Sexual harassment over the telephone: Occupational risk at call centers

The phenomenon of sexually harassing telephone calls in the workplace has been studied only marginally. In the present study 106 employees working in call centres in Germany answered a questionnaire regarding their experiences of sexual harassment over the telephone. The following data are presented: description of the phenomenon, i.e. prevalence and characteristics, stress reactions of the victims, behavioural reactions and coping strategies, consequences and anticipated consequences; prediction of the stress reactions by characteristics of the situation; and employees' recommendations for coping with sexually harassing calls. It was found that the female employees were more often sexually harassed over the telephone at work than their male colleagues. Three out of four female employees had experienced sexually harassing telephone calls; in the majority of cases the harassers were men. Characteristic patterns of harassment included groaning, sexual insults, silence, and threats of sexual violence. Some 16% of the harassed female employees described these experiences as extremely stressful. If the harassment contained threats of sexual violence and groaning, the perceived physical response was stronger. Being subjected to sexual harassment over the telephone both at home and at work was a more severe stress than having the experience only in the workplace. In conclusion, employees' recommendations for coping with the occurrence of sexually harassing calls are described.

Comparison between two caller groups of a medical call centre in Switzerland

OBJECTIVES: The incidence distribution of triage advice in the medical call centre Medi24 and the pattern of service utilisation were analysed with respect to two groups of callers with different insurance schemes. Individuals having contracted insurance of the Medi24 model could use the telephone consultation service of the medical call centre Medi24 (mainly part of the mandatory basic health insurance) voluntarily and free of charge whereas individuals holding an insurance policy of the Telmed model (special contract within the mandatory basic health insurance with a premium discount ranging from 8% to 12%) were obliged to have a telephone consultation before arranging an appointment with a medical doctor. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the medical call centre Medi24 based on all triage datasets of the Medi24 and Telmed groups collected during the one year period from July 1st 2005 to June 30th 2006. The distribution of the six different urgency levels within the two groups and their respective pattern of service utilisation was determined. In a multivariable logistic regression model the Odds Ratio for every enquiry originating from the Telmed group versus those originating from the Medi24 group was calculated. RESULTS: During a one-year period 48 388 triage requests reached the medical call centre Medi24, 56% derived from the Telmed group and 44% from the Medi24 group. Within the Medi24 group more than 25% of the individuals received self-care advice, within the Telmed group, on the other hand, only about 18% received such advice. In contrast, 27% of the Telmed triage requests but only 18% of the Medi24 triage requests resulted in the advice to make a routine appointment with a medical doctor. The probability that an individual of the Telmed group obtained the advice to go to the accident and emergency department was lower than for an individual of the Medi24 group (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.60-0.99). Likewise, the probability of self-care advice was decreased in regard to the Medi24 group (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.75-0.85). However, regarding the advice to make a routine appointment with a medical doctor, the Telmed group was represented more frequently than the Medi24 group (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.28-1.44). CONCLUSION: In respect of the triage advice, the Telmed group differed significantly from the Medi24 group within all urgency levels. The differences between the two groups in respect of the advice given were still less pronounced than expected against the background of their different contract conditions and the disparate temporal pattern of utilisation. We interprete this finding with the fact that appraising the urgency of health problems appropriately seems to be very difficult for the majority of people seeking advice.

Call for uniform neuropsychological assessment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: Swiss recommendations.

BACKGROUND In a high proportion of patients with favorable outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), neuropsychological deficits, depression, anxiety, and fatigue are responsible for the inability to return to their regular premorbid life and pursue their professional careers. These problems often remain unrecognized, as no recommendations concerning a standardized comprehensive assessment have yet found entry into clinical routines. METHODS To establish a nationwide standard concerning a comprehensive assessment after aSAH, representatives of all neuropsychological and neurosurgical departments of those eight Swiss centers treating acute aSAH have agreed on a common protocol. In addition, a battery of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests was selected, optimally suited to the deficits found most prevalent in aSAH patients that was available in different languages and standardized. RESULTS We propose a baseline inpatient neuropsychological screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) between days 14 and 28 after aSAH. In an outpatient setting at 3 and 12 months after bleeding, we recommend a neuropsychological examination, testing all relevant domains including attention, speed of information processing, executive functions, verbal and visual learning/memory, language, visuo-perceptual abilities, and premorbid intelligence. In addition, a detailed assessment capturing anxiety, depression, fatigue, symptoms of frontal lobe affection, and quality of life should be performed. CONCLUSIONS This standardized neuropsychological assessment will lead to a more comprehensive assessment of the patient, facilitate the detection and subsequent treatment of previously unrecognized but relevant impairments, and help to determine the incidence, characteristics, modifiable risk factors, and the clinical course of these impairments after aSAH.