A school-based, interprofessional approach to sustaining oral health on an Island community.

A school-based oral health promotion program was established on a Bahamian island that lacks access to dental care. An interprofessional team of dental hygiene (DH) and occupational therapy (OT) students and faculty delivered an annual service program from 2016 to 2018 based on the Ecological Model of School-Based Health Promotion. The interprofessional team provided oral preventative services and class-based lessons to children to reinforce positive oral health behaviors.

Older Manufacturing Workers and Adaptation to Age-Related Changes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the age-related changes, adaptations, and contexts that support older workers in the manufacturing sector.

Method: In a multiple-case study, 10 older workers from two manufacturing companies completed the Job Content Questionnaire, Health and Productivity Questionnaire, and semistructured interviews and underwent task observations for 8 hr over 4 mo.

Results: Age-related changes affecting job tasks included near vision, upper extremity strength, grip strength, joint stiffness, and endurance.

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles to Children at School: Using a Multidisciplinary Train-the-Trainer Approach.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a multidisciplinary train-the-trainer model for improving fitness and food label literacy in third-grade students.

Design: University student trainers taught ABC for Fitness and Nutrition Detectives, established programs to promote physical activity and nutrition knowledge, to 239 third-grade students in 2 communities over a 6-month period. A total of 110 children were in the intervention group and 129 children in the control group (2 schools each).

Using daily routines to promote medication adherence in older adults.

Purpose: To understand the medication routines used by older adults taking four or more medications daily.

Method: One hundred forty-nine community-dwelling older adults were interviewed about the individual routines, storage locations, equipment, and assistance that enabled their adherence to a medication regimen. A subsample of 84 older adults was observed completing one medication routine in their home environments.

Does work contribute to successful aging outcomes in older workers?

Older workers are the fastest growing segment of the labor force, yet little is known about designing jobs for older workers that optimize their experiences relative to aging successfully. This study examined the contribution of workplace job design (opportunities for decision-making, skill variety, coworker support, supervisor support) to dimensions of successful aging (social network, emotional support, personal control, generativity) in a sample of 109 older workers in the retail homebuilding industry. Older workers completed four standardized tests reflecting the job design and successful aging variables.

Ergonomic design for dental offices.

The increasing complexity of the dental office environment influences productivity and workflow for dental clinicians. Advances in technology, and with it the range of products needed to provide services, have led to sprawl in operatory setups and the potential for awkward postures for dental clinicians during the delivery of oral health services. Although ergonomics often addresses the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders for specific populations of workers, concepts of workflow and productivity are integral to improved practice in work environments.

Occupational stress in dental hygienists.

Occupational stress represents a cause of attrition from the field of dental hygiene. However, few studies have examined occupational stress in dental hygienists with a focus on the dynamics of the organization and the concept of emotional labor. The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of occupational stress (organizational stress and emotional labor) in experienced dental hygienists and to examine the relationship between occupational stressors and manifestations of stress (or personal strain).

A qualitative study of two older workers' adaptation to physically demanding work.

Increasing numbers of older blue collar workers are remaining in the workforce. However, the effect of age-related changes on older workers' job performance is not well documented. This study examined how older blue collar workers continue to perform physically demanding jobs as they age.

The ergonomics of caring for children: an exploratory study.

Background: Caring for one's children is among the most ubiquitous of occupations. However, few studies have examined the ergonomic risks involved in parents caring for children at home.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency, type, and severity of musculoskeletal symptoms in parents of children less than 4 years old.