Health workers(HW)are on the frontline fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic,they are exposed to multiple occupational hazards.This article analyzed the comprehensive measures of protecting HWs during the COVID-19 re...Health workers(HW)are on the frontline fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic,they are exposed to multiple occupational hazards.This article analyzed the comprehensive measures of protecting HWs during the COVID-19 response in China.Occupational health protection of HWs was one of the key strategies of the public health measures adopted against the COVID-19 outbreak from the earliest stage in China.This prioritization of HWs health protection was based on the technical and policy guidance of WHO and International Labor Organization as well as the experiences from previous outbreaks in China.The comprehensive measures in China can be summarized as‘6P-approach’:public health emergency response,prompt learning from lessons,proactive measures of occupational health,precaution strategies against occupational hazards,personal protective equipment and medical devices supply,and professional networking.Through this 6P-approach,China was able to minimize the incidence of COVID-19 infection among HWs,while successfully containing the outbreak dxuing the first quarter of 2020.Although the COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out,however,the COVID-19 pandemic is still under rapidly evolving situation.Experiences from China may provide other countries with an example of prioritizing and incorporating occupational health protection of HWs in their public health measures responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.展开更多
While precautionary efforts are being made to minimize human health problems associated with agricultural pesticides, the continued occurrence of occupational poisoning from these chemicals raises major concerns among...While precautionary efforts are being made to minimize human health problems associated with agricultural pesticides, the continued occurrence of occupational poisoning from these chemicals raises major concerns among stake- holders. Information gap on human health problems associated with pesticides poses major obstacles to making informed policy decisions, particularly in developing countries where most of the poisonings occurs. In this study, we identified acute human health symptoms associated with pesticide use in cotton zone of C?te d’Ivoire and, documented the response of rural households to the symptoms. The results show that cotton farmers in Cote d’Ivoire suffer from different occupational health hazards from exposure to agricultural pesticides. Key health symptoms reported by pesticide applicators are headache, rheum, cough, skin rash and sneezing. Pesticide applicators reported four times higher symptoms of ill health than other household members who do not normally handle pesticides. Although, households recognized pesticides as an important cause of ill health, some of the symptoms have been accepted as norm by individuals who apply pesticides. Official data on pesticide poisoning in the country is most likely to be seriously under-estimated as applicators visited formal health centers for medical assistance in only 2% of poisoning cases reported. There is a high likelihood that households in the study area under-estimated pesticide-related health costs in making farm production decision-making. Approaches to use economic instruments for reliable monitoring and reporting procedures to formulate appropriate policies and regulations to minimize exposure to pesticides are recommended. Health planners and policy makers should aim at reducing the risks posed by pesticide to farm households by, improving awareness of farmers;promote complementary approach (e.g. Integrated Pest Management) and, use of economic instruments and improved surveillance to bridge the gap in the documentation of pesticide poisoning cases among farmers.展开更多
BACKGROUND Health care workers treating coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients experience burnout and stress due to overwork and poor working conditions.AIM To investigate the work experiences of frontline health ...BACKGROUND Health care workers treating coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients experience burnout and stress due to overwork and poor working conditions.AIM To investigate the work experiences of frontline health care workers in Wuhan city and Qinghai province,China,during the COVID-19 outbreak.METHODS In this cross-sectional descriptive study,a self-reported questionnaire was designed to evaluate work experiences of medical staff throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.A total of 178 health care workers responded to the questionnaire between February 19 and 29,2020.Higher questionnaire dimensional score confirmed dimensional advantage.RESULTS Of all dimensions evaluated by this questionnaire,the occupational value dimension had the highest mean score of 2.61(0.59),followed by the support/security dimension score of 2.30(0.74).Occupational protection scored lowest at 1.44(0.75),followed by work environment at 1.97(0.81).The social relationships dimension had an intermediate score of 2.06(0.80).Significant differences in working conditions were observed across hospital departments,with the fever ward scoring lowest.Total scores also differed significantly across workplaces;the fever outpatient department scored lowest(P<0.01).This phenomenon was likely due to the fact that work in the fever outpatient department,where many patients present to hospital,necessitates constant contact with a large number of individuals with insufficient provision of resources(such as protective equipment and social support).Medical workers in the fever outpatient department were burdened with a fear of COVID-19 infection and a lower sense of professional value as compared to workers in other hospital departments.Medical staff in Wuhan worked longer hours(P<0.01)as compared to elsewhere.The mean support/security dimension score was higher for tertiary hospital as compared to secondary hospital medical staff as well as for Wuhan area as compared to Qinghai region staff(P<0.01).Staff in Wuhan had a lower mean work environment score as compared to staff in Qinghai(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Medical staff treating COVID-19 patients in China report poor occupational experiences strongly affected by work environment,occupational protection and social relationships.Health care managers must address the occupational needs of medical staff by ensuring a supportive and safe work environment.展开更多
基金supported by the Project of International Expert Consultation for the National Occupational Health System Innovation funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in 2020-2022(Grant No.G20200001489).
文摘Health workers(HW)are on the frontline fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic,they are exposed to multiple occupational hazards.This article analyzed the comprehensive measures of protecting HWs during the COVID-19 response in China.Occupational health protection of HWs was one of the key strategies of the public health measures adopted against the COVID-19 outbreak from the earliest stage in China.This prioritization of HWs health protection was based on the technical and policy guidance of WHO and International Labor Organization as well as the experiences from previous outbreaks in China.The comprehensive measures in China can be summarized as‘6P-approach’:public health emergency response,prompt learning from lessons,proactive measures of occupational health,precaution strategies against occupational hazards,personal protective equipment and medical devices supply,and professional networking.Through this 6P-approach,China was able to minimize the incidence of COVID-19 infection among HWs,while successfully containing the outbreak dxuing the first quarter of 2020.Although the COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out,however,the COVID-19 pandemic is still under rapidly evolving situation.Experiences from China may provide other countries with an example of prioritizing and incorporating occupational health protection of HWs in their public health measures responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
文摘While precautionary efforts are being made to minimize human health problems associated with agricultural pesticides, the continued occurrence of occupational poisoning from these chemicals raises major concerns among stake- holders. Information gap on human health problems associated with pesticides poses major obstacles to making informed policy decisions, particularly in developing countries where most of the poisonings occurs. In this study, we identified acute human health symptoms associated with pesticide use in cotton zone of C?te d’Ivoire and, documented the response of rural households to the symptoms. The results show that cotton farmers in Cote d’Ivoire suffer from different occupational health hazards from exposure to agricultural pesticides. Key health symptoms reported by pesticide applicators are headache, rheum, cough, skin rash and sneezing. Pesticide applicators reported four times higher symptoms of ill health than other household members who do not normally handle pesticides. Although, households recognized pesticides as an important cause of ill health, some of the symptoms have been accepted as norm by individuals who apply pesticides. Official data on pesticide poisoning in the country is most likely to be seriously under-estimated as applicators visited formal health centers for medical assistance in only 2% of poisoning cases reported. There is a high likelihood that households in the study area under-estimated pesticide-related health costs in making farm production decision-making. Approaches to use economic instruments for reliable monitoring and reporting procedures to formulate appropriate policies and regulations to minimize exposure to pesticides are recommended. Health planners and policy makers should aim at reducing the risks posed by pesticide to farm households by, improving awareness of farmers;promote complementary approach (e.g. Integrated Pest Management) and, use of economic instruments and improved surveillance to bridge the gap in the documentation of pesticide poisoning cases among farmers.
基金Supported by the Qinghai Province Science and Technology Department Project,No.2020-SF-154.
文摘BACKGROUND Health care workers treating coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients experience burnout and stress due to overwork and poor working conditions.AIM To investigate the work experiences of frontline health care workers in Wuhan city and Qinghai province,China,during the COVID-19 outbreak.METHODS In this cross-sectional descriptive study,a self-reported questionnaire was designed to evaluate work experiences of medical staff throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.A total of 178 health care workers responded to the questionnaire between February 19 and 29,2020.Higher questionnaire dimensional score confirmed dimensional advantage.RESULTS Of all dimensions evaluated by this questionnaire,the occupational value dimension had the highest mean score of 2.61(0.59),followed by the support/security dimension score of 2.30(0.74).Occupational protection scored lowest at 1.44(0.75),followed by work environment at 1.97(0.81).The social relationships dimension had an intermediate score of 2.06(0.80).Significant differences in working conditions were observed across hospital departments,with the fever ward scoring lowest.Total scores also differed significantly across workplaces;the fever outpatient department scored lowest(P<0.01).This phenomenon was likely due to the fact that work in the fever outpatient department,where many patients present to hospital,necessitates constant contact with a large number of individuals with insufficient provision of resources(such as protective equipment and social support).Medical workers in the fever outpatient department were burdened with a fear of COVID-19 infection and a lower sense of professional value as compared to workers in other hospital departments.Medical staff in Wuhan worked longer hours(P<0.01)as compared to elsewhere.The mean support/security dimension score was higher for tertiary hospital as compared to secondary hospital medical staff as well as for Wuhan area as compared to Qinghai region staff(P<0.01).Staff in Wuhan had a lower mean work environment score as compared to staff in Qinghai(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Medical staff treating COVID-19 patients in China report poor occupational experiences strongly affected by work environment,occupational protection and social relationships.Health care managers must address the occupational needs of medical staff by ensuring a supportive and safe work environment.
