News Briefs
News Briefs
Court denies challenge to respiratory standard
Occupational health nurses claim victory
The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a petition by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) challenging language in the Occupa tional Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respiratory protection standard that allowed nonphysicians to perform medical evaluations.
The Arlington Heights, IL-based ACOEM, which represents some 7,000 physicians, had requested a review of the standard’s language that permits nonphysician licensed health care professionals to perform medical evaluations required by the rule. In April 1998, the American Associa tion of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals to become intervening parties in the lawsuit. The registered nurses claimed that the ACOEM challenge would prevent them from being able to practice to the full extent of their licensed qualifications.
OSHA’s respiratory standard requires surveillance activities that include determining if an employee is fit to wear a respirator and ensuring proper fit. Administering an employer’s respirator program, which includes training and assessments, is also part of the standard.
The court ruled that the standard defers to state law on the question of who may provide required medical evaluation services.
"Our primary consideration is the health of workers," says Robert J. McCunney, MD, ACOEM president. "ACOEM is very concerned that the court ruling may result in someone other than a qualified physician making medical diagnoses and medical decisions."
AAOHN and ANA have long supported inclusion of broad-based language in OSHA standards for health surveillance requirements.
"This is a tremendous victory for registered nurses and other professionals trained to provide surveillance," says Deborah V. DiBenedetto, MBA, RN, COHN-S, ABDA, AAOHN president. "The court has recognized that nurses with the expertise, competencies, and training can provide safe, effective surveillance of occupational exposures. States hold the responsibility to regulate the scope in which nurses practice, and trained surveillance is well within our scope."
NIOSH proposes study of needlestick alert
Goal is effective injury prevention tool
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) plans to develop and evaluate an alert concerning the risk of needlestick injuries to health care workers.
In a proposed study, NIOSH will send the six- to 10-page alert to one of two individuals with formal responsibility for employee health and safety in hospitals: directors of health and safety, or directors of infection control.
NIOSH then plans to follow up with a randomly selected sample of 450 hospitals at two points. The alert recipient will be interviewed two to six weeks after the alert was sent, and the other employee health official who did not receive the alert will be interviewed 10 to 14 weeks later. The reason for the second interview is to determine how well the alert information was communicated to all key personnel with responsibility for employee health, explains NIOSH spokesman Fred Blosser.
Goals of the study are to assess whether and under what circumstances the alert encourages hospitals to adopt control measures, and to ascertain whether the information in the alert assists hospitals in implementing control measures, according to a NIOSH spokesman.
Presently in development, the NIOSH needlestick alert will be released sometime this fall. The alert will provide information on the extent of risk and practical guidelines for prevention. (See related story in Hospital Employee Health, March 1999, pp. 25-28.) In planning the alert and study, NIOSH notes the estimate of approximately 800,000 needlestick injuries every year. Needlesticks can expose HCWs to HIV and hepatitis B and C, and account for most occupational transmissions of those pathogens to HCWs.
Angry, depressed workers create serious problems
Violence and low productivity top the list
Recent surveys show that employees who are angry or depressed have become a prevalent problem in the workplace, resulting in low productivity and ever-increasing explosions of violence.
The National Foundation for Brain Research in Washington, DC, says a survey of more than 400 human resource professionals reveals that depression is a common problem among workers, with a significant negative effect on workplace productivity.
"Each year, the United States loses $44 billion to lost productivity and medical treatment related to this illness," says Lawrence S. Hoffheimer, executive director of the foundation.
Only 5% of respondents to the survey indicated that their companies had mental health screening programs, and 39% of the 56% who said workplace depression was severe enough to affect productivity indicated that their company had a mechanism for measuring depression.
In another study presented at a recent meeting of the Academy of Management in Chicago, nearly 25% of 1,000 working adults responding to a telephone survey said they were "generally at least somewhat angry at work." This may help explain recent outbursts of workplace violence, says Donald Gibson, a co-author of the study.
The most common cause of workplace anger is actions of supervisors or managers, he says. Other top causes cited in the study are heavy workloads, dealing with the public, unproductive co-workers, tight deadlines, and being treated badly.
"There has been a lot of downsizing," says Gibson. "A lot of companies are leaner and meaner, and many of the workers who are left feel overworked and underappreciated."
While outbursts of violence often have disastrous consequences, so too can suppressed workplace anger, which has been linked with high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and heart disease.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.