This paper highlights the paucity of studies on the psychological distress and care needs of mesothelioma patients and asbestos-exposed subjects. It confirms that malignant mesothelioma is associated with the physical, emotional, and social functioning of patients, while also suggesting that the risk of developing asbestos-related diseases among asbestos-exposed subjects is associated with high levels of psychological distress, despair, and mental health difficulties.
This paper contributes to the literature on organizational interventions on occupational health by presenting a concept study design to test the efficacy of a Participatory Organizational-level Intervention to improve working conditions and job satisfaction in Healthcare. The Participatory Organizational-level Intervention is developed using the Italian methodology to assess and manage psychosocial risks tailored to Healthcare. We added an additional step: evaluation, aiming to examine how the intervention works, what worked for whom and in which circumstances. This ongoing study is conducted in collaboration with two large Italian hospitals (more than 7000 employees). The study design comprises a quasi-experimental approach consisting of five phases and surveys distributed pre- and post-intervention aiming to capture improvements in working conditions and job satisfaction. Moreover, to evaluate the efficacy of the Intervention in terms of process and content, we use a realist evaluation to test Context-Mechanisms-Outcome (CMO) configurations. We collect contextual factors at baseline and during and post-intervention process data on the key principles of line manager support and employees participation. This study is expected to provide insights on methods and strategies to improve working conditions and employees’ job satisfaction and on national policies in the occupational health framework.
Studies on Intervention Process Evaluation are attracting growing attention in the literature on interventions linked to stress and the wellbeing of workers. There is evidence that some elements relating to the process and content of an intervention may have a decisive role in implementing it by facilitating or hindering the effectiveness of the results. This study aimed to provide a process evaluation on interventions to assess and manage risks related to work-related stress using a methodological path offered by INAIL. The final sample is composed of 124 companies participating to an interview on aspects relating to each phase of the INAIL methodological path put in place to implement the intervention. INAIL methodology has been defined as useful in the process of assessing and managing the risks related to work-related stress. Some factors related to the process (e.g., implementation of a preliminary phase, workers' involvement, and use of external consultants) showed a role in significant differences that emerged in the levels of risk, particularly in relation to findings from the preliminary assessment. Main findings provide information on the key aspects of process and content that are useful in implementing an intervention for assessing and managing risks related to work-related stress.
Risk assessment represents an essential part of any successful intervention in health and safety at work. The most prominent European methodologies propose multi-method approaches for identifying the risks associated with work-related stress. Nevertheless, the most widely used method is the self-administered questionnaire. By adapting the UK Management Standards approach, the Italian National Workers Compensation Authority (INAIL) developed a checklist for the assessment of objective and verifiable indicators of work-related stress. This checklist is filled in by a steering group composed of homogenous groups of workers. Through a web-platform developed by INAIL, a considerable amount of data over the last 5 years has been collected throughout Italy. The aims of this study are to examine the psychometric properties as well as the practical validity of the checklist in a wide sample of Italian companies. The sample comprised 5,301 homogeneous groups of workers nested within 1,631 organizations. The checklist measures two main areas: (1) the organizational indicators of work-related stress (sentinel events) and (2) four and six factors related respectively to content and context of work. Multilevel and multivariate analyses revealed that the checklist shows adequate factor structure and criterion validity. Results also demonstrate that small companies and the public and healthcare sector show higher risk levels. These results support the use of the checklist as a structured and generalizable tool for assessing and monitoring the risks associated with work-related stress.
Introduction A disability may add to the challenges faced by young adults during the school-to-work transition. Few studies have examined differences in soft (e.g., scheduling modification) and hard accommodation need (e.g., ergonomic adaptation) among disabled young adults, and the factors associated with accommodation need. Methods An online survey was conducted of 155 Canadian disabled young adults (mean age=25.8±5.1). Respondents were either employed or seeking employment, and recruited using a registry from a national disability organisation. Respondents were asked about their need for 16 soft and hard accommodations. Demographic (e.g., gender), health (e.g., disability type, work limitations), and work characteristics (e.g., work status, hours worked/ week, permenant vs short-term contract) were collected. Participants were also asked about perceived barriers to accessing accommodations using eight items (e.g., disclosure difficulites, cost of accommodation). Multivariable logistic analyses were conducted to examine the factors associated with soft and hard accommodation need. Result Most participants reported psychological (79%) and learning disabilities (45%), and 68% had >1 disability. Over half (55%) were employed at the time of the survey, and 80% worked in non-standard employment conditions (e.g., part-time or short-term work). An average of five perceived accommodation barriers were indicated. More soft accommodations (mean=6.3, 95% CI: 6.00 to 6.30) were needed than hard accommodations (mean=4.9, 95% CI: 4.60 to 5.20). Soft accommodation need was associated with less perceived accommodation barriers (OR=À0.83, 95% CI: 0.73 to 0.94), not working (OR=À0.39, 95% CI: 0.16 to 0.91) and greater work limitations (OR=1.1, 95% CI: 1.01 to 0.12). Hard accommodation need was associated with less perceived accommodation barriers (OR=À0.88, 95% CI: 0.78 to 0.99). Discussion Offering soft accommodations may be a particularly important strategy for organisations to support the employment of disabled young adults. Interventions that address perceived barriers to accessing accommodations may result in a greater requirement for workplace supports that benefit the school-to-work transition.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.