Background: Visually estimated blood loss has long been known to be im-precise, inaccurate, and often underestimated, which may lead to delayed di-agnosis and treatment. Aim: To determine the accuracy of blood estimat...Background: Visually estimated blood loss has long been known to be im-precise, inaccurate, and often underestimated, which may lead to delayed di-agnosis and treatment. Aim: To determine the accuracy of blood estimates by health workers in surgical and obstetric specialties. Methodology: This was a cross sectional single blinded observational study done in January 2016 to determine discrepancy between actual blood loss (ABL) and estimated blood loss (EBL) by consenting healthcare practitioners working in various surgical and obstetric departments of the Federal Medical centre, Owerri. Reconsti-tuted whole blood was obtained from the blood bank, and simulated scena-rios with known measured blood loss were created using common surgical materials. Visually estimated blood loss was performed by medical personnel. Percent errors of estimated blood loss were calculated and comparisons were made among the health professionals. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 113 health professionals comprising 64 doctors and 49 nurses assessed 7 clinical scenarios. On the average, there was a general tendency for the health workers to under estimate the volume. Ma-jority of the participants underestimated the blood volume by more than 20% of actual volume. Though the nurses were more likely to underestimate blood volume than the doctors however, there was no statistical difference between the estimations by the nurses and the doctors except in station 3 with a p val-ue of 0.045. Conclusion: This finding calls for action in training and retrain-ing of every health worker in blood loss estimation, so that intervention can be initiated early.展开更多
Background: The Ethiopian flower industry is growing fast with successful diversification of export products under greenhouse structures. Higher temperatures in the greenhouses pose a serious threat to the health of w...Background: The Ethiopian flower industry is growing fast with successful diversification of export products under greenhouse structures. Higher temperatures in the greenhouses pose a serious threat to the health of workers and add to the risk of occupational heat stress. Excessive heat in workplace settings also reduces work capacity and labour productivity. This study aims to investigate the level of heat exposure, and workers’ and managers’ perceptions and behavioural responses towards extreme heat exposure in a warming climate. Methods: We used the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measured in representative greenhouses to capture the heat exposure during hotter and cooler seasons following ISO 7243 (generally risk of heat stress occurs when WBGT exceeds 26°C). A comparative cross-sectional study design with a stratified sampling method was used to assess occupational heat stress and workers’ perceptions of the impact of heat on their health and productivity in six different floriculture greenhouses in Ethiopia representing three different agro-ecologies and products. A questionnaire survey was conducted (30 managers/supervisors and 305 workers;76.1% female) to capture perceptions on heat exposures, symptoms of potential health impacts, productivity losses and coping mechanisms. Results: Heat exposure varied across different agroecologies, product types and greenhouse materials with a median WBGT Index of 25.5°C and a range from 18.1°C to 31.5°C. The impact of heat stress also varied across different employment sectors and geographical regions. Overall, workers in cut-flower greenhouses are exposed to higher than recommended WBGT Index (26°C) for 3 - 6 working hours daily. 65% of the managers reported that heat stress has a significant impact on the workers’ labour productivity, but do not have guidance about working in hot conditions. Workers reported more heat-related health issues and reduced productivity, especially in the mid-altitude greenhouses. About 50% of the workers reported that heat exposure decreased work productivity during hot hours. Sweating, exhaustion, heat-rashes, dehydration, crumps, nausea and headache were self-reported health issues. Labour productivity losses ranged from no loss to 19.5% in the mid- and low-altitudes. Conclusions and Recommendations: Excessive workplace heat in the greenhouses is both an occupational health hazard and detrimental to productivity in the floriculture industry. However, the level of understanding and actions on the ground regarding occupational heat stress are low. The code of conduct in place now does not consider the occupational heat stress issues. Multiple actions (engineering, management, training and policy-related recommendations) have to be implemented by Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) and farm owners to mitigate heat stress and loss of productivity. Designing and implementing these heat prevention strategies and incorporating them into the code of conduct is in the interests of both employers and employees.展开更多
High concentrations of air pollutants such as total suspended particulates(TSP) and sulfur dioxide(SO_2) have serious impacts on nearby populations. In this paper, a survey of rural Tianjin residents' willingness-...High concentrations of air pollutants such as total suspended particulates(TSP) and sulfur dioxide(SO_2) have serious impacts on nearby populations. In this paper, a survey of rural Tianjin residents' willingness-to-pay for health improvement was reported on, and the MBDC(multiple bounded discrete choice) model was adopted to study the respondents' willingness-to-pay to prevent respiratory illnesses. The results showed that the willingness-to-pay for health improvement was affected by respondents' health condition, work situation and environmental awareness, but not by personal habits, such as smoking. If person's willingness-to-pay to avoid respiratory diseases can be considered equal to the cost to personal health caused by air pollution, the total cost will reach 538×10 6 RMB Yuan(RMB, equal to 65 million USD) per year.展开更多
目的:探索中国中老年人听力损失与抑郁症状的纵向关联,为中老年人抑郁的预防提供依据。方法:采用中国健康与养老追踪调查(China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study,CHARLS)2011至2020年中参加2次及以上的受访者数据。听力损失...目的:探索中国中老年人听力损失与抑郁症状的纵向关联,为中老年人抑郁的预防提供依据。方法:采用中国健康与养老追踪调查(China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study,CHARLS)2011至2020年中参加2次及以上的受访者数据。听力损失通过自我报告进行评估,抑郁症状通过简版流调用抑郁自评量表(CESD-10)量表进行测量。采用K-M曲线和log-rank检验比较不同分组间发生抑郁症状的风险。采用Cox比例风险回归模型探索听力损失与抑郁症状的纵向关联。结果:研究共纳入12 952例研究对象。基线时1 416(10.9%)例研究对象自报听力损失。在中位随访时间为5.42年的随访中,5 498例研究对象出现抑郁症状。在未调整模型中,基线时的听力损失组发生抑郁症状的风险是无听力损失组的1.34倍(P<0.05),逐步调整社会人口学因素、行为生活方式因素及健康相关因素后,基线时的听力损失仍是抑郁症状的危险因素(HR=1.21,95%CI=1.10~1.34)。结论:听力损失会增加抑郁症状的发生风险,对听力损失进行干预可有效降低抑郁症状的发生。展开更多
AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the impact of smoking on tooth loss.METHODS: We performed a Pub Med search to identify published articles that investigated the risk of tooth loss by smoking, from which RRs and their v...AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the impact of smoking on tooth loss.METHODS: We performed a Pub Med search to identify published articles that investigated the risk of tooth loss by smoking, from which RRs and their variance with characteristics of each study were extracted. The random-effects models were used to derive a pooled effect across studies. Potential sources of heterogeneity on the characteristics of the study and their influence on the pooled effect size were investigated using metaregression models. RESULTS: We identified 24 studies containing a total of 95973 participants for analysis. The pooled RR of ever-smokers compared with never- smokers was 1.73(95%CI: 1.60-1.86, P < 0.001). In meta-regression analysis, only the mean age of participants alone was identified as a statistically significant source of heterogeneity. The effect of smoking on tooth loss was stronger when the mean age of study participants was higher, indicating possible enhancement of tooth loss due to aging by smoking. RR was significantly lower in former smokers(1.49, 95%CI: 1.32-1.69, P < 0.001) than in current smokers(2.10, 95%CI: 1.87-2.35, P < 0.001), indicating the substantial benefit of smoking cessation for reducing the risk of tooth loss.CONCLUSION: Smoking is an independent risk factor for tooth loss regardless of many other confounders. Smoking cessation may attenuate this effect.展开更多
Noise-induced hearing loss and related tinnitus are often unrecognized problems, especially in non-occupational settings. Research indicates that increasing numbers of children and adolescents have or are acquiring no...Noise-induced hearing loss and related tinnitus are often unrecognized problems, especially in non-occupational settings. Research indicates that increasing numbers of children and adolescents have or are acquiring noise induced hearing losses. Noise induced hearing loss can almost completely be prevented with simple precautionary measures. Educational programs rarely exist outside of those mandated in occupational settings. Health Communication theory can be applied to hearing health for developing effective loss prevention programs. Dangerous Decibels is one example of an effective multi-disciplinary effort to develop and disseminated prevention strategies.展开更多
文摘Background: Visually estimated blood loss has long been known to be im-precise, inaccurate, and often underestimated, which may lead to delayed di-agnosis and treatment. Aim: To determine the accuracy of blood estimates by health workers in surgical and obstetric specialties. Methodology: This was a cross sectional single blinded observational study done in January 2016 to determine discrepancy between actual blood loss (ABL) and estimated blood loss (EBL) by consenting healthcare practitioners working in various surgical and obstetric departments of the Federal Medical centre, Owerri. Reconsti-tuted whole blood was obtained from the blood bank, and simulated scena-rios with known measured blood loss were created using common surgical materials. Visually estimated blood loss was performed by medical personnel. Percent errors of estimated blood loss were calculated and comparisons were made among the health professionals. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 113 health professionals comprising 64 doctors and 49 nurses assessed 7 clinical scenarios. On the average, there was a general tendency for the health workers to under estimate the volume. Ma-jority of the participants underestimated the blood volume by more than 20% of actual volume. Though the nurses were more likely to underestimate blood volume than the doctors however, there was no statistical difference between the estimations by the nurses and the doctors except in station 3 with a p val-ue of 0.045. Conclusion: This finding calls for action in training and retrain-ing of every health worker in blood loss estimation, so that intervention can be initiated early.
文摘Background: The Ethiopian flower industry is growing fast with successful diversification of export products under greenhouse structures. Higher temperatures in the greenhouses pose a serious threat to the health of workers and add to the risk of occupational heat stress. Excessive heat in workplace settings also reduces work capacity and labour productivity. This study aims to investigate the level of heat exposure, and workers’ and managers’ perceptions and behavioural responses towards extreme heat exposure in a warming climate. Methods: We used the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measured in representative greenhouses to capture the heat exposure during hotter and cooler seasons following ISO 7243 (generally risk of heat stress occurs when WBGT exceeds 26°C). A comparative cross-sectional study design with a stratified sampling method was used to assess occupational heat stress and workers’ perceptions of the impact of heat on their health and productivity in six different floriculture greenhouses in Ethiopia representing three different agro-ecologies and products. A questionnaire survey was conducted (30 managers/supervisors and 305 workers;76.1% female) to capture perceptions on heat exposures, symptoms of potential health impacts, productivity losses and coping mechanisms. Results: Heat exposure varied across different agroecologies, product types and greenhouse materials with a median WBGT Index of 25.5°C and a range from 18.1°C to 31.5°C. The impact of heat stress also varied across different employment sectors and geographical regions. Overall, workers in cut-flower greenhouses are exposed to higher than recommended WBGT Index (26°C) for 3 - 6 working hours daily. 65% of the managers reported that heat stress has a significant impact on the workers’ labour productivity, but do not have guidance about working in hot conditions. Workers reported more heat-related health issues and reduced productivity, especially in the mid-altitude greenhouses. About 50% of the workers reported that heat exposure decreased work productivity during hot hours. Sweating, exhaustion, heat-rashes, dehydration, crumps, nausea and headache were self-reported health issues. Labour productivity losses ranged from no loss to 19.5% in the mid- and low-altitudes. Conclusions and Recommendations: Excessive workplace heat in the greenhouses is both an occupational health hazard and detrimental to productivity in the floriculture industry. However, the level of understanding and actions on the ground regarding occupational heat stress are low. The code of conduct in place now does not consider the occupational heat stress issues. Multiple actions (engineering, management, training and policy-related recommendations) have to be implemented by Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) and farm owners to mitigate heat stress and loss of productivity. Designing and implementing these heat prevention strategies and incorporating them into the code of conduct is in the interests of both employers and employees.
文摘High concentrations of air pollutants such as total suspended particulates(TSP) and sulfur dioxide(SO_2) have serious impacts on nearby populations. In this paper, a survey of rural Tianjin residents' willingness-to-pay for health improvement was reported on, and the MBDC(multiple bounded discrete choice) model was adopted to study the respondents' willingness-to-pay to prevent respiratory illnesses. The results showed that the willingness-to-pay for health improvement was affected by respondents' health condition, work situation and environmental awareness, but not by personal habits, such as smoking. If person's willingness-to-pay to avoid respiratory diseases can be considered equal to the cost to personal health caused by air pollution, the total cost will reach 538×10 6 RMB Yuan(RMB, equal to 65 million USD) per year.
文摘目的:探索中国中老年人听力损失与抑郁症状的纵向关联,为中老年人抑郁的预防提供依据。方法:采用中国健康与养老追踪调查(China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study,CHARLS)2011至2020年中参加2次及以上的受访者数据。听力损失通过自我报告进行评估,抑郁症状通过简版流调用抑郁自评量表(CESD-10)量表进行测量。采用K-M曲线和log-rank检验比较不同分组间发生抑郁症状的风险。采用Cox比例风险回归模型探索听力损失与抑郁症状的纵向关联。结果:研究共纳入12 952例研究对象。基线时1 416(10.9%)例研究对象自报听力损失。在中位随访时间为5.42年的随访中,5 498例研究对象出现抑郁症状。在未调整模型中,基线时的听力损失组发生抑郁症状的风险是无听力损失组的1.34倍(P<0.05),逐步调整社会人口学因素、行为生活方式因素及健康相关因素后,基线时的听力损失仍是抑郁症状的危险因素(HR=1.21,95%CI=1.10~1.34)。结论:听力损失会增加抑郁症状的发生风险,对听力损失进行干预可有效降低抑郁症状的发生。
基金Supported by Grant-in-Aid for the Third Term Comprehensive 10-year Strategy for Cancer Control,No.H20-3rd-002Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research,Grant No.13-21-13-1 from the Japanese Ministry of Health,Labor and Welfare
文摘AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the impact of smoking on tooth loss.METHODS: We performed a Pub Med search to identify published articles that investigated the risk of tooth loss by smoking, from which RRs and their variance with characteristics of each study were extracted. The random-effects models were used to derive a pooled effect across studies. Potential sources of heterogeneity on the characteristics of the study and their influence on the pooled effect size were investigated using metaregression models. RESULTS: We identified 24 studies containing a total of 95973 participants for analysis. The pooled RR of ever-smokers compared with never- smokers was 1.73(95%CI: 1.60-1.86, P < 0.001). In meta-regression analysis, only the mean age of participants alone was identified as a statistically significant source of heterogeneity. The effect of smoking on tooth loss was stronger when the mean age of study participants was higher, indicating possible enhancement of tooth loss due to aging by smoking. RR was significantly lower in former smokers(1.49, 95%CI: 1.32-1.69, P < 0.001) than in current smokers(2.10, 95%CI: 1.87-2.35, P < 0.001), indicating the substantial benefit of smoking cessation for reducing the risk of tooth loss.CONCLUSION: Smoking is an independent risk factor for tooth loss regardless of many other confounders. Smoking cessation may attenuate this effect.
文摘Noise-induced hearing loss and related tinnitus are often unrecognized problems, especially in non-occupational settings. Research indicates that increasing numbers of children and adolescents have or are acquiring noise induced hearing losses. Noise induced hearing loss can almost completely be prevented with simple precautionary measures. Educational programs rarely exist outside of those mandated in occupational settings. Health Communication theory can be applied to hearing health for developing effective loss prevention programs. Dangerous Decibels is one example of an effective multi-disciplinary effort to develop and disseminated prevention strategies.
