This book reports on the state of the art in physical ergonomics and is concerned with the design of products, process, services, and work systems to assure their productive, safe, and satisfying use by people. With focus on the human body's responses to physical and physiological work demands, repetitive strain injuries from repetition, vibration, force, and posture are the most common types of issues examined, along with their design implications. The book explores a wide range of topics in physical ergonomics, which includes the consequences of repetitive motion, materials handling, workplace safety, and usability in the use of portable devices, design, working postures, and the work environment. Mastering physical ergonomics and safety engineering concepts is fundamental to the creation of products and systems that people are able to use, as well as the avoidance of stresses and minimization of the risk of accidents. Based on the AHFE 2017 Conference on Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors, July 17-21, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, USA, this book provides readers with a comprehensive view of the current challenges in Physical Ergonomics, which are a critical aspect in the design of any human-centered technological system, and factors influencing human performance.

This book discusses the latest advances in human factors and ergonomics, focusing on methods for improving quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness in patient care. By emphasizing the physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects of human factors and ergonomics applications, it presents various perspectives, including those of clinicians, patients, health organizations, and insurance providers. The book describes cutting-edge applications, highlighting best practices for staff interactions with patients, as well as interactions with computers and medical devices. It also presents new findings related to improved organizational outcomes in healthcare settings, and approaches to modeling and analysis specifically targeting those work aspects unique to healthcare. Based on the AHFE 2017 International Conference on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare and Medical Devices, held on July 17-21, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, USA, the book is intended as a timely reference guide for both researchers involved in the design of healthcare systems and devices and for healthcare professionals working to deliver safe and effective health service. Moreover, by providing a useful survey of cutting-edge methods for improving organizational outcomes in healthcare settings, the book also represents a source of inspiration for healthcare counselors and international health organizations.

This concise volume analyzes the potential for the workplace environment-where so many people spend so much of their day-to improve workers' capacity for health and wellness. It pinpoints the link between sedentary lifestyles and poor health, and explores the role of office spatial design in encouraging physical activity to promote physical activity, health and prevent disease. The featured research study tracks workers' movement in a variety of office layouts, addressing possible ways movement-friendly design can co-exist with wireless communication, paperless offices, and new corporate concepts of productivity. From these findings, the author's conclusions extend public health concepts to recognize that influencing population-wide levels of activity through office architectural design alone may be possible. This SpringerBrief is comprised of chapters on : Physical activity and disease: Theory and practice Space-use and the history of the office building Identifying factors of the office architectural design that influence movement, Interdisciplinary research methods in studying worker physical activity, decision-making and office design characteristics The KINESIS model for simulating physical activity in office environments The questions and potential for solutions in Workplace Environmental Design in Architecture for Public Health will interest and inform researchers in interdisciplinary topics of public health and architecture as well as graduate and post-graduate students, architects, economists, managers, businesses as well as health-conscious readers.

FA1/4hrende Experten geben Einblick in die grundlegenden Prozesse der toxikologischen Regulierung. Die wichtigen Fragen zu Risikoanalyse, Risikobewertung und Risikomanagement werden jeweils in einem eigenen Kapitel beantwortet. Weitere Themen gelten den neuesten Arbeitsmethoden und Beurteilungsgrundlagen, dem Spannungsfeld zwischen naturwissenschaftlichen Argumenten und weltanschaulichen Aspekten sowie den Grundlagen von Gesundheits-, Verbraucher-, Umwelt- und Arbeitsschutz. Ein "Muss" fA1/4r alle, die in BehArden, Industrie, UniversitAten oder anderen Institutionen mit der toxikologischen Beurteilung und Beratung befasst sind.

This authoritative reference examines the causes of--and offers workable solutions to--the widespread problem of musculoskeletal injuries among armed forces personnel. Specific chapters on combat, non-combat, training, and fitness injuries shed necessary light on the nature and scope of the epidemic, including impact on active service members and the resulting quality of life issues in veterans. An overview of these injuries by anatomic region highlights treatment, disability, and prevention issues in military settings. The book also translates the standard public health model for preventing injuries into military context, giving professionals guidelines for developing strategies tailored to the unique strengths and risks of this population. Featured in the coverage: * The burden of musculoskeletal injuries in the military. * Traumatic combat injuries. * Deployment and non-battle injuries. * Epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries by anatomic region. * Application of the public health model for injury prevention. * Barriers to injury prevention in the military. Its depth of detail makes Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Military critical reading for orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers, military leaders, military and VA healthcare staff including physicians and policymakers, public health and injury prevention professionals, occupational health and safety professionals, musculoskeletal injury and disease researchers, and veterans' health advocacy groups.

Maximizing reader insights into a new movement toward leadership approaches that are collaborated and shared,  and which views Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and performance excellence within the wider examination of leadership relationships and practices, this book argues that these relationships and processes are so central to the establishment of OSH functioning that studying them warrants a broad, cross-disciplinary, multiple method analysis. Exploring the complexity of leadership by the impact that contexts (e.g., national and organizational culture) may have on leaders, this book discusses the related literature, then moves forward to show how a more comprehensive practical approach to Occupational Safety and Health and performance excellence can function on levels pertaining to events, individuals, groups, and organizations. This book proposes that greater clarity in understanding leadership in Occupational Safety and Health and performance excellence can be developed from addressing two fundamental issues. Firstly, how do subunit inputs and processes combine to produce unit-level outcomes and how does leadership affect this process? Secondly, how do the leaders influence the way that individual-level inputs are combined to produce organizational outputs. In these issues, the alternative methodologies that allow precise measurement of organizational outputs in OSH and performance excellence are reviewed. To help readers navigate through the best practices, each chapter contains Question Guidelines, Exercises and Case studies which illustrate the concepts discussed and which serves to highlight the key evidence demonstrating that collaborative leadership can positively affect individual, group, and organizational level outcomes, including organizational OSH and performance excellence.

This progressive reference redefines qualitative research as a crucial component of evidence-based practice and assesses its current and future impact on healthcare. Its introductory section explains the value of sociocultural context in case conceptualization, and ways this evidence can be integrated with quantitative findings to inform and transform practice. The bulk of the book's chapters review qualitative research in diverse areas, including pain, trauma, heart disease, COPD, and disabling conditions, and examine ways of effectively evaluating and applying qualitative data. This seismic shift in perception moves the healing professions away from traditional one-size-fits-all thinking and toward responsive, patient-centered care. Among the topics in the Handbook: *Examining qualitative alternatives to categorical representation. *The World Health Organization model of health: what evidence is needed? *Qualitative research in mental health and mental illness. *Qualitative evidence in pediatrics. *The contribution of qualitative research to medication adherence. *Qualitative evidence in health policy analysis. The Handbook of Qualitative Health Research for Evidence-Based Practice offers health and clinical psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, occupational and physical therapists, nurses, family physicians and other primary care providers new ways for understanding patients' health-related experiences and opens up new ways for developing interventions intended to improve health outcomes.

This comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis focuses on the clinical and occupational intervention processes enabling workers to return to their jobs and sustain employment after injury or serious illness as well as ideas for improving the wide range of outcomes of entry and re-entry into the workplace. Information is accessible along key theoretical, research, and interventive lines, emphasizing a palette of evidence-informed approaches to return to work and stay at work planning and implementation, in the context of disability prevention. Condition-specific chapters detail best return to work and stay at work practices across diverse medical and psychological diagnoses, from musculoskeletal disorders to cancer, from TBI to PTSD. The resulting collection bridges the gap between research evidence and practice and gives readers necessary information from a range of critical perspectives. Among the featured topics: Understanding motivation to return to work: economy of gains and losses. Overcoming barriers to return to work: behavioral and cultural change. Program evaluation in return to work: an integrative framework. Working with stakeholders in return to work processes. Return to work after major limb loss. Improving work outcomes among cancer survivors.Return to work among women with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The Handbook of Return to Work is an invaluable, unique and comprehensive resource for health, rehabilitation, clinical, counselling and industrial psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, occupational and physical therapists, family and primary care physicians, psychiatrists and physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as occupational medicine specialists, case and disability managers and human resource professionals. Academics and researchers across these fields will also find expert guidance and direction in these pages. It is an essential reading for all return to work and stay at work stakeholders.

This book is a comprehensive guide to occupational factors of malignant diseases. It discusses potentially work-related malignancies, in the context of exposure assessment, specific clinical and pathological features of occupational cancer and biomarkers of exposure and disease. Epidemiological data about risk ratios of the cancer in question are reviewed for various occupations and with exposure to specific carcinogens, carcinogenic mechanisms, host susceptibility factors (genetic and other) and other environmental and life-style risk factors. Aspects such as surveillance of workers exposed to carcinogens and strategies for prevention of occupational cancer are also discussed. Occupational Cancers is aimed at oncologists, pathologists, residents in training, clinical researchers, clinicians in occupational health, epidemiologists, pulmonologists, lawyers and public health officials.

Including practical advice on how to conduct a stress audit and how to target stress 'hot spots' within an organization, Organizational Stress Management provides a fresh strategic model for the manager concerned with the negative effects stress can have both on company performance and the quality of life of individuals at work.

This book discusses the latest findings towards ensuring people's safety, health, and welfare at work. It crosses different disciplines, such as work physiology, health informatics, workplace design, injury prevention, and occupational psychology. It presents new strategies for safety management, including accident prevention methods, such as performance testing and participatory ergonomics. The book, which is based on the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Safety Management and Human Factors, held on July 27-31, 2016, in Walt Disney World (R), Florida, USA, provides readers, including decision makers in government and public authorities, with a timely snapshot of the state of the art in the field of safety, health and welfare management. It also addresses agencies such as OSHA and NIOSH as well as other professionals dealing with occupational safety and health.

This book addresses the complexity of preventing, diagnosing, and treating musculoskeletal pain and disability disorders in the workplace. Divided evenly between common occupational pain disorders, conceptual and methodological issues, and evidence-based intervention methods, this comprehensive reference presents current findings on prevalence, causation, and physical and psychological aspects common to these disorders. Attention is given to working-world concerns, including insurance and compensation issues and AMA guidelines for disability evaluations. Also, specialized chapters offer lenses for understanding and administering the best approaches for treating specific pain disorders, and explore what workplaces can do to accommodate affected employees and prevent injuries from occurring in the first place.

This book integrates the growing clinical research evidence related to the emerging transdisciplinary field of occupational health and wellness. It includes a wide range of important topics, ranging from current conceptual approaches to health and wellness in the workplace, to common problems in the workplace such as presenteeism/abstenteeism, common illnesses, job-related burnout, to prevention and intervention methods. It consists of five major parts. Part I, "Introduction and Overviews," provides an overview and critical evaluation of the emerging conceptual models that are currently driving the clinical research and practices in the field. This serves as the initial platform to help better understand the subsequent topics to be discussed. Part II, "Major Occupational Symptoms and Disorders," exposes the reader to the types of critical occupational health risks that have been well documented, as well as the financial and productivity losses associated with them. In Part III, "Evaluation of Occupational Causes and Risks to Workers' Health," a comprehensive evaluation of these risks and causes of such occupational health threats is provided. This leads to Part IV, "Prevention and Intervention Methods," which delineates methods to prevent or intervene with these potential occupational health issues. Part V, "Research, Evaluation, Diversity and Practice," concludes the book with the review of epidemiological, measurement, diversity, policy, and practice issues-with guidelines on changes that are needed to decrease the economic and health care impact of illnesses in the workplace, and recommendations for future. All chapters provide a balance among theoretical models, current best-practice guidelines, and evidence-based documentation of such models and guidelines. The contributors were carefully selected for their unique knowledge, as well as their ability to meaningfully present this information in a comprehensive manner. As such, this Handbook is of great interest and use to health care and rehabilitation professionals, management and human resource personnel, researchers and academicians alike.

A close-to-ideal blend of suburb and city, speedy construction of towers of Babylon, the sparkling proportion of glass and steel buildings' facade at night showcase the wisdom of humans. They also witness the footsteps, sweats and tears of architects and engineers. Unfortunately, these signatures of human civilizations are swathed in towering figures of construction accidents. Fretting about these on sites, different countries adopt different measures on sites. This book firstly sketches the construction accidents on sites, followed by a review on safety measures in some of the developing countries such as Bermuda, Egypt, Kuwait and China; as well as developed countries, for example, the United States, France and Singapore. It also highlights the enormous compensation costs with the courts' experiences in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Here is a new book on methods and issues in clinical research. Its objectives can be summarized in three points. 1. Integrate medical and statistical components of clinical research. 2. Do justice to the operational and practical requirements of clinical research. 3. Give space to the ethical implications of methodological issues in clinical research. The book ends with a brief description of the drug development process and the phases of clinical development.

Many international experts collaborated in creating this groundbreaking work, a principal-coding system, and in developing reference films and imaging parameters for the International Classification of HRCT for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases. The book is an authoritative guide to the recognition of dust diseases of the lung, using radiological imaging techniques, with special emphasis on high-resolution computerized tomography (CT). The classification is a powerful, essential tool for recording patient data on CT in a globally standardized semiquantitative way. The system is also applicable to surveillance and screening for occupational and environmental respiratory diseases. The book is a valuable resource not only for radiologists but for all who work in occupational medicine and public health.

This volume throws light on the Sick Building Syndrome in Libraries and other public buildings, and the extent to which it is influenced by the internal environment of libraries. One of the signs of this disease is that the person suffers from a set of symptoms closely related to his/her presence in the building, without the identification of any clear causes, and his/her relief of these symptoms when he/she are out of the building. Hence, the book sheds on the extent to which the interior environment impacts upon the health of the people, and the extent to which this is reflected in their performance. The book can be used for teaching, research, and professional reference. It concludes with the recommendation that is essential to observe environmental dimensions when designing library and public buildings, taking into consideration the expected impact of SBS in library and public buildings on people. The significance of the book derives from the fact that it is the first of its kind to examine the issue of the interior environment and SBS of library and public building worldwide.

Recently, there has been interest by regulators, the public and the manufacturers of wireless devices in the issues relating to the safety of radio frequency (RF) energy. These issues require an understanding of the scientific underpinnings of both physics of RF energy and cellular biology. This book is designed to provide precisely such cross-functional expertise. The editors of this book intend to provide a reliable source for a sound scientific understanding of the issues and to stimulate future scientific advances in this area. Therefore, the audience for this book includes such diverse groups as scientists, governmental policy-makers and regulatory bodies, representatives of industry and the public at large.

This volume addresses the promise and challenges of employment, service roles and contexts in rehabilitation and mental health practice, developing readiness for employment, sustaining employment, and responding to the needs of people coping with a range of disabilities. The book is relevant to the education of human service professionals, and will enable practitioners to expand their awareness, understanding, and knowledge of the interface of rehabilitation and mental health.

Since questions about wireless phones andbrain cancer were first raised in early 1993, numerous scientificstudies and reviews have been conducted and published throughout the world with support from industry and government. The most comprehensive colloquium to date covering this science was co sponsored byt he International Committee on WirelessCommunication Health Research and Wireless Technology Research, LLC,a t the University "La Sapienza" ofR omein November 1995. Papers fromt hat colloquium with appropriate updates formt he foundation for the current volume. A follow up tothat colloquium isbeing planned fort he spring of 1999 byt he same group and thereport of that colloquium will bet he basis for Volume II ofthis series. As thescientific story about wireless phones and health effects continues to unfold over the next several years, it is important to evaluate thework ina context t hat isb eneficialt ot he enhancement ofpublic health. Two themesa re critical to an appropriate contextual understanding ofthis science.

Excessive noise levels are generally acknowledged to have adverse effects on our environment. Studies indicate that excessive noise levels can cause fatigue in exposed individuals, lower efficiency and productivity, impaired speech communication, and hearing loss. Excessive noise is almost everywhere today - in the office, in schools, hospitals and other institutional facilities, in all classes of public buildings, and in our factories. INDUSTRIAL NOISE High noise levels in factories can make speech communication in the plant difficult and at times impossible. Foremen are often unable to hear warning shouts from co-workers. The problem of hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure is of particular concern to industry, and to the federal government. In the early 1970s, the United States Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) which sets criteria for health hazards and established limits for noise exposure of industrial workers. The OSHA Noise Standard was amended in 1982 to require audiometric testing of all employees exposed to noise levels of 85 dB or above for eight hours. A NOISE IN COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS While noise levels in offices, stores, schools, and other commercial and institutional buildings seldom reach those encountered in many industrial environments, they often reach levels which are distracting to the occupants of such buildings. Impairment of speech communica tion among workers, or inversely the lack of speech privacy, are both deterrents to effiCiency and productivity and are detrimental to the occupants' comfort and sense of well-being."

In the current economy, companies are expected to turn on a dime in response to changing market needs to stay vibrant. What that means is that companies are constantly reorganizing. Employees are living in a constant state of change. This dynamic in the workplace has affected worker satisfaction, morale, and burnout. This is the first treatment manual to focus on treating job-related issues, whether it's conflict in the workplace, stress, burnout, performance, and more. Divided into two parts, Part One sets the stage with a discussion of the economic climate and how it impacts businesses, how business reacts to it, and how the new business climate affects employees. Part Two lays out the most current research on effectively treating work-related client issues. Individual, group, and organizational interventions are included, along with case examples, practical treatment exercises, checklists, and outlines for treatment.
Summarizes how the changing workplace impacts workersCovers effective ways of treating and preventing worker problemsIncludes case examples of treating common workplace depression, accidents, substance abuse, violence, stress, illness, conflict, and performanceDiscusses individual, group, and organizational interventionsProvides online exercises, checklists, evaluation formats, and outlines for treatmentIntegrates issues of diversity including race, ethnicity, age, and gender

Carpal-tunnel and other entrapment syndromes are perhaps the most common work-related injuries currently reported. With this book, Vladimir Golovchinsky presents the first evidence of double-crush syndrome as a subgroup of these. To date the existence of double-crush syndrome has been a matter of debate. Dr. Golovchinsky presents a statistical analysis of substantial clinical material, which finds a cause-and-effect relationship between cervical or lumbar radiculopathy and peripheral entrapment in corresponding nerves, thus proving the existence of double-crush syndrome. This book will be invaluable to physicians performing EMG-NCV testing and to other healthcare professionals who encounter peripheral entrapment syndromes in their practices.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART 1 FISH CONSUMPTION AND METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE IN THE AMAZON A. C. BARBOSA, A. M. GARCIA, J. R. DESOUZAI Mercurycontamination inhairofriverine 1-8 populations of Apiacas Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon E. D. BIDONE, Z. C. CASTILHOS, T. J. S. SANTOS, T. M. C. SOUZA and L. D. LACERDA I Fish contamination and human exposure to mercury in Tartarugalzinho River, Amapa State, Northern Amazon, Brazil. A screening approach 9-15 H. A. KEHRIG, O. MALM and H. AKAGI I Methylmercury in hair samples from different riverine groups, Amazon, Brazil 17-29 J. LEBEL, M. ROULET, D. MERGLER, M. LUCOTTE and F. LARRIBE I Fish diet and 31-44 mercury exposure in a riparian Amazonian population O. MALM. , J. R. D. GUIMARAES, M. B. CASTRO, W. R. BASTOS, J. P. VIANA, F. J. P. BRANCHES, E. G. SILVEIRA and W. C. PFEIFFER I Follow-up of mercury levels in fish, human hairand urine in the Madeira and Tapaj6s basins, Amazon, Brazil 45-51 PART 2 CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LONG TERM EXPOSURE G. J. MYERS, P. W. DAVIDSON, C. COX, C. F. SHAMLAYE, O. CHOISY, E. CERNICHIARI, A. CHOI, J. SLOANE-REEVES, C. AXTELL, P. GAO and T. W. CLARKSON I The Seychelles child development study: Results and new directions through twenty-nine months 53-61 B. WHEATLEY, S. PARADIS, M. LASSONDE, M. -F. GIGUERE and S.

In recent years the field of contact dermatitis has increased greatly in importance in dermatology. The variety of exogenous, environmental ly caused dermatoses has undoubtedly expanded over the past few de cades with the increasing number of potentially toxic chemicals, the changes in lifestyle, and the greater life expectancy in industrialized societies. The value of international cooperation in this field has long been realized and acted upon by the International Contact Dermatitis Re search Group (ICDRG). By 1975 the international journal Contact Dermatitis had been founded under the editorship of C. D. Calnan. Thanks largely to the ICDRG and Contact Dermatitis, there were, by 1986, enough additional dermatologists and scientists with a special interest in this area to form the European Environmental and Contact Dermatitis Research Group (EECDRG). Within 2 years they had in stituted the European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) as an in ternational forum for researchers in the field. The EECDRG decided to hold a symposium in Heidelberg in May 1988, an initiative supported by the ICDRG, and on this occasion the new ESCD held its inaugural session. The Society already has over 200 members and most national contact dermatitis research groups in Europe are already represented; new members are of course welcome. Subgroups and working committees have been formed to address var ious topics including the standardization of patch testing, photoder matology, and bioengineering."