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Purpose: The burden of health and safety related issues emanating from the modern workplace is overwhelming. Although the prevailing statistics found in the literature show that victims of workplace fatalities and injuries are higher in developing countries and transition economies, there is a very limited understanding of the causal factors that may correspond to the continuous increase in the occupational exposure of employees to various fatalities and injuries. The purpose of this study was to review the literature on occupational safety of workers with the objective of highlighting the major causal factors of workplace injuries and fatalities from a multi-regional perspective, particularly on job-contexts with highest safety and health related hazards. Methodology: A systematic review of the literature was conducted on 73 empirical studies in the regions of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the Americas (the US & Canada). Findings: The results showed that the highest number of injuries and fatalities were mostly found in the construction industry. It further emerged that most of the studies were centered in developing countries within Africa and Asia. Other results and recommendations were discussed for each region. Value: The findings from this study have the potential to expose the regional dynamics in relation to safety in the workplace. This study also addresses the main areas of concern for stakeholders to promote organizational development and safety culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemical restraint (CR) (also known as rapid tranquilisation) is the forced (non‐consenting) administration of medications to manage uncontrolled aggression, anxiety, or violence in people who are likely to cause harm to themselves or others. Our population of interest was adults with mental health disorders (with/without substance abuse). There has been a growing international movement over the past 22 years towards reducing/eliminating restrictive practices such as CR. It is appropriate to summarise the research that has been published over this time, identify trends and gaps in knowledge, and highlight areas for new research to inform practice. Aims: To undertake a comprehensive systematic search to identify, and describe, the volume and nature of primary international research into CR published since 1995. Methods: This paper reports the processes and overall findings of a systematic search for all available primary research on CR published between 1 January 1996 and 31 July 2018. It describes the current evidence base by hierarchy of evidence, country (ies) producing the research, CR definitions, study purpose, and outcome measures. Results: This review identified 311 relevant primary studies (21 RCTs; 46 non‐controlled experimental or prospective observational studies; 77 cross‐sectional studies; 69 retrospective studies; 67 opinion pieces, position or policy statements; and 31 qualitative studies). The USA, UK, and Australia contributed over half the research, whilst cross‐country collaborations comprised 6% of it. The most common research settings comprised acute psychiatric wards (23.3%), general psychiatric wards (21.6%), and general hospital emergency departments (19.0%). Discussion A key lesson learnt whilst compiling this database of research into CR was to ensure that all papers described non‐consenting administration of medications to manage adults with uncontrolled aggression, anxiety, or violence. There were tensions in the literature between using effective CR without producing adverse events, and how to decide when CR was needed (compared with choosing non‐chemical intervention for behavioural emergencies), respecting patients' dignity whilst safeguarding their safety, and preserving safe workplaces for staff, and care environments for other patients. The range of outcome measures suggests opportunities to standardise future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The paper is a research review focusing on occupational safety in the construction industry. OBJECTIVE: The purpose is to present research that highlights the areas of occupational safety and risks and to identify areas where research is lacking. METHODS: 146 articles from scientific journals, mainly covering the construction industry in Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and Japan have been studied. The findings are presented under 11 categories: accident statistics; individual factors; legislation and regulations; ethical considerations; risk management; leadership, management, organization; competence; safety design; cost-benefit calculations; programs and models; and technical solutions. RESULTS: The research is dominated by initiatives from researchers and government authorities, while the construction industry only appears as the object for the research. There is a scarcity of research on integrated systems encompassing subcontractors, as well as a lack of research with sociological perspectives on accidents. Furthermore, only a few studies have applied a gender perspective on safety in construction, i.e. there is a need of further research in this particular area. CONCLUSIONS: A range of initiatives have been taken to increase safety in the construction industry and the initiatives are mainly reported to be successful. There are some cultural differences, but basically researchers present similar results regardless of country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on the human rights dimensions of creating and implementing physical standards for employment for prospective and incumbent employees. The review argues that physical standards for employment engage two fundamental legal concepts of employment law: freedom of contract and workplace human rights. While the former promotes an employer's right to set workplace standards and make decisions of whom to hire and terminate, the latter prevents employers from discriminating against individuals contrary to human rights legislation. With reference to applicable human rights legislative regimes and their judicial interpretation in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, this review demonstrates the judicial preference for criterion validation in testing mechanisms in the finding of bona fide occupational requirements. With particular attention to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Meiorin, this review argues that an effective balance between workplace safety and human rights concerns can be found, not in applying different standards to different groups of individuals, but in an approach that holds employers to demonstrating a sufficient connection between a uniform physical standard of employment and the actual minimum requirements to perform the job safety and efficiently. Combined with an employer's duty to accommodate, such an approach to lawful physical standards for employment conceives of worker and public safety and workplace diversity as emanating from a shared concern for human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is a paucity of data available to assess the occupational health and safety risk associated with exposure to monoclonal antibodies. Industry standards and published guidelines are conflicting or outdated. Guidelines offer contrary recommendations based on an array of methodological approaches. This survey aimed to describe current practices, beliefs and attitudes relating to the handling of monoclonal antibodies by Australian medical, nursing and pharmacy clinicians. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed between June and September 2013. Respondents were surveyed on three focus areas: institutional guideline availability and content, current practices and attitudes. Demographic data relating to respondent and primary place of practice were also collected. Results: A total of 222 clinicians completed the survey, with representation from all targeted professional groups and from a variety of geographic locations. 92% of respondents reported that their institution prepared or administered monoclonal antibodies, with 87% specifically handling anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies were mostly prepared onsite (84-90%) and mostly within pharmacy clean-rooms (75%) and using cytotoxic cabinets (61%). 43% of respondents reported access to institutional monoclonal antibody handling guidelines with risk reduction strategies including training and education (71%), spill and waste management (71%), procedures for transportation (57%) and restricted handling (50%). Nurses had a stronger preference towards pharmacy manufacturing than both doctors and pharmacists for a range of clinical scenarios. 95% of all respondents identified that professional or regulatory body guidelines are an important resource when considering handling practices. Conclusion: Monoclonal antibodies are most commonly handled according to cytotoxic drug standards and often in the absence of formal guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents research evidence from the UK, the USA and Australia regarding the prevalence of aggression directed at child protection social workers by parents or their partners. It identifies gaps in current programmes of qualifying training for social workers in these countries. Adopting a critical case approach, this study analyses a number of serious case reviews conducted in England in which the aggression of a parent or their partner was a key contributing factor in the failure of social services to protect a child from harm. By examining the dynamics between social workers and parents illuminated by these critical cases, the study identifies the theories, knowledge base and skills which would rectify the deficits in the curriculum, not only of social work courses in England and elsewhere in the UK, but also of those presently being delivered in the USA and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The extended parallel process model (EPPM) proposes fear appeals are most effective when they combine threat and efficacy. Three studies conducted in the workplace safety context examine the use of various EPPM factors and their effects, especially multiplicative effects. Study 1 was a content analysis examining the use of EPPM factors in actual workplace safety messages. Study 2 experimentally tested these messages with 212 construction trainees. Study 3 replicated this experiment with 1,802 men across four English-speaking countries—Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results of these three studies (1) demonstrate the inconsistent use of EPPM components in real-world work safety communications, (2) support the necessity of self-efficacy for the effective use of threat, (3) show a multiplicative effect where communication effectiveness is maximized when all model components are present (severity, susceptibility, and efficacy), and (4) validate these findings with gory appeals across four English-speaking countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The construction industry has a reputation of being one of the most unsafe industries because of its high rates of injuries and fatalities. To improve safety performance, some construction companies have implemented innovative safety management programs. This paper reviews programs implemented by five construction companies in the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong and reviews the objectives, implementation strategies, and lessons learned from each. Seven program elements emerged in all cases: (1) The programs were focused on shaping employees' beliefs, attitudes, and commitment to achieve safe behavior on construction sites; (2) programs were based on the belief that all incidents and injuries are preventable and unacceptable; (3) there was a strong commitment to safety among top management; (4) the programs extended safety management issues to the entire supply chain and involved all stakeholders; (5) safety risk management systems were in place to identify, assess, and respond to on-site hazards, (6) clear authority and accountability for safety were established and safe behavior rewarded; and (7) a safety knowledge database was established to capture lessons learned. The paper suggests that organizations adopt a holistic strategy that focuses not only on improving the physical working environment, safety risk assessments, and employees' safety knowledge, but also on shaping employees' beliefs and attitudes that lead to safe behavior and ultimately to a strong safety culture. In conclusion, a conceptual model for balancing the art and science of managing construction safety is proposed for use by construction enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on various congresses on construction industry going to hold later in the year. ICEC Melbourne 2002 World Congress will be held on April 14-18, 2002, at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne, Australia. The International Conference on Construction in the 21st Century Challenges and Opportunities in Management and Technology will be held on April 25-26, 2002 in Miami, Florida. The 3rd International Conference on Implementation of Safety and Health on Construction Sites will be held on May 8-17, 2002, in Hong Kong and Beijing, China. The Fifth International Conference of the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects, will be held on May 29-31, 2002, in Renesse, Zeeland in the Netherlands.