Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quantitation Of O-Cresol In Hydrolyzed Human Urine To Assess Toluene Exposure, Eric Langlois, Sébastien Gagné

Études primaires

Rationale

Toluene is a volatile organic compound used in domestic and industrial applications. The main routes of workplace exposure to toluene are inhalation and dermal contact. As toluene exposure can cause severe nervous system damage, its quantification is crucial to prevent occupational illness. Toluene is metabolized mainly as hippuric acid, S-benzylmercapturic acid and epoxides. These are rapidly converted to o-/p-cresol, which is then excreted in the urine as conjugated glucuronides and sulfates. o-Cresol and its conjugates can be chemically hydrolyzed to form free o-cresol, which can then serve as a urinary biomarker of toluene exposure. Current …

Prerequisite For Imputing Non-Detects Among Airborne Samples In Osha’S Imis Databank: Prediction Of Sample’S Volume, Igor Burstyn, Philippe Sarazin, George Luta, Melissa C. Friesen, Laurel Kincl, Jérôme Lavoué

Études primaires

Introduction: The US Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) contains workplace measurements collected by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors. Its use for research is limited by the lack of record of a value for the limit of detection (LOD) associated with non-detected measurements, which should be used to set censoring point in statistical analysis. We aimed to remedy this by developing a predictive model of the volume of air sampled (V) for the non-detected results of airborne measurements, to then estimate the LOD using the instrument detection limit (IDL), as IDL/V.

Methods: We obtained the Chemical Exposure Health Data …

Study Of Barrier Face Coverings And Respirator Exhalation Filtration Efficiency And Exhaled Air Velocity During Wear, Weihua Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of different types of respiratory protection, including National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Approved respirators and surgical masks in healthcare settings, as well as barrier face coverings (BFCs) used by the public as source control. The assessment was based on three components: total outward leakage (TOL), particle size distribution, and exhalation airflow velocity. To achieve this, the study utilized headform testing systems to measure TOL and airflow velocity. Specifically, a hard surface headform was used for NIOSH Approved respirators and surgical masks, while two soft surface headforms of different sizes were …

Impactos Do Trabalho Em Hospitais Públicos, Lorena Em Fernandes, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Gabriella Barreto Soares, Francis Sodré

Gastón Institute Publications

This paper shows the result of a qualitative pilot study carried out with workers from public hospitals managed by private institutions, whose objective was to identify and analyze the main impacts of work on health professionals in these institutions, known as Social Health Organizations. The survey occurred in Espírito Santo, Brazil, in 2019. Workers who have a job in at least one of the participating institutions were individually interviewed. The analysis was based on grounded theory techniques, carried out with careful coding and comparative methodology, resulting in four empirical categories: “Admission”; “People management”; “Management and quality”; and “Health and quality …

The Potential And Peculiarities Of Perma: A Meta-Analysis Of Two Well-Being Measures With Working Samples, William P. Jimenez, Xiaoxiao Hu, Rebecca Garden, Asiye Zeytonli

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the first meta-analysis of the PERMA well-being framework (i.e., positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, accomplishment), we cumulated 692 effect sizes (k = 33 independent samples, N = 10,050 workers). Average reliability did not meet the conventional ɑ = .70 threshold for engagement measured with the PERMA-Profiler or the Workplace PERMA Profiler or for negative emotions measured with the former. Overall, PERMA dimensions were strongly intercorrelated, and model comparisons suggested multidimensionality. We also summarized PERMA’s relationships with some conceptual antecedents (conscientiousness, loneliness); correlates (happiness, negative emotions); and outcomes (physical health, depressive symptoms, overall …

Keeping Employees Safe During Health Crises: The Effects Of Media Exposure, Hr Practices, And Age, Shuqi Li, Henry R Young, Majid Ghorbani, Byron Y Lee, Daan Van Knippenberg, Russell E Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Occupational health and safety are critical in promoting the wellness of organizations and employees. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most life-threatening viruses encountered in recent history, providing a unique opportunity for research to examine factors that drive employee safety behavior. Drawing from terror management theory, we propose and test a moderated mediation model using data collected from employees working during a peak of the pandemic. We identify two sources of influence - one external (i.e., media exposure), and one internal (i.e., HR practices) to the organization - that shape employees' mortality salience and safety behaviors. We find that …

Landscaping Wellness At Work: A Participatory Model For Worker-Centered Health, Anya Helena Piotrowski

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study contributes to a body of scholarship that demonstrates the benefits and need of employee-driven and defined wellness at work processes. This participatory action research study brought together a team of employees within a remote-work, start-up organization to define and design a process for implementing wellness at work for their organization. Through a participatory process that allowed outcomes to emerge from the group, employees identified opportunities to foster embodied wellness in their organization in three core areas: organizational, personal, and cross-boundary initiatives. Through a reflective collaboration, employees generated ideas and developed a plan to address employee-identified priorities that will …

A Current Affair: Worker Perceptions Of Noise Exposure And Occupational Hearing Loss In Australian Coal Mines, Adelle Liebenberg, Jacques Oosthuizen, Sue Reed

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: The objective of the online survey was to determine worker attitudes towards, perceptions on hearing loss, and management of workplace noise; and to identify barriers within current strategies that prevent effective management of hearing health in Australian mines. Design: This cross-sectional study utilized a modified survey design, initially designed for use by Safe Work Australia for a broader study published in 2010. Study Sample: The survey questionnaire was made available online to volunteer participants, recruited with the assistance of State and National Health and Safety, and mining organizations. Volunteer participants were required to be proficient in English, be employed …

Les Risques De Vibrations Mains-Bras Dans Le Secteur Minier, Sachez Les Identifier Et Les Réduire!, Isabelle Maguire, Laurent Giraud

Fiches

No abstract provided.

Filtration Performance, Fit Test And Side Effects Of Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment Following Decontamination: Observations For User Safety And Comfort, Nathalie Turgeon, Melissa Pagé, Justin Robillard, Véronique Goulet, Ali Bahloul, Clothilde Brochot, Mohamed Nejib Saidi, Nathan Dumont-Leblond, Caroline Duchaine

Études primaires

Objective

While facing personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, several institutions looked to PPE decontamination and reuse options. This study documents the effect of two hydrogen peroxide treatments on filtration efficiency and fit tests as well as the side effects for volunteers after the decontamination of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). We also propose an efficient and large-scale treatment protocol that allows for the traceability of this protective equipment in hospitals during PPE shortages.

Methods

The effects of low-temperature hydrogen peroxide sterilization and hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) on two FFR models (filtration, decontamination level, residual emanation) were …

Pressure Induced By Roll-Down Foam-Earplugs On Earcanal, Ahmed Dalaq, Luiz Melo, Franck Sgard, Olivier Doutres, Éric Wagnac

Études primaires

Physical discomfort of earplug is a common complaint, so much so it jeopardizes the health and safety of workers, resulting in frequent noncompliance to proper wearing of earplugs. A pressing need thus arises to understand the underlying mechanics for the interaction of earplugs with earcanal walls. An idealized cylindrical geometry of earcanal is first treated with computational and analytical modeling to predict the pressure induced by roll-down cylindrical PVC foam earplugs. In order to predict representative pressure values and distribution, we estimated the hyperelastic properties of foam-based earplugs and characterized their behavior using a stent testing machine (J-Crimp^TM machine) …

Assessing Children To Identify Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Survey Of Occupational Therapists In Australia, Jacqui Hunt, Jill Zwicker, Erin Godecke, Annette Raynor

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder with motor and psychosocial consequences, can significantly impact children's quality of life. In Australia, most children with diagnosed/suspected DCD have received occupational therapy services, more so than any other health service. As such, occupational therapists are key in identification and treatment and require a sound knowledge of diagnostic criteria and the best evidence for practice. This study explored current occupational therapy services for children with DCD. Areas for development are identified to improve the identification of, and subsequent intervention for, children with DCD. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online survey …

Hand Hygiene Knowledge And Demonstrated Technique Among Malawian Kindergarten Children: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Balwani Chingatichifwe Mbakaya, Maggie Zgambo, Fatch Welcome Kalembo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To evaluate hand hygiene knowledge and demonstrated technique before and after implementation of the hand hygiene programme and its sustainability among Malawian kindergarten students. Design: Quasi-experimental design, utilizing a repeated measure at three points, namely, before intervention (T0), soon after intervention (T1) and follow-up (T2). Methods: The hand hygiene programme consisted of integrating hand hygiene protocol into the school health curriculum, setting up proper handwashing facilities, training school teachers, health talks and developing reminders on hand hygiene. Fifty-three kindergarten children aged 3–6 years were enrolled in the programme. Data were collected at 3 months' intervals (T0, T1, and T2). …

Systematic Review: Analisis Pengadaan Musik Kerja Terhadap Produktivitas Kerja Tenaga Kerja, Afan Alfayad, Endang Dwiyanti

Preventia: The Indonesian Journal of Public Health

This research was conducted to see the effectiveness of the procurement of work music on labor productivity. This study uses a systematic review method by finding 15 types of research articles, research articles are considered inclusion criteria based on PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Study Design Results, Year of Publication, and Language) as follows: 1) human sample, 2) work music intervention, 3) comparison of giving work music and not giving work music, 4) results: work productivity, 5) research articles, 6) articles published in 2012 until 2022, 7) in English and Indonesian. Procurement of work music is associated with increased worker productivity. …

Student Perception On Acceptability And Usefulness Of Sit-Stand Desks In College Classrooms, Abiola Kuilan

Theses

Sedentariness has been proved to be a major cause of various health concerns. Given that a full-time college student in the US spends more than 15 hours per week sitting in a college classroom, it may be an ideal setting for implementation of Sit-Stand Desk (SSD) to reduce college students’ sedentary time. Graduate and undergraduate students (N = 178) of NJIT were randomly recruited to complete a need based online assessment survey. Participants' mean (SD) age was 22.4(4.7) years old, 63% identified as male, 33% identified as female while 4% were of the other gender class. Among the participants, 44.3% …

Factors Associated With A Diagnosis Of Sarcoidosis Among Us Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan, Nisha Jani, Israel C Christie, Tianshi David Wu, Daniel E Guzman, Jaehwan Han, Bryan Broderick, Michael J Falvo, Anays Sotolongo, Omowunmi Y Osinubi, Drew A Helmer

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

This study evaluated risk factors of sarcoidosis among Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) participants using a retrospective age and sex-matched case-control design of AHOBPR participants deployed to Afghanistan or Southwest Asia with and without sarcoidosis diagnosed in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Logistic regression models tested for associations between sarcoidosis and self-reported cumulative deployment-related exposures. 661 Veterans (0.37%) were diagnosed with sarcoidosis in VHA. Logistic regression demonstrated lower odds of sarcoidosis in Hispanic participants (OR 0.08, CI 0.04-0.15) and those who served in the Navy (OR 0.40, CI 0.21-0.72). African American veterans (OR 2.27, CI 1.66-3.11) and …

Grip Characterization Of Protective Gloves, Doris Burns

Theses & Dissertations

In 2014, ASTM International (ASTM), one of the world's largest international standards developing organizations, published a new test method on glove grip performance. This method was adopted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in some of their specification standards. The method utilized hand torque instead of the pull method previously used by the NFPA to determine the Percent Bare Hand Control Value (%BHCV). The %BHCV, compares torque results of a gloved hand versus a bare hand. In developing this new test method, only four males and one female participated; therefore, it is unclear if statistical significance was attained. In …

Aerosols In Orthodontics: Characterization Of Particle Size And Travel Distance, Donte Jochum-Nesbitt

Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Aerosol production is a key contributor to occupational risk and disease transmission in the dental clinic. These aerosols can host harmful pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2. Considering the 2020 pandemic, researchers endeavored to bolster the existing body of literature related to disease transmission via aerosols and droplets to provide better recommendations for infection control. This investigation aims to support that mission by characterizing the risk to orthodontic professionals and patients based on aerosolized particle size and travel distance. Methods: The experimental protocol used in this study was validated through a smaller scale pilot study in 2021. High- and Low-risk orthodontic …

Étude Visant À Mieux Guider L’Évaluation Des Risques Des Travailleurs Exposés Aux Nanoparticules (Np) : Existe-T-Il Différentes Propriétés Inflammatoires Des Np Liées Au Sexe?, Marion Vanharen, Abdelaziz Saafane, Alexanne Léveillé, Thomas Mahbeer, Denis Girard

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Les nanotechnologies offrent un important potentiel d’exploitation dans des secteurs industriels variés, pour lequel les bénéfices financiers ne sont pas négligeables. À l’instar des provinces canadiennes et de nombreux pays industrialisés, le Québec voit un nombre grandissant de compagnies produisant des nanomatériaux et des nanoparticules (NP) se développer, sans oublier celles qui introduisent de plus en plus de NP dans leurs produits. Le nombre de travailleurs québécois œuvrant dans la fabrication et dans la synthèse des NP augmentera dans les années à venir. De plus, le nombre de travailleurs appelés à manipuler et à transformer des NP dans les domaines …

Prevalence And Predictors Of Burnout Syndrome Among Italian Psychologists Following The First Wave Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study, Pietro Crescenzo, Francesco Chirico, Giuseppe Ferrari, Lukasz Szarpak, Gabriella Nucera, Raffaella Marciano, Livio Tarchi, Diego Denicolo, Assunta Maiorino, Kavita Batra, Manoj Sharma

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Introduction: The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of Burnout Syndrome (BOS) among Italian psychologists following the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. As a secondary objective, geographical differences in the prevalence of BOS symptoms were investigated across regional macro-areas in this category of workers. Methods: Using a non-probabilistic convenience sample, four-hundred sixty-eight participants responded to an online survey which included psychometric valid questions from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and The Big Five Inventory-10. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. Results: The overall prevalence of BOS in the study sample was …