Amir Hussein Khoshakhlagh; Mohammad Ghasemi
Volume 19, Issue 5 , May 2017, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
Background: Hearing impairment (HI), resulting from noise exposure, can be incapacitating and irreversible.Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the relationship between noise exposure and HI among workers and employees in a spinning industry.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted ...
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Background: Hearing impairment (HI), resulting from noise exposure, can be incapacitating and irreversible.Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the relationship between noise exposure and HI among workers and employees in a spinning industry.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 489 workers in a spinning industry in Iran during 2015. The census method was applied for the purpose of sampling. The hearing threshold of each ear was determined during work shifts, using Madsenaudiometric device. HI was calculated, based on the guidelines by the American Medical Association (AMA). The effects of different variables on HI were assessed via regression analysis.Results: The mean noise level at workplace was 88.87 ± 13.6 dB. The highest noise level in the sampled worksites was observed in the ring spinning section (94.1 ± 3.2 dB). Based on the results, maximum HI in both ears was 41%. The findings showed a significant relationship between HI and noise level, age, educational level, and work shift. Also, a linear equation was proposed in which each dB increase in noise level resulted in an approximately 0.5% decline in HI.Conclusions: By introducing an equation, this study demonstrated that spinning workers, who are exposed to relatively high noise levels, are at risk of major HI. In addition, a number of potential contributing factors, including age, work experience, occupation, and work shift, were correlated with HI.
Majid Bagheri Hossein Abadi; Hesam Akbari; Hamed Akbari; Mohammad Gholami-Fesharaki; Mohammad Ghasemi
Volume 19, Issue 4 , April 2017, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
Introduction: Adverse patient outcomes have become a big concern in the quality of healthcare. Different factors can have an impact on the variety and rate of adverse patient outcomes.Objectives: The present study aimed at determining the rate of patient safety during events and evaluating nursing workloads ...
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Introduction: Adverse patient outcomes have become a big concern in the quality of healthcare. Different factors can have an impact on the variety and rate of adverse patient outcomes.Objectives: The present study aimed at determining the rate of patient safety during events and evaluating nursing workloads as well as identifying the main factors that affect the incidence rate of patient safety events among nurses.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 293 nurses working in 24 wards of Baqiyatallah hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. The sampling method was stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which was classified into 4 subtitles: Individual and organizational characteristics, perceived subjective, objective workloads, and some patient safety events during the past 6 months. Binary and multiple regressions were used to survey the relationship between variables using the SPSS Version 23 software.Results: Bloodstream infection, pressure ulcer, and patient falls were themost reported adverse outcomes during the past 6months with 76.1%, 66.2%, and 59%, respectively. At least one of the 6 adverse outcomes was reported by nurses within the range of 45%-77%. Of all individual characteristics, the only significant relationship occurred between work experience and bloodstream infection (P value = 0.28 and 0.32). No significant relationship was detected between adverse patient outcomes and objective workloads. Regression models revealed that the subjective workload of adverse patient outcomes increased with making adjustments in the individual and organizational characteristics. The incidence rates of adverse outcomes were 5.69-9.78 times more than the fixed shifts in all rotational shift works.Conclusions: The nurses reported a high incidence rate of all patient safety events, and the results revealed that the objective workload could not be a predictor for patient adverse events. According to the findings, subjective workload and work shift were significantly related to the incidence rate of adverse patient events. In conclusion, good regulation of sleep-wake cycles can be an important factor for decreasing the rate of adverse patient events.
Hamed Akbari; Hesam Akbari; Majid Bagheri Hossein Abadi; Mohammad Gholami Fesharaki; Mohammad Ghasemi
Volume 19, Issue 2 , February 2017, , Pages 1-8
Abstract
Background: Manual handling of patients without using proper devices built for this purpose is the most important risk factor causing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among nursing staff.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of MSDs, assess the risk of manual handling ...
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Background: Manual handling of patients without using proper devices built for this purpose is the most important risk factor causing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among nursing staff.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of MSDs, assess the risk of manual handling of patients, and identify the risk factors related to the development of such disorders among nursing staff.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 and included 220 nurses from 24 wards who were working in Baqiyatallah hospital, Tehran, Iran; their duties mainly involved patient handling. The participants were selected based on the random stratified samplingmethod. In this study, the Nordicmusculoskeletal questionnaire, demographic questionnaire,movimentazione and assistenza di pazienti ospedalizzati (MAPO), and patient transfer assessment instrument (PTAI) methods were applied as data collection tools. In addition, Spearman correlation coefficients and binary and multiple logistic regressions were used to determine the possible relationships between the variables.Results: The prevalence of MSDs among the participants over the past 12months was found to be 79.5%. The results for the risk factors showed that the lower back, neck, shoulders, and upper back were the most affected areas of the body. According to the MAPO and PTAI, 60% and 40% of the wards, respectively, are at risk of MSDs. A significant relationship between MAPO and PTAI was found, with a coefficient correlation of 0.252. Based on the statistical analysis, positively significant relationships were found between body mass index, gender, nurse-to-bed ratio, final PTAI and MAPO indices, and MSDs.Conclusions: The prevalence of MSDs among the nurses was high, and the occurrence of such disorders was found to be related to the scores of MAPO and PTAI indices. Based on the results, these two indices can be used as appropriate tools to assess the risk of MSDs in patient handling by nursing staff. The risk of developing MSDs can be lowered through interventional programs, such as providing and equipping hospitals with the tools required for patient handling and educating staff on how to properly use such devices. In addition, increasing the nurse-to-bed ratio will lower the burden for the nurses in patient handling.
