Does employee participation in workplace health promotion depend on the working environment?:A cross-sectional study of Danish workers

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if participation in workplace health promotion (WHP) depends on the work environment. METHODS: Questionnaire data on participation in WHP activities (smoking cessation, healthy diet, exercise facilities, weekly exercise classes, contact with health professionals, health screenings) and the work environment (social support, fatiguing work, physical, quantitative and emotional demands, job control and WHP availability setting) were collected cross-sectionally in 2010 in a representative sample (n=10 605) of Danish workers. Binary regression analyses of the association between work environment characteristics and participation in WHP were conducted and adjusted for age, gender and industry. RESULTS: WHP offered during leisure time was associated with lower participation in all measured activities compared with when offered during working hours. Low social support and fatiguing work were associated with low participation in WHP. No associations with participation in WHPs were observed for physical work or quantitative demands, work pace or job strain. However, high physical demands/low job control and high emotional demands/low job control were associated with low participation. CONCLUSIONS: Lower participation in WHP was associated with programmes during leisure, low social support, very fatiguing work and high physical or emotional demands with low job control. This suggests that to obtain proper effect of health promotion in a workplace setting, a good work environment is essential

Evaluation of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention in Small Commercial Construction Firms

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) among construction workers remain high. Participatory ergonomics (PE) interventions that engage workers and employers in reducing work injury risks have shown mixed results. METHODS: Eight-six workers from seven contractors participated in a PE program. A logic model guided the process evaluation and summative evaluation of short term and intermediate impacts and long term outcomes from surveys and field records. RESULTS: Process measures showed good delivery of training, high worker engagement, and low contractor participation. Workers’ knowledge improved and workers reported changes to work practices and tools used; contractor provision of appropriate equipment was low (33%). No changes were seen in symptoms or reported physical effort. CONCLUSIONS: The PE program produced many worker-identified ergonomic solutions, but lacked needed support from contractors. Future interventions should engage higher levels of the construction organizational system to improve contractor involvement for reducing WMSD

Management of work-relevant upper limb disorders: a review

Background Upper limb disorders (ULDs) are clinically challenging and responsible for considerable work loss. There is a need to determine effective approaches for their management. Aim To determine evidence-based management strategies for work-relevant ULDs and explore whether a biopsychosocial approach is appropriate. Methods Literature review using a best evidence synthesis. Data from articles identified through systematic searching of electronic databases and citation tracking were extracted into evidence tables. The information was synthesized into high-level evidence statements, which were ordered into themes covering classification/diagnosis, epidemiology, associations/risks and management/treatment, focusing on return to work or work retention and taking account of distinctions between non-specific complaints and specific diagnoses. Results Neither biomedical treatment nor ergonomic workplace interventions alone offer an optimal solution; rather, multimodal interventions show considerable promise, particularly for occupational outcomes. Early return to work, or work retention, is an important goal for most cases and may be facilitated, where necessary, by transitional work arrangements. The emergent evidence indicates that successful management strategies require all the players to be onside and acting in a coordinated fashion; this requires engaging employers and workers to participate. Conclusions The biopsychosocial model applies: biological considerations should not be ignored, but psychosocial factors are more influential for occupational outcomes. Implementation of interventions that address the full range of psychosocial issues will require a cultural shift in the way the relationship between upper limb complaints and work is conceived and handled. Dissemination of evidence-based messages can contribute to the needed cultural shift

Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Recent Advances for a Promising Future

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer and accounts for approximately 75% of all cases of childhood leukemia. Both diagnostic and therapeutic advances have been instrumental in improving the outcomes of once a dreaded disease. Currently, approximately 90% of the children treated according to risk-directed and response-adapted therapy will be long-term survivors. The use of pediatric protocols for the treatment of adolescent and young adults (AYA) has also resulted in significant improvements in their long-term survival. New therapies including tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), monoclonal antibodies and CAR T-cell therapy are changing the approach to therapy for relapsed or refractory disease. We are approaching a time where therapy for all patients will be personalized with the use of genome-based characterization of disease and incorporation of drugs against actionable targets, ultimately leading to improved clinical outcomes and decreased toxicity of therapy. Still, certain subgroups including patients with relapsed disease, infant ALL, and those with certain cytogenetic/molecular variants, remain challenging to treat. This chapter is an overview of the recent advances in the ALL disease biology, newly identified prognostic factors and an overview of emerging therapeutic options

How Millennials Can Lead Us Out of The Mess We're In: A Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian Share Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses, By M. Schreiber, I. Case Punnett,

Reviewed by Erin Laurvic

Nippur, or, Explorations and adventures on the Euphrates: the narrative of the University of Pennsylvania expedition to Babylonia in the years 1888-1890. v. 1: First campaign

https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/amar/1214/thumbnail.jp