Publications by authors named "Henk Van Der Molen"

Background: The objectives of this study are to explore healthcare workers' (HCWs') mental models regarding psychological distress and to compare these with that of experts.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted (n = 28 HCWs, n = 13 experts). The topic list encompassed risk perception, early stress symptoms, causes, consequences, and preventive measures of psychological distress.

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  • In the Netherlands, there’s a new rule to recognize and pay for serious job-related diseases caused by substances like chemicals or asbestos.
  • A special committee will help create guidelines to decide if a worker's illness was caused by their job and how to handle payments.
  • The goal is to make the process quicker and easier so workers can get paid without having to deal with a lot of complicated steps or waiting a long time.
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Outdoor workers have increased risk of developing keratinocyte cancer due to accumulated skin damage resulting from chronic and excessive exposure to UVR. This study aims to identify potential noninvasive biomarkers to assess chronic UVR exposure. We analyzed stratum corneum biomarkers collected from 2 skin locations and 2 occupational groups with contrasting solar UVR exposure: the forehead and retroauricular skin among outdoor workers and indoor workers.

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Background: Asbestos exposure can lead to asbestos-related diseases. The European Union (EU) has adopted regulations for workplaces where asbestos is present. The EU occupational exposure limit (OEL) for asbestos is 0.

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Backgrounds: The detection of biomarkers of a stress response in the stratum corneum (SC) could be used as objective assessment of early stress symptoms and monitoring of stress reduction interventions in health care workers (HCWs).

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore SC biomarkers of immune and hormonal response and skin barrier for assessment of psychological distress (PD) in HCWs.

Methods: Twenty-five female HCWs and 25 non-HCWs participated.

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Objectives: This study aims to present an overview of the formal recognition of COVID-19 as occupational disease (OD) or injury (OI) across Europe.

Methods: A COVID-19 questionnaire was designed by a task group within COST-funded OMEGA-NET and sent to occupational health experts of 37 countries in WHO European region, with a last update in April 2022.

Results: The questionnaire was filled out by experts from 35 countries.

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Background: There is a paucity of data on occupational disease incidence in Italy, and we analyzed the trend on time as an incidence rate ratio (IRR).

Methods: Occupational diseases reported to the Italian National Insurance for Occupational Diseases (INAIL) in industrial and services sectors from 2006 to 2019 were considered and analyzed. Annual case counts were analyzed using a Poisson regression model to estimate incidence trends.

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  • Instruments that measure psychological distress in healthcare workers (HCWs) were evaluated for their diagnostic accuracy in a review of studies from 2000 to February 2021.
  • Seventeen studies analyzing eight different instruments were included, revealing low methodological quality, particularly regarding how tests were conducted and who was selected for the studies.
  • Some instruments, like the Burnout-Thriving Index and the Physician Well-Being Index, showed decent criterion validity, yet the overall findings suggest that screening HCWs for psychological distress with these tools may not be reliable due to insufficient studies and quality concerns.
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Background: Healthcare workers can suffer from work-related stress as a result of an imbalance of demands, skills and social support at work. This may lead to stress, burnout and psychosomatic problems, and deterioration of service provision. This is an update of a Cochrane Review that was last updated in 2015, which has been split into this review and a review on organisational-level interventions.

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Background: Given the importance of communication skills in the psychologist-patient relationship, several training programs have been proposed. Cumulative microtraining (CMT) has shown positive impacts on communication skills in previous studies.

Methods: The aim of this naturalistic pre-post study was to test the feasibility of a hybrid CMT program and obtain preliminary data on its impact on communication skills in French-speaking third-year psychology students.

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Sand-cement-bound screed floor layers are at risk of work-related lower back pain, lumbosacral radicular syndrome and knee osteoarthritis, given their working technique of levelling screed with their trunk bent while mainly supported by their hands and knees. To reduce the physical demands of bending of the trunk and kneeling, a manually movable screed-levelling machine was developed for floor layers in the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to estimate the potential health gains of working with a manually movable screed-levelling machine on the risk of lower back pain (LBP), lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS) and knee osteoarthritis (KOA) compared to traditional working techniques.

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This systematic review, conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, focuses on genotoxicity of oxidative hair dye precursors. The search for original papers published from 2000 to 2021 was performed in Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane registry, Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety of the European Commission and German MAK Commission opinions. Nine publications on genotoxicity of -phenylenediamine (PPD) and toluene-2,5-diamine (-toluylenediamine; PTD) were included, reporting results of 17 assays covering main genotoxicity endpoints.

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  • Solar UV radiation from the sun is a major cause of skin cancer for people who work outside, which affects many workers worldwide.!* -
  • This study will look into how working outside in the sun can lead to a specific type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).
  • Researchers will search through various databases and studies to gather information and check the accuracy of their findings to understand the risks better.!*
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The objective of this review is to identify work-related and personal risk factors for contact dermatitis (CD), and assess their association with this frequently occurring occupational disease. A systematic review of the literature from 1990 to June 2, 2020, was conducted using Medline and Embase. Prospective cohort and case-control studies were included, and meta-analyses were conducted when feasible.

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Background And Aims: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome with a high prevalence among workers. Insights on the physical work-related risk factors is necessary to develop appropriate preventative methods. The objective of this systematic review, including meta-analyses, is to assess which physical work-related risk factors are associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Blue-collar workers have, on average, poorer health than white-collar workers. Existing worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs) are often not successful among blue-collar workers. This study evaluates the effect of the Citizen Science-based WHPP on the targeted lifestyle behaviors among construction workers.

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  • Occupational hand eczema is a significant issue for hairdressers due to the presence of strong allergens in hair cosmetic products.
  • A systematic review of studies found that hairdressers have a higher prevalence of contact allergies to certain hair product ingredients, particularly p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and ammonium thioglycolate (ATG), with relative risks substantially higher than non-hairdressers.
  • The study highlights the need for improved working conditions and safer products to reduce the risk of contact allergies among hairdressers.
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  • The study aimed to evaluate factors affecting the ability of construction workers with knee osteoarthritis (KO) to continue their job over the next two years.
  • It included a survey of 344 Dutch construction workers and used logistic regression to determine which personal and work-related characteristics were linked to maintaining their work ability.
  • Key findings indicated that working 36-45 hours a week, engaging in regular high-intensity exercise, being younger than 56, and avoiding strenuous activities like lifting significantly influenced their likelihood of remaining in their roles.
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Objectives: To review recent epidemiological studies investigating carcinogenic or reprotoxic effects among hairdressers who seem to be at greater risk for systemic adverse effects of chemicals released from hair care products than consumers.

Methods: A systematic review according to the PRISMA-P guidelines was performed and included studies published from 2000 to August 2021, in which cancer or adverse reproductive effects were diagnosed in 1995 and onward. Data were synthetized qualitatively due to the small number of studies, heterogeneity of study designs, outcomes, and methods.

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Background: Many workplace health promotion programs (WHPPs) do not reach blue-collar workers. To enhance the fit and reach, a Citizen Science (CS) approach was applied to co-create and implement WHPPs. This study aims to evaluate i) the process of this CS approach and ii) the resulting WHPPs.

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The safety assessment of cosmetics considers the exposure of a 'common consumer', not the occupational exposure of hairdressers. This review aims to compile and appraise evidence regarding the skin toxicity of cysteamine hydrochloride (cysteamine HCl; CAS no. 156-57-0), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP; CAS no.

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We aimed to review the determinants of burnout onset in teachers. The study was conducted according to the PROSPERO protocol CRD42018105901, with a focus on teachers. We performed a literature search from 1990 to 2021 in three databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase.

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Background: Outdoor workers (OW) receive a higher dose of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) compared to indoor workers (IW) which increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Regular sunscreen use reduces the NMSC risk, however, adequate sun-safety behavior among OW is poor. The main objective was to conduct method- and intervention-related elements of a future intervention trial among OW, based on providing sunscreen and assessing sunscreen use on group- and individual level.

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Introduction: Exposure to hazardous chemicals released during hairdressing activities from hair care products puts hairdressers at risk of adverse health effects. Safety assessments of hair products are mainly focused on consumers, but exposure for professional hairdressers might be substantially higher.

Objective: To identify and assess available research data on inhalation exposures of professional hairdressers.

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