Type a Behavior and Your Heart

Aline Drapeau1,2,3, Alain Marchand4,5 and Dominic Beaulieu-Prevost6 1Departement de psychiatrie – Universite de Montreal 2Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin – Hopital Louis. H. Lafontaine 3Departement de medecine sociale et preventive – Universite de Montreal 4Ecole de relations industrielles – Universite de Montreal 5Institut de recherche en sante publique – Universite de Montreal 6Departement de sexologie – Universite du Quebec a Montreal Canada

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Epidemiology of Psychological Distress

http://hstaskforce.govt.nz/consultation/consultation-submissions/Kirsten%20Bendix%20Olsen%20(Part%20B).pdf

Occupational musculoskeletal and mental health: Significance of rationalization and opportunities to create sustainable production systems ― A systematic review

Background
Nurses are at very high risk for work-related musculoskeletal injury/disorders (MSD) with low back pain/injury being the most frequently occurring MSD. Nurses are also likely to work extended schedules (long hours, on-call, mandatory overtime, working on days off). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of extended work schedules in nurses to MSD.

Methods
Using a longitudinal, three wave survey of 2,617 registered nurses, Wave 1 work schedule data were related to neck, shoulder, and back (MSD) cases occurring in Waves 2 or 3.

Results
Schedule characteristics increasing MSD risk included 13+ hour/days, off-shifts, weekend work, work during time off (while sick, on days off, without breaks), and overtime/on-call. These increases in risk were not explained by psychological demands, but were largely explained by physical demands.

Conclusions
Adverse schedules are significantly related to nurse MSD. Healthier schedules, less overtime, and reducing work on days off would minimize risk and recovery time. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Longitudinal relationship of work hours, mandatory overtime, and on‐call to musculoskeletal problems in nurses

In adult correctional facilities, correctional officers (COs) are responsible for the safety and security of the facility in addition to aiding in offender rehabilitation and preventing recidivism. COs experience higher rates of job stress and burnout that stem from organizational stressors, leading to negative outcomes for not only the CO but the organization as well. Effective interventions could aim at targeting organizational stressors in order to reduce these negative outcomes as well as COs’ job stress and burnout. This paper fills a gap in the organizational stress literature among COs by systematically reviewing the relationship between organizational stressors and CO stress and burnout in adult correctional facilities. In doing so, the present review identifies areas that organizational interventions can target in order to reduce CO job stress and burnout. A systematic search of the literature was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts. All retrieved articles were independently screened based on criteria developed a priori. All included articles underwent quality assessment. Organizational stressors were categorized according to Cooper and Marshall’s (1976) model of job stress. The systematic review yielded 8 studies that met all inclusion and quality assessment criteria. The five categories of organizational stressors among correctional officers are: stressors intrinsic to the job, role in the organization, rewards at work, supervisory relationships at work and the organizational structure and climate. The organizational structure and climate was demonstrated to have the most consistent relationship with CO job stress and burnout. The results of this review indicate that the organizational structure and climate of correctional institutions has the most consistent relationship with COs’ job stress and burnout. Limitations of the studies reviewed include the cross-sectional design and the use of varying measures for organizational stressors. The results of this review indicate that interventions should aim to improve the organizational structure and climate of the correctional facility by improving communication between management and COs.

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Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a systematic review

Background In the last 15 years, the health care system has undergone significant restructuring. The study’s objective was to examine the psychosocial work environment and the health of nurses after major restructuring in comparison with two reference populations. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 2,006 nurses from 16 health centers. A questionnaire measured current work characteristics: psychological demands, decision latitude, and social support at work from Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire, organizational changes, and health effects. Prevalence ratios and binomial regression were used to examine the associations between current work characteristics, changes and psychological distress (PSI). Results There was a considerable increase in the prevalence of PSI and of adverse psychosocial work factors in comparison to the prevalence reported by a comparable group of nurses in 1994. These adverse factors were also more prevalent among nurses

Health care restructuring, work environment, and health of nurses.

Position du probleme Au cours des dernieres annees, l’association entre l’environnement psychosocial au travail et la prevalence des problemes de sante mentale a ete largement documentee. Le modele de la tension au travail developpe par Karasek et Theorell et celui du desequilibre efforts/reconnaissance au travail de Siegrist ont, entre autres, ete associes a une serie d’effets sur la sante physique et mentale. Au Quebec au cours des dix dernieres annees, le secteur des services de detention a connu une importante augmentation des reclamations concernant les indemnites de maladie pour des problemes de sante mentale. L’etude presentee visait d’une part a decrire les caracteristiques psychosociales du travail et la sante des agents des services de detention quebecois, et d’autre part a determiner les facteurs professionnels associes a la detresse psychologique chez ces agents. Methodes Une recherche de type transversal a ete realisee aupres de 1 034 agents des services de detention dans 18 etablissements de detention a travers le Quebec, 668 hommes et 366 femmes. Le taux de participation a ete de 76 %. La demande psychologique, la latitude decisionnelle, le soutien social au travail, la reconnaissance au travail ainsi que la detresse psychologique ont ete mesures par le biais d’entretiens telephoniques au cours du printemps 2000. Resultats Les agents des services de detention etaient beaucoup plus exposes aux contraintes psychosociales au travail qu’une population de reference comparable et ils declaraient egalement plus de problemes de sante. Les resultats ont montre que les meme sources de detresse psychologique affectaient les hommes et les femmes, mais parfois a des degres differents. Une demande psychologique elevee combinee a une latitude decisionnelle faible ou elevee, et le desequilibre entre les efforts fournis au travail et la reconnaissance obtenue etaient associes a la detresse psychologique independamment des facteurs potentiellement confondants. Le faible soutien social des collegues et des superieurs et les conflits avec les collegues et les superieurs etaient aussi associes a la detresse psychologique. Conclusion Cette etude a permis d’identifier plusieurs facteurs de l’environnement psychosocial au travail associes a la detresse psychologique des agents en services de detention, sur lesquels il est possible d’intervenir dans une perspective de prevention primaire des problemes de sante mentale au travail.

Les caractéristiques du travail et la santé des agents en services de détention

In the risk society, managing health risks underlines a social tension between a logic of rationalization and a logic of subjectivation. In the former, techno-scientific thought dominates and induces a certain form of dependence on scientific experts while, in the latter, the individuals tend to be seen to make independent choices to protect their health. This article examines the logics of the actors in the risk management process from a constructivist perspective. According to Dubet's sociology of experience, social experience is structured around three logics: the logic of integration, i.e. the social world seen through the membership group, role and social relations; the strategic logic, i.e. the social world seen as a market; and the logic of subjectivation, i.e. the ability to be a subject, to distance oneself from the surrounding world and to give meaning to one's actions and decisions. Our qualitative research involved the analysis of the discourse of workers and employers in relation to the risk ...

Risk, Control and Gender: Reconciling Production and Reproduction in the Risk Society

Depuis quelques annees, le reseau de la sante quebecois traverse une periode de transformation importante qui vise la reduction des couts et une meilleure efficience. La presente etude avait comme objectif de decrire les effets de la transformation du reseau sur la vie professionnelle et la sante des infirmieres de l'agglomeration de Quebec. Malgre Ie devis transversal de l'etude qui ne permet pas de faire des liens de cause a effet et malgre le fait qu'elle ne s'adressait qu'aux infirmieres qui etaient toujours a l'emploi des etablissements, la recherche montre une augmentation de la prevalence d'un niveau eleve de detresse psychologique chez les infirmieres depuis le debut de la transformation. Des interventions dans les milieux de travail devraient s'appuyer sur les facteurs professionnels identifies par de nombreuses infirmieres de l'etude comme etant problematiques.

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Romaine Malenfant

Papers

Health care restructuring, work environment, and health of nurses.

Les caractéristiques du travail et la santé des agents en services de détention

Risk, Control and Gender: Reconciling Production and Reproduction in the Risk Society

La vie professionnelle et la santé des infirmières depuis la transformation du réseau de la santé

Vers une nouvelle conception de l'«idéaltype» du travailleur?