Lifestyle, harassment at work and self-assessed health of female flight attendants, nurses and teachers

Health-related lifestyle, harassment at work, and self-assessed health of female flight attendants in comparison to that of female nurses and female primary school teachers were surveyed. A higher proportion of flight attendants than nurses or teachers were smokers, 26% vs. 15% and 17% respectively; and consumed alcohol at least once a week, 40% vs. 21% and 16%. Repeated sexual harassment at work was more common among the flight attendants, 31% vs. 8% and 4%; whereas bullying, physical violence and threats were less prevalent among the flight attendants (12%) than among nurses (19%). Flight attendants were on average somewhat taller, but weighed on average less, 63.8 kg vs. 72.4 kg and 72.7 kg respectively. Repeated exposure to sexual harassment, bullying, violence and threats was related to less physical and psychological well-being in all the groups. Teachers scored on average significantly lower than did the flight attendants on general health and physical well-being, while nurses did not.     

Women's work, cohort change, and health

Rapid changes in women's labor force participation, access to good jobs, and changing work-family pressures have altered the landscape of work and family life. We use logit negative binomial hurdle models to examine whether these countervailing trends have affected the physical health of women across four birth cohorts. Longitudinal data are used to compare successive cohorts of U.S. women when they are between the ages 44 and 50. While the health of women overall did not change across cohorts, we find an increase in health problems among employed women, explained by increases in the ability of women with physical limitations to become and remain employed. Health problems among housewives decline across cohorts, resulting in better health among housewives than among employed women in the most recent cohort. These findings provide further evidence of the importance of selection processes in understanding health effects of roles, and they highlight the need for greater attention to the health effects of unpaid work.     

The use software ERGOSHOW in the education of health and safety at work to regardin the safety to children

It is believed that health and safety of workers should be worked with children and early teenagers, the perspective that adults are more aware of these issues by providing them with health and quality of life in their daily lives, this is want the ERGOSHOW. The choice of media means for transmitting content of Ergonomics, Health and Safety (OSH) is justified because of the great popularity of computer games are among the public of the study, thereby providing a greater assimilation of the content worked. Therefore, the aim of this study was to work with OSH issues related to children between 08 and 12 years old, city of, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. To achieve this we used the software ERGOSHOW, quizzes, and lecture. One can see that the use of multimedia tools in the learning, especially when considering the reports of mothers according to the different behavior of children after the development of activities, such as parents in correcting posture in relation to computer use.     

Contributions of ergonomics to the construction of bus drivers health and excellence in public transport and at work

This article is the product of research that analyzed the work of bus drivers of a public transportation company that is considered a benchmark reference in its field of operations, in which it strives to achieve operating excellence. Within this context, the authors sought to understand how such a company has managed to maintain a policy that is capable of reconciling quality public transport while also providing working conditions compatible with the professional development, comfort and health of its workers. Ergonomic work analysis and activity analysis were the guiding elements used in this study. Initial analyses indicate that the activity of drivers includes serving a population and providing mobility for it, which depends on driving the vehicle itself and on relationships with colleagues, users, pedestrians, drivers and others.     

Activity at work, innovation and sustainable development

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss a French-Brazilian project (CAPES-COFECUB) centered on the relations between sustainable development, innovation and changes in work activities that accompany these innovations for sustainable development. Sustainable development calls for an integrated approach of three dimensions: social equity, economic viability and environmental sustainability. In order to achieve this integration, considerable innovations efforts are required. However, the work, understood as a productive act, is deeply lacking in the current researches. Starting from the idea that work is a "fundamental need" the goal of this project is to propose innovative methods that can be used for designing production systems from the perspective of sustainable development.     

Soil health as a predictor of lettuce productivity and quality: A case study of urban vacant lots

Urban agriculture offers a framework for local self-reliance and resilience in cities. However, there is a concern over the capacity of urban soil to provide sustainable and safe food production. We tested the effectiveness of several soil health indicators to predict food crop productivity and quality in vacant lots in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. We defined soil health as a state of composite well being in terms of biological, chemical, and physical properties of the soil as they relate to crop productivity. Twelve city-owned vacant lots, three close to each of the four city schools, were selected for soil properties and plant growth analyses. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, moisture content (θv), soil texture, soil organic matter (SOM), active carbon (AC), ammonium (NH₄-N), nitrate (NO₃-N), microbial biomass N (MBN), and nematode community parameters including total (TNN), bacteria-feeding (BFN), fungal-feeding (FFN), and plant-parasitic (PPN) nematodes, number of nematode genera (NNG), and nematode food web enrichment index (EI) and structure index (SI). Lettuce was planted in the selected vacant lots and its growth was documented through measures of dry biomass, numbers of leaves/plant, and complementary subjective appearance scores related to physiological status. All measured parameters varied considerably among vacant lots except soil pH. Principal components analysis revealed that among the primary soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters, soil clay, NO₃-N, MBN, SOM, AC, TNN, BFN, FFN, and PPN contributed most to the variance of the entire dataset. There were also several positive correlations among these key soil health predictor variables: AC was positively correlated with clay, SOM, MBN, TNN, BFN, FFN and PPN, and TNN was positively correlated with AC, SOM, MBN, BFN, FFN and PPN. Of the identified primary soil health indicators, only clay, SOM, and MBN positively correlated with lettuce dry biomass, which was also positively correlated with a secondary soil health indicator, the nematode food web EI. Lettuce leaf necrosis was negatively correlated with clay, AC, SOM, MBN, TNN, FFN, and PPN, and the proportion of withered leaves was negatively correlated only with SOM. It is concluded that AC, PPN, TNN, SOM, MBN, clay, and nematode food web EI can serve as important soil health indicators that have potential for predicting crop productivity and quality in urban soils. It is also concluded that lettuce can serve as an important indicator of soil health with respect to crop productivity and quality in vacant lots.     

Part-time work and hurried adolescence: the links among work intensity, social activities, health behaviors, and substance use

The present study examines adolescents' part-time work intensity and its relation to participation in various activities as well as substance use. We consider mechanisms articulated in two theoretical perspectives on how high work intensity is associated with substance use: (1) the "time trade-off perspective," and (2) "the precocious development perspective." Nationally representative data were drawn from the "Monitoring the Future" project from 8th, 10th and 12th grade students (overall N approximately 380,000) to address our research questions. Work intensity was found to be linked to more time spent on unstructured social activities, but to less time spent engaged in sports, health behaviors, and school-related activities. Social time use and health behaviors were found to partially mediate the relationship between work hours and substance use. Overall, results provide evidence for a combination of both perspectives.     

Effects of extended work shifts on employee fatigue, health, satisfaction, work/family balance, and patient safety

12-hour shifts are quickly spreading in Europe. From our multivariate analysis concerning 25,924 European nurses, including twenty explanatory variables simultaneously, we found that work schedule itself is not a major determinant factor. Nurses aim to choose or accept night shifts or 12-hour shift in order to reduce their work/home conflicts, however, at the expense of the patient's safety, as well as their own health and safety. Therefore, it is important to develop measures, such as extended child care, association of nurses to the elaboration of their rota, 9- or 10-hour shifts in the afternoon, allowing naps during night shifts, and reduction of changing shifts with short notice. Work schedules must be organized in order to allow time for shift handover, social support and team building.     

Age at first birth, health, and mortality

The biodevelopmental view sees the readiness and soundness of the organism at the time of first birth as its prime link to health and survival years and decades later. It suggests an optimum age at first birth shortly after puberty. The biosocial view emphasizes social correlates and consequences of age at first birth that may influence health and survival many years later. It suggests that better health and survival come from delaying motherhood as long as possible, perhaps indefinitely. Analyses consistently find patterns more in keeping with the biosocial view in a U.S. national sample of women ages 25 through 95. The fitted curves show high levels of current health problems among women who first gave birth in or shortly after puberty. Problems drop steadily the longer that first birth was delayed, up to about age 34, then rise increasingly steeply, particularly after about age 40. For women currently of the same age, the ratio of health problems expected given first birth under age 18 versus around age 34 equals that from currently being 14 years older. Health problems rise steeply with length of having delayed beyond age 40. Mortality hazard also declines with having delayed first birth well beyond the end of puberty. The ratio of mortality hazard between mothers with teenage versus late first births equals that from a 10-year difference in current age. Comparison to nonmothers of similar age and race/ethnicity shows that the correlation of motherhood with health problems and mortality hazard switches from detrimental to beneficial with delay beyond about age 22.     

Psychiatric triage: a cost-effective approach to quality management in mental health.

As seen from this trial program, psychiatric triage in the ED is potentially a very effective tool for improving the quality of mental health patient care. For a minimal investment in personnel, there is a potential for a major improvement in patient care, patient record documentation, interdepartmental relations, and financial reimbursement to the institution.