic knowledge of physicians, surgeons and nurses. Responses given were analyzed and recorded as frequency and percentage. Results: Regarding health care associated infections, respiratory tract infections were identified by 72% surgeons, 65% physicians and 59% nurses. Surgical wound infections were identified by 76% of surgeons and 81% nurses. 45.7% physician identified bacteraemia as nosocomial infection. Rate of identification for rest of nosocomial infections was sub optimum (<50%) by health care workers. Regarding identification of nosocomial pathogens, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus was marked by 65% of physicians, 83.8% of nurses, 76% of surgeons. Pseudomonas nosocomial pathogen was identified by 40%, 46% and 64% of physicians, nurses and surgeons respectively. The rate of identification for rest of the nosocomial organisms was again sub optimum (<40%) by health care workers. Regarding fomites, mattresses and pillows, thermometer, stethoscopes were identified by 75.7%, 59.2 and 50% of Health care professionals respectively. Conclusion: This survey identified positive attitude among Health care workers towards infection control but low level of knowledge regarding health care associated infections and nosocomial pathogens. Therefore, to prevent nosocomial infections, there is strong need to develop strategies for improving knowledge of Health care professionals.

Level of physical activity and its correlates among health care workers in Ethiopia, 2019

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tigist Demssew Adane ◽  
Birhan Gebresillassie Gebregiorgis ◽  
Elda Mekonnen Nigussie ◽  
Abate Dargie Wubetu
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
P Value ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Study Participants

Abstract Background These days, engaging at sufficient regular physical activity strongly recommended for good health and physical functioning. Physical activity can increase the self-confidence of the health professionals and they would become fit for daily activities with patients. Knowing the level of physical activity can help health care professionals to plan for physical activity programs. This study aimed to measure the level of physical activity and associated factors among adult health professionals at Tirunesh Beijing general hospital.Objective The aim of this study was to assess the level of physical activity and associated factors among health care workers in Ethiopia, 2019.Methods Institution based cross-sectional study conducted level of physical activity and associated factors among health care workers in Ethiopia, 2019. Two hundred nighty seven adult health professionals were participated, which was a 97.4% response rate. The global physical activity questionnaire used to measure the level of physical activity. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses was done to affirm the variables characteristics. A predictor variable with a p-value of less than 0.2 exported to multivariate analysis. During multivariate analysis, statistical significance declared at a p-value of < 0.05.Results In general, the majority of the study participants, 89.2% (95% CI: 85.9-92.6) were achieved recommended levels of physical activity. Regarding the intensity of the physical activity, the overall mean time score was 518.4 mints per week or 2352.6 MET/week. For moderate-intensity physical activity, 83.5% of the study participants were physically active, (≥150 minutes/week). In the case of vigorous activity, about 32.7% of the study participants were physically active and engaged in vigorous physical activity (≥75 minutes /week). The study participants, who had self-motivation for physical activity, had a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2 and aged < 40 years were physically active.Conclusions Health care providers’ habit of physical activity improved as compared with the previous studies. However, the current level of physical activity of health professionals is not adequate. Health care providers’ age, body mass index and self-motivation attribute to physical activity. The level of physical activity can increase by enhancing staff motivation towards physical activity.

scholarly journals Violence against health care workers in China, 2013–2016: evidence from the national judgment documents

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruilie Cai ◽  
Ji Tang ◽  
Chenhui Deng ◽  
Guofan Lv ◽  
Xiaohe Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
National Level ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Online System ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background Incidents of patient-initiated workplace violence against health care workers have been a subject of substantial public attention in China. Patient-initiated violence not only represents a risk of harm to health care providers but is also indicative of general tensions between doctors and patients which pose a challenge to improving health system access and quality. This study aims to provide a systematic, national-level characterization of serious workplace violence against health care workers in China. Methods This study extracted data from the China Judgment Online System, a comprehensive database of judgment documents. Three key phrases, “criminal case,” “health care institution,” and “health care worker” were used to search the China Judgment Online System for relevant cases between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016. Data extracted from identified cases was used to document the occurrence, the degree of risk, and the factors associated with serious workplace violence. Results In total, 459 criminal cases involving patient-initiated workplace violence against health care workers in China were reported and processed. The analysis revealed geographic heterogeneity in the occurrence of serious workplace violence, with lower incidence in western provinces compared to central and eastern provinces. Primary hospitals experienced the highest rates of serious workplace violence and emergency departments and doctors were at higher risk compared with other departments and health workers. Perpetrators were primarily male farmers aged 18 to 44 with low levels of education. The most frequently reported reasons of serious patient-initiated workplace violence included perceived medical malpractice by the perpetrator after the death of a patient, death of a patient with no other reason given, failures of the compensation negotiations after the death of a patient, and dissatisfaction with the treatment outcomes. Conclusions Serious workplace violence against providers varies across regions and types of health care institutions in China. Perception of low-quality care is the most reported reason for violence. Efforts should be made to improve quality of care in the low-level health institutions and strengthen the doctor-patient communication during the whole course of service.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document