Digital Commons Network^™

Experimental Analysis Of Tools Used For Estimating Risk Associated With Industrial Machines, Yuvin Chinniah, François Gauthier, Serge Lambert, Florence Moulet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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Dans cette étude, 31 outils qualitatifs servant à estimer le risque en lien avec les machines industrielles et conformes aux directives de l'ISO 14121-1:2007 ont été analysés i) en comparant leurs paramètres d'estimation du risque, et ii) en utilisant les différents outils pour estimer les risques inhérents à 20 situations dangereuses (scénarios de risque). L'étude visait à procéder à une comparaison théorique de la capacité des outils à estimer le risque et à déterminer la mesure dans laquelle ils estiment le risque de façon uniforme. Les niveaux de risque obtenus par …

Les Facteurs Reliés Aux Absences Prolongées Du Travail En Raison D’Un Trouble Mental Transitoire : Développement D’Un Outil De Mesure, Marie-José Durand, Marc Corbière, Catherine Briand, Marie-France Coutu, Louise St-Arnaud, Nicole Charpentier

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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Les problèmes de santé mentale sont en recrudescence dans les organisations. Jusqu’à maintenant, on connait des approches de traitement qui réduisent les symptômes de la maladie. Toutefois, il est clairement démontré que malgré l’amélioration du fonctionnement des personnes, celle-ci n’est pas associée nécessairement à un retour au travail. Ce constat suggère que l'incapacité au travail associée à un tel état de santé constitue un phénomène multifactoriel complexe. Or, peu d'études ont évalué spécifiquement les facteurs prédictifs et les obstacles de la reprise des activités professionnelles dans ces cas. Cette étude cible, …

Exploratory Study To Identify Workload Factors That Have An Impact On Health And Safety: A Case Study In The Service Sector, Pierre-Sébastien Fournier, Sylvie Montreuil, Jean-Pierre Brun, Caroline Bilodeau, Julie Villa

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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Les nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail (innovations technologiques, nouvelles politiques de gestion des ressources humaines, formes innovantes d’organisation, etc.) pourraient avoir des conséquences négatives pour les individus (fatigue, stress chronique, troubles musculo-squelettiques…) et pour les établissements (absentéisme, roulement de personnel…). La documentation scientifique désigne la charge de travail comme dénominateur commun en l’occurrence, sauf que les évidences sur la conceptualisation de ce phénomène sont limitées et ne tiennent pas compte de sa complexité. Pour le définir et le caractériser, les chercheurs ont voulu déterminer les dimensions ainsi que la dynamique et …

Dr. Youtube Is Ready To See You Now! Health Benefits Of Medical Videos On Youtube, Jordan A. Rosenberg

CMC Senior Theses

Chapter 1 will cover who is uploading the videos and how individuals navigate from professional to amateur videos and visa versa. The discussion will be in context of YouTube as a public sharing space that can contain personal information. A central advantage of YouTube as a space for health information is health communication. Chapter 2 will focus on social networking and the comments section, where patients voluntarily share their voice in an online medical community.

Does Use Of A Cell Phone Affect Cognition?, Kharma J. Lundy

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

This research examined the effects that a cell phone distraction had on subjects completing a maze task. Twenty-four subjects participated in the study (12 Younger subjects and 12 Older subjects; 14 females and 10 males). Subjects completed an identical maze task during each of three sessions. During the first session, subjects completed the maze task without the distraction of cell phone use. The second session involved completion of the maze task while listening to a transcript read over a cell phone. The third session involved completion of the maze task while participating in a cell phone conversation. Subjects’ performances were …

Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (Sgbv) Against Adolescent Girls, Sajeda Amin, Althea D. Anderson

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council’s extensive work on adolescent safe spaces and livelihoods programs has demonstrated the pathways of empowering adolescent girls and the substantial benefits for society. Monitoring and evaluation data from these initiatives have produced empirical evidence about threats to girls’ health and well-being that relate to both longstanding and emergent social forces. In developing countries, where the risk of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes is high and young girls are at high risk, it is important to address issues related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and gender norms that relate to these risks. The Council’s work with …

National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report is a midterm evaluation and documentation of the process and approach of the FGM-Free Village Model implemented in Egypt by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood with assistance from the Population Council. In a comparison of responses from women and men in intervention groups to those in nonintervention (control) villages, data analysis shows that the program has been successful in changing views and attitudes toward female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is an entrenched generational practice, and eradicating it in a community requires concerted effort over an extended period of time. This evaluation strongly recommends that efforts be …

When Girls' Lives Matter: Ending Forced And Early Marriage In Cameroon, Sajeda Amin, Andrea Lynch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The program presented in this case study, the Association for the Struggle Against Violence Against Women (ALVF, from its name in French) in Cameroon, provides counseling, language and literacy training, economic support, and empowerment activities for girls who have fled (or been thrown out of) early or forced marriages to help them overcome their adversities. ALVF also seeks to bring about broader social change by highlighting in the public sphere—as well as among parents and husbands—the plight of girls who were married early and/or by force. Hence, ALVF’s prevention strategy is based on a broad understanding of the perceptions, expectations, …

Protecting Young People From Sex Without Consent, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the last decade, a growing body of evidence has laid to rest any illusion that the young are protected from unwanted sexual advances or forced sex both within and outside of marriage. Studies have established the prevalence of unwanted sex within marriage among young women and its risk factors; the association between poverty and forced sex among adolescent girls in South Africa; levels and correlates of forced sex reported by young people in Ethiopia and Kenya. Evidence has established that sex without consent among the young exists in every region of the world, and that girls, as well as …

Shaping Demand And Practices To Improve Family Health Outcomes In Northern India: A Framework For Behavior Change Communication, Population Council

Reproductive Health

An initiative from the Population Council could help in developing a comprehensive communication strategy to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, and nutrition outcomes in Uttar Pradesh and other northern states of India. The identification of key barriers to and facilitating factors for selected target behaviors that have a direct bearing on maternal and child health could go a long way in packaging specific messages for different stakeholders, such as women, husbands, elder family members, opinion makers in the community, and frontline health workers. One of the key deliverables of this publication is to fill an important knowledge gap …

Survey Of Domestic And Work Life Experience And Reproductive Health Of Women Workers Of Selected Industrial Compounds In Ha Noi, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Nguyen Hong Phuong

Reproductive Health

The Population Council Viet Nam and local stakeholders undertook a collaborative project in Ha Noi entitled “Improving the health care response to gender-based violence.” The study’s objectives were: 1) to assess the knowledge and experience of female workers about gender-based violence; 2) to assess knowledge and practice of women workers on reproductive health focusing on abortion; and 3) to make recommendation for the Ha Noi Health Service to improve the women workers’ knowledge on gender-based violence, choice of contraceptive method, reproductive health care, and abortion. The women factory workers, who have higher levels of education than their peers in the …

Comprehensive Responses To Sexual Violence In East And Southern Africa: Lessons Learned From Implementation, Jill Keesbury, Ian Askew, Monica Wanjiru, Grace Chiyaba, Kate Wilson, Felly Nkweto Simmonds

Reproductive Health

The Population Council has provided technical assistance and conducted research to strengthen the evidence base on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) programming in sub-Saharan Africa, where countries have begun to recognize the importance of both preventing violence and responding to the needs of SGBV survivors. These activities have created an active network of partners from across sub-Saharan Africa, who are developing, implementing, and evaluating core elements of a comprehensive, multisectoral response model. This brief reports how network partners have significantly increased the evidence base on program responses: a range of successful approaches have been demonstrated for improving comprehensive services within …

The Prevention And Management Of Hiv And Sexual And Gender-Based Violence: Responding To The Needs Of Survivors And Those-At-Risk, Sarah Raifman, Ian Askew, Sajeda Amin, Jill Keesbury, Saiqa Mullick, Judith A. Diers, Meiwita P. Budiharsana, Chi-Chi Undie, Mary Zama, Mantshi Menziwa, Sherry Hutchinson, Naomi Rutenberg

Reproductive Health

The Population Council seeks to understand the social, economic, political, and physical context of risks for sexual and gender-based violence and HIV. Among the top priorities of Council research are supporting and evaluating efforts to prevent violence and HIV, including creating safe spaces for adolescent girls, and working with men and boys to change gender norms within the community; and comprehensively responding to the needs of survivors (including those who are HIV-infected) by strengthening health systems and integrating services. The purpose of this guide is to provide practical guidance on the steps necessary to establish and strengthen sexual violence (SV) …

Local Public Health System Partnerships: A Mixed Methods Multi-State Study, Priscilla A. Barnes

Dissertations

The purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to conduct a mixed methods multi-state examination of specific partnership-related activities among local public health systems (LPHSs) as well as to explore perceptions of LPHS practitioners regarding partnership practices.

In the first paper, secondary data analysis of questions from the National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP, n = 110) was used to determine the frequency that partnership activities were conducted optimally (> 75% of the time) and whether any associations existed between three different partnership capacities. Activities were matched with relational, organizational, and programmatic capacities from the Collaborative Capacity Framework. Overall, 86% …

In Search Of Wellness: Allied Health Professionals' Understandings Of Wellness In Childhood Disability Services, Lauren Breen, Helen Wildy, Sherry Saggers, Jeannine Millsteed, P Raghavendra

Research outputs 2011

Purpose. Wellness approaches are not routine in childhood disability services, despite theoretical and empirical support and an increasing demand for them from health consumers and disability activists. We aimed to investigate how health professionals define or understand wellness and its practice in the context of childhood disability. Method. A qualitative, interpretive approach was taken. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 health professionals (allied health therapists and managers) providing early intervention and ongoing therapy within four Australian childhood health and disability services. Years of experience providing services to children with disabilities and their families ranged from 6 months to 30 years …

Construction Induction Training: How Effective For The Housing And Civil Construction Industries In Wa?, Susanne Bahn, Llandis Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs 2011

Introducing practices to reduce the number of work-related injuries in the construction industry is a continual challenge, specifically in WA where the industry is adapting to the additional pressures of a second development boom this century. In 2006, Worksafe WA responded by introducing mandatory certification in safety awareness training for all employees, before they could begin work on a construction site. This paper reviews the impact of this training on the housing and civil sectors of the industry. It presents both the perceptions of the stakeholders from their survey responses and from the analyses the lost time injury/disease statistics. These …

A 'Once In A Generation Opportunity'? Narratives About The Potential Impact Of Ohs Harmonisation On Smaller Firms In Australia, Rowena Barrett, Susanne Bahn, Susan Mayson

Research outputs 2011

Regulatory reform will see the introduction of harmonised Occupational Health and Safety laws across Australia. Here we consider the potential impact of this on smaller firms as the first step in assessing how they may adapt to this regulatory change. We use textual data consisting of recent media and blogs that highlight key stakeholders’ perceptions of the purpose and outcomes of harmonisation on smaller firms. The narratives perpetuate the negative discourse of regulation, not only for smaller firms, but for other key stakeholders. Critical analysis of stakeholders’ views of the effects of harmonisation articulates constraints and possibilities of regulatory change …

Introducing Mandatory Training Systems? Investigating The Implementation Of Compulsory Pre-Site Construction Training, Llandis Barratt-Pugh, Susanne Bahn

Research outputs 2011

There can be no more effective learning than that achieved by training systems to reduce death and injury. In such cases the imposition of a mandatory course would appear justifiable, especially where there is a history of unfortunate incidents and current rapid workforce growth. Installing learning as an imperative within a vibrant industry requires considerable negotiation between stakeholders to turn evidence into policy, industry intent, regulatory curriculum and subsequent workplace practice. This paper reflects back and reviews the introduction of such training within the construction industry in Western Australia as it adapts to the additional pressures of the development boom. …

Review Of Indigenous Offender Health [Journal Article], Jocelyn Grace, Ineke Krom, Caitlin Maling, Tony Butler, Richard Midford

Research outputs 2011

This review provides an overview of health issues facing the Indigenous offender population, including some of the social and historical factors relevant to Indigenous health and incarceration. In doing so, it is important to first understand how Indigenous people conceptualise health. Health as it is understood in western society is a fairly discrete category, which differs from the traditional Indigenous perspective of health as holistic [1]. This is made explicit in the 1989 National Aboriginal health strategy that states 'health to Aboriginal peoples is a matter of determining all aspects of their life, including control over their physical environment, of …

Review Of Volatile Substance Use Among Indigenous People, Richard Midford, Sarah Mclean, Michelle Catto, Neil Thomson, Olivier Debuyst

Research outputs 2011

The purpose of this review is to summarise key information from a number of substantial reports and other documents to make it more accessible to people involved in Indigenous health in Australia. The review draws heavily on the work undertaken in the preparation of Volatile substance misuse: a review of interventions. That very important report was authored by Peter d’Abbs and Sarah MacLean, the latter a co-author of this review. This review focuses on Australian Indigenous people, so no substantial attention is directed at the use of volatile substances among other indigenous peoples, or among other disadvantaged people in Australia …

School-Based Strategies To Address Cyber Bullying, Donna Cross, Helen Monks, Marilyn Campbell, Barbara Spears, Phillips Slee

Research outputs 2011

Bullying and victimisation among school-age children are recognised as a major public health problem. In its 2009 report on the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (ACBPS), the Child Health Promotion Research Centre of Edith Cowan University reported that just over one quarter (27 per cent) of school students aged 8 to 14 years were bullied and 9 per cent bullied others on a frequent basis – every few weeks or more often (Cross et al, 2009).

Literacy And Hazard Communication Comprehension Of Employees Presenting To An Occupational Health Clinic, Christine Bouchard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than 100 million American workers, 7 million workplaces, and 945,000 hazardous chemical products are covered under the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There were a total of 1,183,500 recordable non-fatal illnesses and injuries in private industry workplaces in 2006 resulting in days away from work. Of these, 19,480 were due to chemicals and chemical products. In addition, there were a total of 5,703 work-related fatalities in 2006. In 191 of these, chemicals and chemical products were listed as the primary source of injury and as the secondary source of injury in 104 …

Navigating The Child Welfare System: An Exploratory Study Of Families' Experiences, Lianne Fuino Estefan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing up in a family environment that includes child maltreatment can result in an array of negative consequences for children, including health, behavioral, developmental, and social difficulties, and these consequences can persist over the lifetime. Families who have come to the attention of child welfare services for child maltreatment are at particularly high risk for experiencing multiple concurrent problems, including intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues, as well as other family challenges. It is essential to intervene effectively with this population. However, there are few qualitative studies of parent experiences in the child welfare system through which …

Indicators Of Early Adult And Current Personality In Parkinson's Disease, Kelly Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Previous epidemiologic studies suggest that the personality of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients differs from that of controls, and laboratory evidence supports a potential common pathophysiology of personality traits and PD. One nested case-control study found that PD cases were significantly more anxious than controls before the clinical onset of the disease, and additional data suggest that certain occupations may be risk factors for the disease. Additionally, the latent period that precedes the onset of motor symptoms of PD is unknown.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the association of PD with objective indicators of current and …

A Mixed Method Study On The Peripartum Experience And Postpartum Effects Of Emergency Hysterectomy Due To Postpartum Hemorrhage, Cara De La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Little is known about the experience and psychological outcomes for women who experience emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH). The objective of this study was to explore women's experiences of EPH and to determine if women who experience EPH were more likely to experience mental health sequelae.

Methods: This mixed method design involved a quantitative and a qualitative phase. The quantitative phase used a retrospective cohort design. Women were sampled through on-line communities, including an EPH support group, and a larger website for mothers. Women completed on-line surveys covering sociodemographic, obstetric/gynecological/ and psychiatric information, including screens for depression and Post-Traumatic Stress …

Drug Courts Work, But How? Preliminary Development Of A Measure To Assess Drug Court Structure And Processes, Blake Barrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high prevalence of substance use disorders is well-documented among criminal offenders. Drug courts are specialty judicial programs designed to: 1) improve public safety outcomes; 2) reduce criminal recidivism and substance abuse among offenders with substance use disorders; and 3) better utilize scarce criminal justice and treatment resources. Drug courts operate through partnerships between the criminal justice, behavioral health and public health systems. Offenders participate in an intensive regimen of substance abuse treatment and case management while under close judicial supervision. Drug courts' effectiveness in reducing criminal recidivism and drug use has been documented through numerous primary studies as well …

Maternal Exposure To The Holocaust And Health Complaints In Offspring, Janine D. Flory, Linda M. Bierer, Rachel Yehuda

Publications and Research

Although the link between chronic stress and the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases of adulthood has been known for some time, there is growing recognition that early environmental influences may result in developmental programming via epigenetic mechanisms, thereby affecting the developmental trajectory of disease progression. Previous studies support the idea that offspring of Holocaust survivors may have been subjected to early developmental programming. We evaluated the relationship between parental exposure to the Holocaust and selfreported health ratings and disorders made by their adult offspring (i.e., second generation Holocaust survivors). A total of 137 subjects were evaluated. Regression analyses demonstrated …

Professional Preparation Of Secondary Health Education Teachers In Mississippi, Ensley Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional preparation of secondary health education teachers in Mississippi. All four-year institutions of higher learning were contacted to determine the requirements for an approved program in order to obtain a supplemental endorsement in health, to compare the similarities and differences, and to determine the extent to which the approved programs reflect the ten content areas of the Mississippi Comprehensive Health Framework. This study also examined the status of secondary school health education programs in Mississippi by utilizing selected data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease …

Alcohol Consumption And Risk Of All-Cause And Cardiovascular Disease Mortality In Men, Erin K. Howie, Xuemei Sui, Duck-Chul Lee, Steven P. Hooker, James R. Hébert, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

This study examined the association between consumption of alcoholic beverages and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in a cohort of men (n = 31,367). In the Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age, year of examination, body mass index (BMI), smoking, family history of CVD, and aerobic fitness, there were no significant differences in risk of all-cause mortality across alcohol intake groups. Risk of CVD mortality was reduced 29% in quartile 1 (HR = 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.53, 0.95) and 25% in quartile 2 (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98). The amount of alcohol consumed …

Association Between Depression And C-Reactive Protein, Yunsheng Ma, David E. Chiriboga, Sherry L. Pagoto, Milagros C. Rosal, Wenjun Li, Philip A. Merriam, James R. Hébert, Matthew C. Whited, Ira S. Ockene

Faculty Publications

Objective. Depression has been associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, and a depression-related elevation of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has been proposed as a possible mechanism. The objective of this paper is to examine association between depression and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Methods. Subjects consisted of 508 healthy adults (mean age 48.5 years; 49% women, 88% white) residing in central Massachusetts. Data were collected at baseline and at quarterly intervals over a one-year period per individual. Multivariable linear mixed models were used to assess the association for the entire sample and by gender. Results. The …