Use of Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plans in Private Dental Practices: Results and Clinical Implications of a National Survey.

Dental healthcare workers (DHWs) are at risk for occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens (BBPs). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires employers to have a written exposure control plan (ECP) detailing methods and means to reduce and manage occupational BBP exposures. Because little information is available on whether ECPs are created and used, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention conducted an online survey to determine if dental practices had an ECP, whether present ECPs had the necessary components, and if impediments existed to prevent having an ECP in place.

Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces in health care: Toward an integrated framework for infection and occupational illness prevention.

Background: The Cleaning and Disinfecting in Healthcare Working Group of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda, is a collaboration of infection prevention and occupational health researchers and practitioners with the objective of providing a more integrated approach to effective environmental surface cleaning and disinfection (C&D) while protecting the respiratory health of health care personnel.

Methods: The Working Group, comprised of >40 members from 4 countries, reviewed current knowledge and identified knowledge gaps and future needs for research and practice.

Results: An integrated framework was developed to guide more comprehensive efforts to minimize harmful C&D exposures without reducing the effectiveness of infection prevention.

Psychological distress associated with the diagnostic phase for suspected breast cancer: systematic review.

Aim: This paper is a report of a review conducted to define the manifestations that characterize psychological distress during the diagnostic phase for suspected breast cancer, define the extent of psychological distress associated with the threat of potential cancer, and identify factors influencing psychological distress levels.

Background: Raising the possibility that a malignancy might be present is threatening. The resulting distress is believed to influence treatment outcomes in those diagnosed with cancer and result in behavioural changes in those with benign disease.

Metabolic effects of the addition of resistive to aerobic exercise in older men.

The metabolic changes associated with the addition of 4 months of resistive exercise to an existing aerobic exercise program (AEX+RT, n = 7) were compared to a maintenance aerobic exercise program (AEX, n = 8) in overweight, older men. The subjects in this study had recently completed a 6-month aerobic exercise program (treadmill walking, 45 min/d, 2 d/wk). The AEX+RT group added 6 exercises on upper- and lower-body pneumatic-resistance machines (2 sets, 15 repetitions each, 2 d/wk) to an aerobic exercise program at > or = 70% heart rate reserve for 30-40 min, 2 d/wk on treadmill, while the AEX group continued the same maintenance treadmill AEX program.