- Stress among nurses from countries variously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – results collected in Poland and Iran
Nursing involves numerous stressful situations, such as overwork, night shifts, responsibility for the patients’ health, rapid pace of work, emotional demands, contact with suffering individuals, and patients’ aggressive behaviors. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is an additional demand on the already demanding profession. Thus, the aim of the current study was to assess the character of the relationship between overwork and subjectively experienced stress, taking into account the moderating role of contact with patients and work in facilities dedicated for COVID-19 patients, and the strategies of coping with stress, including resilience, in countries affected by the pandemic to various degrees.
- Predictors of the feeling of stress in the aviation sector
Employees in the aviation sector constitute an especially interesting professional group due to a lack of empirical data on their psychological functioning, and the fact that this industry is currently experiencing a phase of dynamic development. However, taking into consideration the automation and specific qualities of the sector, human resources should be given much more attention as they are constantly challenged and face diverse difficulties at work while cooperating in various organic and non-organic teams.
- Stress and self-efficacy as specific predictors of safety at work in the aviation sector
The article addresses the issue of attitudes towards safety at work in the context of subjective variables such as psychological stress and the subjective self-efficacy of workers in the aviation sector. The research was exploratory in nature. It focused on capturing the individual experiences of ground handling staff at Polish and Slovak airports. Among the 326 people surveyed were engineers, firefighters, mechanics and electricians – a crew that works in difficult and threatening working conditions on a daily basis, often experiencing unexpected accidents and breakdowns. The psychosocial factors in industry 4.0 and this branch of industry itself are – according to the authors – verified empirically quite poorly. Taking care of safety at work and strengthening a positive attitude towards safety seems to be a key aspect of management in such units.
- Evaluation of exposure to nano-sized particles among transport and vehicle service workers
Exposure to fine and ultrafine particles from transport processes is a main consequence of emissions from engines, especially those with self-ignition. The particles released in these processes are a source of occupational and environmental particles exposure. The aim of this study was to assess the fine and nano-sized particles emission degree during work connected with transport and vehicle servicing.
- Exposure of military unit employees to carcinogens in the work environment in 2018–2019
The aim of this study was to analyze the data on the exposure of military personnel to chemical substances, ionizing radiation and technological processes with carcinogenic effects.
- Selected dimensions of personality and occupational burnout in the group of professional firefighters and volunteers
The aim of the research was to establish the role and relationships between selected personality dimensions and occupational burnout among professional firefighters and volunteers. Working in risky conditions, they are exposed not only to the loss of health, but also life. Such working conditions may be related to occupational burnout, consisting in the mental exhaustion of the employee.
- Tests on the correct placement of earplugs in the ear canal using a portable device
The aim of the research was to assess the correctness of placing anti-noise plugs in the ear canal by people with different knowledge in this field. The use of hearing protectors reduces the risk of hearing damage, which is in line with the issues of environmental engineering.
- Ozone disinfection of community pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic as a possible preventive measure for infection spread
The COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the major global health and economic challenges. An efficient method for reducing the transmission of the virus is a still unmet medical need. Existing experimental data have shown that coronavirus survival is negatively impacted by ozone, high temperature, and low humidity. Therefore, it is feasible to use area ozonation in pharmacies – the front line of the healthcare system. Nevertheless, further work is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone disinfection to reduce the transmission of this virus in pharmacies, hospitals, and other public environments.
- Risk of chronic diseases limiting longevity and healthy aging by lifestyle and socio-economic factors during the life-course – a narrative review
The review provides a comprehensive summary of existing literature focusing on the most serious risk factors of non-communicable diseases and collects current knowledge on their distribution, determinants, clusters, psychological and socio-economic consequences. Especially, the life-course approach is stressed, early life consequences of the later onset of chronic diseases, the risk behavior and its social, socio-economic and psychosocial determination is reviewed. Potential of preventing these harmful consequences has a lifelong approach. The aim is to demonstrate the opportunity for future health system transformation in terms of public health prevention regarding the non-communicable diseases. It is concluded that personalized lifestyle medicine should address a patient’s health by empowering them with the information they need to regain control of their health. Preventive methods should be tailored for each patient, considering such patient’s specific genes, environment, lifestyle, early life factors and social patterns of risk factors to avoid burden of health in later age. Intervention and preventive measures should target not only to individual factors but should reflect wider social, psychosocial and socio-economic consequences. It is also crucial from the point of view of public health to consider data on exposome, which are not included in epidemiological studies as well as its impact on health in the context of non-communicable diseases.
Medycyna Pracy (Occupational Medicine) - full list