Medicine and Health Commons^™

The goal of this study was to improve understanding of the potential health benefits of social support at work. We utilized 2002 GSS data to examine the relative influence of workplace support on self-reported health, exhaustion and experience of persistent pain in a sample of 1602 workers. Building on previous Demand-Control-Support models, we examined co-worker, supervisor, and organizational safety support (conceptualized as ‘workplace family’) in concert with job demands, job control and work-family conflict as predictors of worker health measures. We further tested the extent to which work-family conflict acted as a mediator between family and work characteristics and worker …

In a study to decrease medication administration errors, nurses wore brightly colored sashes as a symbol they were performing the important task of giving meds and were not to be interrupted. Situated within Watson’s Caritas theory, the study gave nurses the opportunity to “center” themselves to enhance focus and concentration on medication administration. While nurses appreciated the opportunity to concentrate on administering meds without interruptions by other staff or phone calls, they worried that patient care coordination for which they were responsible was suffering. Interventions focused on enhancing safety of a single task may be incongruent with total patient-centered care.