Introduction: Pediatric health care settings are high risk environments for spreading communicable and vaccine preventable diseases from health care workers to susceptible patients. Methods: All managers of pediatric clinics operating in the state of Utah were included. Participants were invited to complete a two-page questionnaire regarding their clinic vaccination policies. Results: Half (n = 23, 50%) of Utah pediatric outpatient clinics recommend employee vaccinations, although employee refusal is allowed without consequence. Of all adult vaccines, influenza was most often included as part of the employee vaccination policy. Some clinics required unvaccinated employees to wear masks in the event of illness, but many had no additional requirements for unvaccinated and ill employees. Discussion: Vaccination of health care workers is an effective approach to reduce disease transmission. Mandatory vaccination policies can significantly improve vaccination rates among health care workers.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000. / Cover title: The employment relations of child-care : a study of job satisfaction and trade union membership. "Thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy" Bibliography : p. 395-418.

This thesis concerns the role of the Social Care Worker in interventions into unacceptable sexual behaviour in people who have a learning disability. It takes as point of departure ways in which support organisations and individual members of staff become aware that a service user’s sexual behaviour needs to be addressed. This raises issues about the service user’s human rights, confidentiality, and the concept of what it is to be ‘professional’ which can affect information sharing between support organisations and also between fellow support workers. In the case of the latter this relates to the workers status within the organisation, relations of power/knowledge which also has implications for the status of these workers as ‘professionals’. The thesis goes on to determine the support workers’ perceptions of what Bourdieu has termed, their ‘field’. That is to say, those behaviours they feel they can address without consulting health professionals. In addition to this, criteria used to decide when it is appropriate to consult health professionals is also described which thus demarcates their ‘field’ as perceived by the social care workers. The subsequent roles of the SCW whether working with or without input of health professionals is then discussed in terms of the individual worker’s ‘proximity’ or working relationship with the service user in question, and also their status within the support organisation. Findings suggest that some front-line workers who can claim closer ‘proximity’ to the service user may not have the same level of information about the behaviour as their managers who work off-site and do not have their direct care. Consideration is then given to accounts of situations in which input from health professionals is sought but is not forthcoming leaving SCWs and their organisations to deal with the behaviour in-house. Some of these such as sexual assault and rape are thus being treated in the community when otherwise the individuals concerned would be treated in locked NHS wards. Thus a new ‘field’ emerges requiring of the SCW a level of responsibility and skill that goes unacknowledged. The thesis ends by considering the feelings of workers involved in interventions into unacceptable sexual behaviour and concludes with recommendations on the education and support these workers require. Acknowledgement of the work they do and re-assessment of their status as workers is also recommended.

This study used a survey designed to identify content areas for preservice orientation for child care workers agreed upon by the educational community and the directors in the "trenches" where application of knowledge and theory is crucial to the provision of quality day care. The survey, devised from a review of the literature, elicited information about six content areas: Child Development, Communication and Interpersonal Skills, Environment, Curriculum, Health and Safety, and Nutrition. Participants were 88 Early Childhood Educators (ECE) and Child Care Practitioners (CCP). It contained 30 items to be rated on a five point scale. The interval scale ranged from 1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree. The survey instrument was field tested and revised. The responses were analyzed to identify differences in the judgment of participants concerning the content areas for preservice orientation for child care workers. A demographic profile was constructed from the data. Additional participant comments indicated the concerns of time, depth of content, identification of staff backgrounds and affordability. Collectively, the results of this study identified significant differences in the judgment of ECE and CCP groups regarding the content areas for preservice orientation training. The hypotheses were measured using parametric statistical measures--the t-test and the Pearson correlation. Only in the Child Development component was there a significant difference between the two groups. Participants reported that this area was not considered important since the child care worker needed to have this skill prior to being hired. No significant difference was found between the two groups for the other components: Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Environment, Curriculum, Health and Safety and Nutrition. The correlations between years of employment and judgment concerning the content areas were not statistically significant. The correlation between the groups and the subscales were not statically significant. The results support the researcher's selection of content areas to be included in preservice orientation and her recommendation that a preservice orientation package be developed to provide assistance to center directors who are responsible for training. States' preservice orientation requirements recommend number of hours and content. This study provides a rationale for specific content agreed upon by eminent theorists and practitioners.

No description available.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most infectious diseases globally and is a huge public health concern. In 2016, the Western Cape Province had the fourth highest incidence of TB in South Africa, with 728 new cases per 100 000 population. Effective management of TB includes screening, diagnosis, treatment, control and elimination. The local health authority (municipality) has historically managed tuberculosis in the Cape Metropole but due to the increased TB burden, primary health care (PHC) facilities managed by Metro Health Services (MHS) (provincial government) have recently commenced providing TB services. The challenge that the Cape Metropole is facing, is whether the clinicians in MHS facilities are equipped to manage these patients effectively. Aim: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of clinicians in the screening, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the MHS PHC facilities in the Northern Tygerberg Sub-structure, Cape Town between mid-March 2018 and mid- June 2018.

This study explores the perceptions of health care workers regarding men’s participation in HIV programmes with the objective of identifying factors that may facilitate or hinder the participation of men in such programmes. A sub aim was to explore how perceptions regarding the effects of different constructions of masculinity may be implicated in the ways men respond to HIV programmes. The study was conducted with permission from HIV/AIDS clinics: Thembalethu clinic in the Helen Joseph Hospital, Tshwarisanang couples’ VCT clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital and two Johannesburg University campus clinics. Data was collected using a purposive sample of 8 health care workers. Each participant took part in one-on-one semi-structured interviews, which yielded the results of this study. The data was analysed using thematic content analysis. The results showed that a majority of the health care workers perceived men to be nonparticipatory in HIV programmes. They perceived barriers to men’s participation to be men’s varied perception of fear knowing their HIV status, fear of dying and fear of the emotional consequences of testing positive such as anger and depression. Men also see counselling as a sign of weakness and as a result, they do not participate in HIV programmes. In conclusion, health care workers identified the need to develop new strategies and best suited programmes that promote HIV testing amongst men.

Turnover among direct-care workers in long-term care (LTC) facilities is high, and has a significant impact on residents, leaders, and owners of LTC facilities. The overall turnover costs are also substantial and constitute a significant financial burden in LTC facilities. This systematic review of the literature examined, retention strategies for direct-care workers in the LTC workforce. The information may be used to develop and provide practice recommendations that will help improve retention rates among direct-care workers in LTC facilities. The project design involved a systematic examination of English-only studies from 2001-2004, retrieved from 3 major databases: CINAHL with Medline simultaneous, ProQuest, and Ovid resources. The review led to the identification of 858 publications out of which 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. The manifested variables were critically analyzed and grouped into 8 categories: job training, management style, acknowledgement of accomplishments, career advancements, benefits, peer mentoring, competitive wages and work load. The findings from this systematic review of the literature suggest that several factors affect turnover rates in the LTC setting, including job training, management style, acknowledgement of accomplishments, career advancements, benefits, peer mentoring, competitive wages and work load. This project aims to provide insight to project developers, administrators, researchers, and policy makers concerning factors that affect retention. The information can be used as a catalyst for positive social change and reduce the turnover crisis among direct-care workers in the long-term care setting.

The purpose of this study was to collect information regarding healthcare worker (HCW) vaccination policies in Utah family practice clinics. Data sources: The study was conducted in Utah family practice clinics in the most densely populated counties in the state and was a cross-sectional descriptive design. Data were collected from 155 family practice clinic managers. Analyses included frequencies and percentages for quantitative items and a content analysis for open-ended items. Conclusions: HCWs are employed in environments where infectious diseases can be easily spread from person to person, thus, vaccinations can be instrumental in protecting the health of HCWs and patients alike. In Utah, 56.8% of family practice clinics had either no vaccination policy for HCWs or had a policy with no consequences for noncompliance. Utah family practice clinics need to implement changes to create and maintain HCW vaccination policies. Implications for practice: Nurse practitioners can be leaders and change agents by working with their county and state health departments to create state-wide policies that mirror the position statements from the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

This thesis focuses on the relationship between job satisfaction and union membership of long day care employees in Melbourne and Sydney, and uses the exit-voice/union-voice model as an analytical framework. The data includes surveys of child-care staff and students enrolled in child-care courses, interviews with child-care staff, union officials and employer representatives, and official documentation. While child-care workers report high levels of job satisfaction, it is argued that the considerable ‘exit voice’ of the survey respondents is a demonstration of job dissatisfaction. The reported levels of satisfaction are a manifestation of satisfaction with the intrinsic features of the work (child development outcomes) and the limited employment opportunities of females generally. The exit voice is a manifestation of dissatisfaction with the extrinsic features of the job (pay and career advancement). The thesis failed to detect evidence of a strong relationship between job (dis)satisfaction and union membership, due to the ‘caring profession syndrome’, a perceived lack of union instrumentality, and problems associated with the ability of unions to recruit and organise an industry consisting of over 4,000 small workplaces. The findings show that both staff and students are highly sympathetic towards unions, that working in child-care changes attitudes about work but not unions, and that there exists a strong union voice among child-care workers despite the relative low levels of union membership. The thesis discusses the implications for union organisation so that the supply of union membership might correspond with the demands for this membership, particularly in regard to employee motivations and commitments. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)