This study comprised a review and compilation of literature to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of rotating shift work on gastrointestinal health. PubMed, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between January 1, 1985, and June 30, 2020. Fixed day shifts were defined as work shifts that began between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning. Shifts beginning at any other time were classified as rotating shifts. A meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (CMA) version 3. In the end, 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis. An odds ratio (OR) of 1.56 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24–1.95), indicating that gastrointestinal problems are more common in rotating shift workers than in fixed day shift workers. Four gastrointestinal problems, namely, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, indigestion, and peptic ulcers, were then analyzed separately. Significant differences between rotating shift workers and fixed day shift workers were found only for indigestion and peptic ulcers. For indigestion, the OR was 1.72 (95% CI: 1.28–2.30). For peptic ulcers, the OR was 1.66 (95% CI: 1.19–2.30). Thus, research indicates that rotating shift work may increase the risk of gastrointestinal problems, particularly indigestion and peptic ulcers.

Office workers remain in a awkward position for long periods, which can lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Ergonomic guidelines are recommended to avoid such problems. Evidence of the long-term effectiveness of ergonomic interventions is scarce. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to compare pain intensity among office workers who received an ergonomic intervention and a control group before as well as 12, 24, and 36 wk after the intervention. Workers were randomly allocated to a control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). The EG received an ergonomic workstation intervention. Furniture measurements were related to individual anthropometric measurements to identify mismatches. The outcome was pain intensity, which was determined using a numerical pain scale and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. A linear mixed model was created with pain intensity as the dependent variable. Group and time were the independent variables. No significant interactions were found between group and time. Significant differences between groups were found for the pain intensity in the neck, shoulder, upper back, and wrist/hand (p<0.05), with lower intensity in the EG. The intervention reduced pain intensity in the neck, shoulder, upper back, and wrist/hand. However, no reduction in pain intensity was found for the lower back or elbow.

Potential insomnia in healthcare workers is a public health concern as it may degrade the quality of patient care. We examined the prevalence of insomnia symptoms in healthcare workers and their perceived need for a sleep intervention. Participants were 62 nurses working full-time at a U.S. hospital. These nurses were asked about background characteristics, perceived stress, sleep concerns, and need for a sleep intervention. They also participated in 14-d ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and actigraphy sleep study. A qualitative analysis showed that the majority (92%) of participants reported at least one sleep concern with insomnia-related concerns being most prevalent (68%). Quantitative analyses indicated that those with insomnia-related concerns had higher perceived stress overall and lower EMA sleep sufficiency and sleep quality. Moreover, participants with insomnia concerns had shorter actigraphy-measured nap duration prior to non-workdays than those without. Nearly all (95%) expressed interest in participating in a sleep intervention; an online format and mindfulness contents were most preferred. Our results suggest a high prevalence of insomnia symptoms and a high interest in a sleep intervention in nurses. Information obtained from this study could be used to deliver a tailored sleep intervention for nurses whose role in public health is essential.

This study investigated the risk of insomnia and hypnotics use among emergency physicians. This cross-sectional study recruited physicians working in Taiwanese hospitals in 2015 and the general population as the participants. Data from 1,097 emergency physicians obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database were grouped into the case group, whereas 14,112 nonemergency physicians and 4,388 people from the general population were categorized into the control groups. This study used logistic regression and conditional logistic regression to compare the risks of insomnia between emergency and nonemergency physicians and between emergency physicians and the general population, respectively. The prevalence of insomnia among emergency physicians, nonemergency physicians and general population was 5.56%, 4.08%, and 1.73%, respectively. Compared with nonemergency physicians and the general population, emergency physicians had a significantly higher risk of insomnia. The proportions of emergency physicians, nonemergency physicians, and general population using hypnotics were 19.96%, 18.24%, and 13.26%, respectively. Among emergency physicians who used hypnotics, 49.77%, 25.57%, and 24.66% used only benzodiazepines, only nonbenzodiazepines, and both benzodiazepines and nonbenzodiazepines, respectively. Nonpharmacological interventions to improve insomnia and reminder of safe use of hypnotics to emergency physicians can serve as references for hospitals in developing health-promoting activities.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the equations for calculating the clothing area factor (f_cl) used in the standards based on data sets of clothing ensembles, that are meant to provide thermal comfort over a wide range of climatic conditions from hot summer days to extremely cold winter. Over 10 equations for f_cl calculations were selected from the international standards and the literature. At first a theoretical comparison based on a range of insulation values was performed. Then the data sets were used to compare the equations and measurements on real clothing systems. Most of the f_cl calculation equations do give reasonably good results for western type and industrial clothing with basic insulation (I_cl) up to 1.5 clo. Above the I_cl of 2 clo, the error in the calculations based on traditional equations increases considerably and they overestimate f_cl. Some new equations were suggested for modern clothing systems. Oppositely, for non-western clothing (for hot climate), the available equations did give good match only for very light clothing sets and commonly underestimated the real f_cl. For such sets and and fashion clothes their own equations maybe needed, that count for various design aspects, e.g. fit, draping etc.

Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a work-related constellation of symptoms characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. A cross-sectional survey was performed to study the prevalence of BOS among a randomly selected sample of 280 Italian Red Cross volunteers. A socio-demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)-HSS were used to collect data. 241 volunteers participated (response rate: 86.1%). A significant proportion of the workers had BOS subscale scores in the highest tertile: emotional exhaustion 8.0%, depersonalization 35.9% and perceived lack of accomplishment 23.5%, respectively. Volunteers in emergency care reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion (p=0.004) and depersonalization (p=0.001), and lower level of personal accomplishment (p=0.042) than volunteers engaged in non-healthcare social and administrative duties. These findings support the opportunity of a set of administrative, organizational and individual preventive interventions for emergency volunteers’ mental health.

Although participatory workplace improvement programs are known to provide favorable effects on high stress occupations like nursing, no studies have confirmed its effect using biomarkers. The aim of this study was to determine whether a participatory workplace improvement program would decrease stress-related symptoms as evaluated by biomarkers and self-reported stress among hospital nurses. Three actions to alleviate job stress, which were determined through focus group interviews and voting, were undertaken for two months. A total of 31 female Japanese nurses underwent measurement of inflammatory markers, autonomic nervous activity (ANA), and perceived job stress (PJS) at three-time points; before the program (T1), within a week after the completion of the program (T2), and three months after the program (T3). A series of inflammatory markers (Interferon-γ, Interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-12/23p40) decreased significantly at T2, and IL-12/23p40 and IL-15 significantly decreased at T3 compared to T1, while ANA and PJS remained unchanged. Our participatory program exerted beneficial effects in reducing inflammatory responses, but not for ANA and PJS. Further investigations with a better study design, i.e., a randomized controlled trial, and a larger sample size are warranted to determine what exerted beneficial effects on inflammatory markers and why other outcomes remained unchanged.