Environmental evaluation for workplace violence in healthcare and social services

PROBLEM: Federal policy recommends environmental strategies as part of a comprehensive workplace violence program in healthcare and social services. The purpose of this project was to contribute specific, evidence-based guidance to the healthcare and social services employer communities regarding the use of environmental design to prevent violence. METHOD: A retrospective record review was conducted of environmental evaluations that were performed by an architect in two Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects for workplace violence prevention in 2000 and, in the second project in 2005. Ten facility environmental evaluation reports along with staff focus group reports from these facilities were analyzed to categorize environmental risk factors for Type II workplace violence. RESULTS: Findings were grouped according to their impact on access control, the ability to observe patients (natural surveillance), patient and worker safety (territoriality), and activity support. DISCUSSION: The environmental assessment findings reveal design and security issues that, if corrected, would improve safety and security of staff, patients, and visitors and reduce fear and unpredictability. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Healthcare and social assistance employers can improve the effectiveness of violence prevention efforts by including an environmental assessment with complementary hazard controls.     

Continuous-time correlated random walk model for animal telemetry data

We propose a continuous-time version of the correlated random walk model for animal telemetry data. The continuous-time formulation allows data that have been nonuniformly collected over time to be modeled without subsampling, interpolation, or aggregation to obtain a set of locations uniformly spaced in time. The model is derived from a continuous-time Ornstein-Uhlenbeck velocity process that is integrated to form a location process. The continuous-time model was placed into a state-space framework to allow parameter estimation and location predictions from observed animal locations. Two previously unpublished marine mammal telemetry data sets were analyzed to illustrate use of the model, by-products available from the analysis, and different modifications which are possible. A harbor seal data set was analyzed with a model that incorporates the proportion of each hour spent on land. Also, a northern fur seal pup data set was analyzed with a random drift component to account for directed travel and ocean currents.     

Change in the quantity and acute toxicity of pesticides sold in South African crop sectors, 1994–1999

BackgroundSouth African pesticide market sales data, for two years, 1994 and 1999, were audited to identify change in total and per hectare mass sold and acute toxicity indicator (ATI) (kg sold/rat oral LD50) in the grape, pome, stone fruit, potato and wheat sectors.ResultsTotal pesticide sales (62%), amount per hectare (42%) and number of active ingredients (23%) increased in 1999 compared to 1994 with the grape fruit sector, the most significant contributor over the two years. Total (14%) and per hectare ATI (19%) decreased in 1999, but not substantially with the potato sector the most significant contributor.ConclusionsToxic pesticides were still used in 1999 which highlights a need to develop alternative agricultural and non-chemical pest control methods that reduce usage of pesticides.     

Urinary dialkyl phosphate levels before and after first season chlorpyrifos spraying amongst farm workers in the Western Cape,South Africa

The study investigated urinary levels of dialkyl phosphates resulting from pesticide exposure amongst 40 farm workers. Workers were tested (urinary dialkyl phosphate levels, anthropometry, short exposure questionnaire) before and after the first day of seasonal chlorpyrifos spraying. Median baseline urinary dialkyl phosphates was high amongst both non-applicators (1587.5 μg/g creatinine, n = 8) and applicators (365.6 μg/g creatinine, n = 9). There was not much evidence of an increase in post-spray dialkyl phosphates levels from pre-spray levels amongst both applicators and non-applicators. Hours mixing, spraying, driving a tractor and hours worked by non-applicators were not significantly associated with an increase in post-spray dialkyl phosphate levels, adjusting for age, height, weight, gender, use of empty pesticide containers and self-reported kidney problems. Past applicator status was weakly positively associated with pre-spray dialkyl phosphate levels adjusting for age, height, weight, and gender, self-reported kidney problems, smoking and alcohol (β= 1019.5, p = 0.307, R²= 0.28). The high dialkyl phosphate levels call for an epidemiological investigation into the health effects of organophosphorous pesticides.     

Urinary dialkyl phosphate levels before and after first season chlorpyrifos spraying amongst farm workers in the Western Cape, South Africa

The study investigated urinary levels of dialkyl phosphates resulting from pesticide exposure amongst 40 farm workers. Workers were tested (urinary dialkyl phosphate levels, anthropometry, short exposure questionnaire) before and after the first day of seasonal chlorpyrifos spraying. Median baseline urinary dialkyl phosphates was high amongst both non-applicators (1587.5 μg/g creatinine, n = 8) and applicators (365.6 μg/g creatinine, n = 9). There was not much evidence of an increase in post-spray dialkyl phosphates levels from pre-spray levels amongst both applicators and non-applicators. Hours mixing, spraying, driving a tractor and hours worked by non-applicators were not significantly associated with an increase in post-spray dialkyl phosphate levels, adjusting for age, height, weight, gender, use of empty pesticide containers and self-reported kidney problems. Past applicator status was weakly positively associated with pre-spray dialkyl phosphate levels adjusting for age, height, weight, and gender, self-reported kidney problems, smoking and alcohol (β= 1019.5, p = 0.307, R2 = 0.28). The high dialkyl phosphate levels call for an epidemiological investigation into the health effects of organophosphorous pesticides.     

Differentiating the effects of fine and coarse particles on daily mortality in Shanghai, China

The findings on health effects of ambient fine particles (PM2.5) and coarse particles (PM10-2.5) remain inconsistent. In China, PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 are not the criteria air pollutants, and their monitoring data are scarce. There have been no epidemiological studies of health effects of PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 simultaneously in China. We conducted a time series study to examine the acute effects of PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 on daily mortality in Shanghai, China from Mar. 4, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2005. We used the generalized additive model (GAM) with penalized splines to analyze the mortality, air pollution and covariate data. The average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 were 56.4 microg/m3 and 52.3 microg/m3 in our study period, and PM2.5 constituted around 53.0% of the PM10 mass. Compared with the Global Air Quality Guidelines set by World Health Organization (10 microg/m3 for annual mean) and U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (15 microg/m3 for annual mean), the PM2.5 level in Shanghai was much higher. We found that PM2.5 was associated with the death rates from all causes and from cardiorespiratory diseases in Shanghai. We did not find a significant effect of PM10-2.5 on mortality outcomes. A10 microg/m3 increase in the 2-day moving average (lag01) concentration of PM2.5 corresponded to 0.36% (95% CI 0.11%, 0.61%), 0.41% (95% CI 0.01%, 0.82%) and 0.95% (95% CI 0.16%, 1.73%) increase of total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality. For PM10-2.5, the effects were attenuated and less precise. Our analyses provide the first statistically significant evidence in China that PM2.5 has an adverse effect on population health and strengthen the rationale for further limiting levels of PM2.5 in outdoor air in Shanghai.     

Effects of colony size and stage of development on defense response by the swarm-founding wasp<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Polybia occidentalis</Emphasis>

In social insects the level of defensive effort generally increases with colony size, but the effects of the size of the defending adult population and the size of the brood population being defended have not been separated. We used pre-emergence-stage colonies of the swarm-founding wasp, Polybia occidentalis, to distinguish the effects of these two parameters on the intensity of colony defense. We elicited defensive behavior by using both mechanical (taps) and chemical (alarm-pheromone-containing venom) stimuli, and scored the responses as the number of attacks on a standard target. The intensity of defense increased linearly throughout the colony's first 25 days of development, despite the decrease in absolute numbers of adults during the same period. That is, the per capita attack rate increased strongly during this period, leading us to conclude that the intensity of defense is a function of the colony's investment in brood and not of the number of defending adults. We provide evidence that the increase is attributable neither to sensitization due to frequent disturbance, nor to the aging of the adult wasps. We further show that defensive effort on a per capita basis decreased with increasing size across colonies, whether colony size was measured as number of adults or as investment in brood. This pattern suggests that the cost-benefit relationship of defending the colony changes with colony size.Communicated by R.F.A. Moritz     

Climate change and natural disasters: macroeconomic performance and distributional impacts

Commonly occurring natural events become natural disasters when they affect the population through death and injury, and/or through the destruction of natural and physical capital on which people rely for their livelihood and quality of life. Climate change plays a role in that it tends to increase the frequency and intensity of weather-related natural disasters. Additionally, climate change may put people at risk by influencing access to water, coastal flooding, disease and hunger, and leaving them with a more degraded environment, leading, in turn, to increased vulnerability. The purpose of this paper is to present a review and synthesis of the literature and case studies addressing differential impacts of climate change-related natural disasters on a society and its economy. Developed and developing countries show different vulnerabilities to natural disasters. Even within countries, impacts vary significantly across population and economic sectors. When losses from natural disasters are large, their cumulative effect can have notable macroeconomic impacts, which feed back to further pronounce existing income inequalities and lower income levels. Impacts tend to be most pronounced for women, the young and elderly, and people of ethnic or racial minorities.