Missing the Point: A Review of Needlestick Injury and Occupational Risks from Bloodborne Viruses

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Morgan
Author(s):  
N. I. Latyshevskaya ◽  
M. A. Alborova ◽  
L. A. Davydenko ◽  
A. V. Belyaevа

Introduction. The profession of “machine operator in metalworking”, one of the most common professions in various industries, characterized by a large volume of abrasive operations, accompanied by dust formation, which creates a potential for the occurrence of diseases of the visual organ.The aim of the study is to provide a hygienic assessment of working conditions and occupational risk of visual organ pathology in metalworking machine operators.Materials and methods. Observation groups — machine operators for metalworking of two training groups (experience up to 5 years, experience of 6–20 years). Two comparison groups (administrative and technical personnel of the enterprise) are formed according to the same age-experience principle.Results. The working conditions of machine operators were classified as class 3.2. taking into account the severity and intensity of the work process and the noise level (80 dBA) in the workplace. Nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and manganese were registered in the air of the working area in concentrations below the permissible concentration (PC), and the aerosol dihydroxide was registered above the PC in 25.8% of cases. In the main working groups, diseases of the anterior segment of the eye were more often registered, among which dry eye syndrome (DYS) prevailed (94.1%), chronic blepharoconjunctivitis (79.9%), persistent corneal opacification (21.7%). There was an increase in the prevalence of detected diseases with an increase in work experience (p≤0.05). In machine operators, the frequency of inhibition of lacrimal formation and decreased stability of the tear film was recorded significantly more often, with increasing work experience, the degree of violation of lacrimal formation and stability of the tear film increased. The chances of detecting pathology of the anterior segment of the eye in machine operators are 5.9 and 3.5 times higher than in the comparison group. There are different forces of connection, increasing with the increase of work experience in the profession, between the working conditions of machine operators and the occurrence of SHG (relatively strong), with chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and persistent corneal opacity (medium strength), which suggests the professional conditionality of this pathology.Conclusions. The results obtained suggest that the pathology of the anterior segment of the eye is professionally conditioned in metalworking machine operators and necessitate the introduction of preventive measures aimed at protecting the visual organ.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Marques Frota ◽  
Lívia Moreira Barros ◽  
Luana Nunes Caldini ◽  
Thiago Moura De Araújo ◽  
Joselany Áfio Caetano

Resumo: Objetivou-se identificar os riscos ocupacionais em profissionais de enfermagem em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa realizada no período de fevereiro a março de 2012. A amostra final do estudo contou com 12 artigos que atenderam os critérios de inclusão. Foi possível identificar que os riscos ocupacionais mais presentes na UTI estão associados aos riscos de acidentes, seguido do biológico, químico e ergonômico. Frente a esta realidade é necessário a implementação de medidas para a prevenção dos riscos, para diminuição do absenteísmo e a promoção da saúde do trabalhador de enfermagem.Palavras-Chave: Enfermagem do trabalho, Riscos ocupacionais, Unidades de Terapia Intensiva.Occupational health of nurses in the Intensive Care UnitAbstract: This study aimed to identify occupational hazards in nursing professionals in the Intensive Care Unit. It is an integrative review carried out during February-March 2012. The final sample included 12 articles that met the inclusion criteria. It was possible to identify the occupational hazards present in the ICU are more associated with the risk of accidents, followed by biological, chemical and ergonomic. Faced with this reality is necessary to implement measures to prevent risks, to reduce absenteeism and promote worker health nursing.Keywords: Occupational Health Nursing, Occupational Risks, Intensive Care Units.Salud en el trabajo de las enfermeras en la Unidad de Cuidados IntensivosResumen: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar los riesgos laborales en los profesionales de enfermería en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos. Se trata de una revisión integradora llevada a cabo durante febrero y marzo de 2012. La muestra final incluyó 12 artículos que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Fue posible identificar los riesgos laborales presentes en la UCI son más asociado con el riesgo de accidentes, seguido por agentes biológicos, químicos y ergonómicos. Frente a esta realidad es necesario aplicar medidas para prevenir los riesgos, para reducir el absentismo y fomentar la enfermería profesional de la salud.Palabras Clave: Enfermería del Trabajo, Riesgos Laborales, Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Carlos Carvalhais ◽  
Micaela Querido ◽  
Cristiana C. Pereira ◽  
Joana Santos

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 global pandemic brought several challenges to occupational safety and health practice. One of these is the need to (re)assess the occupational risks, particularly, biological risks. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work is to promote guidance to occupational safety and health practitioners when conducting a biological risk assessment in this context. METHODS: The main steps of the biological risk assessment are explained with some inputs regarding the novelty posed by SARS-CoV-2 and an example of a qualitative risk assessment method is presented. Also, its application to two different activities was exemplified. RESULTS: In both cases, the assessment considered that vulnerable workers were working from home or in medical leave. The results showed low or medium risk level for the assessed tasks. For medium risk level, additional controls are advised, such maintain social distancing, sanitize instruments/equipment before use, use proper and well-maintained PPE (when applicable), and promote awareness sessions to spread good practices at work. Employers must be aware of their obligations regarding biological risk assessment and OSH practitioners must be prepared to screen and link the abundance of scientific evidence generated following the outbreak, with the technical practice. CONCLUSIONS: This paper could be an important contribution to OSH practice since it highlights the need to (re)assess occupational risks, especially biological risk, to ensure a safe return to work, providing technical guidance.


Author(s):  
Lucia Vigoroso ◽  
Federica Caffaro ◽  
Margherita Micheletti Cremasco ◽  
Eugenio Cavallo

Digital games have been successfully applied in different working sectors as an occupational safety training method, but with a very limited application in agriculture. In agriculture and other productive sectors, unintentional injuries tend to occur with similar dynamics. A literature review was carried out to understand how occupational risks are addressed during game-based safety training in different productive sectors and how this can be transferred to agriculture. Literature about “serious game” and “gamification” as safety training methods was searched in WEB OF SCIENCE, SCOPUS, PUBMED and PsycINFO databases. In the forty-two publications retained, the computer was identified as the most adopted game support, whereas “points”, “levels”, “challenges” and “discovery” were the preferred game mechanics. Moreover, an association can be detected between the game mechanics and the elements developed in the game. Finally, during the game assessment, much positive feedback was collected and the games proved to be able to increase the operators’ skills and safety knowledge. In light of the results, insights are provided to develop an effective, satisfying and engaging safety game training for workers employed in agriculture. Games can be best used to learn and they are certain to improve over the next few years.


Author(s):  
Federico Ricci ◽  
Giulia Bravo ◽  
Alberto Modenese ◽  
Fabrizio De Pasquale ◽  
Davide Ferrari ◽  
...  

We developed a visual tool to assess risk perception for a sample of male construction workers (forty Italian and twenty-eight immigrant workers), just before and after a sixteen-hour training course. The questionnaire included photographs of real construction sites, and workers were instructed to select pictograms representing the occupational risks present in each photograph. Points were awarded for correctly identifying any risks that were present, and points were deducted for failing to identify risks that were present or identifying risks that were not present. We found: (1) Before the course, risk perception was significantly lower in immigrants compared to Italians ( p < .001); (2) risk perception improved significantly ( p < .001) among all workers tested; and (3) after the training, the difference in risk perception between Italians and immigrants was no longer statistically significant ( p = .1086). Although the sample size was relatively small, the results suggest that the training is effective and may reduce the degree to which cultural and linguistic barriers hinder risk perception. Moreover, the use of images and pictograms instead of words to evaluate risk perception could also be applied to nonconstruction workplaces.


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