There is increasing recognition of the value added by integrating traditionally separate efforts to protect and promote worker safety and health. This paper presents an innovative conceptual model to guide research on determinants of worker safety and health and to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of integrated approaches to promoting and protecting worker health. This model is rooted in multiple theories and the premise that the conditions of work are important determinants of individual safety and health outcomes and behaviors, and outcomes important to enterprises such as absence and turnover. Integrated policies, programs and practices simultaneously address multiple conditions of work, including the physical work environment and the organization of work (e.g., psychosocial factors, job tasks and demands). Findings from two recent studies conducted in Boston and Minnesota (2009–2015) illustrate the application of this model to guide social epidemiological research. This paper focuses particular attention on the relationships of the conditions of work to worker health-related behaviors, musculoskeletal symptoms, and occupational injury; and to the design of integrated interventions in response to specific settings and conditions of work of small and medium size manufacturing businesses, based on a systematic assessment of priorities, needs, and resources within an organization. This model provides an organizing framework for both research and practice by specifying the causal pathways through which work may influence health outcomes, and for designing and testing interventions to improve worker safety and health that are meaningful for workers and employers, and responsive to that setting’s conditions of work.
Although job stress models suggest that changing the work social environment to increase job resources improves psychological health, many intervention studies have weak designs and overlook influences of family caregiving demands. We tested the effects of an organizational intervention designed to increase supervisor social support for work and nonwork roles, and job control in a results-oriented work environment on the stress and psychological distress of health care employees who care for the elderly, while simultaneously considering their own family caregiving responsibilities. Using a group-randomized organizational field trial with an intent-to-treat design, 420 caregivers in 15 intervention extended-care nursing facilities were compared with 511 caregivers in 15 control facilities at 4 measurement times: preintervention and 6, 12, and 18 months. There were no main intervention effects showing improvements in stress and psychological distress when comparing intervention with control sites. Moderation analyses indicate that the intervention was more effective in reducing stress and psychological distress for caregivers who were also caring for other family members off the job (those with elders and those "sandwiched" with both child and elder caregiving responsibilities) compared with employees without caregiving demands. These findings extend previous studies by showing that the effect of organizational interventions designed to increase job resources to improve psychological health varies according to differences in nonwork caregiving demands. This research suggests that caregivers, especially those with "double-duty" elder caregiving at home and work and "triple-duty" responsibilities, including child care, may benefit from interventions designed to increase work-nonwork social support and job control. (PsycINFO Database Record
Background Nursing homes are occupational settings, with an increasing minority and immigrant workforce where several psychosocial stressors intersect. Aim To examine racial/ethnic differences in job strain between Black (n=127) and White (n=110) immigrant and American direct-care workers at nursing homes (total n=237). Methods Cross-sectional study with data collected at four nursing homes in Massachusetts, during 2006-2007. We contrasted Black and White workers within higher-skilled occupations such as Registered Nurses (RNs) or Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs, n=82) and lower-skilled staff such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs, n=155). Results Almost all Black workers (96 percent) were immigrants. After adjusting for demographic and occupational characteristics, Black employees were more likely to report job strain, compared to Whites (Relative Risk [RR]: 2.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 6.6). Analyses stratified by occupation showed that Black CNAs were more likely to report job strain, compared to White CNAs (RR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.0 to 9.4). Black workers were also more likely to report low control (RR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.0). Additionally, Black workers earned $2.58 less per hour and worked 7.1 more hours per week on average, controlling for potential confounders. Conclusion Black immigrant workers were 2.9 times more likely to report job strain than Whites, with greater differences among CNAs. These differences may reflect organizational and job characteristics, individual characteristics, or potentially interpersonal or institutional racial or ethnic discrimination. Further research should consider the role of race/ethnicity in shaping patterns of occupational stress.
Exposure to workplace abuse may be a risk factor for injuries among hospital workers.
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