Safety incentive and penalty (I/P) provisions in construction contracts are one of the most common forms of I/P. Contradictory opinions on the effectiveness of these provisions have been expressed in the literature. Statistics on safety provisions were collected from 32 construction projects, which include both types of contracts - those ...

Abstract Background. Occupational injuries are an important source of morbidity for emergency medical services (EMS) providers. Previous work has shown that employee perceptions of an organization's commitment to safety (i.e., safety climate) correlate with adherence to safe practices. Objective. To assess the association between perceived safety climate and compliance with ...

ABSTRACT: Many European protected areas were legally created to preserve and maintain biological diversity, unique natural features and associated cultural heritage. Built over centuries as a result of geographical and historical factors interacting with human activity, these territories are reservoirs of resources, practices and knowledge that have been the essential ...

BackgroundMillions of all-terrain vehicles (ATV) are used around the world for recreation by both adults and youth. This increase in use has led to a substantial increase in the number of injuries and fatalities each year. Effective strategies for reducing this incidence are clearly needed; however, minimal research exists regarding ...

High densities of people living around protected areas (PAs) in South Asia require management strategies to balance conservation goals and livelihood needs. Based on a survey of 777 households around five PAs in India and Nepal, this paper provides a comparative perspective of Indian and Nepali households' views of protected ...

This study reviews the development of railway safety in Finland from 1959 to 2008. The results show that the level of safety has greatly improved over the past five decades. The total number of railway fatalities did not show any obvious decreasing or increasing trend during the first decade, but ...

ABSTRACT This study explored occupational safety practices and regulatory compliance in a representative sample of Maine commercial fishing vessels. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, safety equipment and training, and regulatory compliance during at sea boardings of working commercial fishing vessels (n = 259). Trends in safety and compliance were ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Adolescents put themselves at risk of later skin cancer development and accelerated photo-aging due to their high rates of ultraviolet radiation exposure and low rates of skin protection. The purpose of the current study was to determine which of the Integrative Model constructs are most closely associated with ...

As use of handheld multimedia devices has exploded globally, safety experts have begun to consider the impact of distraction while talking, text-messaging, or listening to music on traffic safety. This study was designed to test how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music may influence pedestrian safety. 138 ...

Budget pressures are relatively common these days, and this may entice purchasing departments to look only at the initial cost of an FR garment. But there is more to it than that, especially for protective clothing. To make the best choice for safety and economy, check the details for yourself ...

We report the process used to rapidly develop a collaborative adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program as a response to caring for young adult patients with refractory hypoxemia in the setting of the pH1N1 pandemic. Interdisciplinary response of a complex medical system to a public health crisis. PATIENTS, INTERVENTIONS, MEASUREMENTS, ...

OBJECTIVE: This study examined patterns and correlates of protective drinking behaviors among incoming first-year college students. METHOD: Incoming first-year students (n=76,882) from 258 colleges across the U.S. provided baseline data on demographics, drinking practices, and protective behaviors as part of a web-based alcohol education program. Across the several colleges, responses ...

The community-based prevention marketing program planning framework was used to adapt an evidence-based intervention to address eye injuries among Florida's migrant citrus harvesters. Participant-observer techniques, other direct observations, and individual and focus group interviews provided data that guided refinement of a safety eyewear intervention. Workers were attracted to the eyewear's ...

This study examined factors associated with brain donation program participation among African American and White elders. By postal mail, participants were recruited from an Alzheimer's research registry (all of whom had been invited to participate in the Center's brain donation program) and asked to complete surveys assessing brain donation knowledge, ...

Although healthcare librarians are undertaking training in critical appraisal skills, what is not so clear is the impact of the training on the understanding and dissemination of these skills. This study aims to examine the attitudes of healthcare librarians towards delivering critical appraisal training and their level of involvement. A ...

Healthcare delivery in the USA and abroad has changed dramatically over the last several decades. Along with the growth in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, the costs of healthcare have escalated out of proportion relative to other aspects of the economy. This growth has fostered careful scrutiny of both the effectiveness ...

Healthcare costs in the United Kingdom are growing at an unsustainably fast pace while public dissatisfaction with the system continues to increase. Learning from the United Kingdom's experience, the U.S. healthcare system should focus less on shifting costs and more on the value of care delivered. To achieve meaningful cost ...

There is an ongoing shortage of rural healthcare providers relative to urban healthcare providers worldwide. Many strategies have been implemented to increase the distribution of rural healthcare providers, and financial incentives such as loan repayment programs have become popular means to both recruit and retain healthcare providers in rural communities. ...

There is some tacit understanding that telemedicine can provide cost efficiency along with increased access and equality of care for the geographically disadvantaged. However, concrete strategic guidance for healthcare organizations to attain these benefits is fragmented and limited in existing literature. Telemedicine programs need to move from a grant-funded to ...

This descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted in inpatient nursing units and outpatient clinics in a cancer center in the midwestern United States. The sample of 153 healthcare providers included RNs, medical assistants, and radiology technicians. The fourth revision of the 30-item Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL R-IV) scale was used ...

Approximately 20% of healthcare workers in high-income countries such as Australia, Canada and the USA work in rural areas. Healthcare workers are known to be vulnerable to occupational injury and poor work disability outcomes; given their rural-urban distribution, it is possible to compare work disability prevention in rural and urban ...

Healthcare policy makers have advocated the introduction of work-based learning (WBL) methods to help improve care. Some healthcare professionals and academics do not support WBL, however, possibly because they experienced, and value, traditional learning methods. This article reports on one of the findings of a longitudinal evaluation of WBL among ...

Healthcare providers should look both outside and inside their organizations to prepare for Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program challenges. Organizations should have the right team in place to focus on their RAC audit response. Preparation for RAC audits should include mining data to identify potential risk, automating claim filing, educating ...

The report, To Err is Human, indicated that a large number of deaths are caused by medical error. A central tenet of this report was that patient safety was not only a function of sophisticated healthcare technology and treatments, but also the degree to which healthcare professionals could perform effectively ...

Technology, equipment and medical devices are vital for effective healthcare throughout the world but are associated with risks. These risks include device failure, inappropriate use, insufficient user-training and inadequate inspection and maintenance. Further risks within the developing world include challenging conditions of temperature and humidity, poor infrastructure, poorly trained service ...

Through the winter and spring healthcare waited for the next round of ARRA-related regulations. Now they are here, and organizations are tagged with implementing compliant programs. How do you get started when it seems that everything needs doing at once?

To evaluate the compliance with the opportunities of hand hygiene by dentistry school healthcare professionals, as well as the higher choice products. Through direct observation, the oral healthcare team-professors, oral and maxillofacial surgery residents, graduation students-for daily care were monitored: before performing the first treatment of the shift, after snacks ...

There has been considerable interest in bridging educational programs in the United States across healthcare, architecture, industrial design, and human computing disciplines to design more effective and safer healthcare environments. New combinations of professionals including those outside the traditional healthcare disciplines are coming together to solve quality and safety problems ...

OBJECTIVES: To describe improvements in the design of pay-for-performance (P4P) programs that reflect the psychology of how people respond to incentives. STUDY DESIGN: Investigation of the behavioral economics literature. METHODS: We describe 7 ways to improve P4P program design in terms of frequency and types of incentive payments. After discussing ...

The need for interprofessional education is now firmly embedded in undergraduate healthcare curricula frameworks in Northern Ireland and has a role to play in preparation for professional practice. A questionnaire determining students' "readiness" for interprofessional education has been widely used and reported in the literature but there are other factors ...

OBJECTIVE: As telehealth networks develop across Canada, new professional roles start to emerge. A university healthcare center part of an integrated health network has identified the need to introduce a clinical coordinator for specialized telehealth programs. However, very little is found in the current literature about the description or core ...

To evaluate healthcare utilization and costs following a cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening and educational special intervention (SI) compared with a control intervention (CIN) at 1 year in the Family-Based Intervention Trial for Heart Health. Participants randomized to SI for screening and periodic lifestyle counseling were compared with participants randomized to ...

This study examines the socio-demographic characteristics of first-year students on first degree healthcare courses at Udine University (Italy). The survey tried to elicit useful information in a field where literature is scarce. Every student starting healthcare courses in the 2007/08 academic year was contacted and asked to fill in a ...

Motivational interviewing is a unique counseling technique that was developed to help individuals give up addictive behaviors and learn new behavioral skills. This counseling technique relies on using communication skills to understand an individual's motivation for change. Motivational interviewing uses techniques such as open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmation, and summarization ...

BACKGROUND: Although multi-source feedback (MSF) has been used in primary healthcare, the development of an MSF instrument specific to this setting in the UK has not been previously described. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate an MSF instrument for GPs in Scotland taking part in appraisal. ...

Abstract The work of occupational therapists (OTs) in municipal healthcare has become more consultative in recent years. The aim of this study is to explore the content of the OTs' consultative role in everyday activities in municipal healthcare. The study is based on data consisting of diary notes with additional ...

BACKGROUND/AIM: Over the recent years customer satisfaction program as a tool for patient satisfaction has been recognized as an important issue in healthcare services. The aim of this preliminary study was to explore an influence of healthcare institution managers' approach and attitudes to marketing and public relations activities (communication activities), ...

During the 1950's the healthcare system of Puerto Rico was maintained exclusively by the local government. The Arbona system, as it came to be known, although it provided health care professionals on the island with multiple educational experiences, presented substantial costs for the government. In the early 1990's a program ...

The Federal Communication Commission initiated the Rural Healthcare Pilot Program Broadband Initiative in 2007 to provide funds for deployment of broadband networks to rural areas. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the preliminary findings of the first phase of a larger study designed to assess the ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine organizational characteristics evident in successful telemedicine programs. The study proposed four research questions to identify the key organizational characteristics for successful telemedicine programs. METHODS: Data were collected through an online survey using modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology ...

With recent increasing attention to rising healthcare costs, both public and private sectors are demanding more value from the services and products they purchase. To achieve this goal, programs such as pay-for-performance have been implemented with varying success. One of the reasons behind the failures is the lack of understanding ...

Currently, the H1N1 pandemic does not approach the worst-case scenarios that have been predicted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Nevertheless, its impact, fueled by its predilection for nontraditional victims, assorted governmental miscalculations, and journalistic hyperbole, has led to an environment of both ...

Autonomy, an individual's right to make personal decisions regarding his/her own health, represents one of the major ethical principles of medicine. While there are many examples citing the benefits this right provides for the individual, the impact that personal healthcare decisions have on others is often neglected. Here, evidence from ...

Content on integrative healthcare and complementary and alternative medicine is being taught in hundreds of educational programs across the country. Nursing, medical, osteopathic, chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathic, and other programs are finding creative and innovative ways to include these approaches in new models of education and practice. This column spotlights such ...

Healthcare and educational expeditions to developing countries are a life-altering experience for both faculty and students. The benefits gained personally and professionally from foreign travel are invaluable. Providing healthcare to people in developing countries gives a new dimension to holistic care. Proper trip preparation with consideration of safety, legal liabilities, ...

Hope Within is a healthcare center that has gone the extra mile to have their architecture spaces evaluated for speech privacy. Once identified they have made accommodations to minimize the risk of overheard conversations and have an ongoing program in place to maintain and improve speech privacy performance. Much has ...

The present study examined the prevalence of various forms of violence victimization among university students in Finland. Violence victimization was analyzed in relation to physical and mental health symptoms, and the use of student healthcare services. A cross-sectional Student Health Survey was performed as a national postal survey for Finnish ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the difference in attitudes: (1) between first and fourth year physiotherapy students towards functioning in individuals with back pain; and (2) between physiotherapy students and non-healthcare students towards functioning in individuals with back pain. DESIGN: Observational, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK. PARTICIPANTS: First year ...

Proponents of the healthcare reform agenda continually compare per capita healthcare spending in the United States to other nations and cite this as one of the clear mandates for healthcare reform. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the cost of geographic distribution strategies adopted by healthcare ...

The safe and competent use of complex medical devices requires training for healthcare staff, and external assurance standards require hospital trusts to provide evidence of such training. This paper describes a novel, non-confrontational approach to obtaining this information, using syringe drivers as an example.