A search strategy for occupational health intervention studies

Background: As a result of low numbers and diversity in study type, occupational health intervention studies are not easy to locate in electronic literature databases. Aim: To develop a search strategy that facilitates finding occupational health intervention studies in Medline, both for researchers and practitioners. Methods: A gold standard of articles was created by going through two whole volumes of 19 biomedical journals, both occupational health specialty and non-occupational health journals. Criteria for occupational health intervention studies were: evaluating an intervention with an occupational health outcome and a study design with a control group. Each journal was searched independently by two of the authors. Search terms were developed by asking specialists and counting word frequencies in gold standard articles. Results: Out of 11 022 articles published we found 149 occupational health intervention studies. The most sensitive single terms were work*[tw] (sensitivity 71%, specificity 88%) and effect*[tw] (sensitivity 75%, specificity 63%). The most sensitive string was (effect*[tw] OR control*[tw] OR evaluation*[tw] OR program*[tw]) AND (work*[tw] OR occupation*[tw] OR prevention*[tw] OR protect*[tw]) (sensitivity 89%, specificity 78%). The most specific single terms were "occupational health"[tw] (sensitivity 22%, specificity 98%) and effectiveness[tw] (sensitivity 22%, specificity 98%). The most specific string was (program[tw] OR "prevention and control"[sh]) AND (occupational[tw] OR worker*[tw]) (sensitivity 47%, specificity 98%). Conclusion: No single search terms are available that can locate occupational health intervention studies sufficiently. The authors' search strings have acceptable sensitivity and specificity to be used by researchers and practitioners respectively. Redefinition and elaboration of keywords in Medline could greatly facilitate the location of occupational health intervention studies

The potential of using hair cortisol to measure chronic stress in occupational healthcare; a scoping review

OBJECTIVES: Workplace-based selective prevention of mental health problems currently relies on subjective evaluation of stress complaints. Hair cortisol captures chronic stress responses and could be a promising biomarker for the early identification of mental health problems. The objective was to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the practical value of hair cortisol in the occupational setting. METHODS: We performed a scoping review of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO up to November 2019 assessing the relations of hair cortisol with work-related stressors, perceived stress, and mental health outcomes in healthy workers. RESULTS: We found five longitudinal studies, of which two observed an increase in work-related stressors to be associated with higher hair cortisol, one found a relation with lower hair cortisol and one did not find a relationship. Findings of cross-sectional studies were also mixed. The one available longitudinal study regarding mental health showed that hair cortisol was not related to depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Hair cortisol measurement within occupational health research is still in its early stage and more longitudinal studies are urgently needed to clarify its relationship with work-related stressors and perceived stress before hair cortisol can be used to identify workers at risk for mental health problems

Associations between measures of socio-economic status, beliefs about back pain, and exposure to a mass media campaign to improve back beliefs

Contains fulltext : 178110.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and costly healthcare problems worldwide. Disability from LBP is associated with maladaptive beliefs about the condition, and such beliefs can be influenced by public health interventions. While socioeconomic status (SES) has been identified as an important factor in health literacy and inequalities, not much is known about the association between SES and beliefs about LBP. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between measures of SES and the belief that one should stay active through LBP in a representative sample of the general population in Alberta, Canada. We also examined the association between measures of SES and self-reported exposure to a LBP mass media health education campaign. METHODS: Population-based surveys from 2010 through 2014 were conducted among 9572 randomly selected Alberta residents aged 18-65 years. Several methods for measuring SES, including first language, education, employment status, occupation, and annual household income, were included in multivariable logistic regression modeling to test associations between measures of SES and outcomes. RESULTS: Univariable analysis showed that age, language, education, employment, marital status, and annual household income were significantly associated with the belief that one should stay active through LBP. In multivariable analysis, income was the variable most strongly correlated with this belief (odds ratios ranged from 1.04 to 1.62 for the highest income category, p = 0.005). Univariable analysis for exposure to the campaign showed age, language, education, employment, and occupation to be significantly associated with self-reported exposure, while only education (p = 0.01) and age (p = 0.001) remained significant in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with higher annual income appear more likely to believe that one should stay active during an episode of LBP. Additionally, targeted information campaigns are recalled more by low SES groups and may thus assist in reducing health disparities. More research is needed to fully understand the association between socioeconomic factors and LBP and to target campaigns accordingly