A preventive health paradigm for health care psychologists.

Developed a preventive health paradigm for health care psychologists by building on public health and preventive mental health models of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Adoption of a "biopsychosocial" perspective on health and illness is basic to the preventive health paradigm. Examples of preventive health programs are considered along with a wide range of preventive health activities by psychologists in health care settings. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taxing health.

Discusses a federal proposal that would limit the amount of health insurance an employer could provide tax free to employees. This could lead to the elimination of cost-effective health benefits such as mental health coverage, drug and alcohol abuse programs, and other preventive care services. The proposal threatens health security and is unlikely to provide additional tax revenues for the government. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effective outcomes management in occupational and environmental health

In the final analysis, outcomes management is about changing behavior, specifically in the occupational and environmental health practitioner's communication process and practice patterns and in the workers' prevention and compliance behavior. Outcomes management is also about quantifying results, establishing occupational and environmental health performance benchmarks, developing a best practices model and asking even more questions. As health care embraces the use of outcomes in evaluating its effectiveness, similar developments can be anticipated in occupational and environmental health. While occupational and environmental health outcomes management is still in its infancy, nurses in the workplace are well positioned to "shape it" into a useful tool that meets the needs of all the various practice settings. As nurses in the workplace begin to evaluate, report, and benchmark results, measurement tools will be refined, data bases will grow and new, useful benchmarks will be established. Because occupational and environmental health programs usually operate as part of a larger business unit, nurses in the workplace are continually faced with the challenge of ensuring that corporate programs including workers' compensation, health and disability benefit programs, vaccination programs, injury prevention, and health promotion or wellness programs are delivered in an efficient and cost-effective manner and that the expected outcomes are achieved. Effective outcomes management programs are the vehicles to effective goal achievement.     

Promoting organizational health: The evolving practice of occupational health psychology.

Occupational health psychology (OHP) is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field. This article attempts to describe a framework of organizing principles and core competencies associated with OHP practice. These concepts are illustrated in a case study of an organizational health center (OHC) implemented within a large industrial complex. The OHC was designed to optimize both organizational health and individual well-being by applying behavioral science principles to a workplace setting producing both quantitative and qualitative benefits for the organization. The OHC program components, enveloped in a preventive stress management context, provide examples of the variety of opportunities in OHP with hopes of stimulating ideas for practice. Continuing to build and refine both the guiding theory and applications of OHP practice will yield benefits for organizational clients, practitioners, and the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS control and the workplace: the role of occupational health services in South Africa

AIDS interventions typically fail to address the disjuncture between private behaviors and the social determinants of HIV infection. Data from a telephone survey of manufacturing companies and a postal survey of occupational health nurses in the Western Cape, South Africa, were used to explore the possible role of occupational health services in prevention and control of AIDS. The author found limited evidence of worker involvement in AIDS programs, particularly in companies with occupational health professionals. The management of sexually transmitted diseases was incomplete. Mandatory pre-employment testing of workers for HIV was not widespread. Respondents' opinions on priorities for AIDS prevention and control reflected a preoccupation with knowledge transfer. To ensure their effectiveness, workplace AIDS programs must improve worker participation and integrate AIDS prevention in general workplace health and safety programs. In addition, education programs must develop objectives within a critical theoretical understanding of the behavioral issues relevant to AIDS prevention, and must emphasize the empowerment of women in the workplace. In the context of the present restructuring of health services in South Africa, occupational health services, using the strategies outlined, can make a major contribution to national AIDS prevention and control.     

Workplace violence: Prevention, response, and recovery.

Describes a model of collaboration between business leaders and mental health clinicians in developing programs and strategies to prevent violence, handle acute crises, and cope with recovery and rebuilding in the aftermath of a workplace violence incident. Sections address the following: (1) demographics, costs, and risk factors and warning signs of workplace violence; (2) workplace violence prevention policies, including hiring, discipline, and termination practices; (3) responses to emergencies, such as potentially dangerous situations, violent episodes, and guns or weapons in the workplace; and (4) strategies for recovery following workplace violence that involve mental health and law enforcement mobilization, dealing with the media, assisting employees and families, legal issues, identification and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and follow-up procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating and preventing alcohol abuse in the workplace.

Discusses the need for a focus on prevention in the workplace in alcoholism treatment and ways of gaining acceptance for such programs in the business community. It is noted that treatment approaches that deal with the individual and the family ignore the work environment, which is often a major factor in the development and continuance of alcohol abuse behaviors. It has been demonstrated that subgrouping by employee personality types predisposes a distinctive pattern of reacting to aspects of work and the workplace. Interventions for curative and preventive purposes must focus on this interaction and must be presented in ways that encourage the cooperation of the business community. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Day care and early childhood settings. Fostering mental health in young children

The authors, with research supporting the relationship between experience and the developing brain, envision a new and innovative model of child care in which principles of child development and mental health play an integral role. The School of the Twenty-first Century, although housed in existing school buildings, will be far more than a traditional 8:00 AM-to-3:00 PM educational facility. It will become a hub of child and family life in the community and provide institutional and outreach services for children from birth to 12 years of age. Active developmental and mental health programs that provide education for parents, primary caretakers, and other providers are central to the model. These programs will include preventive, evaluative, and treatment services for children. The child psychiatrist is viewed as an important member of the mental health team, who helps identify, assess, and treat children with developmental and psychiatric difficulties.     

Academic occupational safety and health training programs

Occupational safety and health encompasses four core disciplines: industrial hygiene, occupational safety, occupational medicine, and occupational health nursing. This chapter traces the growth of these specialties throughout the 20th century in response to growing demands of the workplace. Graduate and certification programs are described for each of these four areas.     

Child Health: A Legitimate Business Concern.

This article reviews evidence substantiating the relationship between child health and business outcomes and evaluates literature regarding organizational interventions that benefit child health and reduce associated costs. The review focuses on 4 family-friendly initiatives, including prenatal programs, lactation programs, sick child care, and flexible working arrangements, and considers 4 business outcomes, specifically health care costs, face time, productive time, and employer attractiveness. Limitations of previous research are discussed, and preventive and reactive models of the relationship between child health and business outcomes are developed as guides for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The consultant as expert witness in school and workplace cases—Part 2.

This article provides a review of both Part 1 and Part 2 of a series of the Consulting Psychology Journal on the consultant as an expert witness in school and workplace cases. Part 1 covered topics such as professional consultants as expert witnesses from a legal perspective, sexual harassment and retaliation cases in the workplace, and special education consultants in due process hearings. In part 2, three articles focus on violence in the workplace and two articles alert the consulting psychologist to the issues related to malingering by clients and how to detect it. These articles are meant to provide a sampling of contemporary issues for which the mental health consultant may provide expert testimony in litigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Healthy workplace practices and employee outcomes.

The current study explored the relationship between employee satisfaction with different workplace practices (i.e., employee involvement, growth and development, work-life balance, recognition, health, and safety) and employee outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, mental well-being, and turnover intentions). A total of 152 university faculty and staff completed a web-survey. Overall, regression results indicated that satisfaction with healthy workplace practices was predictive of employee outcomes. In addition, satisfaction with employee involvement practices played a central role in predicting employee outcomes, whereas satisfaction with the other healthy workplace practices was somewhat less influential. Overall, our results suggest that organizations may increase some of the benefits of different healthy workplace programs for employees if they rely on employee involvement in program development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The safety of Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination in HIV infection and AIDS

Health promotion and prevention are critical elements of public health programs designed to improve health status and extend life chances. The pattern of mortality and morbidity in rural Australia suggests a particularly important role for health promotion and preventive measures in country areas. However, the importance of preventive health measures and how people access health-related information is not well understood. This study examines which sources of health-related information are most valued by rural residents and whether the importance attributed to different sources varies according to age, sex and geographic location. The results demonstrate the overwhelming importance of the general practitioner and pharmacist in provision of preventive health information for all rural people. There is a need to ensure that the work carried out by all those involved with health promotion is closely integrated with that of rural general practitioners.     

Endometrial cytology in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy

INTRODUCTION: The purpose was to examine whether health-promotion programs offered by California health plans are a serious attempt to improve health status or a marketing device used in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The research examined differences in the coverage, availability, utilization, and evaluation of health-promotion programs in California health plans. METHODS: A mail survey was done of the 35 HMOs (86% response) and 18 health insurance carriers (83% response) licensed to sell comprehensive health insurance in California in 1996 (some plans sell both HMO and PPO/indemnity products). The final sample included 30 commercial HMOs and 20 PPO and indemnity plans. The 1996 California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) of 4,000 adults was used to estimate population participation rates in health-promotion programs. RESULTS: California's HMOs in 1996 offered more comprehensive preventive benefits and health-promotion programs compared to PPO and indemnity plans. HMOs relied on a more comprehensive set of health-education methods to communicate health information to members and were more likely to open their programs to the public. HMOs are also more likely to have developed relationships with community-based and public health providers. Participation in health-promotion programs is low (2%-3%), regardless of plan type, and most health plans limit evaluations to assessment of member satisfaction and utilization. Only 35%-45% of HMOs, and no PPO/indemnity plans, assess the impact of health-promotion programs on health risks and behaviors, health status, or health care costs. CONCLUSION: For the majority of California's PPO and indemnity plans, health promotion is not an integral part of their business. For the majority of HMOs, health-promotion programs are offered primarily as a marketing vehicle. However, a substantial minority of HMOs offer health-promotion programs to achieve other organizational goals of health improvement and cost control.     

The Development of a Framework for a Comprehensive Approach to Stress Management Interventions at Work.

This overview shows that organizations adopt a variety of programs to prevent and manage stress at various levels of the organization. Programs vary widely in their objectives, structure, and target groups, and there is some skepticism regarding the practicality of using off-the-peg programs that have been developed without considering specific organizational requirements. Organizational policies to sustain and develop employee health and well-being must involve the development of strategies that comprehensively address health and safety issues. These strategies should comprise plans to prevent and manage stress, support individual and organizational needs, and be continually evaluated and reviewed. A framework is presented for developing a comprehensive approach to stress prevention and management in the workplace, encompassing the identification, implementation, and evaluation of bespoke intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What practicing dentists should know about EPSDT. Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment

Dr. Al-Tannir was formerly working as a student intern in the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health Division of Dental Health. He is currently the Dental Public Health Resident for the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Perry Point, Maryland and Clinical Instructor at the University of Maryland at Baltimore Dental School, Department of Oral Health Care Delivery. The purpose of this paper is to provide practicing dentists in West Virginia with an overview, understanding and appraisal of the Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) dental program. EPSDT is one of the least understood and least publicized programs in the Department of Health and Human Resources and is the children's preventive health component of Medicaid. West Virginia can meet the oral health needs for its children by making dental services, both curative and preventive, more available through the EPSDT program. This program can be a principal means, if sufficiently utilized, of meeting the oral health care needs of West Virginia Children by minimizing financial and attitudinal barriers.     

The role of the EAP in the identification and treatment of substance abuse

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are cost-effective strategies for employers to contain the substantial direct and indirect costs of substance abuse in the workplace. EAPs offer prevention, early detection, assessment of referral, and after-care programs to help stem the enormous costs of substance abuse in the workplace. Most effective employer substance abuse programs integrate drug-testing and EAP services to ensure a well coordinated, cost-effective program.