Diversity & Inclusion: Fitness for Work Through a Personalized Work Plan For Workers With Disabilities and Chronic Diseases According to the Iso 30415/2021.

The recent standard ISO 30415-2021 - Human resources management - Diversity and inclusion -  was developed internationally within the technical committee ISO/TC 260 "Human resources management" (Working group WG 8 "Diversity and inclusion") and underlines the need for actions to create a work environment that is inclusive of diversity (e.g. in terms of health, gender, age, ethnicity, culture).

Comparison between Standard Expository Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) and Immersive Virtual Reality CBT (CBT-VR) for Rehabilitation of Patients Affected by Occupational Stress Disorders: Study Protocol.

Work-related stress presents a significant impact on work performance and physical health. It has been associated with the onset of a multitude of symptoms that can lead to occupational stress diseases, namely Adjustment Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The literature has evidenced that "exposure therapy" of cognitive-behavioral training (CBT-E) seems to be the most effective technique to manage stress symptoms, including work stress diseases, and several studies have considered Virtual Reality (VR) as an adjuvant tool to exposure-based psychotherapy (CBT-VR) for the treatment of multiple psychiatric disorders.

Affective temperament and mood spectrum symptoms in workers suffering from work-related stress disorders.

Introduction: Adjustment Disorders (AD) which develop in response to work-related stressors represent a model of psychiatric occupational disease. Major Depressive Episodes (MDE) although often associated to work-related stressors are unlikely recognized by insurance institutes as occupational diseases. Affective temperament and mood spectrum symptoms are possible factors of vulnerability to stress.

Evaluation of the Anti-Spike (RDB) IgG Titer among Workers Employed at the University of Pisa Vaccinated with Different Types of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines.

With the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, many authors started evaluating the immunization efficacy of the available vaccines mainly through sero-positivity tests or by a quantitative assessment of the IgG against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus in vaccinated subjects. In this work, we compared the titers resulting from vaccination and tried to understand the potential factors affecting the immune response to the available SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. This study was conducted on 670 volunteers employed at the University of Pisa and undergoing a health surveillance program at the University Hospital of Pisa.

Do Autistic Traits Correlate with Post-Traumatic Stress and Mood Spectrum Symptoms among Workers Complaining of Occupational Stress?

The adult autism subthreshold spectrum model appears to be a useful tool for detecting possible vulnerability factors in order to develop mental disorders in the contest of work-related stress. The aim of the present study is to analyze the relationship between autism, mood, and post-traumatic spectrum in a cohort of subjects complaining of work-related stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors carried out a retrospective investigation of both medical records and self-assessment tools of a sample of subjects evaluated at the Occupational Health Department of a University hospital in central Italy.

Quarantine and Mental Health Challenges for Occupational Medicine: The Case Report of a Nurse Infected With SARS-CoV-2.

This case study draws attention to the psychosocial difficulties that emerged in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in relation to the remote management of subjects with psychiatric vulnerabilities following exposure to prolonged quarantine. The case involves a 56-year-old hospital nurse, followed by the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy for mood instability in the context of a cyclothymic temperament. She was quarantined for occupationally acquired COVID-19 and remained positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) via swab test for more than 2 months between March and May 2020.

Heart rate variability, serum cortisol levels and temperament in a sample of workers exposed to occupational stress: a preliminary report.

Work-related stress is an emerging risk for psychiatric occupational disorders including Adjustment Disorders (AD). The aim of this study was to investigate in workers exposed to occupational stress suffering from AD about putative indices of stress and mental health resilience such as serum cortisol (seC) levels, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and affective temperaments. We consecutively recruited 15 male and 15 female AD patients between workers evaluated for occupational stress at an Italian Occupational Medicine Unit.

The interplay between acute post-traumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms on healthcare workers functioning during the COVID-19 emergency: A multicenter study comparing regions with increasing pandemic incidence.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) deployed to the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic are at risk for developing mental disorders, with a possible impact on their wellbeing and functioning. The present study aimed at investigating post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anxiety and depressive symptoms and their relationships with impairment in the functioning impairment among frontline HCWs from three Italian regions differently exposed to the first wave of the COVID-19 emergency: Tuscany (low), Emilia-Romagna (medium) and Lombardy (high).

Methods: 514 frontline HCWs were consecutively enrolled in hospital units devoted to the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Work and social functioning in frontline healthcare workers during the covid-19 pandemic in Italy: role of acute post-traumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Background: Evidence highlights healthcare workers (HCWs) facing outbreaks, particularly the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, are at increased risk of negative mental health outcomes, particularly post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anxiety and depression. Data from previous outbreaks highlighted the risk for a negative impact on HCWs' social and occupational functioning, but scant data have investigated this issue in the framework of the covid-19 pandemic. A number of effective interventions have been proposed to support mental health and well-being of HCWs in emerging infectious outbreaks, but it is important to acknowledge the differential impact of mental disorders on different dimensions of functioning.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome prevalence and work ability in a sample of healthcare workers exposed to occupational stress.

Objective: Occupational stress represents a significant precipitating factor in different diseases but its role in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) needs to be clarified. The present cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the prevalence of IBS diagnosis in a sample of health workers and exploring the potential relationships between IBS, work-related stress levels and work ability.

Methods: 653 health workers undergoing periodical occupational health surveillance at the Occupational and Preventive Medicine Unit of a major University Hospital in central Italy, were consecutively recruited and screened for IBS diagnosis, according to ROMA IV criteria.

Validation of the Italian version of the peritraumatic distress inventory: validity, reliability and factor analysis in a sample of healthcare workers.

: Peritraumatic distress as assessed by the (PDI), has been consistently shown to predict the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after the exposure to a potentially traumatizing event. : The present study aims to validate the Italian version of the PDI in a sample of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) exposed to COVID-19 related potentially traumatizing events. : = 265 HCWs who repeatedly experienced the deaths of patients during COVID-19 emergency in Italy, were enrolled from the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (Pisa, Italy).

Mental health of Health Care Workers (HCWs): a review of organizational interventions put in place by local institutions to cope with new psychosocial challenges resulting from COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been associated with significant occupational stressors and challenges for healthcare workers (HCWs) including the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Many reports from all over the world have already found that HCWs have significant levels of self-reported anxiety, depression and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, supporting mental health of HCWs is a crucial part of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PTSD in parents of children with severe diseases: a systematic review to face Covid-19 impact.

Context: The literature agrees on the impact of post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents of seriously ill children but there is less clarity about the real extent and gender differences of this psychopathological risk. The recent Covid-19 outbreak highlighted new burdens for researchers on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and clear evidence-based knowledge on this issue is timely needed.

Objective: In this review, we present a synthesis of the updated evidence on PTSD rates in parents of children with severe diseases.

Sudden and persistent dysphonia within the framework of COVID-19: The case report of a nurse.

In December 2019, clusters of atypical pneumonia with unknown etiology emerged in the city of Wuhan in China. In early January 2020, the Center for Disease Control in China announced that it was identified a new coronavirus, first tentatively named 2019-nCoV and officially named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. On February 11, 2020 the WHO identified the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease-19 based on the year of appearance).

Professional Quality of Life and Mental Health Outcomes among Health Care Workers Exposed to Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19).

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic spreading worldwide, and Italy represented the first European country involved. Healthcare workers (HCWs) facing COVID-19 pandemic represented an at-risk population for new psychosocial COVID-19 strain and consequent mental health symptoms. The aim of the present study was to identify the possible impact of working contextual and personal variables (age, gender, working position, years of experience, proximity to infected patients) on professional quality of life, represented by compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, and secondary traumatization (ST), in HCWs facing COVID-19 emergency.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms in an Italian cohort of subjects complaining occupational stress.

Objective: Work-related stress presents a significant impact on work performance and physical health. It has been associated with the onset of a multitude of symptoms. The main aim of this investigation is to better understand the impact of post-traumatic stress symptomatology, using a specific self-assessment questionnaire, in subjects experiencing occupational stress with the rationale to address the variegated symptoms expressed by this particular population in a post-traumatic dimensional perspective.

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Unlabelled: «Mental disability management within occupational health surveillance».

Introduction:: The management of workers with mental disability is a current topic of great interest. The aim of the article is to report the experience of managing cases of employees with mental disabilities in an Italian university hospital and to describe the preventive measures adopted and the therapeutic programs carried out.

Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and serum cortisol levels in a sample of workers exposed to occupational stress and suffering from Adjustment Disorders.

Introduction: Decreased plasma BDNF (pBDNF) levels have been proposed as a biomarker in illness phases of mood disorders. Serum cortisol (seC) levels are an index of energy mobilization and stress. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate pBDNF and seC levels in workers exposed to occupational stress and suffering from Adjustment Disorders (AD) compared to healthy workers.

Work-related stress disorders: variability in clinical expression and pitfalls in psychiatric diagnosis.

Background: Putative occupational stress-related psychiatric disorders are Adjustment Disorders (AD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mood Disorders (MD) are not excluded but are unlikely to be identified as occupational diseases. The differential diagnosis between AD and MD is not easy and is based on strict categorical criteria.

[Proposal of a computerized method to assess work related stress according to legal requirements in Italy].

Assessing psychosocial factors in occupational environment requires complicated procedures according to most methods. The project of Tuscany region has the aim to realize a free computerized instrument for a gradual risk assessment with two different modes, expert and beginner. A decisional flow chart helps to approach the risk assessment step by step on the basis of company features, management and organization problems and company symptoms of stress.

[Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in bus drivers: clinical and polysomnographic study].

A Questionnaire on sleep and vigilance disorders has been developed by the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine to help the occupational health physicians in screening for sleep disorders. Aim of this study was to compare the Questionnaire with standardized questionnaires for sleepiness and sleep apnea and with a polysomnographic evaluation. Four hundred sixty-three (463#) commercial bus drivers (454M, 9F; mean age +/- S.

[Role of reaction times in the health surveillance of a group of complex task workers: public transport drivers].

In order to assess the relationship between impaired reaction times and other clinical parameters a study was conducted on a population of public transport drivers, 26 impaired reaction times subjects and 114 controls, matched for age, sex and type of job-task, compared for years of employment, blood pressure, audiometric test, mood disorders, sleepiness and body mass index (BMI). Statistical analysis indicates a close trend to relationship of reaction times impairment with BMI and hypertension; these two variables are also correlated. Our results agree with previous literature: despite the fact that mechanisms underlying the relationship between BMI and cognitive impairments remains unknown, subclinical levels of pathophysiologic changes associated with elevated BMI, could account for the observed differences in our samples.