Criminalization of sex work is linked to increased risk of violence and lack of workplace protections for sex workers. Most jurisdictions globally prohibit some or all aspects of sex work with New Zealand constituting a notable exception, where sex work has been decriminalized and regulated via OHS guidelines. We used the Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in the New Zealand Sex Industry (NZ Guide) as an analytical framework to examine the lived-experiences of psychosocial OHS conditions of indoor sex workers in Metro Vancouver under end-demand criminalization. We drew on 47 semi-structured interviews, conducted in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese in 2017-2018, with indoor sex workers and third parties providing services for them. Participants\' narratives were analyzed using a coding framework based on the NZ Guide\'s psychosocial factors section, including safety and security from violence and complaints processes, which highlighted specific OHS shortcomings in the context of end-demand sex work legislation in indoor sex work environments. Participants identified a significant lack of OHS support, including a lack of safety training, right to refuse services, and access to justice in the context of labour rights violations or fraud, robbery or violence. Our findings emphasize the benefits of full decriminalization of sex work to facilitate sex workers\' access to OHS through development and implementation of OHS guidelines designed by and for the indoor sex industry. OHS guidelines should focus on labour rights and protections, including development of sex workers\' right to refuse services and access to justice.

BACKGROUND: Power plants are associated with numerous occupational health and safety risk factors, with psychosocial risks being particularly significant. This study examines work-life conflict and burnout among power plant employees and discusses the factors associated with these issues.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study focused on employees at three hydroelectric power plants in Turkey. The inclusion criteria included employees with at least one year of tenure. Using cluster sampling, three plants were selected in Adana, Ankara, and Samsun. The sample size was determined to be 262, and 201 employees participated, yielding a 76.7% response rate. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire, which encompasses the sub-dimensions of a valid and reliable scale: The Work-Life Conflict and Burnout sub-dimensions of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire-III (COPSOQ-III) were used to measure the dependent variables. The independent variables included age, education level, total and weekly working hours, perceived health status, and department. The dependent variables were work-life conflict and burnout. Ethical approval was obtained from the Gazi University Ethics Committee. Statistical analysis compared the Pearson chi-square test, Fisher\'s exact test, and Yates correction with a significance threshold of p < 0.05.
RESULTS: The mean age was 40.83 years, with an average tenure of 11.54 years and a weekly work time of 43.51 hours. Most participants (94.5%) were male; technical unit workers comprised 71.6%. Health issues included smoking (39.8%) and chronic diseases (19.9%). Concerns about the working environment include insufficient knowledge about safety (25.4%) and lack of knowledge about risk assessments (32.3%). Many workers reported lacking personal protective equipment (11.4%) and rest areas (15.4%). Negative health impacts from work were noted by 31.8%. In addition, 51.2% believed that noise levels were outside the acceptable range. Two-thirds of employees reported inadequate measures against physical risks in the workplace. Many participants experienced work-life conflict (13.9%) and burnout (14.5%). High work-life conflict was significantly associated with younger age groups, less tenure, and negative perceived health status. Burnout was significantly related to the duration of employment, weekly working hours, and perceived health status.
CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the seriousness of burnout and work-life conflict among hydropower plant workers, emphasizing the need for administrative and organizational interventions to alleviate these issues. Regular occupational health and safety training, involvement in risk assessments, fair workload distribution, supportive work environments, and counseling services are recommended to reduce burnout and improve work-life balance.

This research on sleep disturbances emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study investigated the association between self-reported sleep disturbances among teleworkers and the preventive measures employers took to improve their working environment. Answers obtained via a web survey gathered from 1086 teleworkers (517 in the spring of 2021 and 569 in the spring of 2022) were analysed. The odds of self-reported sleep disturbances were significantly higher for all preventive measures in the group of respondents reporting a lack of a particular measure. The highest odds ratios were observed for the statement \"My employer identified conditions where I am teleworking\" (adjusted OR = 2.98, 95% CI 2.10-4.23) and \"Online team-building events were organised\" (adjusted OR = 2.85, 95% CI 1.88-4.35). The results of our study have revealed that workplace interventions that serve as a mediator for sleep disorders, even if they are not directly targeted at managing sleep disturbances or stress, can reduce the number of teleworkers reporting sleep disturbances. According to our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the effectiveness of employer interventions that help teleworkers manage their sleep disturbances.

New Jersey (NJ) Safe Schools Program (NJSS) provides code-required trainings for NJ teachers supervising students in work-based learning (WBL) experiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, increased use of chemical cleaning, sanitization, and disinfectant products (CSDPs) led to ventilation and other health concerns. NJSS conducted two surveys of newer NJ WBL teachers between October 2021 and June 2023, with a follow-up in fall 2022 for those who completed initial surveys before summer 2022. This study focused on questions regarding workspace ventilation; respirator and CSDPs trainings; awareness of government resources for safety and health (S&H); and demographics. Over 65% of participant classrooms have operable windows or ventilation systems, while 13% of school salons have ceiling fans. Half of participants didn\'t receive training on handling CSDPs, although 90% were aware of government S&H resources. Data suggested teachers have well-ventilated workspaces and are aware of different resources available, which is important to continue post COVID-19.

UNASSIGNED: The use of volatile anesthetic agents in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is experiencing increased interest since the availability of the miniature vapourizing device. However, the effectiveness of scavenging systems in the presence of humidifiers in the ventilator circuit is unknown.
UNASSIGNED: We performed a bench study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Deltasorb® scavenging system in the presence of isoflurane and active humidity by simulating both infant and child ventilator test settings. A total of four ventilators were set to ventilate test lungs, all with active humidity and a Deltasorb scavenging canister collecting exhaled ventilation gas. Two ventilators also had isoflurane delivered using the Anesthesia Conserving Device- small (ACD®-S) on the inspiratory limb (also called alternative ventilator configuration). We performed instantaneous measurements of isoflurane and continuous sampling with passive badges to measure average environmental exposure over a test period of 6.5 hours. Scavenging canisters were returned to the company, where desorption analysis showed the volume of water and isoflurane captured in each canister.
UNASSIGNED: Both instantaneous point sampling and diffusive sampling results were below the occupational exposure limit confirming safety. The canisters collected both isoflurane and a portion of the water vapour delivered; the percentage of captured water and isoflurane collected in infants was higher than the child ventilator test settings.
UNASSIGNED: The tested scavenging configuration was effective in maintaining a safe working environment with active humidity and inspiratory limb (alternative) ventilator configuration of the the miniature vapourizing device.

UNASSIGNED: Working in the nursing profession is hazardous, and nurses report poor health. Risk factors associated with poor health outcomes have been documented. However, the extent of literature exploring the prevalence of health conditions among American nurses that may be attributable to their work has not been examined.
UNASSIGNED: A scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute recommendations was conducted of peer-reviewed quantitative studies to answer the question: What are health conditions experienced by American nurses that may be attributable to their work as nurses?
UNASSIGNED: Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. Due to the methods used in many articles, studies of the prevalence of health conditions among the nursing population were lacking. Health conditions studied broke into six categories: (a) work-related injuries and hazards; (b) unhealthy lifestyles; (c) mental health conditions; (d) burnout; (e) fatigue, sleep, and migraines; and (f) reproductive health. The role of work in the health conditions studied varied from an immediate impact on health (e.g., a needlestick or injury) to a cumulative impact (e.g., scheduling or workplace demands). Within the work demands, the physical environment; physical, emotional, and cognitive demands of work; and shiftwork were all frequently identified as antecedents that could be further explored and addressed to improve nurse health.
UNASSIGNED: Healthcare systems should seek to address the hazards and exposures that may be linked to health conditions in the nursing workforce. Understanding and mitigating the impact of the pandemic and nursing work on the workforce\'s health is crucial to the solvency of the workforce. Occupational health practitioners should assess for workplace hazards and exposures.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate and explore Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management, office ergonomics, and musculoskeletal symptoms in a group of office workers relocating from cell offices to activity-based flex offices (AFOs).
METHODS: The analysis was based on qualitative interview data with 77 employees and longitudinal questionnaire data from 152 employees.
RESULTS: Results indicate that there was a need to clarify roles and processes related to the management of OHS. Self-rated sit comfort, working posture, and availability of daylight deteriorated and symptoms in neck and shoulders increased after the relocation and seemed to be influenced by many factors, such as difficulties adjusting the workstations, the availability of suitable workplaces, and age, sex, and individual needs.
CONCLUSIONS: Research on the long-term effects of physical work environments and management of (OHS) issues after implementing activity-based flex offices is sparse. This study demonstrates the importance of planning and organising OHS issue management when implementing an AFO, and to carefully implement office ergonomics among office workers.

Paramedics are increasingly being subjected to violence, creating the potential for significant physical and psychological harm. Where a patient has a history of violent behavior, hazard flags-applied either to the individual, their residential address, or phone number-can alert paramedics to the possibility of violence, potentially reducing the risk of injury. Leveraging a novel violence reporting process embedded in the electronic patient care record, we reviewed violence reports filed over a thirteen-month period since its inception in February 2021 to assess the effectiveness of hazard flagging as a potential risk mitigation strategy. Upon reviewing a report, paramedic supervisors can generate a hazard flag if recurrent violent behavior from the patient is anticipated. In all, 502 violence reports were filed, for which paramedic supervisors generated hazard flags in 20% of cases (n = 99). In general, cases were not flagged either because the incident occurred at a location not amenable to flagging or because the supervisors felt that a hazard flag was not warranted based on the details in the report. Hazard flagging was associated with an increased risk of violence during subsequent paramedic attendance (Odds Ratio [OR] 6.21, p < 0.001). Nevertheless, the process appears to reliably identify persons who may be violent towards paramedics.

With climate change fueling more frequent and intense periods of hot weather, heat stress management programs are becoming increasingly important for protecting the health and safety of workers in the Canadian mining industry. While the inclusion of heat-mitigation measures such as those provided by the American College of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) are commonly employed by industry, there is a need to develop more comprehensive industry-specific measures for heat stress prevention and management. To better understand current heat management practices and identify opportunities for improvement, an exploratory survey of 51 employees responsible for health and safety at underground mining (n = 35), and surface operations (n = 16) (e.g., open-pit mining, milling, smelting, and exploration site) was conducted in Canada. The respondents answered 50 questions related to workplace heat stress management, including descriptors of the workplace environment, perceived heat stress hazard, administration of heat stress management programming, heat stress emergency procedures, environmental monitoring strategies, and knowledge of mining-specific regulations related to heat stress. Twenty-four managers (47%) reported that heat-related illnesses led to restricted duty or lost time claims at their site, with a median of 5 [IQR: 2-10, max: 30] reportable heat-related illnesses occurring per site annually. Many also felt that heat-related illnesses are under-reported by their workforce (n = 36, 71%). Most sites reported established heat stress management programs to prevent heat illness (n = 43, 84%), typically based on the TLVs (n = 38, 75%). Although some organizations do conduct pre-task evaluations for heat stress (n = 30, 59%), more than half do not conduct post-job evaluations (n = 28, 55%) or pre-employment screening for heat stress vulnerability (n = 3, 6%). While our findings indicate that the health and safety managers recognize the hazard posed by heat and have stated practices to help address the hazard, we also observed inconsistencies in heat stress management programming across the sample. Developing and adopting a standard heat stress management and reporting system would be an important step toward protecting workers from existing and emerging threats from extreme heat and climate change.

BACKGROUND: Implementing appropriate shift work schedules can help mitigate the risk of sleep impairment and reduce fatigue of healthcare workers, reducing occupational health and safety risks. In Australia, the organisation has a responsibility to make sure all reasonable measures are taken to reduce fatigue of staff. Therefore, it is important to assess what the current rostering processes is for staff responsible for creating the rosters for nurses.
OBJECTIVE: The aims of the project were to understand (1) who creates the rosters and what the process is, (2) what training and knowledge these staff have in establishing rostering schedules that optimise the sleep and wellbeing of staff, and (3) what the benefits and limitations are of current rostering practices.
METHODS: Findings were generated through semi-structured interviews, using cluster coding to form categories. Twenty four nurses responsible for rostering staff were interviewed from three different sites in Victoria (one metropolitan and two regional/rural hospitals). Data was analysed using selected grounded theory methods with thematic analysis.
RESULTS: The common themes that came out of the interviews were that rostering staff were under prepared, unaware of fatigue and safety guidelines and polices from governing bodies and had not received any education or training before taking on the role. The most common rostering style was self-rostering, where staff could submit preferences. However, there were concerns about staff fatigue but were divided as to who should be responsible, with many saying it was up to staff to preference shifts that they could cope with. The final theme was cultural barriers to change.
CONCLUSIONS: While self-rostering resulted in staff having more freedom and flexibility,  shift preferences may be influenced more so by a need to fit with lifestyle rather than to minimise fatigue and increase safety in the workplace. Greater consideration of the impact of shift work schedules on fatigue is required to ensure that the layers of clinical governance in health care organisations minimise the risk of occupation health and safety issues for employees delivering direct patient care.