1,720,981 research outputs found
Factor Structure, Psychometric Properties, and Measurement Invariance of the Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions Scale Among Italian Hospital Workers
Full text linkBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic represented substantial risks to hospital workers’ physical and mental health. The availability of validated measures on the impact of the pandemic on workplaces is crucial for developing data-driven interventions. The primary purpose of our study was to translate it into Italian and assess factor structure, psychometric properties, and measurement invariance of the Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions Scale (PEPS). Methods: The survey was completed by 766 workers from an Italian hospital. We examined the internal structure of the PEPS using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) techniques and testing the invariance for clinical vs. nonclinical workers. Results: The six-factor ESEM solution showed an excellent fit to the data (CFI=0.956, TLI=0.932, RMSEA=0.050), supporting the superiority of the ESEM solution. The factorial invariance of the PEPS across occupational roles (clinical vs. nonclinical hospital workers) was supported, and the ESEM-based McDonald’s omega was good for all factors. Conclusions: The results from this study provided evidence for the factorial validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across occupational roles of the Italian version of the PEPS. Thus, the Italian version of the PEPS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing pandemic experiences and perceptions among Italian workers
Diagnosing and Reporting of Occupational Diseases: An Assessment Study of Reports from an Italian Workplace Safety Prevention Program Service
Full text linkBackground: The criteria for diagnosing and compensating for occupational diseases vary significantly between countries. The lists of occupational diseases often include diagnostic and attribution criteria that are usually not very specific. As a result, the quality of occupational disease reports is frequently subpar. The aims of this study were to assess the quality of diagnosis and reporting, as well as to evaluate the causal link between reported occupational diseases and occupational risk factors. Methods: Four occupational physicians assessed the quality of diagnosis by blindly applying Spreeuwers’ performance indicators for diagnosis and reporting. Following Violante’s criteria, the four evaluators also tested the levels of evidence to evaluate the quality (and associated likelihood) of the diagnosis and the quality of exposure to occupational risk factors in a sample of 104 occupational disease reports, grouped by diagnosis and examined by the local Workplace Safety Prevention Service. Separate scores for each performance indicator and the Total Quality Score (TQS, ranging from 0 to 10), along with the progressive levels of evidence, were then assigned for each occupational disease report. Results: The mean TQS was below the threshold of sufficiency (<6) for 28% of the diagnoses, while an almost sufficient score (>6) emerged for 72% of the diagnoses, primarily including musculoskeletal disorders, pulmonary silicosis, and noise-induced occupational hearing loss. When applying Violante’s criteria for the level of evidence of the diagnosis, it was insufficient for 13.5% of the reported cases, while the level of evidence for exposure to occupational risk factors was deemed insufficient for 19% of the cases, and no cases demonstrated a level of evidence that was highly probable or nearly certain. Conclusions: Despite the overall quality of the reported cases of occupational diseases being reasonably good, improvements in the quality of diagnosis and reporting could be achieved through strict adherence to standardized diagnostic criteria and by training health personnel to collect data regarding occupational and non-occupational risk factors properly
Musculoskeletal disorders and incongruous postures in workers on ropes: A pilot study
Full text linkBackground:Occupational hazards believed to cause musculoskeletal disorders in rope workers are traditionally associated with maintaining incongruous postures for prolonged periods of time. Design and methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 132 technical operators in the wind energy and acrobatic construction sectors, who work on ropes, analysing the ergonomic characteristics of the environments, the way in which tasks are carried out, the strain perceived by individual workers, and assessing the presence of any musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) by means of an objective examination focused on the anatomical districts that were the object of our study. Results:Analysis of the data obtained showed that there were differences in the perception of the level of physical intensity and perceived exertion between the groups of workers. Statistical analysis also revealed a significant association between the frequency of MSDs analysed and perceived exertion. Discussion:The most significant finding to emerge from this study is the high prevalence of MSDs of the cervical spine (52.94%), the upper limbs (29.41%), and the dorso-lumbar spine (17.65%). These values differ from those classically found in those exposed to the risk of conventional manual handling of loads. Conclusions:The high prevalence of disorders of the cervical spine, the scapulo-humeral girdle and the upper limbs, indicates the need to consider the forced position to be assumed for a large part of the work activity, staticity, and the inability to move the lower limbs for long periods as the predominant risk in rope work
Metabolomic patterns associated to QTc interval in shiftworkers: an explorative analysis
No full textObjectives: 1H NMR-metabolomic approach was used to investigate QTc interval correlation with plasma metabolic profiles in shiftworkers. Methods: Socio-demographic data, electrocardiographic QTc interval and plasma metabolic profiles from 32 male shiftworkers, were correlated by multivariate regression analysis. Results: We found a positive correlation between QTc interval values, body mass index, glycemia and lactate level and a negative correlation between QTc interval and both pyroglutamate and 3-hydroxybutyrate plasma level. Conclusions: Our analysis provides evidence of the association between clinical, metabolic profiles and QTc interval values. This could be used to identify markers of early effects and/or susceptibility in shiftworker
Education and Training in Global Occupational Health and Safety: A Perspective on New Pathways to Sustainable Development
Full text linkThe institution of specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programs open to international trainees from developing countries in some European, American and Asian universities is now a well-established reality. Courses and seminars that focus particularly on this subject, widely varying in approach and duration, have been held for years at these universities; these academic institutions have combined their potential to attract students from developing countries with the scheduling of interesting lectures and training activities, depending on the availability of funds sufficient to cover travel and lodging costs. Interdisciplinarity is the key to the entire program and is its main strength, as the trainees have the opportunity to condense the technical notions and methodological aspects of different disciplines (occupational health, industrial hygiene, safety management, ergonomics) in one course. We firmly believe that these programs are a precious instrument for the training of occupational health professionals from low-income countries, as they are able to address their choices correctly, hopefully achieving the goal of reducing the human costs of development
Use of Wearable Inertial Sensors to Assess Trunk and Cervical Postures Among Surgeons: Effect of Surgical Specialties and Roles
Full text linkThis study aimed to quantitatively assess trunk and cervical non-neutral postures assumed by surgeons during the performance of routine open procedures. Indeed, musculoskeletal disorders are frequently reported by surgeons, especially at the head and neck level, due to the prolonged time spent in ergonomically challenging postures. Therefore, the posture of fourteen surgeons was monitored using wearable inertial sensors (and processed according to the ISO 11226 standard) by considering the effect of different surgical specialties (thyroid vs. breast) and roles (primary vs. assistants). Overall, surgeons spent most of their time in a standing posture, remaining within the acceptable limits of trunk flexion. More concerning results were observed analyzing the time spent in static head flexion and lateral bending (~72% and 48% of the time, respectively). Assistants, compared with primary surgeons, spent more than twice as much time in extreme neck flexion, although this was only when performing thyroid surgeries. The opposite was observed during breast surgeries. By spending most of their time in a standing posture with extreme forward neck flexion, surgeons are exposed to a high ergonomic risk, especially when frequently performing thyroid surgeries. The assumed role appeared to influence postural loading, with an effect that varies according to the surgical specialty
High-dose benzodiazepine use and QTc interval prolongation, a latent class analysis study
Full text linkBenzodiazepine (BDZ) addiction is a widespread and multifaceted phenomenon. For many patients, especially females, the concomitant use of other drugs also increases their risk of QTc prolongation, possibly leading to complications such as seizures and even sudden death. However, the relationship between BDZ use and QTc prolongation is currently unclear. The present study aims to examine patterns of polysubstance use among a sample of Italian adults with BDZ dependence in relation with their QTc prolongation risk. We used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) on data collected from 251 inpatients of the Addiction Medicine Unit in Verona to group patients into three classes according to their substance use and their QTc prolongation risk. Results showed no significant relationship between QTc prolongation and BDZ use in any of the classes considered. We conclude that BDZs, even if used long-term and at high dosages, can be considered safe in terms of cardiovascular complications for patients
Multidisciplinary study of biological parameters and fatigue evolution in quay crane operators
No full textIn intermodal terminals the handling of containers and the number of accidents still depends on a wide range of
human errors due
to fatigue despite the automation level reached nowadays. For this reason it is very important to increase knowledge about the
factors affecting the propensity of operators to make
errors, increasing the chance of accidents happening. The
aim of this work is
to propose a novel approach to assess fatigue and performance lev
els in quay crane operators as a function of physiological
parameters and of the many varying boundary conditions encountered in daily work. During their work, quay crane
operators
have to deal with variable environmental conditions, such as task
type, wind speed and direction, lighting conditions that redu
ce
visibility that can require an exacting level
of attention. In the trial eight operators have been examined in a session lastin
g four
hours. All actual conditions are reproduced through a fully imme
rsive quay crane simulator. The operator completes the assigned
task (the same for each one) and can see through four wide monito
rs a high quality virtual reality view of the simulation. Most
biological parameters are acquired using different devices including a Holter ECG monitor, electromyographic monitoring the
four trunk muscles most involved in the test, eye tracker and seat
-
body pressure interface for both
seat pan and backrest. Changes
in physiological parameters have been monitored during the trial and interesting correlations with performance levels and
boundary conditions ha
ve been f
ound for each operator, in accord
ance with their age and skills.
The present study can form the
basis for further investigations aimed at developing a cost effective, reliable and robust system for monitoring increasing fat
igue
and for predicting the critical conditions
that may result in an acciden
Allergic anaphylactic risk in farming activities: A systematic review
Full text linkAllergic disorders in the agriculture sector are very common among farm workers, causing many injuries and occupational diseases every year. Agricultural employees are exposed to multiple conditions and various allergenic substances, which could be related to onset of anaphylactic reactions. This systematic review highlights the main clinical manifestation, the allergens that are mostly involved and the main activities that are usually involved. This research includes articles published on the major databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus), using a combination of keywords. The online search yielded 489 references; after selection, by the authors, 36 articles (nine reviews and 27 original articles) were analyzed. From this analysis, the main clinical problems that were diagnosed in this category were respiratory (ranging from rhinitis to asthma) and dermatological (eczema, dermatitis, hives) in nature, with a wide symptomatology (from a simple local reaction to anaphylaxis). The main activities associated with these allergic conditions are harvesting or cultivation of fruit and cereals, beekeepers and people working in greenhouses. Finally, in addition to the allergens already known, new ones have emerged, including triticale, wine, spider and biological dust. For these reasons, in the agricultural sector, research needs to be amplified, considering new sectors, new technologies and new products, and ensuring a system of prevention to reduce this risk.peer-reviewe
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