Human factors and ergonomics in patient safety curriculum

The importance of teaching human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and patient safety is registered in two compelling facts: 1) the numbers of physicians who train in VA hospitals and 2) in the need for hospitals to function as highly reliable organizations. In the United States, more than half of the physicians‐in‐training do at least part of their medical school and residency training at veterans' health care facilities. Health care currently does not measure up to other high‐reliability organizations. By providing a HFE‐based patient safety curriculum, we hope to improve patient safety at the frontlines. We see the lasting benefit as residency programs that produce physicians who are competent, patient safety problem solvers throughout their careers who will assist health care organizations to become highly reliable. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89469/1/20282_ftp.pd

3-Nitro­benzene-1,2-diamine

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C6H7N3O2, a derivative of o-phenyl­enediamine, nearly shows non-crystallographic C s symmetry. C—C—C angles span the range 116.25 (11)–122.35 (11)°. In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds connect mol­ecules into undulating sheets perpendicular to the crystallographic a axis. A weak intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond is also observed. No π-stacking is observed in the crystal structure

Projected impact of heat on mortality and labour productivity under climate change in Switzerland

Extreme temperatures have reached unprecedented levels in many regions of the globe due to climate change, and a further increase is expected. Besides other consequences, high temperatures increase the mortality risk and severely affect the labour productivity of workers. We perform a high-resolution spatial analysis to assess the impacts of heat on mortality and labour productivity in Switzerland and project their development under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, considering that no socio-economic changes take place. The model is based on the risk framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which combines the three risk components: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. We model the two impact categories in the same spatially explicit framework, and we integrate uncertainties into the analysis by a Monte Carlo simulation. We model first that about 658 deaths are associated with heat exposure currently each year in Switzerland. Second, the economic costs caused by losses in labour productivity amount to around CHF 665 million (approx. USD 700 million) per year. Should we remain on an RCP8.5 emissions pathway, these values may double (for mortality) or even triple (for labour productivity) by the end of the century. Under an RCP2.6 scenario impacts are expected to slightly increase and peak around mid-century, when climate is assumed to stop warming. Even though uncertainties in the model are large, the underlying trend in impacts is unequivocal. The results of the study are valuable information for political discussions and allow for a better understanding of the cost of inaction

Impacts of Heat and Climate Change on Labor Productivity in Switzerland

In this master thesis, the potential economic burden of extreme heat on labor productivity in Switzerland up to the year 2065 is assessed. The gridded minimum and maximum daily temperature data from the CH2018 scenarios were used to produce the hazards, corresponding to the hourly wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) outside and inside buildings. These are combined with the geographical distribution of workers, categorized based on the physical activity level of their professional occupation, using empirical impact functions linking productivity losses to WBGT. The three entities are implemented in the CLIMADA probabilistic natural catastrophe damage model to determine the economic losses that may be encountered. Finally, different adaptation measures and their potential to reduce the productivity loss are assessed. I find that already today, the loss is significant, with an average value of CHF 250 million a year. I show that this loss may almost double by 2050 under an RCP8.5 scenario. The fraction of the value impacted is heterogenous between economic branches and cantons. Branches that require individuals to be outside and perform physically demanding tasks, as in the construction sector, are likely to lose the highest fraction of their productivity output. The cantons of Geneva, Ticino and Valais will be the most heavily impacted, because of the higher level of heat stress. Adaptation measures show high potential at reducing the productivity losses. Having heat-insulated and cooled buildings, as well as adapting the hours of work can prevent most of the loss