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Current asthma and asthma-like symptoms among workers at a Veterans Administration Medical Center.

ABSTRACT: Healthcare workers are at increased risk for respiratory disorders. The purpose of our respiratory health survey was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and asthma-like symptoms and their association with workplace exposures and tasks among healthcare workers at a Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center.Information on respiratory health and work characteristics, including tasks performed, products used, and exposures, were collected by questionnaire from a convenience sample of workers employed at the VA Medical Center during 2012-2014. Associations of asthma and asthma-like symptoms with cleaning and disinfecting tasks and products as well as exposure to dampness and molds, and construction dust were evaluated using log-binomial regression.The prevalence of current asthma was 17.6% and almost half of all workers reported asthma-like symptoms. We observed elevated prevalence of current asthma among the VA healthcare workers compared to the U.S. general and working adult populations. Asthma and asthma-like symptoms were significantly associated with mold, dampness, and construction material exposures; cleaning and disinfecting products; and cleaning or disinfecting tasks.Workplace exposures and tasks associated with current asthma and asthma-like symptoms were identified but further research is needed to investigate the temporal association between workplace exposures and current asthma and asthma-like symptoms.

SUBMITTER: Kurth L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5965269 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Current asthma and asthma-like symptoms among workers at a Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Kurth Laura L Virji Mohammed Abbas MA Storey Eileen E Framberg Susan S Kallio Christa C Fink Jordan J Laney Anthony Scott AS

International journal of hygiene and environmental health 20170905 8

<h4>Introduction</h4>Healthcare workers are at increased risk for respiratory disorders. The purpose of our respiratory health survey was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and asthma-like symptoms and their association with workplace exposures and tasks among healthcare workers at a Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center.<h4>Material and methods</h4>Information on respiratory health and work characteristics, including tasks performed, products used, and exposures, were collected ...[more]

PMID: 28923472

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Project description:BackgroundThe Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has undertaken a 5-year initiative to transform to a patient-centered medical home model. An early focus of implementation was on creating open access, defined as continuity and capacity in primary care.ObjectiveWe describe the impact of readiness for implementation on efforts of pilot teams to make changes to improve access and identify successful strategies used by early adopters to overcome barriers to change.DesignA qualitative, formative evaluation of the first 18 months of implementation in one Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) spread across six states.ParticipantsMembers of local implementation teams including administrators, primary care providers, and staff from primary care clinics located at 10 medical centers and 45 outpatient clinics.ApproachWe conducted site visits during the first 6 months of implementation, observations at Learning Collaboratives, semi-structured interviews, and review of internal organizational documents. All data collection took place between April 2010 and December 2011.Key resultsEarly adopters employed various strategies to enhance access, with a focus on decreasing demand for face-to-face care, increasing supply of different types of primary care encounters, and improving clinic efficiencies. Our interviews with key contacts revealed three important areas where readiness for implementation (or lack thereof) had an impact on interventions to improve access: leadership engagement, staffing resources, and access to information and knowledge.ConclusionsKey factors related to readiness for implementation had an impact on which interventions pilot teams could put into place, as well as the viability and sustainability of access gains. Wide variations in interventions to improve access occurring across sites situated within one organization have important implications for efforts to measure the impact of enhanced access on patient outcomes, costs, and other systems-level indicators of the Medical Home.

Dataset Information

Current asthma and asthma-like symptoms among workers at a Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Publications

Current asthma and asthma-like symptoms among workers at a Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Similar Datasets

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