The Relationship Between Reporting Occupational Injuries, Job Control, and Safety Citizenship Sub-dimensions of Action

More than five thousand workers lost their lives in 2018 due to occupational incidents. Research suggests that increased job control and safety citizenship can help mitigate occupational incidents. This study aims to answer the following research question: Does a relationship exist between the behavior of reporting occupational injuries and both job control and safety citizenship? This exploratory cross-sectional study used an employee perception questionnaire to examine the behavior of reporting occupational injuries, employee job control, and six safety citizenship sub-dimensions of action (i.e. stewardship, civic virtue, whistleblowing, initiating safety-related change, voice, and helping) at two companies in the Midwestern region of the United States. The survey consisted of 34 items and used a 5-point Likert Scale to quantify the data gathered along with other demographic variables. An ordinal logistic regression analysis to investigate the relationship between the behavior of reporting occupational injuries, job control, and the six sub-dimensions of safety citizenship was conducted. Results indicate that job control ( X2 = 8.512, df = 1, p < 0.05) and whistleblowing (X2 = 4.836, df = 1, p < 0.05) predict the behavior of occupational injury reporting.

Comprehensive Contraceptive Education Intervention in a College Setting: Design and Methodology

Background: Unintended pregnancy continues to be a public health concern across the nation. National data demonstrates the highest rates of unintended pregnancy occurs in women who are 18 to 24 years old. Providing practical and meaningful health education about contraception has the potential to reduce unintended pregnancy and improve quality of life for young adults. This paper describes the design and methodology for a comprehensive contraceptive education intervention at a public university. Methods: Convenience sampling was used with a custom survey conducted in Women’s Health classes from 2015-2021. Surveys contained questions about demographic characteristics, knowledge of contraception options, sources of knowledge, stress levels, and confidence in knowledge. Students completed a pretest, received a comprehensive contraception health education lecture, and completed a post-test. Data collection was approved by the university’s IRB, and analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 27. Conclusion: At a time when reproductive freedom, choice, and justice is scrutinized and suppressed, it is imperative that young adults maintain and understand the importance of having control over when, where, and how they decide to have children if they desire to do so. There is a need for continued comprehensive health education and appropriate resources at the university level. The use of assessments, building trusted professor-student relationships, and exploring credible and reliable information sources can be used to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies for college-aged students. If significant, the replication of the design and methods could have a significant impact on the public health problem of unintended pregnancies, maternal health equity, and reproductive justice.

Examining the Intersection of Alcohol Use and Hookups among Transgender College Students: A Descriptive Study

We examined the intersection of alcohol use and hookups among transgender college students to identify sexual behaviors that may reduce negative hookup experiences. Our analytic sample included US college students who identified as transgender (n=36; 11 trans men and 25 trans women). Descriptive analyses were performed using the Online College Social Life Survey (2005–2011) to describe transgender students’ alcohol use, hookups, and related sexual behaviors. Twenty-five (69.4%) transgender students reported a hookup since entering college. The majority (n=19; 76.0%) of hookups included only non-penetrative sexual behaviors. Of these hookups, nearly half (n=9; 47.4%) reported heavy drinking. Some condom use was reported with penetrative hookups. This suggests that transgender students use some lower risk strategies during hookups. Alcohol use was high, which has implications for the consistent use of these behaviors to reduce negative hookup experiences.

Person-Centered Care for Older Adults living in Long-term care facilities: A Systematic Literature Review

Person-centered care (PCC) is the empowering approach of ho-listic care that shifts from a traditional biomedical framework to one that emphasizes older adults’ personalized preferences, abilities, and strengths. This systematic literature review aimed to describe the current status of research on PCC for older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The method that conducted the search involved using 5 consistent keywords along with adding various descriptor terms to help narrow the search. A total of 18 articles were discussed in the final review after meeting all of the inclusion criteria. The results showed overall beneficial outcomes of PCC for institutionalized older adults, the importance of prioritizing residents’ preferences when implementing PCC, and perspectives of residents and staff workers on the state of PCC in their respective LTCFs, as well as what they think are barriers and facilitators. Identifying what the top shared preferences are is the first step to providing individualized PCC delivery that will improve the quality of care and quality of life for older adults living in LTCFs. Furthermore, taking into account both staff and residents’ perspectives will lead to an improved PCC climate in LTCFs that will enable better care outcomes.

The Use of Smartphone Technology to Improve the Health of Sickle Cell Patients

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious health issue in society. The United State continues to register a large number of people affected by the disease. Due to the prevalence and severity of this hereditary condition, reliable and effective monitoring and prevention systems are needed. Smartphone technologies have the potential of improving health outcomes of people with SCD by promoting the empowerment and health literacy of people with SCD who live in underserved communities. The vast adoption of smartphones in the country provides an opportunity for the implementation of applications to support current healthcare systems. Mobile applications provide an opportunity to reform the healthcare sector by mitigating cost, yet maximizing accessibility, safety, and quality of care. The study aimed to provide insights into the use of smartphone technology and its impact on improving the health of SCD patients. A literature analysis methodology was adopted. The study found that smartphones provide enhanced means of sharing data and collaborating. The benefits of using smartphones in SCD management included pain tracking and monitoring, reinforcing treatment guidelines, and patient education.

The Promise of Applying Systems Theory and Integrative Health Approaches to the Current Psychosocial Stress Pandemic

Background: Chronic stress in Western society may currently be characterized as a public health concern at pandemic levels and may be at risk of crossing a tipping point, as evidenced by major societal unrest. While evolutionarily, activation of the body’s sympathetic nervous system (SNS) exists to protect the individual by triggering the ‘fight or flight’ response, this response has been observed to be chronically occurring in a significant number of individuals in Western society. This chronically stressed physiological state has been linked to numerous physical health problems, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and behavioral problems such as addictions. When considered in the framework of Systems Theory, the multiple levels of stress – including individual, relationship, and societal levels – may be viewed as interacting and thus compounding features of the system. In this context, this paper also briefly discusses the potential benefits of using Integrative Health treatment approaches as a priority to counter the pandemic’s multiple levels of psychosocial stress. Objective: This paper strives to examine the pandemic of psychosocial stress in Western society in terms of a Systems Theory and Integrative Health framework. Conclusion: The next logical step in attempting to avoid and abate more disastrous results of the stress pandemic would include examining effective and promising treatments for chronic stress. Therefore, the present paper recommends the pursuit of extensive research into effective treatments for stress, especially examining treatments that take a whole-person or integrative approach.