Survival-Day @ Wiesbaden business school - evaluation of a short-term educational intervention to reduce work-associated health risks during nursing internships of students in health care economics

Background: In 2013 RheinMain University launched its bachelor's degree program Health Care Economics requiring each student to participate in a mandatory two-month nursing internship. A preliminary risk assessment revealed serious risks for both students and patients and had to be addressed by appropriate measures such as mandatory systematic safety training for each student. Methods: A short-term educational intervention named "Survival-Day" was designed to minimize risks related to nursing internships of students. This intervention consists of six 45-min-units with theoretical input (2 units) and hands-on training (4 units) imparting basic knowledge and skills in CPR, hand hygiene and handling of masks and protective gowns, prevention of needle stick injuries, fire protection and firefighting. Performance of CPR was assessed using computerized manikins. Acceptance, necessity and usability were assessed anonymously by standardized written questionnaires after completion of nursing internships. Results: 462 students have completed the Survival-Day until January 2019. CPR performance showed acceptable adherence rates to guideline recommendations (mean 78.8%, SD ±22.6%). The majority of students performed aseptic health care activities (66%), treated patients with multi-resistant pathogens (62%) and disposed sharp instruments such as blood-contaminated needles (76%). According to students' self-reports about these hazardous activities, less than 50% of these students received adequate safety training at nursing facilities. However, no sentinel events such as needle stick injuries or students becoming second victim have been reported. Conclusion: Our study reveals severe discrepancies between legal obligation of nursing facilities to ensure safety instructions for nursing interns and initial training as perceived by this group. Mandatory initial training before conduction of hazardous tasks was mainly covered by our short-term educational intervention (Survival-Day). Regarding responsibility for their students a preliminary safety instruction program like the Survival-Day should be considered for all educational institutions sending students to nursing internships unless mandatory and sufficient safety trainings for nursing interns can be guaranteed by nursing facilities

Grundlagen und Ergebnisse der Bildung und Erziehung im Gesundheits- und Arbeitsschutz bei jungen Werktätigen: Arbeitsschutzstudie II

Ziel der Untersuchung ist die Ermittlung der wesentlichen Voraussetzungen und Bedingungen für die Entwicklung positiver Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen von Lehrlingen und jungen Facharbeitern zum Arbeitsschutz. Hierzu wurden 1753 Lehrlinge und 1607 junge Facharbeiter befragt. Vorgelegt werden Untersuchungsergebnisse zu drei Themenkomplexen: (1) Urteile von Lehrlingen und jungen Facharbeitern zur Ausbildung im Gesundheits- und Arbeitsschutz; (2) Entwicklungsstand der Kenntnisse, Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen von Lehrlingen und jungen Arbeitern zum Gesundheits- und Arbeitsschutz; (3) Bedingungen und Zusammenhänge für die Herausbildung der Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen zum Gesundheits- und Arbeitsschutz in der Berufsausbildung und im Arbeitsprozeß. (ICE

Mental Health in the Workplace: Situation Analyses, Germany

[From Introduction] The ILO’s primary goals regarding disability are to prepare and empower people with disabilities to pursue their employment goals and facilitate access to work and job opportunities in open labour markets, while sensitising policy makers, trade unions and employers to these issues. The ILO’s mandate on disability issues is specified in the ILO Convention 159 (1983) on vocational rehabilitation and employment. No. 159 defines a disabled person as an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining, and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical or mental impairment. The Convention established the principle of equal treatment and employment for workers with disabilities

Trade unions go global!

"Worker movements played a crucial role in making workplaces safer. Workplace safety is costly for firms but increases labour supply. A laissez-faire approach leaving safety of workplaces unknown is suboptimal. Safety standards set by better-informed trade unions are output and welfare increasing. Trade between a country with trade unions (the North) and a union-free country (the South) can imply a reduction in work standards in the North. When trade unions are established in the South, the North, including northern unions, tend to lose. Quantitatively, these effects are small and overcompensated by gains in the South." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Gewerkschaftspolitik - Internationalisierung, Gewerkschaftspolitik, Arbeitsschutzpolitik, Arbeitsschutz, Arbeitssicherheit, Unfallschutz, Arbeitsunfälle, Kapitalmobilität, gesellschaftliche Wohlfahrt

Welche Chance hat der Arbeitsschutz am rauen Baumarkt?

Einflüsse auf den Arbeitsschutz aus den konjunkturellen Bedingungen der Bauwirtschaft: - Arbeitsschutz und seine Bedeutung - Besonderheiten am aktuellen Baumarkt - Baukonjunktur als Anlass einer Kritik - Struktur des Baumarktes - Zukunftsfähiges Baue

Gefährdungsbeurteilung bei Exposition gegenüber mehreren krebserzeugenden Arbeitsstoffen

We analyzed the validity of simple summation formulae with which a common effect of different occupational exposures could be mapped to the same cancer endpoint. Our paper published in this journal relied on the assumptions of a deterministic response and binary exposures. The German Federal Environmental Agency organized an external review of our paper. Although the reviewers agreed with our main conclusion that simple summation formulae cannot have a general validity, they raised questions that we would like to inform the scientific public about and are addressed in this addendum. We demonstrate that the main statements in Morfeld and Spallek 2015 remain valid even if the exposures are defined on an interval scale, the binary response is probabilistic or if the analyzed response types are restricted to adverse types. We clarify that excess risks and differences in excess risks are not probabilities according to the Kolmogorov axioms. Simple summation formulae are therefore not justified, not even to estimate the lower bounds for excess risks

Reactions with 1.3 propane sultone for the synthesis of cation-exchange membranes

For several reasons it is interesting for membrane technology to introduce strongly anionic groups in membranes. Therefore the possibilities of 1.3 propane sultone were studied to modify cellulose, cellulose acetate and polyacrylonitrile.\ud \ud The results showed that cellulose and cellulose acetate could be modified by a direct reaction of 1.3 propane sultone with the available hydroxyl groups. The nitrile groups in polyacrylonitrile had to be reacted first with hydrogen sulphide to give reactive thioamide groups, able to react with the sultone. These results give evidence for 1.3 propane sultone being a useful chemical for modification of polymers, its carcinogenic properties will however prevent application