Summary Abstracts
Winter 2021 Journal
Editor’s Column
A standard feature, the Editor’s Column provides commentary from the current Journal Editor, Kim Stanchfield, RN, COHN-S. In this issue, she reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on employee occupational health professionals. She shares specific examples from her work to vaccinate staff members at her facility and includes comments from AOHP Region 4 Director Alfred Carbuto, MS, FNP-BC, COHN-S, about his recent experience as a vaccine recipient.
Staying Current on Government Affairs
In his Journal column, Stephen Burt, MFA, BS, AOHP Government Affairs Committee Chair, provides analysis of recent government activities. For this issue, he examines Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance related to enacting mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations with regard to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
Association Community Liaison Report
This regular Journal article details how AOHP is gaining visibility as an expert regarding occupational health issues. In this edition, author Bobbi Jo Hurst, BSN, RN, MBA, COHN-S, SGE, provides updates from NIOSH, OSHA, CDC, Joint Commission, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AIHA, National Safety Council, and APIC. She also shares ways AOHP continues to foster collaborative relationships with these organizations.
Perspectives in Healthcare Safety
Cory Worden, PhD (ABD), MS, CSHM, CSP, CHSP, ARM, REM, CESCO, shares his insights on safety in healthcare in this standing column. This issue’s feature – Gaslit: Safety Leadership Should Not Be Confusing or Misleading – describes what gaslighting is, how it can be identified, and why it has no place in safety leadership. Learn how to avoid being gaslit and how to prevent yourself from gaslighting others.
Missed Opportunities and a Path Forward (It Took a Pandemic)
The shortfalls of the COVID-19 response in the United States throughout 2020 are documented in this article by Cory Worden, PhD (ABD), MS, CSHM, CSP, CHSP, ARM, REM, CESCO. He analyzes issues related to disease exposure prevention protocols and compares exposure prevention efforts for COVID-19 with those of a hazardous material/chemical spill.
Report to the AOHP Executive Board
The importance of utilizing root cause analysis when investigating and reporting sharps injuries and safety device malfunctions
In an August 2020 member discussion on the AOHP Listserv, 14 members commented on needlestick injuries with Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium) prefilled syringes (Sanofi-Aventis US). In response, the AOHP Executive Board decided to conduct a member survey to gain additional insight. This article is the second in a series devoted to the results of the Lovenox Prefilled Syringe Survey and the Executive Board’s call to action in response to the findings. Authors include: MaryAnn Gruden, MSN, CRNP, NP-C, COHN-S/CM; Terry Grimmond, FASM, BAgrSc, GrDpAdEd&Tr; Bobbi Jo Hurst, MBA, BSN, RN, COHN-S; and Lydia Crutchfield, MA, BSN, RN, CLC.
A multi-component patient-handling intervention improves attitudes and behaviors for safe patient handling and reduces aggression experienced by nursing staff: A controlled before-after study
Nurses have increased risk of sustaining musculoskeletal injuries and experiencing aggressive responses when they handle patients, which potentially leads to long-term health problems and absence from work. In particular, manual patient-handling can be physically demanding. This study evaluated an intervention for patient-handling equipment aimed to improve nursing staff use of patient-handling equipment and their general health, as well as to reduce musculoskeletal problems, aggressive episodes, days of absence, and work-related accidents. Authors include Bettina Wulff Risør, Sven Dalgas Casper, Lars Louis Andersen, and Jan Sørensen.
Does working long hours increase the risk of cardiovascular disease for everyone?
Adverse health effects of working hours have been a major topic regarding the well-being of working people. There is sufficient evidence to support the existence of an association between an individual’s long working hours and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Authors Dong-wook Lee, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, Jun-Pyo Myong, Jaesung Choi, Yun-Chul Hong, and Mo-Yeol Kang investigate the relationship between working hours and the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease with respect to household income level, using a nationally representative sample from a population-based survey in Korea.