An aging workforce and stressful work environments are major issues potentially impacting the health, and in particular the cardiovascular health of Canadian hospital nurses. No study, to date, has examined the independent and combined effects between the work environment and indicators of cardiovascular risk among female Canadian nurses. The primary goal of this study was to determine if selected work characteristics influences cardiovascular risk profiles. One hundred and forty four nurses from two hospitals participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed a questionnaire containing validated measures of job characteristics as measured by the Job Content Questionnaire and the professional practice work environment as measured by the Nursing Work Index (Revised). Indicators of cardiovascular risk were obtained by anthropometric measures, clinical exam and serum sampling. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, as classified by the NCEP ATP III Panel, was 7.7 % (n = 11) with 31.9 % having waist circumferences > 88 cm; 22% having a systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHG and 15.2% having a diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHG. There was no statistically significant association between traditional measures of job strain and cardiovascular risk. In stepwise backward regression analyses, higher age, lower perception of autonomy and higher family income accounted for 22% of the variance in waist circumference (p < .001). Higher age and higher physical job demands accounted for 17% of the variance in systolic blood pressure, and 16% of the variance in diastolic blood pressure. Similar to other female studies, there was no significant relationship between psychosocial job strain characteristics, as measured with traditional job strain measurements, and cardiovascular risk. The findings from this study suggest that female nurses are at risk for cardiovascular disease, and that both physical and organizational characteristics of the work environment influence these associations. One may argue that traditional job strain is not unexpected in nursing practice is perhaps less stressful than dealing with high patient acuity, moral distress and hierarchical healthcare organizations. / Thesis (Master, Nursing) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-14 14:09:00.389

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No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine how middle managers within the social services in Sweden perceived their working conditions. The study group included 475 middle managers who were registered in the labour union akademikerförbundet SSR. The study group answered a digital questionnaire based on Karasek’s control and demand model which contained questions concerning their working environment. The result showed that 80 percent of the managers worked more than 40 hours a week and 60 percent of the managers experience high job strain. Four groups with different working conditions were identified through Karasek's control and demand model and the one that showed the most alarming working conditions were analysed further, the high strained group. Within our studygroup we also identified a utterly small group that could be defined as ISO-strained. This working condition is the most harmful working situation for your health since it contains high risk of psychological strain and physical illness.

Estimates indicate that by 2010 RN demand will exceed supply by over 400,000 full-time equivalents and by 2020 the RN shortage will increase to over 1 million. Turnover is a major contributor to the nursing shortage and job dissatisfaction is a well-established cause of nursing turnover. Understanding RN job satisfaction is an objective that is critical to keeping experienced nurses working in nursing and minimizing RN turnover. Many facets of RN job satisfaction have been examined in previous studies; however, much of the variance in job satisfaction remains unexplained. The purpose of this study was to explore job strain, body mass index, and background information variables (age, education, ethnicity, number of years in nursing, and perceived general health) as possible predictors of job satisfaction among hospital staff nurses. Resilience was examined for its mediating and moderating effects on the relationships between job strain and job satisfaction and body mass index and job satisfaction. The research design was cross-sectional and correlational. Surveys were mailed to RNs across the state of Texas. Reliable instruments were used to measure hospital staff RN job satisfaction, job strain, and resilience. Body mass index was calculated based on self-reported height and weight. From a sampling frame of full-time, hospital staff RNs purchased from the Texas Board of Nursing, a random sample of 556 RNs was obtained. The response rate was 27.6% (n = 147). Results showed that 25.2% of the RNs sampled reported high job strain. Job strain was significantly related to body mass index, and high job strain was significantly negatively related to job satisfaction. High job strain explained 24.7% of the variance in job satisfaction. None of the background information variables were significantly related to job satisfaction. Resilience had a moderating effect on the relationship between job strain and job satisfaction. Resilience did not mediate or moderate the relationship between body mass index and job satisfaction. Future research should focus on creating a nurse-specific instrument that measures job strain in hospital staff RNs. Intervention studies that investigate the effects of resilience training on the job satisfaction of hospital staff RNs should also be conducted. / text

Enligt arbetsmiljölagen ska arbetsgivare undersöka, genomföra och följa upp verksamheten, enligt det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet ska detta arbete ske naturligt i det dagliga. Den mest använda modellen inom kartläggningen av psykosocial arbetsmiljö var krav-kontroll-stöd modellen, det har dock föreslagits att det var viktigt att ta hänsyn till ledningsförfaranden för att kunna förstå arbetsrelaterade risker bättre. Forskningsfrågorna i denna studie var hur ledare arbetade med den psykosociala arbetsmiljön och hur det arbetet förmodades påverka medarbetarnas hälsa. Syftet med studien är att ta reda på detta. I denna studie deltog 8 personer med arbetsledarbefattning, erfarenheten varierade mellan 4-20 år, antalet personer de ansvarade över varierade mellan 1-42 personer. En kvalitativ metod genom intervjuer genomfördes, en egenkonstruerad intervjuguide användes. Huvudresultaten var att cheferna arbetade med en nära dialog och hälsofrämjande insatser, enligt cheferna ledde det till bättre mående hos medarbetarna och att arbetet var individanpassat. Denna studie ligger i linje med tidigare forskning.

Background: The transition from trainee to newly-registered (novice) practitioner is regarded as the most stressful and challenging of time of a healthcare professional's career. Community pharmacists are unusual in that they transition into roles where they commonly work as the sole pharmacist, manage a team of support staff and are accountable from day one of professional registration (without any formal support structure), yet little research exists in this area. This study aimed to identify the transition challenges faced by novice community pharmacists and to develop and feasibility test an evidence-based intervention to ease their transitions to independent practitioners. Methods: Medical Research Council guidance for developing complex interventions was used to frame this programme of work. During development, evidence from existing literature and an exploratory nominal group study identified and prioritised the challenges faced by novice community pharmacists. Findings informed the iterative design process for a peer-coaching intervention with the following components; a social media group, one-to-one coaching, a handbook, group activities and weekly clinical/practice scenarios for group discussion. Twelve novice community pharmacists were recruited purposively to participate in the draft intervention, which was evaluated using semi-structured telephone interviews. Results: Twenty-five participants took part in homogenous group discussions consisting of novice community pharmacists, early career pharmacists, pre-registration tutors and pharmacy colleagues. Similarly to challenges reported by novice doctors and nurses, nominal group discussions identified the following challenges [in order of importance]; relationship management; lack of confidence; decision-making; being in charge and accountable; and adapting to the workplace. Relationship management was attributed to novices' lack of affective skills. There were some differences however in the challenges reported by novice community pharmacists, such as power struggles (with managers or pharmacy colleagues), inverse hierarchy, professional isolation, target culture and full immediate accountability. A number of factors perpetuating these differences were perceived to increase the weight of professional accountability and augment stress; the retail community pharmacy context, the relative lack of support and isolation from peers. Hence, the draft intervention focussed on supporting the novice community pharmacist to develop cognitive and affective skills. All participants viewed the social media forum as the most valuable component because it provided a confidential space for reassurance, feedback, and sharing or discussing practice experiences. Participants also valued one-to-one discussions with the coach, which supported meaningful reflection and developing self-awareness. Outcomes reported by all participants included increased self-efficacy, increased confidence in decision-making/managing others, an increased sense of preparedness and the ability to cope during transition. Through group components, novice community pharmacists developed and reported feeling less isolated in the workplace. Conclusions: This novel programme of work revealed the challenges faced by novice community pharmacists during transition. Findings suggest that a lack of affective and cognitive skills, the demands of the job and professional isolation caused novices to experience psychosocial stress and high job strain. A group peer-coaching intervention designed to ease the transitions of novice community pharmacists was reported to be acceptable, feasible and beneficial. Study findings led to some recommendations for transition support interventions: incorporate psychosocial support with developmental activities; provide a supportive learning space for developmental discourse that is accessible facilitated and structured; and offer coaching and supported reflection from an experienced pharmacist coach.

Įvadas. Pastarųjų metų Lietuvos ir Europos tyrimai rodo, kad psichologinė įtampa ir distresas darbe sukelia vis daugiau sveikatos sutrikimų bei įtakoja ligų atsiradimą. Darbo tikslas. Nustatyti sąsajas tarp medicinos darbuotojų psichosocialinių darbo aplinkos veiksnių ir savo sveikatos vertinimo. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrime iš viso dalyvavo 278 sveikatos priežiūros įstaigų darbuotojai. Iš jų 121 gydytojas ir 157 bendrosios praktikos slaugytojos. Tyrimas atliktas anoniminės apklausos būdu 2011 metų vasario - birželio mėnesiais. Naudojome standartizuotą Lietuvoje adaptuotą švedų klausimyną pagal Karaseką – reikalavimai, kontrolė, socialinė parama. Duomenų analizei naudotos programos SPSS 14,0 ir MS Word. Rezultatai. Kauno miesto sveikatos priežiūros įstaigų bendrosios praktikos slaugytojos (55,4 proc.) statistiškai reikšmingai dažniau patyrė įtampą darbe nei gydytojai (35,5 proc.) (p<0,001). Nustatytas statistiškai reikšmingas ryšys tarp aukšto arterinio kraujo spaudimo ir savo sveikatos vertinimo. 46,3 proc. (p=0,01) gydytojų turėjo aukštą arterinį kraujospūdį ir savo sveikatą įvertino kaip blogą. 45,3 proc. (p<0,001) slaugytojų turėjo aukštą arterinį kraujospūdį ir savo sveikatą įvertino kaip blogą. Nustatyti statistiškai reikšmingi skirtumai tarp gydytojų patiriamo psichologinio distreso (p=0,03), silpnos vidinės darnos (p<0,001) bei blogo savo sveikatos vertinimo. 41,9 proc. (p=0,02) bendrosios praktikos slaugytojų, patiriančių aukštus reikalavimus darbe ir pasižyminčių silpna... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Introduction. In recent years Lithuanian and European studies have shown that the psychological strain and distress at work is causing more and more health problems and influence the emergence of diseases. Aim of study. To determine the associations between medical staff’s psychosocial work environment factors and their health perception. Methods. The study included a total of 278 health care workers, 121 medical doctors and 157 general practice nurses. The survey has been accomplished anonymously in 2011, between February and June. A standardized Swedish questionnaire by Karasek adapted to Lithuanians – demands, control, and social support – was used. For Data analysis SPSS 14.0 and MS Word was used. Results. The general practice nurses in Kaunas city (55.4%) statistically significantly more frequently experienced job strain as compared to medical doctors (35.5%) (p<0.001). We established a statistically significant association between high blood pressure and self-rated health assessment. 46.3% (p=0.01) of medical doctors with elevated blood pressure assessed their health as poor. 45.3% (p<0.001) of nurses with elevated blood pressure rated their health as poor. We established statistically significant differences between psychological distress (p=0.03), weak sense of coherence (p<0.001) and poor self-rated health among medical doctors. 41.9% (p=0.02) general practice nurses experiencing high demands at work and having weak sense of coherence 33.7% (p=0.01) rated their... [to full text]

Im Schwerpunkt der Dissertation stand die Untersuchung des Zusammenhangs zwischen psychischer Fehlbeanspruchung und Arbeitssicherheit. Psychische Fehlbeanspruchung – mit den Schwerpunkten Über- und Unterforderung – wurde dabei zum einen auf der habituellen Ebene erfasst (mittels Fragebogen). Zum Anderen interessierten die selten oder einmalig auftretenden Fehlbeanspruchungen, die üblicherweise keine Berücksichtigung im Fragebogen finden. Diese wurden mithilfe eines Arbeitstagebuchs erfasst. Die Argumentation für diese differentielle Betrachtungsweise ergibt sich aus der Überlegung, dass während in der Entstehungsgeschichte einer Erkrankung erst eine langfristige Fehlbeanspruchung eine Rolle spielt, kann ein Arbeitsunfall bereits durch eine einmalige oder nur kurzfristig auftretende Fehlbeanspruchung beeinflusst werden. Im Zusammenhang mit der verwendeten Methodik wurde – in einer zusätzlichen Fragestellung - ein sensibilisierender und damit unfallpräventiver Effekt der Tagebuchführung auf die Gefahrenwahrnehmung angenommen und mit einer Pilot-Befragung verifiziert. An der Studie haben vier sächsische Unternehmen der metallverarbeitenden Industrie teilgenommen. Insgesamt 212 männliche Produktionsarbeiter haben einen Fragebogen ausgefüllt (Rücklaufquote: 60%), und 63 von ihnen haben ebenfalls ein vollständig über 15 Arbeitstage geführtes Tagebuch abgegeben. Beide Datenquellen erfassten parallel (als Prädiktoren) die wahrgenommenen Belastungsfaktoren am Arbeitsplatz bzw. die psychische Fehlbeanspruchung (qualitative und quantitative Über- bzw. Unterforderung sowie soziale Belastung) sowie deren negative Folgen (Merkmale von Stress, psychischer Ermüdung und Monotonie). Ebenfalls auf zweierlei Art wurden die Kriterienvariablen erhoben (meldepflichtige Arbeitsunfälle, Verletzungen und Beinahe-Unfälle; im Fragebogen zusätzlich noch ein Index sicheren Verhaltens). Die Ergebnisse der Regressionsanalysen haben die Annahme bestätigt, dass sowohl Überforderung als auch Unterforderung die individuelle Arbeitssicherheit beeinträchtigen. Sicheres Verhalten am Arbeitsplatz wird von Merkmalen der Arbeitsgestaltung, insbesondere durch Unterbrechungen und quantitative Überforderung, negativ beeinflusst. Beeinträchtigend auf die Einhaltung der Arbeitsschutzregeln wirkt sich auch belastendes Verhalten des Vorgesetzten aus. Relevant für die Regeleinhaltung sind ebenfalls die erlebten Folgen einer Über- und Unterforderung: Merkmale psychischer Ermüdung einerseits, Langeweile und Unzufriedenheit mit der Aufgabe andererseits. Interessant sind die Ergebnisse bezüglich der individuellen Variabilität der täglich erlebten Fehlbeanspruchungsfolgen. Mit steigenden Schwankungen von Langeweile und Erschöpfung werden die Arbeitsschutzregeln seltener eingehalten und Beinahe-Unfälle kommen häufiger vor. Erlebte meldepflichtige Unfälle und Verletzungen (im Fragebogen erfasst) stehen lediglich mit zwei tagebuchbasierten Prädiktoren in einem signifikanten Zusammenhang: mit Häufigkeit der sozialen Konflikte und mit der kumulierten Erschöpfung. Diese Faktoren weisen in ihrem Zusammenhang mit individueller Arbeitssicherheit somit eine besonders hohe Validität und Generalisierbarkeit auf. Die Methode der Tagebuchführung stieß, selbst bei einer relativ langen Untersuchungsdauer, auf eine hohe Akzeptanz der Teilnehmer. Die angenommene, auf Gefahren und für Arbeitssicherheit sensibilisierende Wirkung der Tagebuchführung konnte anhand der Selbsteinschätzungen bestätigt werden. Als innovatives und mitarbeiterorientiertes Instrument betrieblicher Unfallprävention hat die Tagebuchführung das Potenzial, einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Umsetzung der Ziele der Gemeinsamen Deutschen Arbeitsschutzstrategie für den Zeitraum 2008 - 2012 zu leisten.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the causal relationships between job strain, the practice environment and the use of coping skills in order to assist in the prediction of nurses who are at risk for voluntary turnover. It was conducted at the level of the individual nurse employee in order to better understand the health consequences associated with job strain, the factors in the professional practice environment which may contribute to the propensity to leave and the influence of coping behaviors in response to workplace stressors. It was undertaken with the intention of identifying intervention strategies which will promote a healthy workforce and the retention of nurses in the workplace. An exploratory cross-sectional survey of 1235 staff nurses employed on the intensive, progressive and general medical-surgical nursing units of seven hospitals associated with a major Central Florida healthcare network tested a client-centered model in an effort to identify nurses vulnerable to the health consequences of job strain using structural equation modeling. Human subject protection was assured. An 82 item questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and measure responses to items associated with the constructs of health status, autonomy, collaboration, decentralization, coping, satisfaction, absenteeism and intent to leave. A variety instruments that were previously demonstrated as valid and reliable were used in the construction of the instrument. Subjects were also given the option of including additional written comments. A total of 325 surveys were returned, of which 308 met inclusion criteria, for a response rate of 25%. Data analysis determined that the measurement of job strain as a function of self-assessed generic health status was predictive of propensity to leave (ã = -.21). The experience of job strain shared a strong association with indicators of mental health status. Job strain was significantly influenced by coping behavior (ã = .56) which targeted activities associated with sustaining and balancing. Anecdotal remarks suggested that the need for balance influenced perceptions regarding stressors in the workplace. The professional practice environment was associated negatively with the propensity to leave (ã = -.58). Those staff nurses who experienced higher levels of autonomy expressed a greater degree of satisfaction and lower intent to leave. The variables of collaboration and decentralization contributed minimally to the construct of professional practice. Anecdotal remarks suggested that the low contribution of collaboration and decentralization contributed to a sense of powerlessness and frustration with work related circumstances. The influence of job strain, coping and the professional practice environment upon staff nurses suggests that health promotion strategies, efforts to enhance coping behavior and promotion of a professional practice environment will increase employee satisfaction and reduce intent to leave. Adoption of policies and procedures which support the health and well-being of individual staff members will benefit employees, strengthen the organizations in which they practice and promote the overall retention of nurses in the face of looming nurse shortages.