Occupational health nurses’ roles, credentials, and continuing education in Ontario, Canada

The role of the occupational health nurse is broad and includes health care provider, manager/coordinator, educator/advisor, and case manager and consultant, depending on the type of industry and the country in which the nurse practices. Regardless of the type of role, the occupational health nurse must participate in continuing nursing education (CNE) activities. This study describes the roles, credentials, and number of CNE activities undertaken by occupational health nurses working in Ontario, Canada. Using a non-experimental descriptive design, a questionnaire was mailed to all practicing occupational health nurses who are members (n = 900) of a local nursing association. Three hundred fifty-four questionnaires were returned. Nurses reported a variety of roles in the following categories: case management, health promotion, policy development, infection control/travel health, ergonomics, education, research, health and safety, direct care, consultation, disaster preparedness, and industrial hygiene. Sixty-five percent of nurses held an occupational health nurse credential, and 19% of nurses attended more than 100 hours of CNE annually. Occupational health nurses have multiple workplace roles. Many attend CNE activities and they often prepare for credentialing.

The threat to scientific integrity in environmental and occupational medicine

Over the last century, environmental and occupational medicine has played a significant role in the protection and improvement of public health. However, scientific integrity in this field has been increasingly threatened by pressure from some industries and governments. For example, it has been reported that the tobacco industry manipulated eminent scientists to legitimise their industrial positions, irresponsibly distorted risk and deliberately subverted scientific processes, and influenced many organisations in receipt of tobacco funding. Many environmental whistleblowers were sued and encountered numerous personal attacks. In some countries, scientific findings have been suppressed and distorted, and scientific advisory committees manipulated for political purposes by government agencies. How to respond to these threats is an important challenge for environmental and occupational medicine professionals and their societies. The authors recommend that professional organisations adopt a code of ethics that requires openness from public health professionals; that they not undertake research or use data where they do not have freedom to publish their results if these data have public health implications; that they disclose all possible conflicts; that the veracity of their research results should not be compromised; and that their research independence be protected through professional and legal support. The authors furthermore recommend that research funding for public health not be directly from the industry to the researcher. An independent, intermediate funding scheme should be established to ensure that there is no pressure to analyse data and publish results in bad faith. Such a funding system should also provide equal competition for funds and selection of the best proposals according to standard scientific criteria.

Motorcycle protective clothing : protection from injury or just the weather?

Background Apart from helmets, little is known about the effectiveness of motorcycle protective clothing in reducing injuries in crashes. The study aimed to quantify the association between usage of motorcycle clothing and injury in crashes. Methods and findings Cross-sectional analytic study. Crashed motorcyclists (n = 212, 71% of identified eligible cases) were recruited through hospitals and motorcycle repair services. Data was obtained through structured face-to-face interviews. The main outcome was hospitalization and motorcycle crash-related injury. Poisson regression was used to estimate relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals for injury adjusting for potential confounders. Results Motorcyclists were significantly less likely to be admitted to hospital if they crashed wearing motorcycle jackets (RR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.69–0.91), pants (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.25–0.94), or gloves (RR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.26–0.66). When garments included fitted body armour there was a significantly reduced risk of injury to the upper body (RR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66–0.89), hands and wrists (RR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.38–0.81), legs (RR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40–0.90), feet and ankles (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35–0.83). Non-motorcycle boots were also associated with a reduced risk of injury compared to shoes or joggers (RR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.28–0.75). No association between use of body armour and risk of fracture injuries was detected. A substantial proportion of motorcycle designed gloves (25.7%), jackets (29.7%) and pants (28.1%) were assessed to have failed due to material damage in the crash. Conclusions Motorcycle protective clothing is associated with reduced risk and severity of crash related injury and hospitalization, particularly when fitted with body armour. The proportion of clothing items that failed under crash conditions indicates a need for improved quality control. While mandating usage of protective clothing is not recommended, consideration could be given to providing incentives for usage of protective clothing, such as tax exemptions for safety gear, health insurance premium reductions and rebates.

The challenge of working in mental health settings: perceptions of newly graduated occupational therapists

Working in mental health settings is a growing area of practice for occupational therapists. The work nowadays is mostly within the community, where occupational therapists may be found in a wide variety of teams. This study investigated the specific challenges that new graduate occupational therapists are faced with when commencing work in a mental health setting. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 newly graduated occupational therapists, working in mental health settings in south-east Queensland. The interview transcripts were analysed using a consensual qualitative research approach. Three domains were identified from the transcripts. The first related to the ideas of the participants about the skills and knowledge needed by new graduates commencing mental health practice; the second related to the extent to which undergraduate studies had prepared them for practice; and the third related to the means by which they acquired capacity to practise and overcame deficits in skills and knowledge. The core ideas and themes associated with these domains are examined and the implications of the findings for education and training and for orientation to practice are discussed.