Workplace violence in healthcare settings: The risk factors, implications and collaborative preventive measures

Violence at work refers to acts or threats of violence directed against employees, either inside or outside the workplace, from verbal abuse, bullying, harassment, and physical assaults to homicide. Even though workplace violence has become a worrying trend worldwide, the true magnitude of the problem is uncertain, owing to limited surveillance and lack of awareness of the issue. As a result, if workplace violence, particularly in healthcare settings, is not adequately addressed, it will become a global phenomenon, undermining the peace and stability among the active communities while also posing a risk to the population’s health and well-being. Hence, this review intends to identify the risk factors and the implications of workplace violence in healthcare settings and highlight the collaborative efforts needed in sustaining control and prevention measures against workplace violence

Effects of ambient air pollutants on cardiovascular disease hospitalization admission

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Air pollution is associated with population growth and economic advancement. Severe cardiovascular complications that require extensive medical service are aggravated by air pollutants. This study illustrates the trend and correlation of cardiovascular disease hospital admission with air pollutants in Sabah for the past 9 years (2010–2019). The additional information obtained from this study will be useful to enhance proper environmental management and reduce air pollution in the cities of Sabah. METHODS: Ecological study design was utilized with cardiovascular disease hospital admission and ambient air pollutants in Sabah retrospective data. Data were collected from four districts with established continuous air quality monitoring stations. Collected data were analysed spatially and statistically. Autoregressive integrated moving average modelling was implemented to forecast the cardiovascular disease hospital admission. FINDINGS: Kota Kinabalu recorded the highest hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease, followed by Sandakan, Tawau and Keningau. The cardiovascular disease hospital admission prevalence rate in Kota Kinabalu was 12.45 per 1,000 population, followed by Sandakan, Tawau and Keningau (4.54; 4.18; and 5.88 per 1,000 population) in 2019. The cardiovascular hospital admissions increased in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau. The nitrogen dioxide (<0.04 ppm), carbon monoxide (<9 ppm), ozone (<0.05 ppm) and PM10 (<100 µg/m3 ) gases detected are below the national standard limit levels. In the later years of the series, the ozone and fine particulate gases intensify. Carbon monoxide has the highest positive correlation with cardiovascular disease hospital admission compared to other air pollutants. The autoregressive integrated moving average (0,1,1) with carbon monoxide and ozone as external regressors is the model with minimum Akaike information criterion. CONCLUSION: The carbon monoxide concentration in ambient air illustrates a potential risk for the increasing cardiovascular disease hospital admission number in Sabah. The study findings provide evidence-based source for the healthcare management team, policymakers, and community to sustain clean and safe ambient air

Occupational Exposure to Dust and the Relationship with the Respiratory Symptoms, Lung Function among Construction Workers of the University of Malaysia Sabah

BACKGROUND: The respiratory tract often becomes the site of injury from occupational exposure. All construction sites generate high levels of dust, typically from concrete, silica, asbestos, cement, wood, and stone, sand, and therefore, the workers are exposed to this airborne dust and increased their risk of developing respiratory disorders. Limited studies have been conducted to assess the relationship between respiratory symptoms, lung function, and occupational dust exposure among construction workers in Sabah. AIM: The objectives of this study are to determine the occupational exposure to dust and the relationship with the respiratory symptoms as well as lung function among construction workers in UMS Teaching Hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study consisted of construction workers working in all sections in the development of UMS Teaching Hospital. A standard respiratory questionnaire was distributed to construction workers and lung function measurement was performed using Spirometry and the results of their respiratory status were compared between workers who were exposed and unexposed to dust. Occupational dust exposure was determined by the gravimetric method using an air sampler. The total duration of the collection was 8 h and the filters with the dust samples were analyzed in the laboratory. RESULTS: The result showed three parameters that were significantly associated with respiratory symptoms, namely, age, marital status, and smoking status. Male workers had a higher prevalence (42.7%) of having respiratory symptoms compared to female workers (21.4%). Widow/widower/divorced (50.0%) had a higher prevalence of having respiratory symptoms compared to married (45.8%) or single workers (25.0%). Workers who smoke had a higher prevalence (51.2%) of having respiratory symptoms compared to non-smoker’s workers (22.7%). CONCLUSION: The highest dust exposure is the piping workstation, followed by the cement and plastering workstations. These warrant the compulsory use of personal protective equipment by construction workers during work, improving the quality of dust masks, and standardizing their usage. Effective engineering controls should also be promoted on construction sites

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of heat strain score index (HSSI) into the Malay language.

Concerns about the health and safety of working populations as well as preventive actions to reduce heat-related illnesses and fatalities have intensified as global warming and heatwaves continue to rise as a result of climate change. This study aimed to translate and culturally-adapted the translated Malay version of the Heat Strain Score Index (HSSI) questionnaire so that it can be utilized as a screening tool for heat stress among the Malay-speaking outdoor workers. The original English version of HSSI underwent forward-backward translation and was cross-culturally adapted into the Malay language by bilingual translators based on established guidelines. The content validation was reviewed by a six-member expert committee including the representative of outdoor workers. Face validation was carried out among 10 outdoor workers involved with various work tasks. Psychometric analysis was conducted based on a cross-sectional study among 188 workers who were eligible. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used for construct validity while internal consistency reliability was performed using Cronbach's alpha. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to calculate the test-retest reliability. Both content and face validity were acceptable with the overall content validity index being 1.00, while the universal face validity index was 0.83. The factor analysis using varimax rotation extracted four factors which explained 56.32% of the cumulative percentage of variance and factor loading ranging from 0.415 to 0.804. The internal consistency reliability was acceptable with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.705 to 0.758 for all the factors. The overall ICC value was 0.792 (95% CI; 0.764-0.801) which signifies good reliability. The findings from this study indicate that the Malay version of HSSI is a reliable and culturally-adapted instrument. Further validation is needed so that it can be used extensively assess the heat stress among susceptible Malay-speaking outdoor workers in Malaysia who are exposed to hot humid environments