T Dulal-Arthur, J Hassard, J Bourke, S Roper, M Wishart, V Belt, C Bartle, S Leka, N Pahl, L Thomson, H Blake
{"title":"Line manager training and organizational approaches to supporting well-being.","authors":"T Dulal-Arthur, J Hassard, J Bourke, S Roper, M Wishart, V Belt, C Bartle, S Leka, N Pahl, L Thomson, H Blake","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae051","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Employee mental health and well-being (MH&WB) is critical to the productivity and success of organizations. Training line managers (LMs) in mental health plays an important role in protecting and enhancing employee well-being, but its relationship with other MH&WB practices is under-researched.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To determine whether organizations offering LM training in mental health differ in the adoption of workplace- (i.e. primary/prevention-focused) and worker-directed (including both secondary/resiliency-focused and tertiary/remedial-focused) interventions to those organizations not offering LM training and to explore changes in the proportions of activities offered over time.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Secondary analysis of enterprise data from computer-assisted telephone interview surveys. The analysis included data from organizations in England across 4 years (2020: n = 1900; 2021: n = 1551; 2022: n = 1904; 2023: n = 1902).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Offering LM training in mental health was associated with organizations' uptake of primary-, secondary-, and tertiary-level MH&WB activities across all 4 years. The proportion of organizations offering primary-, secondary- and tertiary-level interventions increased over time. On average, tertiary-level activities were most adopted (2020: 80%; 2021: 81%; 2022: 84%; 2023: 84%), followed by primary-level activities (2020: 66%; 2021: 72%; 2022: 72%; 2023: 73%) and secondary-level activities (2020: 62%; 2021: 60%; 2022: 61%; 2023: 67%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Offering LM training in mental health is associated with the adoption of other MH&WB practices by organizations. Suggesting that organizations that are committed to the mental health agenda are more likely to take a holistic approach (including both worker and workplace strategies) to promoting workforce mental health, rather than providing LM training in isolation.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419705/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141592112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G J Macfarlane, S D'Angelo, G Ntani, K Walker-Bone
{"title":"Impact of fatigue on work productivity and health-related job loss.","authors":"G J Macfarlane, S D'Angelo, G Ntani, K Walker-Bone","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae056","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Fatigue is commonly reported in population surveys and has been identified in patients with health conditions as a key co-morbidity which makes remaining in work challenging. Such patients, however, rarely have access to programmes to help them manage their fatigue.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To quantify the relationship between fatigue, work impairment and health-related job loss.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We use data from the Health and Employment After Fifty study, a longitudinal study of people aged 50-64 years when recruited through general practices in England in 2013-14. During follow-up, fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Assessment Scale, work impairment was assessed using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment scale, and changes in employment status were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 2743 participants were eligible for the current analysis; 23% satisfied criteria for being fatigued. People who were fatigued were less likely to have a partner, university degree, be physically active and were more likely to be obese. Their job was more likely to involve shifts, be perceived as insecure, have reported difficulties coping with job demands, and be unsatisfying. After adjustment for socio-economic, lifestyle and work-related factors, they were almost twice as likely to report both work impairment (relative risk 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6, 2.1) and future health-related job loss, although the latter effect was only in those with other morbidities (incidence rate ratio 1.96; 95% CI 1.03-3.72).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Providing evidence-based support for workers with health conditions who experience fatigue may have an important impact at a population level in terms of extending working lives.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419701/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141545599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I Borrelli, G Melcore, A Perrotta, P E Santoro, M F Rossi, U Moscato
{"title":"Workplace ethical climate and its relationship with depression, anxiety and stress.","authors":"I Borrelli, G Melcore, A Perrotta, P E Santoro, M F Rossi, U Moscato","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae065","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ethical climate in the workplace has been highlighted to have an important impact on workers' mental health; the evaluation of workplace ethics and its impact on workers' health should be considered an occupational health issue.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The present study aims to investigate ethical climate as perceived by workers, and its correlation with mental health outcomes, in particular, symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was performed by administering an online survey, investigating socio-demographic variables, workplace ethics (through the Italian short version of the Corporate Ethical Virtues questionnaire) and mental health outcomes (using the short version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale). Descriptive analyses, analyses of variance and regression models were performed; P-values were considered significant for values ≤0.05.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The sample included 176 workers; the mean age of participants was 46.22 years and 44% were males. The most represented job sector was health care (37%), and 42% of participants had college-level education. Ethical climate was significantly correlated with all mental health outcomes investigated in the study: anxiety (P ≤ 0.001), depression (P ≤ 0.05) and stress (P ≤ 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Results from this study highlighted a significant correlation between workplace ethical climate and depression, anxiety and stress. This study underlines the importance of evaluating and improving ethical climate to prevent the onset of psychological distress in workers. Furthermore, results from this study should be a starting point for future research investigating the role of ethics and mental health in employees' turnover intention and job satisfaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141762643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gastrointestinal cancer and occupational diesel exhaust exposure: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.","authors":"G Collatuzzo, F Teglia, P Boffetta","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae058","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Diesel exhaust exposure and cancer other than the lungs have been limitedly investigated.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and gastrointestinal cancers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two researchers performed a systematic literature review to identify all cohort studies on occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and risk of cancers other than lung. Of the 30 retained studies, 10 reported risk estimates for oesophageal, 18 on gastric, 15 on colon and 14 on rectal cancer. We performed random-effects meta-analyses to calculate summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for ever-exposure to diesel exhaust.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We calculated summary RR = 1.08 (95% CI 0.97-1.21, P heterogeneity = 0.06) for oesophageal, 1.06 (95% CI 0.99-1.14, P < 0.001) for gastric, 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-1.00, P = 0.453) for colon, and RR = 1.04 (95% CI 0.97-1.11, P = 0.013) for rectal cancer. Drivers showed an association with oesophageal (RR = 1.26, 95% CI 0.99-1.62), gastric (RR = 1.20, 95% CI 0.91-1.59) and rectal cancer (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.13-1.75); machine operators with oesophageal (RR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.00-1.20) and gastric (RR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.20) and handlers with oesophageal cancer (RR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.23-3.09). Studies from Europe revealed an association with gastric cancer while those from North America did not (P < 0.05). No difference was found by quality score except for gastric cancer, where high-quality studies but not low-quality ones showed increased risk (P heterogeneity = 0.04). There was no evidence of publication bias.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>An increased but insignificant risk of oesophageal, gastric and rectal, but not colon cancer, was suggested in workers exposed to diesel exhaust. Residual confounding cannot be excluded.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142309070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L Christine Oliver, Paul Sampara, Andrew Zarnke, Janice Martell
{"title":"Occupational exposures and sarcoidosis: a rapid review of the evidence.","authors":"L Christine Oliver, Paul Sampara, Andrew Zarnke, Janice Martell","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae062","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae062","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419703/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142309071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Silicosis initially presenting with empyema.","authors":"C Reynolds, C Ross, P Cullinan, P Blanc","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae047","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The current global outbreak of artificial stone silicosis is a recrudescence of a major occupational disease in the context of a novel exposure source. Respirable crystalline silica exposure, even without frank pneumoconiosis, is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection. Empyema is a well-recognized complication of bacterial pneumonia; pneumonia among working-age adults, in turn, has been epidemiologically linked to occupational exposure to fumes and dust, including silica. A connection between empyema and silica dust inhalation has not been reported, however, whether through antecedent pneumonia or another mechanism. We describe a case of silicosis initially presenting with empyema in a 31-year-old Computerized Numerical Control stone-cutting machine operator who had heavy exposure to artificial stone and other rock dust.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419702/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141297300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discrepancy between medical conditions self-reported by bus drivers and medical records.","authors":"E McCollum","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae053","DOIUrl":"10.1093/occmed/kqae053","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Medical incapacity at the wheel is a rare but high-profile factor in accident causation. The UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not require a review of medical records on the application for a bus licence, but applicants sign a self-declaration of medical history. There is debate over what, if any, verification of medical information is required for doctors who complete the medical assessment.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To assess how self-declaration compares against General Practitioner (GP) patient records for a series of bus drivers undergoing driver licensing assessment in a 12-month period.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Review of GP reports received for bus driver medicals undertaken in a 12-month period between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 145 medicals undertaken, 12 (8.3%) GP reports contained undeclared medical conditions that required further evaluation and may have impacted on fitness to drive.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Studies into the contribution of medical incapacity at the wheel to vehicle accidents are sparse, as, thankfully, are the events themselves. Nevertheless, given the updated General Medical Council guidance to doctors on confidentiality and public protection responsibilities, and evidence to suggest that doctors' knowledge of the DVLA guidelines is poor, it might be pertinent for the DVLA to reconsider its approach to driver self-reporting in some circumstances, given the discrepancy highlighted here.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141731651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coronavirus pandemic derived demands and inclusive leadership on junior doctors' well-being.","authors":"Y K Lin, B Y-J Lin","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqae081","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>International studies have revealed that numerous challenges (e.g. job demands) and opportunities (e.g. job resources as protective factors) affect the well-being of healthcare workers.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>Building on the job demands-resources theory, we explored how job-related demands and the role of inclusive leadership as a job resource influenced the well-being of junior doctors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional web survey was conducted in July 2022 for 82 junior doctors who had experienced the 3-year COVID-19 pandemic. The survey captured their perceived physical, psychological and COVID-19-related job demands and the inclusive leadership behaviours exhibited by their clinical unit supervisors as job resources. Data were also collected on junior doctors' experiences of burnout, compassion satisfaction and occupational commitment as variables of job outcomes. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was applied to explore the relationships between the variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Physical and COVID-19-related job demands were associated with increased burnout among junior doctors. Inclusive leadership as a job resource was associated with junior doctors' reduced burnout and increased compassion satisfaction and buffered the negative effects of psychological demands on their compassion satisfaction. Only COVID-19-related job demands were associated with junior doctors' occupational commitment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study highlights the critical effects of COVID-19-related job demands on junior doctors' burnout and occupational commitment. Inclusive leadership behaviours exhibited by clinical unit supervisors are a valuable job resource, which can be incorporated as one of the competencies training for medical staff.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142301169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F Teixeira-Marques, I Pacheco, L Pinheiro-Guedes, R Estêvão, N Lousan
{"title":"Sinonasal intestinal-type adenocarcinoma in northern Portugal: a woodworker's occupational hazard.","authors":"F Teixeira-Marques, I Pacheco, L Pinheiro-Guedes, R Estêvão, N Lousan","doi":"10.1093/occmed/kqae085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqae085","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sinonasal carcinomas (SNC) constitute about 3% of all head and neck carcinomas, squamous cell carcinoma being the most common histologic subtype. Some geographical patterns in incidence are observed, as occupational exposure to wood dust is associated with intestinal-type adenocarcinoma (ITAC).</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>This study aims to describe the prevalence and characteristics of sinonasal ITAC cases in a region of northern Portugal with a robust wood industry.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective study of all sinonasal malignancies diagnosed over 5 years, in a tertiary hospital, primarily focused on ITAC subtypes. Data on sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected through electronic medical records and telephonic assessments.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of all 33 cases, 85% were ITAC. ITAC predominantly affected males (96%) with a mean age of 66.2 years. Most patients diagnosed with sinonasal ITAC had occupational wood dust exposure (96%), particularly to hardwoods. Initial symptoms included unilateral nasal obstruction (75%) and epistaxis (71%). Despite a median time of 3 months from symptoms to consultation, 50% presented at an advanced stage, with a 29% mortality rate.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Sinonasal ITAC is an occupational hazard of woodworkers and represents the vast majority of SNC in the region. This study advocates for targeted community interventions, emphasizing occupational safety measures and healthcare awareness to reduce morbimortality associated with this occupational cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":54696,"journal":{"name":"Occupational Medicine-Oxford","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142301171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}