Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Integration Of Health Protection And Health Promotion: Rationale, Indicators, And Metrics, Glorian Sorenson, Deborah Mcclellan, Jack Dennerlein, Nicolaas Pronk, Jennifer Allen, Leslie Boden, Cassadra Okechukwu, Dean Hashimoto, Anne Stoddard, Gregory Wagner

Dean M. Hashimoto

Objective: To offer a definition of an “integrated” approach to worker health and operationalize this definition using indicators of the extent to which integrated efforts are implemented in an organization.

Methods: Guided by the question—How will we know it when we see it?—we reviewed relevant literature to identify available definitions and metrics, and used a modified Delphi process to review and refine indicators and measures of integrated approaches.

Results: A definition of integrated approaches to worker health is proposed and accompanied by indicators and measures that may be used by researchers, employers, and workers.

Conclusions: A shared understanding of what …

Results Of A Pilot Intervention To Improve Health And Safety For Health Care Workers, Caitlin Caspi, Jack Dennerlein, Christopher Kenwood, Anne Stoddard, Karen Hopcia, Dean Hashimoto, Glorian Sorensen

Dean M. Hashimoto

Objective: To test the feasibility of a multicomponent pilot intervention to improve worker safety and wellness in two Boston hospitals. Methods: A 3-month intervention was conducted on seven hospital units. Pre- (374 workers) and postsurveys (303 workers) assessed changes in safety/ergonomic behaviors and practices, and social support. Wellness outcomes included self-reported pain/aching in specific body areas (musculoskeletal disorders or MSDs) and physical activity (PA). Results: Pain was reported frequently (81%), and PA averaged 4 hours per week. There was a postintervention increase in safe patient handling (P < 0.0001), safety practices (P = 0.0004), ergonomics (P = 0.009), and supervisor support (P = 0.01), but no changes in MSDs or PA. Conclusions: Safe patient handling, ergonomics, and safety practices are good targets for worker safety and wellness interventions; longer intervention periods may reduce the risk of MSDs.

Association Between Perceived Inadequate Staffing And Musculoskeletal Pain Among Hospital Patient Care Workers, Seung-Sip Kim, Cassandra Okechukwu, Jack Dennerlein, Leslie Borden, Karen Hopcia, Dean Hashimoto, Glorian Sorensen

Dean M. Hashimoto

Objective

To examine association between perceived inadequate staffing and musculoskeletal pain and to evaluate the role of work-related psychosocial and physical work factors in the association among hospital patient care workers.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,572 patient care workers in two academic hospitals. Perceived inadequate staffing was measured using the “staffing adequacy subscale” of Nursing Work Index, which is a continuous scale that averages estimates of staffing adequacy by workers in the same units. Musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck/shoulder, arm, low back, lower extremity, any musculoskeletal pain, and the number of area in pain) in the past 3 …