BACKGROUND Mental health is often given low priority in health policy planning, particularly in developing countries. Several international health bodies, including the World Health Organization, recommend integrating mental health into primary care settings to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with mental illness, particularly in low-resource settings. OBJECTIVE This study explores h...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization defines a "critical shortage" of health workers as being fewer than 2.28 health workers per 1000 population and failing to attain 80% coverage for deliveries by skilled birth attendants. We aimed to quantify the number of health workers in five African countries and the proportion of these currently working in primary health care facilities, to compare t...

BACKGROUND Insufficient knowledge on blood-borne pathogens has been identified as a factor that influences occupational exposure to needle stick and sharps injuries. The objective of this study was to assess healthcare workers' knowledge on occupational exposure to HIV. METHODS A cross sectional survey was conducted at Tumbi designated regional hospital and Dodoma regional hospital, Tanzania ...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to: (1) explore experiences and responses of staff in caring for sheltered, frail, Hurricane Katrina evacuees; and (2) identify how planning and training can be enhanced for staff who may care for frail older populations during and after disasters. METHODS Individual, in-person, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 staff members in four nursi...

The study's objectives were to: 1) use social support theory to examine factors influencing healthcare workers' opinions about workplace violence (WPV) prevention strategies, and 2) to determine the types of support that general practitioners (GPs) and general nurses sought and expected to use after WPV exposure. A cross-sectional survey was used to assess a sample of 448 GPs and 412 general nu...

In order to understand the tapestry of care in the home, we need to realize that in addition to regulated staff providing care, home support workers, volunteers and family and friend caregivers provide essential support to the frail, disabled and chronically ill. In their article “Employers, Home Support Workers and Elderly Clients Reveal Key Issues in Delivery and Receipt of Home Support,” Ann...

OBJECTIVES To assess internal dose and oxidative stress in male restaurant workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from cooking oil fumes (COFs) in Chinese restaurants. METHODS The study participants included 288 male restaurant workers (171 kitchen and 117 service staff) in Chinese restaurants in Taiwan. Airborne particulate PAHs were measured over 12 h on each of two cons...

BACKGROUND Municipal home care workers provide high-quality services to an increasing proportion of elderly people living in private homes. The work environments and working conditions of these workers vary to a great extent, implying rapid priority-making among both employers and employees to ensure that the work can be performed in a safe way. OBJECTIVES This study aims to examine home care...

BACKGROUND Burnout among maternal healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa may have a negative effect on services provided and efforts to mitigate high maternal mortality rates. In Malawi, research on burnout is limited and no empirical research has been conducted specifically among maternal health staff. Therefore, the aims of the study were to examine the prevalence and degree of burnout repo...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of scaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART) on the working environment and motivation of health workers in South Africa; and to suggest strategies to minimize negative effects and maximise positive effects. METHODS Exploratory interviews with health managers and senior clinical staff were used to identify locally relevant work environment indicators. A sel...