• Meaning and importance attributed to professional work by women suffering from cancer
    Limiting professional activity is a very difficult experience for people suffering from cancer, whose self-esteem is related to the work performed. Tumors not only often lead to the deterioration of their socio-economic situation, but also lower the assessment of the quality of life of cancer patients.
  • Assessment of 25 (OH) D concentration in people with metabolic syndrome working in agriculture
    Data on the nutritional status of vitamin D in the Polish population are incomplete. Vitamin D deficiencies seem common, but no Polish studies have been found that would verify the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D] in people intensively exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The aim of the study was to assess the plasma concentration of 25 (OH) D in people with metabolic syndrome (MS) working in agriculture, the frequency of its deficiency in these people and the relationship between plasma 25 (OH) D concentration and traditional biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases.
  • Issuing judgments on the health of employees and job applicants with the use of ICT media
    The applicable law allows the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the process of providing health services, including preventive examinations. The right to perform preventive examinations with the use of ICT should not be identified with an absolute obligation in this regard. An occupational medicine doctor may refuse to perform a preventive examination remotely if the specificity of medical activities and the patient's safety require personal contact with a doctor. The state of the epidemic prompted the legislator to adopt solutions enabling employees to continue working on the basis of an invalid decision, provided that it expired after March 7, 2020. The obligation to perform periodic tests was suspended, which means that their conduct during the epidemic is pointless. The obligations of the employee and the employer in this regard must, however, be fulfilled not later than within 60 days from the cancellation of the epidemic.
  • Effectiveness of hand disinfection depending on the type of nail plate coating - study among nurses in a specialist hospital
    The maintenance of short, unpainted nails by nurses is an essential part of effective hand disinfection. The aim of the study was to check the qualitative microbiological purity of painted nails after hand disinfection, taking into account the varnish type.
  • Air disinfection treatments in a dentist's office during the COVID-19 pandemic
    The 2019 outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) put tremendous pressure on healthcare systems around the world and exposed their unpreparedness for a major health crisis. During a pandemic of respiratory diseases, dentists are exposed to a high occupational risk of severe acute respiratory tract infection due to direct contact with the oral cavity, body fluids and airborne pathogens of patients. coronavirus syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The authors systematically searched the literature using major online databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, UpToDate, Embase and Web of Science) with the following keywords: "CO-VID-19", "2019-nCoV," " Coronavirus "," SARS-CoV-2 "," Dental COVID-19 "," CO-VID-19 dentistry "," Occupational hazard dentistry "," ventilation "," air disinfection "," airborne transmission ", "Disinfection with hydrogen peroxide", "UV disinfection", "ozone disinfection", "plasma disinfection" and "TiO2 disinfection". These included publications on the characteristics of COVID-19, occupational threats to dental staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and air disinfection methods. They found that due to the conditions of the working environment, dentists' offices and dental staff could become a dangerous source of COVID-19 transmission if proper infection control measures are not implemented. Therefore, safety protocols in dentistry should be revised and additional decontamination methods should be implemented. The authors advise in particular on the use of commonly accepted methods such as bactericidal irradiation with ultraviolet radiation with additional disinfection systems that have not yet been introduced in dentistry, such as vaporized hydrogen peroxide, non-thermal plasma and air filters with photocatalytic disinfection properties. Due to its toxicity, ozone is not the method of first choice for air disinfection in closed clinical rooms.
  • New-old methods of reducing and monitoring exposure to X-rays in the treatment environment
    The discovery of ionizing radiation also brought many benefits in medicine. The related risk of causing diseases, such as radiation neoplasms or cataracts, makes it necessary to monitor the exposure of workers exposed to ionizing radiation using individual dosimetry or optimization of medical procedures. There are 3 main ways to optimize medical procedures - reducing time, increasing distances, and using personal and permanent covers. With the advancement of science and technology, ways of reducing the dose are evolving. In addition to better cover, ergonomics also increase, as in the case of the Zero-Gravity cover and lightweight lead-free aprons. There is also growing awareness of the need to use shields and to conduct surgery to reduce exposure to both staff and patient. The aim of the article is to present new methods of protection against ionizing radiation in the context of the above three principles of radiological protection.
  • Humiliation at work - theoretical concepts and importance for the health of employees and the functioning of the organization
    Humiliation at work is a dangerous but poorly understood phenomenon. It is related to the asymmetry of power. In a humiliated person, it results in a feeling of less worth and being inferior. It manifests itself as an internal event (judgments and emotions), external events (an act of violence) or systemic social conditions (poverty and discrimination). Experiencing humiliation has no negative consequences when the individual becomes both the subject of the humiliating event and its witness. These consequences concern many areas of an individual's life and functioning in the organization. This article discusses the relationship of humiliation at the organizational level to work pathologies such as mobbing, bullying, bullying and harassment. Their purpose and effect is to humiliate an individual or a group of people, and because humiliation is associated with a sense of injustice and a desire for revenge, it often permanently disrupts the relationship between the parties and the observers of such behavior. The phenomenon of humiliation - despite its individual and social significance - still rarely appears in considerations about a healthy work environment and relations between people employed in the organization. In Polish literature, unlike in foreign literature, the phenomenon of humiliation is not often described, although interest in it has increased in recent years. The authors of the article propose a definition of this phenomenon from 3 research perspectives, present selected concepts about its nature and reports from research on the consequences of humiliating behavior at work from the point of view of an individual and organization.
  • Protection of workers' health against SARS-CoV-2 infection, causing COVID-19 - the current state of knowledge and recommendations
    The COVID-19 pandemic - despite the introduced restrictions and preventive measures - soon spread and reached Poland. Adaptation to the dynamically changing epidemiological situation requires rapid implementation of effective preventive measures. The aim of this publication is to provide all persons involved in the preventive care system - employees, employers and occupational medicine professionals - with the current knowledge on the epidemiological situation related to SARS CoV-2 and related recommendations and solutions. In order to analyze this issue, a literature review was carried out using the Internet databases of medical scientific reports: PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science Core Collection. The literature was supplemented with studies of issues on reliable websites, incl. the websites of the Ministry of Health (MZ) and the World Health Organization.
  • Biological safety of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in large workplaces outside the healthcare sector - an epidemiologist's point of view
    Populations in large workplaces are particularly at risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The following article attempts to identify the main problems related to biosafety in large workplaces outside the health sector, while pointing to possible solutions to these problems. The article reviews the literature on publications that have appeared in the last 4 months on the issue of risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections in large populations. The opinions and statements of experts issued by institutions dealing with this field were also taken into account. On the basis of available publications, key procedures for protecting employees in large workplaces against COVID-19 have been established. One of these key factors is infection prevention.

Medycyna Pracy (Occupational Medicine) - full list