The relationship between non-standard work arrangements and injuries in Europe

Abstract Background: Non-standard work arrangements are becoming an increasingly important determinant of health and safety among workers. The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between indicators of non-standard work arrangements including precarious contract, long working hours, multiple jobs, shift work, and occupational injuries, using a representative European sample and taking into account several sociodemographic and work characteristics. Methods: The study was based on the data of the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). For the purpose of this analysis, the sample was restricted to 26839 respondents from the 27 countries of the European Union, who were all employed workers. Associations between non-standard work arrangements and occupational injuries were studied with multilevel modeling techniques while adjusting for several confounders. Results: About 8.44% of the workers suffered from an occupational injury. Multivariate regression model showed an increased injury risk for those working long hours (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.15 - 1.44), having multiple jobs (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.47) and shift work (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.18 - 1.54). The relationship between contract type and occupational injuries was not significant (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.78 - 1.07). No significant gender difference was observed. Conclusion: This study confirms that indicators of non-standard work arrangements, except for precarious contract type, were significantly associated with occupational injuries. To reduce the burden of occupational injuries, not only risk reduction strategies and interventions are needed but also policy efforts at European level should be undertaken to limit non-standard work arrangements

Evaluation of the pocH-100iV DIFF hematology analyzer for use in horses and cattle

The results of the analysis of equine and bovine blood samples with the automated pocH-100iV DIFF hematology analyzer were compared with the results obtained with reference methods or other analyzers (Vet ABC, Coulter Counter ZF, Coulter LH 750 analyzer). For equine blood and most parameters in bovine blood good to excellent correlations between methods and analyzers were obtained. For bovine blood good to poor correlations and significant differences were obtained between the pocH-100iV DIFF and other methods or analyzers mainly for hematocrit and hemoglobin determinations and platelet counts. Overall the pocH-100iV DIFF seems to be a reliable and user-friendly analyzer

Epic and vernacular production in Tomar Gwalior in the fifteenth century

The development of literature in the vernacular in fifteenth-century Gwalior has been attributed to its local rulers' intentionality at that time. The patronage of the Tomars, a Rajput dynasty, for retellings of the epics in Classical Hindi has been ascribed to a reaction to 'Muslim' sovereignty and to a desire to ascertain their 'son of the soil' credentials. This paper complicates this commonplace reduction of the motives of patronage, and opens up the study of the complex contemporaneous environment, where other forms of literature were being produced as well. To better situate the emergence of Classical Hindi, this paper presents a contextualized overview of the literary production of two other prominent communities, besides the Hindu Tomar court, namely that of the Jain merchants, and of the Sufis catering to the military garrison. The study of these multiple patrons and audiences suggests that the impetus of vernacularization is not to be reduced to a single court, but emerged from complex interactions between different milieus and extended networks of circulation

The relation between presenteeism and different types of future sickness absence

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relation between sickness presenteeism and different types of future sickness absence in 2,983 Belgian middle-aged workers. Methods: Data were collected from 1,372 male and 1,611 female workers. Presenteeism was assessed by a single question, evaluating the frequency of occasions of going at work, despite illness, during the preceding year. Prospective, registered sickness absence data were collected during 12 months of follow-up. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship between presenteeism and short/long spells of absenteeism and high sickness absence frequency. Results: High rates (>5 times) of presenteeism at baseline were significantly and independently associated with both long spells of sickness absence (at least 15 consecutive sick leave days) (men, OR=2.73, 95% CI=1.24-6.03; women, OR= 2.40, 95% CI=1.31-4.40) and short spells of sickness absence (sick leave between 1 and 3 days) (men, OR=2.38, 95% CI=1.25-4.51; women, OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.17-3.11) in both genders during one year follow-up. Moderate rates (2-5 times) of presenteeism were significantly associated with long spells of sickness absence only in the male group (OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.21-2.97). With regard to high sickness frequency (at least 3 sick leave episodes), a significant and positive association with high rates of presenteeism was demonstrated only in the female workers (OR=2.38, 95% CI=1.40-4.04). Conclusions: These results suggest that presenteeism was related to different types of future sickness absence

Verborgen diepte. Zorgen voor de spiritualiteit van ouderen met dementie

Het aantal dementerende ouderen in Vlaanderen neemt toe. Dat vraagt om gespecialiseerde zorg. Ook pastorale zorg in de woon- en zorgcentra moet afgestemd zijn op de fase van dementie en de spirituele noden en behoeften van ouderen met dementie. Het boek biedt een grondige reflectie op pastor zijn en pastorale zorg binnen de context van een woon- en zorcentrum, maar ziet de zorg voor de spirituele dimensie ook als een taak voor iedere zorgverlener. Tevens bevat het boek concrete werkvormen en praktijkvoorbeelden.nrpages: 232status: publishe

Presenteïsme : een voorspeller voor ziekteverzuim

Nederlandse samenvatting van het artikel: The relation between presenteeism and different types of future sickness absence, J Occup Health. 2013 Mar 13. [Epub ahead of print