It is important to reduce occupational stress in nurses and to strengthen their coping resources to prevent burnout. This could be achieved with job redesign, modification of shiftwork systems, and by offering occupational health education.

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of the job burnout of doctors and the variables associated with this in China. The sample consisted of 543 doctors from three provincial hospitals in China. The Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI‐GS) was used to measure burnout, and the occupational stress inventory revised edition was used to measure the two dimensions of occupational adjustment (including occupational stress and coping resources). After the statistical testing for validity and reliability of MBI‐GS with nurses in China, the participants' scores were evaluated and analysed. The main results were as follows. The scores of job burnout of the surgeon and physician were significantly higher than the others (p < 0.05). The score of exhaustion (EX) was significantly higher in the 30‐ to 40‐year age group than that in any other groups. The score of professional efficacy (PE) decreased with age, while this increased with educational status. Occupational stress was significantly positively related to all burnout dimensions (p < 0.05), while coping resources correlated negatively to all burnout dimensions. Under multilevel regression, the main significant predictors of EX were role overload, responsibility, physical environment and self‐care. The main significant predictors of cynicism were role insufficiency, role overload and responsibility, and of PE were role insufficiency, social support and rational/cognitive coping (p < 0.05). Organizational efforts aimed at reducing occupational stress and strengthening their coping resources among doctors could help prevent job burnout. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objectives This 37-year prospective cohort study was undertaken to provide additional evidence for mortality risks associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos. Methods 577 asbestos workers and 435 control workers in original cohorts were followed from 1972 to 2008, achieving a follow-up rate of 99% and 73%, respectively. Morality rates were determined based on person-years of observation. Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to estimate HRs of causespecific mortality, while taking into account age, smoking and asbestos exposure level. Results There were 259 (45%) deaths identified in the asbestos cohort, and 96 died of all cancers. Lung cancer (n¼53) and non-malignant respiratory diseases (n¼81) were major cause-specific deaths, in contrast to nine lung cancers and 11 respiratory diseases in the controls. Age and smoking-adjusted HRs for mortality by all causes and all cancers in asbestos workers were 2.05 (95% CI 1.56 to 2.68) and 1.89 (1.25 to 2.87), respectively. The risks for lung cancer and respiratory disease deaths in asbestos workers were over threefold that in the controls (HR 3.31 (95% CI 1.60 to 6.87); HR 3.23 (95% CI 1.68 to 6.22), respectively). There was a clear exposureeresponse trend with asbestos exposure level and lung cancer mortality in both smokers and non-smokers. Conclusion Data from this prospective cohort provide strong evidence for increased mortality risks, particularly from lung cancer and non-malignant respiratory diseases, associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos, while taking into account of the smoking effect.Asbestos, a recognised hazard in both occupational and environmental settings, has been responsible for millions of deaths worldwide.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions on occupational stress among teachers in middle schools. The study group consists of 459 teachers (247 men and 212 women) from four middle schools. The control group consists of 502 teachers (271 men and 231 women). The three dimensions of occupational adjustment (including occupational stress, psychological strain, and coping resources) were measured with the Occupational Stress Inventory‐Revised Edition (OSI‐R) and the work ability was assessed with the Work Ability Index (WAI) among teachers. The integrated interventions (involving organizational and individual level intervention) were taken to the teachers in the study group. The main results were as follows. The scores of some scales of occupational role questionnaire and personal strain questionnaire decreased significantly and the scores of some scales of personal resources questionnaire and WAI increased significantly after intervening. This study suggested that interventions were efficient in reducing the teachers' occupational stressors, increased their coping resources and improved their work ability. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

WAI is validated in Chinese occupational practices. Some reference data are different from Finnish data. This study provides gender, age and work-content-specific WAI reference values that will help enable comparison and intervention evaluation in further studies.