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Influenza vaccination uptake among health care workers (HCWs) protects patients and staff. Still, many health institutions' coverage rates are unsatisfactory. We aimed to test the effect of communicating moral appeals in increasing vaccination uptake in a real life setting. In three field experiments among HCWs, a moral appeal highlighting morally relevant consequences of influenza vaccination was manipulated. The outcome variables were vaccination intention right after exposure to the moral appeal (Study 1; N = 569 US and UK HCWs from various institutions) and vaccination uptake in subsequent weeks for those respondents who consented in sharing this data during the survey (Studies 2 and 3, respectively N = 121 and N = 770 Dutch hospital employees). Studies 1 and 3 showed that moral appeal enhanced vaccination intention and uptake (vaccination uptake increased by 11%), due to increased awareness that vaccination is a moral decision. In Study 2, moral appeal had no effect, probably because people with more outspoken vaccination attitudes had responded to the call to fill in the survey. Moreover, moral appeal increased support for an influenza vaccination mandate. Furthermore, the results suggest that moral appeal was especially effective among HCWs with no history of influenza vaccination. These results indicate that moral appeal can be a useful tool for increasing both vaccination uptake and mandate support within health care institutions. • Influenza vaccination coverage rates among health care workers are unsatisfying. • Moral appeal was tested in a field experiment among health care workers (HCWs). • Exposure to a moral appeal increased influenza vaccination uptake with 11%. • Exposure to a moral appeal increased support for an influenza vaccination mandate. • Moral appeal affected HCWs without an influenza vaccination history more strongly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 19th century and first half of the 20th century is one of those periods in history of rapid economical, technical and social changes. There is an ongoing mechanization, followed by a movement to rationalize production and to make it cost effective. This has created a heavy burden of occupational deaths amongst workers. In this period occupational safety is developing into a professional field. Engineers are enclosing hazards and fencing heights, shaping up safety technique, and writing very practical publications on occupational safety. These publications, predominantly published in the United States, are leading to quite some safety related metaphors, with the iceberg and the domino’s as the most famous ones. Sociologists, psychologists, and physicians are more concerned with questions related to accident causation, and these specialists are conducting research leading to two different safety theories. Causes of occupational accident are found either in the workers’ capacity to handle hazardous situations, or in external causes, like very long working hours, dangerous machines and the increased pressures of work and speed of production. The Pittsburgh survey, the first extended analysis of occupational accidents in a steel district, strongly advocated the environmental hypothesis, while the so-called ‘individual hypothesis’ is favored by the American Safety First Movement, starting as a private initiative in 1906 by US Steel, and later spreading out over Western European countries. The British Industrial Fatigue Board has given the individual hypothesis its scientific justification. Despite scientific criticism just after World War II on the concept of accident proneness and ‘unsafe acts’, its popularity is not fading. Even nowadays the famous metaphors are still part of the vocational training of safety experts, also in The Netherlands. Apparently professional and scientific developments in occupational safety are belonging to two separate worlds. Before World War II, The Netherlands is not a leading country in occupational safety but a follower, first of France and the German speaking countries. After World War I its focus is directed towards the Anglo-Saxon countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses guidance on measuring compliance with occupational exposure limits (OEL) proposed by the British-Dutch Working Party, a joint working party appointed by the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and the Dutch Occupational Hygiene Society. The draft uses a criterion that 95% of exposures should be below the OEL, asserting that this represents good professional practice even if it does not strictly guarantee compliance with the law. Two measures of compliance are proposed, namely, group exceedance and individual exceedance.

A series of one-week modules, which together can lead to the award of a Master of Science degree in safety and reliability under the auspices of the University of Bradford, is to get under way from this coming September 1990. Some modules have already been given at several venues as stand-alone post-experience courses, but many new ones have been added for 1989/90, bringing the total currently on offer up to 19. Modules will be given at universities and other institutions in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany as well as in Great Britain, and it is intended to add Italy, Portugal, France and Spain.