Suchergebnisse

Intervention research in occupational health and safety (OHS) addresses the development, implementation, and evaluation of OHS interventions.(1) The emphasis in intervention research is applied rather than basic or etiologic. Etiologic OSH research is about identifying risk factors for occupational injury and disease, such as in epidemiology studies about the relationship between job stress and heart disease. It has tended to be under-emphasized historically in relation to more basic science-oriented etiologic research. The goal of intervention research in OHS is to translate basic research knowledge into public health action and benefits. As such, intervention research in OHS is often cross-disciplinary, drawing from a range of disciplines such as program evaluation, education, and social psychology in addition to OHS and other branches of public health. The US National Institutes for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) presented a National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to improve OHS in 1996.(2, 3) NORA was based on input from over 500 stakeholder groups across the country and identified 21 priority research areas, one of which was Intervention Effectiveness Research.(4) For each priority research area, NIOSH assembled a Team of experts in the area, drawing from labour, industry, academia, and government. The Intervention Effectiveness Research Team developed a conceptual model of intervention research in OHS(1) in order to: • Provide an integrating framework for diverse activities; • Articulate relationships among various types of intervention research; • Facilitate assessment of the current state of the field in order to guide strategic planning (e.g., specific requests for intervention research proposals); and • Develop common language to facilitate communication. This model posits that the intervention research process is cyclical and progressive and involves three broad research phases of intervention development, implementation, and evaluation (Figure 1 at end of paper).(1) Further, it includes a set of five tasks that are important in any intervention research study: (1) gathering background information and conducting needs assessment on the problem and the range of possible intervention strategies, (2) developing partnerships with relevant stakeholder groups, (3) choosing appropriate research methods and study designs, (4) conducting the research, and (5) reporting on and disseminating findings. Finally, intervention research can be conducted at levels ranging from simple worksite programs to national or international policy.

Background: The broad aim of this study was to assess the contribution of job strain to mental health inequalities by (a) estimating the proportion of depression attributable to job strain (low control and high demand jobs), (b) assessing variation in attributable risk by occupational skill level, and (c) comparing numbers of job strain–attributable depression cases to numbers of compensated 'mental stress' claims. Methods: Standard population attributable risk (PAR) methods were used to estimate the proportion of depression attributable to job strain. An adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.82 for job strain in relation to depression was obtained from a recently published meta-analysis and combined with exposure prevalence data from the Australian state of Victoria. Job strain exposure prevalence was determined from a 2003 population-based telephone survey of working Victorians (n = 1101, 66% response rate) using validated measures of job control (9 items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.80) and psychological demands (3 items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.66). Estimates of absolute numbers of prevalent cases of depression and successful stress-related workers' compensation claims were obtained from publicly available Australian government sources. Results: Overall job strain-population attributable risk (PAR) for depression was 13.2% for males [95% CI 1.1, 28.1] and 17.2% [95% CI 1.5, 34.9] for females. There was a clear gradient of increasing PAR with decreasing occupational skill level. Estimation of job strain–attributable cases (21,437) versus "mental stress" compensation claims (696) suggest that claims statistics underestimate job strain–attributable depression by roughly 30-fold. Conclusion: Job strain and associated depression risks represent a substantial, preventable, and inequitably distributed public health problem. The social patterning of job strain-attributable depression parallels the social patterning of mental illness, suggesting that job strain is an important contributor to mental health inequalities. The numbers of ...

Abstract Background The broad aim of this study was to assess the contribution of job strain to mental health inequalities by (a) estimating the proportion of depression attributable to job strain (low control and high demand jobs), (b) assessing variation in attributable risk by occupational skill level, and (c) comparing numbers of job strain–attributable depression cases to numbers of compensated 'mental stress' claims. Methods Standard population attributable risk (PAR) methods were used to estimate the proportion of depression attributable to job strain. An adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.82 for job strain in relation to depression was obtained from a recently published meta-analysis and combined with exposure prevalence data from the Australian state of Victoria. Job strain exposure prevalence was determined from a 2003 population-based telephone survey of working Victorians (n = 1101, 66% response rate) using validated measures of job control (9 items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.80) and psychological demands (3 items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.66). Estimates of absolute numbers of prevalent cases of depression and successful stress-related workers' compensation claims were obtained from publicly available Australian government sources. Results Overall job strain-population attributable risk (PAR) for depression was 13.2% for males [95% CI 1.1, 28.1] and 17.2% [95% CI 1.5, 34.9] for females. There was a clear gradient of increasing PAR with decreasing occupational skill level. Estimation of job strain–attributable cases (21,437) versus "mental stress" compensation claims (696) suggest that claims statistics underestimate job strain–attributable depression by roughly 30-fold. Conclusion Job strain and associated depression risks represent a substantial, preventable, and inequitably distributed public health problem. The social patterning of job strain-attributable depression parallels the social patterning of mental illness, suggesting that job strain is an important contributor to mental health inequalities. The numbers of compensated 'mental stress' claims compared to job strain-attributable depression cases suggest that there is substantial under-recognition and under-compensation of job strain-attributable depression. Primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention efforts should be substantially expanded, with intervention priorities based on hazard and associated health outcome data as an essential complement to claims statistics.

Abstract

Aims
Previous studies have suggested that migrants have higher exposures to psychosocial job stressors than native-born workers. We explored migrant status-related differences in skill discretion/job complexity and decision authority, and whether the differences varied by gender, age, and educational attainment.


Methods
Data were from Wave 14 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. A total number of 9031 persons were included in the analysis. Outcomes included skill discretion/job complexity and decision authority. Exposure included migrant status defined by (i) country of birth (COB), (ii) the combination of COB and English/Non-English dominant language of COB, and (iii) the combination of COB and years since arrival in Australia. Data were analysed using linear regression, adjusting for gender, age, and educational attainment. These covariates were also analysed as effect modifiers of the relationship between migrant status and job stressor exposure.


Results
In the unadjusted analysis, only migrant workers from Non-English-speaking countries (Non-ESC-born) had significantly lower skill discretion and job complexity than Australia-born workers (−0.29, 95% CI: −0.56; −0.01); however, results from fully adjusted models showed that all migrant groups, except migrant workers from Main-English-speaking countries, had significantly lower skill discretion and job complexity than Australia-born workers (overseas-born workers, −0.59, 95% CI: −0.79; −0.38; Non-ESC-born, −1.01, 95% CI: −1.27; −0.75; migrant workers who had arrived ≤5 years ago, −1.33, 95% CI: −1.94; −0.72; arrived 6–10 years ago, −0.92, 95% CI: −1.46; −0.39; and arrived ≥11 years ago, −0.45, 95% CI: −0.67; −0.22). On the contrary, the unadjusted model showed that migrant workers had higher decision authority than Australia-born workers, whereas in the fully adjusted model, no difference in decision authority was found between migrant workers and Australia-born workers. Effect modification results showed that as educational attainment increased, differences in skill discretion and job complexity between Australia-born workers and Non-ESC-born migrants progressively increased; whereas Non-ESC-born migrants with postgraduate degree showed significantly lower decision authority than Australia-born workers.


Conclusions
This study suggests that skill discretion and job complexity but not decision authority is associated with migrant status. Migrants with high educational attainment from Non-English-speaking countries appear to be most affected by lower skill discretion/job complexity and decision authority; however, differences in skill discretion and job complexity attenuate over time for Non-ESC-born migrants, consistent with an acculturation effect. Low skill discretion and job complexity, to the extent that it overlaps with underemployment, may adversely affect migrant workers' well-being. Targeted language skill support could facilitate migrant integration into the Australian labour market.

Abstract Background Voluntary home quarantine of cases and close contacts was the main non-pharmaceutical intervention used to limit transmission of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza (pH1N1) in the initial response to the outbreak of the disease in Australia. The effectiveness of voluntary quarantine logically depends on affected families having a clear understanding of what they are being asked to do. Information may come from many sources, including the media, health officials, family and friends, schools, and health professionals. We report the extent to which families who entered home quarantine received and used information on what they were supposed to do. Specifically, we outline their sources of information; the perceived usefulness of each source; and associations between understanding of recommendations and compliance. Methods Cross-sectional survey administered via the internet and computer assisted telephone interview to families whose school children were recommended to go into home quarantine because they were diagnosed with H1N1 or were a close contact of a case. The sample included 314 of 1157 potentially eligible households (27% response rate) from 33 schools in metropolitan Melbourne. Adjusting for clustering within schools, we describe self-reported 'understanding of what they were meant to do during the quarantine period'; source of information (e.g. health department) and usefulness of information. Using logistic regression we examine whether compliance with quarantine recommendations was associated with understanding and the type of information source used. Results Ninety per cent understood what they were meant to do during the quarantine period with levels of understanding higher in households with cases (98%, 95% CI 93%-99% vs 88%, 95% CI 84%-91%, P = 0.006). Over 87% of parents received information about quarantine from the school, 63% from the health department and 44% from the media. 53% of households were fully compliant and there was increased compliance in households that reported that they understood what they were meant to do (Odds Ratio 2.27, 95% CI 1.35-3.80). Conclusions It is critical that public health officials work closely with other government departments and media to provide clear, consistent and simple information about what to do during quarantine as high levels of understanding will maximise compliance in the quarantined population.

Sedentary behavior is highly prevalent in office-based workplaces; however, few studies have assessed the attributes associated with this health risk factor in the workplace setting. This study aimed to identify the correlates of office workers' objectively-assessed total and prolonged (≥ 30 min bouts) workplace sitting time. Participants were 231 Australian office workers recruited from 14 sites of a single government employer in 2012–13. Potential socio-demographic, work-related, health-related and cognitive-social correlates were measured through a self-administered survey and anthropometric measurements. Associations with total and prolonged workplace sitting time (measured with the activPAL3) were tested using linear mixed models. Worksites varied significantly in total workplace sitting time (overall mean [SD]: 79% [10%] of work hours) and prolonged workplace sitting time (42% [19%]), after adjusting for socio-demographic and work-related characteristics. Organisational tenure of 3–5 years (compared to tenure > 5 years) was associated with more time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time, while having a BMI categorised as obese (compared to a healthy BMI) was associated with less time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Significant variations in sitting time were observed across different worksites of the same employer and the variation remained after adjusting for individual-level factors. Only BMI and organisational tenure were identified as correlates of total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Additional studies are needed to confirm the present findings across diverse organisations and occupations.

Sedentary behavior is highly prevalent in office-based workplaces; however, few studies have assessed the attributes associated with this health risk factor in the workplace setting. This study aimed to identify the correlates of office workers' objectively-assessed total and prolonged (≥. 30 min bouts) workplace sitting time. Participants were 231 Australian office workers recruited from 14 sites of a single government employer in 2012-13. Potential socio-demographic, work-related, health-related and cognitive-social correlates were measured through a self-administered survey and anthropometric measurements. Associations with total and prolonged workplace sitting time (measured with the activPAL3) were tested using linear mixed models. Worksites varied significantly in total workplace sitting time (overall mean [SD]: 79% [10%] of work hours) and prolonged workplace sitting time (42% [19%]), after adjusting for socio-demographic and work-related characteristics. Organisational tenure of 3-5 years (compared to tenure >. 5 years) was associated with more time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time, while having a BMI categorised as obese (compared to a healthy BMI) was associated with less time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Significant variations in sitting time were observed across different worksites of the same employer and the variation remained after adjusting for individual-level factors. Only BMI and organisational tenure were identified as correlates of total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Additional studies are needed to confirm the present findings across diverse organisations and occupations.

Sedentary behavior is highly prevalent in office-based workplaces; however, few studies have assessed the attributes associated with this health risk factor in the workplace setting. This study aimed to identify the correlates of office workers' objectively-assessed total and prolonged (≥ 30 min bouts) workplace sitting time. Participants were 231 Australian office workers recruited from 14 sites of a single government employer in 2012–13. Potential socio-demographic, work-related, health-related and cognitive-social correlates were measured through a self-administered survey and anthropometric measurements. Associations with total and prolonged workplace sitting time (measured with the activPAL3) were tested using linear mixed models. Worksites varied significantly in total workplace sitting time (overall mean [SD]: 79% [10%] of work hours) and prolonged workplace sitting time (42% [19%]), after adjusting for socio-demographic and work-related characteristics. Organisational tenure of 3–5 years (compared to tenure > 5 years) was associated with more time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time, while having a BMI categorised as obese (compared to a healthy BMI) was associated with less time spent in total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Significant variations in sitting time were observed across different worksites of the same employer and the variation remained after adjusting for individual-level factors. Only BMI and organisational tenure were identified as correlates of total and prolonged workplace sitting time. Additional studies are needed to confirm the present findings across diverse organisations and occupations.