AGRICULTURAL EMERGENCY: IDENTIFYING RISK BASED ON AGRICULTURAL HEALTH NURSING

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the integrated emergency risks of farmers based on nursing models in the agricultural area of Lumajang, Indonesia.Materials and Methods: A quantitative design with a descriptive approach was performed through the identification of threats, vulnerabilities, and capabilities in 357 farmers in integrated emergency response with cluster sampling techniques. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. Data analysis was carried out using the Job Safety Analysis scoring method of the Australian and New Zealand Standard on Risk Management. Results: The emergency risk of farmers based on agricultural nursing was the high category, the highest threat was direct contact with chemicals (95%), the highest contact chemicals are insecticides (57%), frequency of contact once a week (44%), and the highest vulnerability not having employment insurance (97%), the length of farming > 10 years (65%) and the length of work in 1 month 10-20 days (48%), long work on land 8-10 hours (5%) and no holiday in a month (20%), while the capability of farmers in first aid to accidents was low (44%).Conclusion: The emergency risk of farmers in Lumajang was high and the capability for emergency-response based on agricultural nursing was low. Keywords: Threats, vulnerabilities, capabilities, emergencies, farmers, agricultural nursing

Standardized Incidence Ratio and Standardized Mortality Ratio of Malignant Mesothelioma in a Worker Cohort Using Employment Insurance Database in Korea

Malignant mesothelioma is one of the appropriate indicators for assessing the carcinogenic effects of asbestos. This study compared the risk ratio of mesothelioma according to the industry in the worker cohort. A cohort was constructed using the Korean employment insurance system during 1995–2017, enrolling 13,285,895 men and 10,452,705 women. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and standardized incidence ratio (SIR) were calculated using the indirect standardization method. There were 641 malignant mesotheliomas that occurred; the SIR was significantly higher than the general population (men 1.36, 95% confidence interval(CI) 1.24–1.48, women 1.44, 95% CI: 1.23–1.7). More than half (52.8%) of malignant mesothelioma cases occurred in the manufacturing (n = 240, 38.6%, SIR: men, 1.72, 95% CI: 1.37–2.15, women, 3.31, 95% CI: 1.71–5.79) and construction industries (n = 88, 14.2%, SIR: men, 1.54 95% CI: 1.33–1.78, women, 1.62 95% CI: 1.25–2.11). The accommodation and food service (men, 2.56 95% CI: 1.28–4.58, women 1.35, 95% CI: 0.65–2.48) and real estate (men 1.34, 95% CI: 0.98–1.83, women 1.95, 95% CI: 0.78–4.02) also showed a high SIR, indicating the risk of asbestos-containing materials in old buildings. The incidence of malignant mesothelioma is likely to increase in the future, given the long latency of this disease. Moreover, long-term follow-up studies will be needed.

"My Cancer Is Worth Only Fifteen Weeks?" A Critical Analysis of the Lived Experiences of Financial Toxicity and Cancer in Canada

Background: Cancer patients experience financial hardship due to rising expenses related to cancer treatment and declining income levels associated with reduced employability. Employment Insurance Sick Benefits (EI-SB) is a social income support program which provides temporary income replacement to Canadians when they fall ill. Although EI-SB is designed to maintain continuity of income during an illness, little is known about the perspectives of cancer patients who receive EI-SB. This knowledge can inform the development of public policies which are responsive to the needs and priorities of cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a theory-informed thematic analysis of data collected from twenty semi-structured interviews with participants who were receiving care in a cancer centre in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and had received EI-SB. A coding framework was developed using Taplin and colleagues’ intermediate outcomes of patient care across the cancer care continuum. Interpretation of findings was guided by the synergies of oppression theoretical lens. Results: Three overarching themes describe the experiences of cancer patients receiving social income support: Economic exclusion, in which the structure of the labour market and social welfare system determine access to workplace benefits and continuity of reasonable income; financial toxicity, a vicious cycle of financial burden and increasing financial distress; and constrained choices, where cancer influences employability and lowered income influences the need to be employed. Conclusion: Cancer patients need income support programs that are tailored to match their healthcare priorities. In addition, policies which strengthen working conditions and facilitate a reintegration to work when possible will be important in addressing the structural drivers of income insecurity experienced by cancer patients.

Policy Forum: Non-Standard Employment and Canada's Initial Pandemic Response

Despite public attention to gig workers and their potential mis-classification as independent contractors, much flexible work already takes place in the sphere of formal employment. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market suggests that non-standard employees may be even more vulnerable than the self-employed. This article suggests that traditional employment insurance and related programs inadequately serve flexible employees, and policies targeted at the intensive margins of employment are needed to help precarious workers.

From Retrenchment to Selective Social Policy Expansion: The Politics of Federal Cash Benefits in Canada

While much has been written about the politics of retrenchment, in a number of advanced industrial societies social policy expansion does occur today, which raises issues about how to study it in a post-retrenchment era. The present article explores the new politics of social policy expansion in Canada. Drawing on the work of Paul Pierson, we use an integrated framework that highlights the interaction of five factors: the availability of fiscal resources; the emergence of new social risks; the intensity and nature of partisan competition; the policy preferences of the main political parties; and the role of political institutions, especially federalism. Empirically, the article studies the politics of federal social policy expansion during the Harper (2006–2015) and Justin Trudeau (2015–) years, with a focus on three policy areas: child benefits (Universal Child Care Benefit and Canada Child Benefit), pensions (Old Age Security and Canada/Quebec Pension Plan) and Employment Insurance.

Genetic discrimination: introducing the Asian perspective to the debate

Our article aims to provide a comprehensive portrayal of how seven Asian jurisdictions have sought to address the challenge of genetic discrimination (GD) by presenting an analysis of the relevant legislation, policies, and practices. Based on our findings, policy discussion and action on preventing or mitigating GD have been narrowly framed in terms of employment, insurance, disability, marriage, and family planning. Except for South Korea, none of the jurisdictions we examined has adopted specific legislation to prevent GD. However, for Asia to truly benefit from its recent scientific and technological progress in genomics, we highlight the need for these jurisdictions to engage more proactively with the challenges of GD through a coordinated regulatory and governance mechanism.

The Panoptic Sort

The Panoptic Sort was published in 1993. Its focus was on privacy and surveillance. But unlike the majority of publications addressing these topics in the United States at the time that were focused on the privacy concerns of individuals, especially those related to threats associated with government surveillance, that book sought to direct the public toward the activities of commercial firms. The Panoptic Sort was intended to help us all to understand just what was at stake when the bureaucracies of government and commerce gathered, processed, and made use of an almost unlimited amount of personal and transaction-generated information to manage social, economic, and political activities within society. While the first edition provided numerous examples from marketing, employment, insurance, credit management, and the provision of government and social services, the second edition extends descriptions of the technologies that have been developed and incorporated into the panoptic sort in the nearly thirty years since its initial publication. Assessments of the implications for democracy that many associate with the possibility of an algorithmic Leviathan, invite a reconsideration of Jacques Ellul’s distressing predictions about the future that ended the first edition of The Panoptic Sort.