Emotional Exhaustion in Healthcare Workers: Moving Beyond Coping Skills to Improve Organizational Conditions.

Objective: Emotional exhaustion (EE)-the first stage of burnout-is related to preventable work environment exposures. We examined the understudied impact of organizational support for safety (OSS) and safety hazards (SH) on EE in a mixed licensed and unlicensed population of healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods: A work environment exposures survey was conducted in five US public healthcare facilities in 2018-2019.

A Protocol to Assess Contextual Factors During Program Impact Evaluation: A Case Study of a STEM Gender Equity Intervention in Higher Education.

Program evaluations that lack experimental design often fail to produce evidence of impact because there is no available control group. Theory-based evaluations can generate evidence of a program's causal effects if evaluators collect evidence along the theorized causal chain and identify possible competing causes. However, few methods are available for assessing competing causes in the program environment.

Participatory ergonomics: What works for whom and why? A realist review.

Participatory workplace interventions to improve workforce musculoskeletal health are infrequently analysed regarding why they work, for whom or under what circumstances. This review sought to identify intervention strategies which achieved genuine worker participation. In total, 3388 articles on participatory ergonomic (PE) interventions were screened; 23 were suitable to analyse within a realist framework identifying contexts, mechanisms of change, and outcomes.

Work-Family Conflict and Depression Among Healthcare Workers: The Role of Sleep and Decision Latitude.

Background: Healthcare workers report a higher incidence of depression than the general population. Work-family conflict is a risk factor, but the mechanisms explaining its association with depression are not well understood. This study examines the potential mediating and moderating role of sleep and decision latitude in translating work-family conflict into depression.

Health Care Organization Policies for Employee Safety and COVID-19 Pandemic Response: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the well-being of health care workers. We examined the association between prepandemic perceptions of perceived organizational support for safety (using NOSACQ-50), safety hazards and the pandemic's impact on individual workers and institutions.

Methods: Questionnaires from health care staff of five public health care facilities were collected in 2018 ( n = 1059) and 2021 ( n = 1553).

Response to NIOSH Request for Information on Interventions to Prevent Work-Related Stress and Support Health Worker Mental Health.

The root causes of health care worker strain and depression include excessive job demands, extended work schedules, little decision-making opportunity, assault, bullying, and fear of injury. Potential links between working conditions and opioid overuse have also been discussed, beginning with psychological job strain or with physical pain leading to medication use. Promising solutions have been identified and many would be cost-effective, as enhanced working conditions could improve workers' mental health, job satisfaction, retention, and patient outcomes.

Risk factors for surgically treated cervical spondylosis in male construction workers: a 20-year prospective study.

Background Context: Degenerative changes due to cervical spondylosis (CS) can detrimentally affect work ability and quality of life yet understanding of how physical exposure affects disease progression is limited.

Purpose: To assess the associations between occupational physical exposures and occurrence of surgically treated cervical spondylosis (ST-CS) and early exit from the labor market via disability pension.

Study Design/setting: Prospective register study with 20 years follow-up period.

High Emotional Demands at Work and Poor Mental Health in Client-Facing Workers.

This study investigated the association between emotional demands and depression or anxiety in a wide range of jobs. We used data from the third Korean Working Conditions Survey ( = 50,032) for all occupational classifications, with no limitations placed on job title or employment type. Among the full set of regular paid workers in addition to self-employed, unpaid family workers, and informal employees such as independent contractors, 23,989 respondents worked with "customers, passengers, students, or patients" (i.

Using Participatory Ergonomics to Improve Health and Safety in Commercial Lobstering in the United States: 2 Case Studies.

The lobster-harvesting industry has a high occupational injury incidence compared to land-based industries. Participatory ergonomics methods were used to partner with lobstermen to develop and implement ergonomic improvements. The model included training in ergonomics principles, a forum for ergonomics discussions, and a sequence of meetings planned to focus on problem identification, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination of findings.

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and Depressive Symptomatology Among Boston Area Puerto Ricans.

Background: Higher Mediterranean diet (MeD) adherence has been linked with lower depressive symptomatology, but research examining this association is limited, especially among Latinos, including mainland U.S. Puerto Ricans.

Biomechanical Exposure to Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk Factors in Hospital Laboratories.

Exposure to ergonomic risk factors has been reported for laboratory workers over decades. However, these exposures are not well characterized with respect to the type of laboratory or work organization. This study compared biomechanical exposure to upper extremity (UE) postures and hand activity levels (HALs) in general hospital laboratories by job, work, and laboratory type.

Use of a Mobile App for the Process Evaluation of an Intervention in Health Care: Development and Usability Study.

Background: Process evaluation measures the context in which an outcome was or was not achieved through the ongoing monitoring of operations. Mobile apps are a potentially less burdensome tool for collecting these metrics in real time from participants. Research-driven apps are not always developed while paying attention to their usability for target users.

Evaluation of the HearWell Pilot Program: A Participatory Approach to Hearing Conservation.

Our objective was to pilot test HearWell, an intervention created to preserve hearing among highway maintainers, by using a participatory (TWH) approach to designing, implementing and evaluating interventions. Regional maintenance garages were randomized to control ( = 6); HearWell ( = 4) or HearWell Design Team ( = 2) arms. Maintainer representatives from the HearWell Design Team garages identified barriers to hearing health and collaborated to design interventions including a safety leadership training for managers, a noise hazard management scheme to identify noise levels and indicate the hearing protection device (HPD) needed, and a comprehensive HearWell training video and protocol.

Workplace Sexual Harassment and Vulnerabilities among Low-Wage Hispanic Women.

Workplace sexual harassment is particularly widespread in industries with many low-wage jobs where Hispanic women are likely to work. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Hispanic women in low-income jobs to identify workplace sexual harassment situations, support seeking actions, barriers to report, and forms of retaliation. A qualitative research design with one-on-one structured interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the experiences of Hispanic women in low-wage jobs regarding workplace sexual harassment situations and potential contributing factors.

A mixed-method approach to tailor the implementation of a participatory Total Worker Health program.

Purpose –: Total Worker Health (TWH) programs, which represent a holistic approach for advancing worker safety, health and well-being, require an employer to adapt programmatic coordination and employee involvement in program design and delivery. Organizational readiness for such measures requires competencies in leadership, communication, subject expertise and worker participation. In the absence of documented methods for TWH readiness assessment, the authors developed a process to prospectively identify implementation facilitators and barriers that may be used to strengthen organizational competencies and optimize the organizational "fit" in advance.

Emotional Labor and Depressive Symptoms Among Healthcare Workers: The Role of Sleep.

Background: Depression is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Health care workers report a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than the general population. Emotional labor has contributed to poor health and work outcomes.

Feasibility of Virtual Focus Groups in Program Impact Evaluation.

Focus groups are often used for qualitative investigations. We adapted a published focus group method for evaluating impact of an organizational intervention for virtual delivery using video conferencing. The method entailed convening small groups of three to five participants for a 2-hour facilitated workshop.

Promoting Opioid Awareness Through a Union-Based Peer Training Model.

Work factors, including physical job demands, appear to be risk factors for opioid overdoses. We collaborated with unions representing workers in high-risk occupations and offered resources to develop tailored educational interventions for their members. An ironworkers' local, a statewide nurses' union, and a Teamsters local union participated, at levels higher than we had anticipated.

A Corporate Wellness Program and Nursing Home Employees' Health.

Many employed Americans suffer from chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Worksite wellness programs provide opportunities to introduce health promotion strategies. While there is evidence of the effectiveness of workplace health promotion, this is tempered by concern that benefits may be less available to low-wage workers with inflexible working conditions.

Surface-acting emotional labor predicts depressive symptoms among health care workers over a 2-year prospective study.

Objective: Surface-acting emotional labor (SaEL) is the requirement to hide or suppress felt emotions to achieve acceptable job performance. It is a common feature of jobs featuring interactions with the public, such as customers or patients. Resulting emotional inauthenticity is associated with psychological strain, but there have been few prospective studies of mental health outcomes.

Serum Vitamin D and Depressive Symptomatology among Boston-Area Puerto Ricans.

Background: Low vitamin D status, assessed using serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration, has been associated with depression, but research among minority populations, such as Puerto Ricans is limited. We examined the association between serum 25(OH)D and self-reported depressive symptomatology across 3 waves of follow-up in a cohort of Puerto Rican adults residing in Massachusetts.

Objectives: We evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between serum 25(OH)D and self-reported depressive symptoms in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS) cohort.

Safety and Health through Integrated, Facilitated Teams (SHIFT): stepped-wedge protocol for prospective, mixed-methods evaluation of the Healthy Workplace Participatory Program.

Background: Healthcare facilities are notorious for occupational health and safety problems. Multi-level interventions are needed to address interacting exposures and their overlapping origins in work organization features. Worker participation in problem identification and resolution is essential.