The Level of Awareness of Safety Measures Practiced in School Laboratories among Pre-Service Science Teachers at Najran University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagihi, Yahea Ali

2018-01-01

This study is an attempt to identify the level of awareness of safety measures practiced in school laboratories among pre-service Science teachers at Najran University. It also aims to identify the sources of safety measures awareness and the statistically significant differences among the sample responses due to specialization and grade…

Health and safety in clinical laboratories in developing countries: safety considerations.

PubMed

Ejilemele, A A; Ojule, A C

2004-01-01

Clinical laboratories are potentially hazardous work areas. Health and safety in clinical laboratories is becoming an increasingly important subject as a result of the emergence of highly infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. This is even more so in developing countries where health and safety have traditionally been regarded as low priority issues, considering the more important health problems confronting the health authorities in these countries. We conducted a literature search using the medical subheadings titles on the INTERNET over a period of twenty years and summarized our findings. This article identifies hazards in the laboratories and highlights measures to make the laboratory a safer work place. It also emphasizes the mandatory obligations of employers and employees towards the attainment of acceptable safety standards in clinical laboratories in Third World countries in the face of the current HIV/AIDS epidemic in many of these developing countries especially in the sub-Saharan Africa while accommodating the increasing work load in these laboratories. Both the employer and the employee have major roles to play in the maintenance of a safe working environment. This can be achieved if measures discussed are incorporated into everyday laboratory practice.

Does external evaluation of laboratories improve patient safety?

PubMed

Noble, Michael A

2007-01-01

Laboratory accreditation and External Quality Assessment (also called proficiency testing) are mainstays of laboratory quality assessment and performance. Both practices are associated with examples of improved laboratory performance. The relationship between laboratory performance and improved patient safety is more difficult to assess because of the many variables that are involved with patient outcome. Despite this difficulty, the argument to continue external evaluation of laboratories is too compelling to consider the alternative.

Laboratory errors and patient safety.

PubMed

Miligy, Dawlat A

2015-01-01

Laboratory data are extensively used in medical practice; consequently, laboratory errors have a tremendous impact on patient safety. Therefore, programs designed to identify and reduce laboratory errors, as well as, setting specific strategies are required to minimize these errors and improve patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to identify part of the commonly encountered laboratory errors throughout our practice in laboratory work, their hazards on patient health care and some measures and recommendations to minimize or to eliminate these errors. Recording the encountered laboratory errors during May 2008 and their statistical evaluation (using simple percent distribution) have been done in the department of laboratory of one of the private hospitals in Egypt. Errors have been classified according to the laboratory phases and according to their implication on patient health. Data obtained out of 1,600 testing procedure revealed that the total number of encountered errors is 14 tests (0.87 percent of total testing procedures). Most of the encountered errors lay in the pre- and post-analytic phases of testing cycle (representing 35.7 and 50 percent, respectively, of total errors). While the number of test errors encountered in the analytic phase represented only 14.3 percent of total errors. About 85.7 percent of total errors were of non-significant implication on patients health being detected before test reports have been submitted to the patients. On the other hand, the number of test errors that have been already submitted to patients and reach the physician represented 14.3 percent of total errors. Only 7.1 percent of the errors could have an impact on patient diagnosis. The findings of this study were concomitant with those published from the USA and other countries. This proves that laboratory problems are universal and need general standardization and bench marking measures. Original being the first data published from Arabic countries that

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: Safety in the Chemistry Laboratories: A Specific Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corkern, Walter H.; Munchausen, Linda L.

1983-01-01

Describes a safety program adopted by Southeastern Louisiana University. Students are given detailed instructions on laboratory safety during the first laboratory period and a test which must be completely correct before they are allowed to return to the laboratory. Test questions, list of safety rules, and a laboratory accident report form are…

Safety in laboratories: Indian scenario.

PubMed

Mustafa, Ajaz; Farooq, A Jan; Qadri, Gj; S A, Tabish

2008-07-01

Health and safety in clinical laboratories is becoming an increasingly important subject as a result of emergence of highly infectious diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV. A cross sectional study was carried out to study the safety measures being adopted in clinical laboratories of India. Heads of laboratories of teaching hospitals of India were subjected to a standardized, pretested questionnaire. Response rate was 44.8%. only 60% of laboratories had person in-charge of safety in laboratory. Seventy three percent of laboratories had safety education program regarding hazards. In 91% of laboratories staff is using protective clothing while working in laboratories. Hazardous material regulations are followed in 78% of laboratories. Regular health check ups are carried among laboratory staff in 43.4% of laboratories.Safety manual is available in 56.5% of laboratories. 73.9% of laboratories are equipped with fire extinguishers. Fume cupboards are provided in 34.7% of laboratories and they are regularly checked in 87.5% of these laboratories. In 78.26% of laboratories suitable measures are taken to minimize formation of aerosols.In 95.6% of laboratories waste is disposed off as per bio-medical waste management handling rules. Laboratory of one private medical college was accredited with NABL and safety parameters were better in that laboratory. Installing safety engineered devices apparently contributes to significant decrease in injuries in laboratories; laboratory safety has to be a part of overall quality assurance programme in hospitals. Accreditation has to be made necessary for all laboratories.

[Perception of health and safety risks among workers pathology laboratories].

PubMed

Alvarado-Cabrero, Isabel; Valencia-Cedillo, Raquel

2015-01-01

Health care workers are experiencing increasing numbers of occupational illnesses. Safety practices in anatomical pathology laboratories (APL) are crucial to prevent unnecessary exposures to both chemical and biological agents. The main goal of this study was to determine if pathologists perceptions and actual practice mirror regulatory guidelines. Current available recommendations for APL were reviewed and used to construct an online survey distributed to pathologists. The survey was completed by 121 participants. Eighty-seven (72 %) of respondents reported receiving inadequate safety training. Most pathologists (82 %) were not well-informed about biosafety practices. Sixty-three (52 %) participants felt that the risks of chemical and infectious disease exposures in the APL were low. Most respondents reported having a needle stick or cut (71 %). Eighty-six (71 %) of participants reported musculo skeletal problems. This study indicated that there is a need for improving training in anatomical pathology safety practices in Mexican laboratories as daily practices do not reflected current guidelines.

Promoting Good Clinical Laboratory Practices and Laboratory Accreditation to Support Clinical Trials in Sub-Saharan Africa

PubMed Central

Shott, Joseph P.; Saye, Renion; Diakité, Moussa L.; Sanogo, Sintry; Dembele, Moussa B.; Keita, Sekouba; Nagel, Mary C.; Ellis, Ruth D.; Aebig, Joan A.; Diallo, Dapa A.; Doumbo, Ogobara K.

2012-01-01

Laboratory capacity in the developing world frequently lacks quality management systems (QMS) such as good clinical laboratory practices, proper safety precautions, and adequate facilities; impacting the ability to conduct biomedical research where it is needed most. As the regulatory climate changes globally, higher quality laboratory support is needed to protect study volunteers and to accurately assess biological parameters. The University of Bamako and its partners have undertaken a comprehensive QMS plan to improve quality and productivity using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute standards and guidelines. The clinical laboratory passed the College of American Pathologists inspection in April 2010, and received full accreditation in June 2010. Our efforts to implement high-quality standards have been valuable for evaluating safety and immunogenicity of malaria vaccine candidates in Mali. Other disease-specific research groups in resource-limited settings may benefit by incorporating similar training initiatives, QMS methods, and continual improvement practices to ensure best practices. PMID:22492138

Guidelines on Good Clinical Laboratory Practice

PubMed Central

Ezzelle, J.; Rodriguez-Chavez, I. R.; Darden, J. M.; Stirewalt, M.; Kunwar, N.; Hitchcock, R.; Walter, T.; D’Souza, M. P.

2008-01-01

A set of Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) standards that embraces both the research and clinical aspects of GLP were developed utilizing a variety of collected regulatory and guidance material. We describe eleven core elements that constitute the GCLP standards with the objective of filling a gap for laboratory guidance, based on IND sponsor requirements, for conducting laboratory testing using specimens from human clinical trials. These GCLP standards provide guidance on implementing GLP requirements that are critical for laboratory operations, such as performance of protocol-mandated safety assays, peripheral blood mononuclear cell processing and immunological or endpoint assays from biological interventions on IND-registered clinical trials. The expectation is that compliance with the GCLP standards, monitored annually by external audits, will allow research and development laboratories to maintain data integrity and to provide immunogenicity, safety, and product efficacy data that is repeatable, reliable, auditable and that can be easily reconstructed in a research setting. PMID:18037599

Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 2. General Practices.

PubMed

Mazur, Steven; Holbrook, Michael R; Burdette, Tracey; Joselyn, Nicole; Barr, Jason; Pusl, Daniela; Bollinger, Laura; Coe, Linda; Jahrling, Peter B; Lackemeyer, Matthew G; Wada, Jiro; Kuhn, Jens H; Janosko, Krisztina

2016-10-03

Work in a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) containment laboratory requires time and great attention to detail. The same work that is done in a BSL-2 laboratory with non-high-consequence pathogens will take significantly longer in a BSL-4 setting. This increased time requirement is due to a multitude of factors that are aimed at protecting the researcher from laboratory-acquired infections, the work environment from potential contamination and the local community from possible release of high-consequence pathogens. Inside the laboratory, movement is restricted due to air hoses attached to the mandatory full-body safety suits. In addition, disinfection of every item that is removed from Class II biosafety cabinets (BSCs) is required. Laboratory specialists must be trained in the practices of the BSL-4 laboratory and must show high proficiency in the skills they are performing. The focus of this article is to outline proper procedures and techniques to ensure laboratory biosafety and experimental accuracy using a standard viral plaque assay as an example procedure. In particular, proper techniques to work safely in a BSL-4 environment when performing an experiment will be visually emphasized. These techniques include: setting up a Class II BSC for experiments, proper cleaning of the Class II BSC when finished working, waste management and safe disposal of waste generated inside a BSL-4 laboratory, and the removal of inactivated samples from inside a BSL-4 laboratory to the BSL-2 laboratory.

Quality Indicators in Laboratory Medicine: from theory to practice. Preliminary data from the IFCC Working Group Project "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety".

PubMed

Sciacovelli, Laura; O'Kane, Maurice; Skaik, Younis Abdelwahab; Caciagli, Patrizio; Pellegrini, Cristina; Da Rin, Giorgio; Ivanov, Agnes; Ghys, Timothy; Plebani, Mario

2011-05-01

The adoption of Quality Indicators (QIs) has prompted the development of tools to measure and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of laboratory testing, first in the hospital setting and subsequently in ambulatory and other care settings. While Laboratory Medicine has an important role in the delivery of high-quality care, no consensus exists as yet on the use of QIs focussing on all steps of the laboratory total testing process (TTP), and further research in this area is required. In order to reduce errors in laboratory testing, the IFCC Working Group on "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" (WG-LEPS) developed a series of Quality Indicators, specifically designed for clinical laboratories. In the first phase of the project, specific QIs for key processes of the TTP were identified, including all the pre-, intra- and post-analytic steps. The overall aim of the project is to create a common reporting system for clinical laboratories based on standardized data collection, and to define state-of-the-art and Quality Specifications (QSs) for each QI independent of: a) the size of organization and type of activities; b) the complexity of processes undertaken; and c) different degree of knowledge and ability of the staff. The aim of the present paper is to report the results collected from participating laboratories from February 2008 to December 2009 and to identify preliminary QSs. The results demonstrate that a Model of Quality Indicators managed as an External Quality Assurance Program can serve as a tool to monitor and control the pre-, intra- and post-analytical activities. It might also allow clinical laboratories to identify risks that lead to errors resulting in patient harm: identification and design of practices that eliminate medical errors; the sharing of information and education of clinical and laboratory teams on practices that reduce or prevent errors; the monitoring and evaluation of improvement activities.

Safety in the Science Laboratory, A Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, Floyd T.

The bulletin was prepared as a general guide to encourage the use of safe practices in science laboratories in Florida schools. The guide begins with an outline of recommended emergency procedures. Chapter I discusses the importance of safety in the science program. Chapter II discusses handling and storage of equipment, and designing laboratory…

Role of a quality management system in improving patient safety - laboratory aspects.

PubMed

Allen, Lynn C

2013-09-01

The aim of this study is to describe how implementation of a quality management system (QMS) based on ISO 15189 enhances patient safety. A literature review showed that several European hospitals implemented a QMS based on ISO 9001 and assessed the impact on patient safety. An Internet search showed that problems affecting patient safety have occurred in a number of laboratories across Canada. The requirements of a QMS based on ISO 15189 are outlined, and the impact of the implementation of each requirement on patient safety is summarized. The Quality Management Program - Laboratory Services in Ontario is briefly described, and the experience of Ontario laboratories with Ontario Laboratory Accreditation, based on ISO 15189, is outlined. Several hospitals that implemented ISO 9001 reported either a positive impact or no impact on patient safety. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories are described. Implementation of each requirement of the QMS can be seen to have a positive effect on patient safety. Average laboratory conformance on Ontario Laboratory Accreditation is very high, and laboratories must address and resolve any nonconformities. Other standards, practices, and quality requirements may also contribute to patient safety. Implementation of a QMS based on ISO 15189 provides a solid foundation for quality in the laboratory and enhances patient safety. It helps to prevent patient safety issues; when such issues do occur, effective processes are in place for investigation and resolution. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories might have been prevented had effective QMSs been in place. Ontario Laboratory Accreditation has had a positive impact on quality in Ontario laboratories. Copyright © 2013 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laboratory safety aspects of SARS at Biosafety Level 2.

PubMed

Barkham, T M S

2004-03-01

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus causes severe disease, is transmissible to the community and there is no effective prophylaxis or treatment--perhaps fulfilling the criteria for biohazard group 3 or 4. The recommendation to use Biosafety Level (BSL)3 practices within a BSL2 environment appears to have been a practical decision based on available resources; most diagnostic laboratories operate at BSL2. Safety is achieved with controls in administration, engineering and personal protective equipment/behaviour. At the heart of every safety policy is a risk assessment based on the exact manipulations employed. Excessive administrative and engineering controls are less important than the training and personal attitudes, abilities and understanding of the staff. The SARS outbreak focused our attention on the safety aspects of common mundane tasks, such as decapping blood tubes. Laboratories often claim they follow certain practices but casual observation does not always support these claims. Guidelines differed and created uncertainty. This was stressful for laboratory staff held accountable for their implementation. Attempts to categorise risks and their management into neatly wrapped parcels are attractive, but closer inspection reveals a subjective element that allows doubt to creep in with varying interpretations of the literature. Staff most at risk were those handling respiratory samples. Staff receiving samples via pneumatic tubes had least control over their exposure and were potentially exposed to aerosols from leaking samples. Risk assessment remains a balance between cost and benefit.

Laboratory safety and the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety.

PubMed

McCay, Layla; Lemer, Claire; Wu, Albert W

2009-06-01

Laboratory medicine has been a pioneer in the field of patient safety; indeed, the College of American Pathology first called attention to the issue in 1946. Delivering reliable laboratory results has long been considered a priority, as the data produced in laboratory medicine have the potential to critically influence individual patients' diagnosis and management. Until recently, most attention on laboratory safety has focused on the analytic stage of laboratory medicine. Addressing this stage has led to significant and impressive improvements in the areas over which laboratories have direct control. However, recent data demonstrate that pre- and post-analytical phases are at least as vulnerable to errors; to further improve patient safety in laboratory medicine, attention must now be focused on the pre- and post-analytic phases, and the concept of patient safety as a multi-disciplinary, multi-stage and multi-system concept better understood. The World Alliance for Patient Safety (WAPS) supports improvement of patient safety globally and provides a potential framework for considering the total testing process.

Introducing Laboratory Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeLorenzo, Ronald

1985-01-01

Presents a simple, 10-item quiz designed to make students aware that they must learn laboratory safety. The items include questions on acid/base accidents, several types of fire extinguishers, and safety glassses. Answers and some explanations are included. (DH)

Laboratory biological safety cabinet (BSC) explosion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Al-Dahhan, Wedad H.; Al-Zuhairi, Ali Jasim; Hussein, Falah H.

Scientists at universities across Iraq are actively working to report actual incidents and accidents occurring in their laboratories in order to raise awareness and encourage openness, leading to widespread adoption of robust Chemical Safety and Security (CSS) practices. This manuscript is the first in a series of five case studies describing laboratory incidents and accidents in Iraqi university laboratories in order to share lessons learned and minimize the possibility of similar incidents in the future. In this study, we describe a serious event that resulted in a postgraduate student sustaining serious injuries when the biological safety cabinet (BSC) she wasmore » using exploded. Of particular note, the paper highlights how a combination of failures and deficiencies at many levels within an organization and its technical community (rather than a single piece of faulty equipment or the careless behavior of one person) can lead to a dangerous, potentially life-threatening incident. By openly sharing what happened along with the lessons learned from the accident, we hope to minimize the possibility of another researcher being injured in a similar incident in the future.« less

Laboratory Safety in the Biology Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritch, Donna; Rank, Jane

2001-01-01

Reports on a research project to determine if students possess and comprehend basic safety knowledge. Shows a significant increase in the amount of safety knowledge gained when students are exposed to various topics in laboratory safety and are held accountable for learning the information as required in a laboratory safety course. (Author/MM)

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory. Safety in the Laboratory: Are We Making Any Progress?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKusick, Blaine C.

1987-01-01

Reviews trends in laboratory safety found in both industrial and academic situations. Reports that large industrial labs generally have excellent safety programs but that, although there have been improvements, academia still lags behind industry in safety. Includes recommendations for improving lab safety. (ML)

A Laboratory Safety Program at Delaware.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitmyre, George; Sandler, Stanley I.

1986-01-01

Describes a laboratory safety program at the University of Delaware. Includes a history of the program's development, along with standard safety training and inspections now being implemented. Outlines a two-day laboratory safety course given to all graduate students and staff in chemical engineering. (TW)

OSHA Laboratory Standard: Driving Force for Laboratory Safety!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Kenneth R.

2000-01-01

Discusses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Laboratory Safety Standards as the major driving force in establishing and maintaining a safe working environment for teachers and students. (Author)

Laboratory Ventilation and Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steere, Norman V.

1965-01-01

In order to meet the needs of both safety and economy, laboratory ventilation systems must effectively remove air-borne toxic and flammable materials and at the same time exhaust a minimum volume of air. Laboratory hoods are the most commonly used means of removing gases, dusts, mists, vapors, and fumed from laboratory operations. To be effective,…

Laboratory Safety Guide for Arkansas K-12 Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arkansas State Dept. of Education, Little Rock.

This document presents laboratory safety rules for Arkansas K-12 schools which were developed by the Arkansas Science Teachers Association (ASTA) and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Contents include: (1) "Laboratory Safety Guide for Arkansas K-12 Schools"; (2) "Safety Considerations"; (3) "Safety Standards for Science Laboratories";…

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: An Undergraduate Chemical Laboratory Safety Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholls, L. Jewel

1982-01-01

Describes a two-quarter hour college chemistry course focusing on laboratory safety. Includes lists of topics/assignments, problem sets (toxicology, storage, and energy) and videotapes, films, and slide sets used in the course. (JN)

School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brundage, Patricia; Palassis, John

2006-01-01

The guide presents information about ordering, using, storing, and maintaining chemicals in the high school laboratory. The guide also provides information about chemical waste, safety and emergency equipment, assessing chemical hazards, common safety symbols and signs, and fundamental resources relating to chemical safety, such as Material…

Guide for Science Laboratory Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, John J.

General and specific safety procedures and recommendations for secondary school science laboratories are provided in this guide. Areas of concern include: (1) chemicals (storage, disposal, toxicity, unstable and incompatible chemicals); (2) microorganisms; (3) plants; (4) animals; (5) electricity; (6) lasers; (7) rockets; (8) eye safety and…

SAFETY IN THE CHEMICAL LABORATORY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

STEERE, NORMAN V.

MONTHLY ARTICLES ON LABORATORY SAFETY THAT APPEARED IN THE "JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION" BETWEEN JANUARY 1964, AND JANUARY 1967, ARE COMBINED IN THIS MANUAL FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE CHEMISTRY TEACHERS. A GENERAL SECTION DEALS WITH (1) RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION, (2) SAFETY CONSIDERATION IN RESEARCH PROPOSALS, (3) A…

Barriers to Implementation of Optimal Laboratory Biosafety Practices in Pakistan

PubMed Central

Shafaq, Humaira; Hasan, Rumina; Qureshi, Shahida M.; Dojki, Maqboola; Hughes, Molly A.; Zaidi, Anita K. M.; Khan, Erum

2016-01-01

The primary goal of biosafety education is to ensure safe practices among workers in biomedical laboratories. Despite several educational workshops by the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA), compliance with safe practices among laboratory workers remains low. To determine barriers to implementation of recommended biosafety practices among biomedical laboratory workers in Pakistan, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey of participants attending 2 workshops focusing on biosafety practices in Karachi and Lahore in February 2015. Questionnaires were developed by modifying the BARRIERS scale in which respondents are required to rate barriers on a 1-4 scale. Nineteen of the original 29 barriers were included and subcategorized into 4 groups: awareness, material quality, presentation, and workplace barriers. Workshops were attended by 64 participants. Among barriers that were rated as moderate to great barriers by at least 50% of respondents were: lack of time to read biosafety guidelines (workplace subscale), lack of staff authorization to change/improve practice (workplace subscale), no career or self-improvement advantages to the staff for implementing optimal practices (workplace subscale), and unclear practice implications (presentation subscale). A lack of recognition for employees' rights and benefits in the workplace was found to be a predominant reason for a lack of compliance. Based on perceived barriers, substantial improvement in work environment, worker facilitation, and enabling are needed for achieving improved or optimal biosafety practices in Pakistan. PMID:27400192

LABORATORY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR SAFETY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Safety Council, Chicago, IL. Campus Safety Association.

THIS SET OF CONSIDERATIONS HAS BEEN PREPARED TO PROVIDE PERSONS WORKING ON THE DESIGN OF NEW OR REMODELED LABORATORY FACILITIES WITH A SUITABLE REFERENCE GUIDE TO DESIGN SAFETY. THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN TYPES OF LABORATORY AND THE EMPHASIS IS ON GIVING GUIDES AND ALTERNATIVES RATHER THAN DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS. AREAS COVERED INCLUDE--(1)…

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: Learning How to Run Safer Undergraduate Laboratories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohrig, Jerry R.

1983-01-01

Discusses responsibilities for providing safe experiments and for teaching about safety. Provides lists of references on chemical safety and regulated/potential carcinogens. Also discusses general laboratory safety procedures including waste disposal and recycling of solvents. (JM)

The Influence of Laboratory Safety on Capital Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, Robert A.

1980-01-01

Discusses state and federal legislation concerning the handling of dangerous materials and its impact on the design of college and university buildings. Lists federal legislation affecting laboratory safety, the objectives of each act, and the influence of each act on laboratory safety. (IRT)

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steere, Norman V.

1969-01-01

Presents the Safety Guide used in the Research Center at Monsanto Chemical Company (St. Louis). Topics include: general safety practices, safety glasses and shoes, respiratory protection, electrical wiring, solvent handling and waste disposal. Procedures are given for evacuating, "tagging out, and "locking out. Special mention is given to…

SAFETY IN THE DESIGN OF SCIENCE LABORATORIES AND BUILDING CODES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HOROWITZ, HAROLD

THE DESIGN OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS USED FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF LABORATORY SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES AND REGULATIONS. MAJOR TOPIC AREAS ARE--(1) SAFETY RELATED DESIGN FEATURES OF SCIENCE LABORATORIES, (2) LABORATORY SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES, AND (3) EVIDENCE OF UNSAFE DESIGN. EXAMPLES EMPHASIZE…

The Microscale Inorganic Laboratory: Safety, Economy and Versatility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szafran, Zvi; And Others

1989-01-01

Discussed are four major advantages to the use of microscale laboratories for teaching chemistry. Included are effects on waste generation, laboratory safety, reagent variety, and laboratory efficiency. (CW)

Laboratory Safety and Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodenough, T. J.

1976-01-01

Explains a scientific approach to accident prevention and outlines the safety aspects associated with the handling of chemicals in the secondary school. Provides a check list of unsafe acts and conditions, outlines features of good laboratory management, and gives hints for combating the effects of inflation on science budgets. (GS)

Good Laboratory Practice. Part 3. Implementing Good Laboratory Practice in the Analytical Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedlich, Richard C.; Pires, Amanda; Fazzino, Lisa; Fransen, Joseph M.

2013-01-01

Laboratories submitting experimental results to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) nonclinical laboratory studies must conduct such work in compliance with the GLP regulations. To consistently meet these requirements, lab managers employ a "divide…

An Examination of Safety and Health Practices in Agricultural Mechanics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Threeton, Mark D.; Ewing, John C.

2017-01-01

Providing training of safe operations and behaviors in Agricultural Mechanics classrooms and laboratories is an important aspect of the agricultural education teaching and learning environment. The purpose of this survey research study was to examine current occupational safety and health practices within agricultural mechanics programs. The…

Safety climate and mindful safety practices in the oil and gas industry.

PubMed

Dahl, Øyvind; Kongsvik, Trond

2018-02-01

The existence of a positive association between safety climate and the safety behavior of sharp-end workers in high-risk organizations is supported by a considerable body of research. Previous research has primarily analyzed two components of safety behavior, namely safety compliance and safety participation. The present study extends previous research by looking into the relationship between safety climate and another component of safety behavior, namely mindful safety practices. Mindful safety practices are defined as the ability to be aware of critical factors in the environment and to act appropriately when dangers arise. Regression analysis was used to examine whether mindful safety practices are, like compliance and participation, promoted by a positive safety climate, in a questionnaire-based study of 5712 sharp-end workers in the oil and gas industry. The analysis revealed that a positive safety climate promotes mindful safety practices. The regression model accounted for roughly 31% of the variance in mindful safety practices. The most important safety climate factor was safety leadership. The findings clearly demonstrate that mindful safety practices are highly context-dependent, hence, manageable and susceptible to change. In order to improve safety climate in a direction which is favorable for mindful safety practices, the results demonstrate that it is important to give the fundamental features of safety climate high priority and in particular that of safety leadership. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety climate in university and college laboratories: impact of organizational and individual factors.

PubMed

Wu, Tsung-Chih; Liu, Chi-Wei; Lu, Mu-Chen

2007-01-01

Universities and colleges serve to be institutions of education excellence; however, problems in the areas of occupational safety may undermine such goals. Occupational safety must be the concern of every employee in the organization, regardless of job position. Safety climate surveys have been suggested as important tools for measuring the effectiveness and improvement direction of safety programs. Thus, this study aims to investigate the influence of organizational and individual factors on safety climate in university and college laboratories. Employees at 100 universities and colleges in Taiwan were mailed a self-administered questionnaire survey; the response rate was 78%. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that organizational category of ownership, the presence of a safety manager and safety committee, gender, age, title, accident experience, and safety training significantly affected the climate. Among them, accident experience and safety training affected the climate with practical significance. The authors recommend that managers should address important factors affecting safety issues and then create a positive climate by enforcing continuous improvements.

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steere, Norman V., Ed.

1974-01-01

Discusses the offering of a course in chemical and industrial hazards for junior and senior chemistry majors at City College of New York in 1972. Suggests inclusion of laboratory and industrial safety education as a formal part of chemistry or science curricula. (CC)

Laboratory Safety is Everyone's Responsibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brubaker, Inara M.; And Others

1981-01-01

Outlines a survey of laboratory practices and policies for employee protection from exposure to chemicals. Findings support the argument that academic, industrial, and other research laboratories are different from the manufacturing environment and should have a different toxic chemical policy and standards. (Author/SK)

Laser Safety: A Laser Alignment Practical Training Course

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woods, Michael; Edstrom, Steve; /SLAC

2011-01-26

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has developed a Laser Alignment Practical Training Course as one of its core laser safety classes. The course is taught to small groups of up to three students and takes 1-3 hours to complete. This practical course is not a substitute for site-specific On-the-Job Training; it does, however, provide a good introduction in core laser safety practices that can be broadly applied. Alignment and diagnostic tasks are performed with low power lasers. Students learn safe alignment and diagnostic techniques and how to avoid common mistakes that might lead to an accident. The class is taught bymore » laser supervisors, enabling them to assess the skill level of new laser personnel and determine the subsequent level of supervision needed. The course has six alignment tasks. For each task, discussion points are given for the instructor to review with the students. The optics setup includes different wavelength lasers, a beam expander, mirrors, irises, a periscope, a beam-splitting polarizer and a diffraction grating. Diagnostic tools include viewing cards, an IR viewer and a ccd camera. Laser eyewear is available to block some laser wavelengths in the setup.« less

Safety in the SEM laboratory--1981 update

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bance, G.N.; Barber, V.C.; Sholdice, J.A.

1981-01-01

The article reviews recent information on hazards as they relate to safety in SEM laboratories. The first section lists the safety equipment that should be available in a SEM laboratory. Flammable and combustible liquids are discussed, and particular warnings are given concerning the fire and explosion risks associated with diethyl ether and diisopropyl ether. The possible hazards associated with electrical equipment, and the risk of X-ray emissions from EM's are briefly outlined. The hazards associated with acute and chronic toxicity of chemicals used in the EM laboratory are discussed. The need to reduce exposure to a growing list of recognizablemore » hazardous chemicals is emphasized. This reduction can be accomplished by more extensive use of functioning fume hoods, and the use of more appropriate and effective protective gloves. Allergies and the hazards of dangerous pathogens in the SEM laboratory are discussed. The explosion and other hazards associated with cryogens, vacuum evaporators, critical point dryers, and compressed gas cylinders are emphasized.« less

Software safety - A user's practical perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, William R.; Corliss, Lloyd D.

1990-01-01

Software safety assurance philosophy and practices at the NASA Ames are discussed. It is shown that, to be safe, software must be error-free. Software developments on two digital flight control systems and two ground facility systems are examined, including the overall system and software organization and function, the software-safety issues, and their resolution. The effectiveness of safety assurance methods is discussed, including conventional life-cycle practices, verification and validation testing, software safety analysis, and formal design methods. It is concluded (1) that a practical software safety technology does not yet exist, (2) that it is unlikely that a set of general-purpose analytical techniques can be developed for proving that software is safe, and (3) that successful software safety-assurance practices will have to take into account the detailed design processes employed and show that the software will execute correctly under all possible conditions.

Initial development of a practical safety audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices.

PubMed

Mitchell, Rebecca; Friswell, Rena; Mooren, Lori

2012-07-01

Work-related vehicle crashes are a common cause of occupational injury. Yet, there are few studies that investigate management practices used for light vehicle fleets (i.e. vehicles less than 4.5 tonnes). One of the impediments to obtaining and sharing information on effective fleet safety management is the lack of an evidence-based, standardised measurement tool. This article describes the initial development of an audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices in light vehicle fleets. The audit tool was developed by triangulating information from a review of the literature on fleet safety management practices and from semi-structured interviews with 15 fleet managers and 21 fleet drivers. A preliminary useability assessment was conducted with 5 organisations. The audit tool assesses the management of fleet safety against five core categories: (1) management, systems and processes; (2) monitoring and assessment; (3) employee recruitment, training and education; (4) vehicle technology, selection and maintenance; and (5) vehicle journeys. Each of these core categories has between 1 and 3 sub-categories. Organisations are rated at one of 4 levels on each sub-category. The fleet safety management audit tool is designed to identify the extent to which fleet safety is managed in an organisation against best practice. It is intended that the audit tool be used to conduct audits within an organisation to provide an indicator of progress in managing fleet safety and to consistently benchmark performance against other organisations. Application of the tool by fleet safety researchers is now needed to inform its further development and refinement and to permit psychometric evaluation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laboratory medicine handoff gaps experienced by primary care practices: A report from the shared networks of collaborative ambulatory practices and partners (SNOCAP).

PubMed

West, David R; James, Katherine A; Fernald, Douglas H; Zelie, Claire; Smith, Maxwell L; Raab, Stephen S

2014-01-01

The majority of errors in laboratory medicine testing are thought to occur in the pre- and postanalytic testing phases, and a large proportion of these errors are secondary to failed handoffs. Because most laboratory tests originate in ambulatory primary care, understanding the gaps in handoff processes within and between laboratories and practices is imperative for patient safety. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand, based on information from primary care practice personnel, the perceived gaps in laboratory processes as a precursor to initiating process improvement activities. A survey was used to assess perceptions of clinicians, staff, and management personnel of gaps in handoffs between primary care practices and laboratories working in 21 Colorado primary care practices. Data were analyzed to determine statistically significant associations between categorical variables. In addition, qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended survey questions was conducted. Primary care practices consistently reported challenges and a desire/need to improve their efforts to systematically track laboratory test status, confirm receipt of laboratory results, and report results to patients. Automated tracking systems existed in roughly 61% of practices, and all but one of those had electronic health record-based tracking systems in place. One fourth of these electronic health record-enabled practices expressed sufficient mistrust in these systems to warrant the concurrent operation of an article-based tracking system as backup. Practices also reported 12 different procedures used to notify patients of test results, varying by test result type. The results highlight the lack of standardization and definition of roles in handoffs in primary care laboratory practices for test ordering, monitoring, and receiving and reporting test results. Results also identify high-priority gaps in processes and the perceptions by practice personnel that practice improvement

The Development of Laboratory Safety Questionnaire for Middle School Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akpullukcu, Simge; Cavas, Bulent

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop a "valid and reliable laboratory safety questionnaire" which could be used to identify science teachers' understanding about laboratory safety issues during their science laboratory activities. The questionnaire was developed from a literature review and prior instruments developed on laboratory…

From Instinct to Statute: Changes in Laboratory Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jamieson, Jim

1991-01-01

The changes that have taken place in laboratory safety in the past two decades are examined. The way in which the United Kingdom's Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is just now starting to have effect is described. The responsibility of teachers for the health and safety of their students is discussed. (KR)

Occupational safety and health status of medical laboratories in Kajiado County, Kenya.

PubMed

Tait, Fridah Ntinyari; Mburu, Charles; Gikunju, Joseph

2018-01-01

Despite the increasing interest in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), seldom studies are available on OSH in medical laboratories from developing countries in general although a high number of injuries occur without proper documentation. It is estimated that every day 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases resulting in over 2.3 million deaths per year. Medical laboratories handle a wide range of materials, potentially dangerous pathogenic agents and exposes health workers to numerous potential hazards. This study evaluated the status of OSH in medical laboratories in Kajiado County, Kenya. The objectives included establishment of biological, chemical and physical hazards; reviewing medical laboratories control measures; and enumerating factors hindering implementation of good practices in OSH. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study research design. Observation check lists, interview schedules and structured questionnaires were used. The study was carried out in 108 medical laboratories among 204 sampled respondents. Data was analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) 20 software. The commonest type of hazards in medical laboratories include; bacteria (80%) for Biological hazards; handling un-labelled and un-marked chemicals (38.2%) for chemical hazards; and laboratory equipment's dangerously placed (49.5%) for Physical hazards. According to Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analysis, not-wearing personal protective equipment's was statistically associated with exposure to hazards. Individual control measures were statistically significant at 0.01 significance level. Only 65.1% of the factors influencing implementation of OSH in medical laboratories were identified. Training has the highest contribution to good OSH practices.

A Proposed Set of Metrics to Reduce Patient Safety Risk From Within the Anatomic Pathology Laboratory

PubMed Central

Banks, Peter; Brown, Richard; Laslowski, Alex; Daniels, Yvonne; Branton, Phil; Carpenter, John; Zarbo, Richard; Forsyth, Ramses; Liu, Yan-hui; Kohl, Shane; Diebold, Joachim; Masuda, Shinobu; Plummer, Tim

2017-01-01

Background: Anatomic pathology laboratory workflow consists of 3 major specimen handling processes. Among the workflow are preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases that contain multistep subprocesses with great impact on patient care. A worldwide representation of experts came together to create a system of metrics, as a basis for laboratories worldwide, to help them evaluate and improve specimen handling to reduce patient safety risk. Method: Members of the Initiative for Anatomic Pathology Laboratory Patient Safety (IAPLPS) pooled their extensive expertise to generate a list of metrics highlighting processes with high and low risk for adverse patient outcomes. Results: Our group developed a universal, comprehensive list of 47 metrics for patient specimen handling in the anatomic pathology laboratory. Steps within the specimen workflow sequence are categorized as high or low risk. In general, steps associated with the potential for specimen misidentification correspond to the high-risk grouping and merit greater focus within quality management systems. Primarily workflow measures related to operational efficiency can be considered low risk. Conclusion: Our group intends to advance the widespread use of these metrics in anatomic pathology laboratories to reduce patient safety risk and improve patient care with development of best practices and interlaboratory error reporting programs. PMID:28340232

A Proposed Set of Metrics to Reduce Patient Safety Risk From Within the Anatomic Pathology Laboratory.

PubMed

Banks, Peter; Brown, Richard; Laslowski, Alex; Daniels, Yvonne; Branton, Phil; Carpenter, John; Zarbo, Richard; Forsyth, Ramses; Liu, Yan-Hui; Kohl, Shane; Diebold, Joachim; Masuda, Shinobu; Plummer, Tim; Dennis, Eslie

2017-05-01

Anatomic pathology laboratory workflow consists of 3 major specimen handling processes. Among the workflow are preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases that contain multistep subprocesses with great impact on patient care. A worldwide representation of experts came together to create a system of metrics, as a basis for laboratories worldwide, to help them evaluate and improve specimen handling to reduce patient safety risk. Members of the Initiative for Anatomic Pathology Laboratory Patient Safety (IAPLPS) pooled their extensive expertise to generate a list of metrics highlighting processes with high and low risk for adverse patient outcomes. : Our group developed a universal, comprehensive list of 47 metrics for patient specimen handling in the anatomic pathology laboratory. Steps within the specimen workflow sequence are categorized as high or low risk. In general, steps associated with the potential for specimen misidentification correspond to the high-risk grouping and merit greater focus within quality management systems. Primarily workflow measures related to operational efficiency can be considered low risk. Our group intends to advance the widespread use of these metrics in anatomic pathology laboratories to reduce patient safety risk and improve patient care with development of best practices and interlaboratory error reporting programs. © American Society for Clinical Pathology 2017.

Teaching Laboratory Renovation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Al-Zuhairi, Ali Jassim; Al-Dahhan, Wedad; Hussein, Falah

Scientists at universities across Iraq are actively working to report actual incidents and accidents occurring in their laboratories, as well as structural improvements made to improve safety and security, to raise awareness and encourage openness, leading to widespread adoption of robust Chemical Safety and Security (CSS) practices. The improvement of students’ understanding of concepts in science and its applications, practical scientific skills and understanding of how science and scientists work in laboratory experiences have been considered key aspects of education in science for over 100 years. Facility requirements for the necessary level of safety and security combined with specific requirementsmore » relevant to the course to be conducted dictate the structural design of a particular laboratory, and the design process must address both. This manuscript is the second in a series of five case studies describing laboratory incidents, accidents, and laboratory improvements. We summarize the process used to guide a major renovation of the chemistry instructional laboratory facilities at Al-Nahrain University and discuss lessons learned from the project.« less

Laboratory Safety Manual for Alabama Schools. Bulletin 1975. No. 20.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabama State Dept. of Education, Montgomery.

This document presents the Alabama State Department of Education guidelines for science laboratory safety, equipment, storage, chemical safety, rocket safety, electrical safety, safety with radioisotopes, and safety with biologicals. Also included is a brief bibliography, a teacher's checklist, a listing of laser facts and regulations, and a…

From instinct to statute: changes in laboratory safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamieson, Jim

1991-09-01

This article examines changes that have taken place in laboratory safety in the past two decades. In particular, it looks at the way in which the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is only now beginning to have proper effect.

Associations between safety climate and safety management practices in the construction industry.

PubMed

Marín, Luz S; Lipscomb, Hester; Cifuentes, Manuel; Punnett, Laura

2017-06-01

Safety climate, a group-level measure of workers' perceptions regarding management's safety priorities, has been suggested as a key predictor of safety outcomes. However, its relationship with actual injury rates is inconsistent. We posit that safety climate may instead be a parallel outcome of workplace safety practices, rather than a determinant of workers' safety behaviors or outcomes. Using a sample of 25 commercial construction companies in Colombia, selected by injury rate stratum (high, medium, low), we examined the relationship between workers' safety climate perceptions and safety management practices (SMPs) reported by safety officers. Workers' perceptions of safety climate were independent of their own company's implementation of SMPs, as measured here, and its injury rates. However, injury rates were negatively related to the implementation of SMPs. Safety management practices may be more important than workers' perceptions of safety climate as direct predictors of injury rates. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[A Perspective on Innovation for Efficient Medical Practice in View of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education and Training in Laboratory Medicine].

PubMed

Kawai, Tadashi

2015-10-01

Continuous advances in medical laboratory technology have driven major changes in the practice of laboratory medicine over the past two decades. The importance of the overall quality of a medical laboratory has been ever-increasing in order to improve and ensure the quality and safety of clinical practice by physicians in any type of medical facility. Laboratory physicians and professional staff should challenge themselves more than ever in various ways to cooperate and contribute with practicing physicians for the appropriate utilization of laboratory testing. This will certainly lead to a decrease in inappropriate or unnecessary laboratory testing, resulting in reducing medical costs. In addition, not only postgraduate, but also undergraduate medical education/training systems must be markedly innovated, considering recent rapid progress in electronic information and communication technologies.

Nuclear criticality safety staff training and qualifications at Los Alamos National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Monahan, S.P.; McLaughlin, T.P.

1997-05-01

Operations involving significant quantities of fissile material have been conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory continuously since 1943. Until the advent of the Laboratory`s Nuclear Criticality Safety Committee (NCSC) in 1957, line management had sole responsibility for controlling criticality risks. From 1957 until 1961, the NCSC was the Laboratory body which promulgated policy guidance as well as some technical guidance for specific operations. In 1961 the Laboratory created the position of Nuclear Criticality Safety Office (in addition to the NCSC). In 1980, Laboratory management moved the Criticality Safety Officer (and one other LACEF staff member who, by that time, wasmore » also working nearly full-time on criticality safety issues) into the Health Division office. Later that same year the Criticality Safety Group, H-6 (at that time) was created within H-Division, and staffed by these two individuals. The training and education of these individuals in the art of criticality safety was almost entirely self-regulated, depending heavily on technical interactions between each other, as well as NCSC, LACEF, operations, other facility, and broader criticality safety community personnel. Although the Los Alamos criticality safety group has grown both in size and formality of operations since 1980, the basic philosophy that a criticality specialist must be developed through mentoring and self motivation remains the same. Formally, this philosophy has been captured in an internal policy, document ``Conduct of Business in the Nuclear Criticality Safety Group.`` There are no short cuts or substitutes in the development of a criticality safety specialist. A person must have a self-motivated personality, excellent communications skills, a thorough understanding of the principals of neutron physics, a safety-conscious and helpful attitude, a good perspective of real risk, as well as a detailed understanding of process operations and credible upsets.« less

A 2-year study of patient safety competency assessment in 29 clinical laboratories.

PubMed

Reed, Robyn C; Kim, Sara; Farquharson, Kara; Astion, Michael L

2008-06-01

Competency assessment is critical for laboratory operations and is mandated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. However, no previous reports describe methods for assessing competency in patient safety. We developed and implemented a Web-based tool to assess performance of 875 laboratory staff from 29 laboratories in patient safety. Question categories included workplace culture, categorizing error, prioritization of patient safety interventions, strength of specific interventions, and general patient safety concepts. The mean score was 85.0%, with individual scores ranging from 56% to 100% and scores by category from 81.3% to 88.6%. Of the most difficult questions (<72% correct), 6 were about intervention strength, 3 about categorizing error, 1 about workplace culture, and 1 about prioritization of interventions. Of the 13 questions about intervention strength, 6 (46%) were in the lowest quartile, suggesting that this may be a difficult topic for laboratory technologists. Computer-based competency assessments help laboratories identify topics for continuing education in patient safety.

Laboratory Scale Electrodeposition. Practice and Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruno, Thomas J.

1986-01-01

Discusses some aspects of electrodeposition and electroplating. Emphasizes the materials, techniques, and safety precautions necessary to make electrodeposition work reliably in the chemistry laboratory. Describes some problem-solving applications of this process. (TW)

Safety management and risk assessment in chemical laboratories.

PubMed

Marendaz, Jean-Luc; Friedrich, Kirstin; Meyer, Thierry

2011-01-01

The present paper highlights a new safety management program, MICE (Management, Information, Control and Emergency), which has been specifically adapted for the academic environment. The process starts with an exhaustive hazard inventory supported by a platform assembling specific hazards encountered in laboratories and their subsequent classification. A proof of concept is given by a series of implementations in the domain of chemistry targeting workplace health protection. The methodology is expressed through three examples to illustrate how the MICE program can be used to address safety concerns regarding chemicals, strong magnetic fields and nanoparticles in research laboratories. A comprehensive chemical management program is also depicted.

Fire safety evaluation system for NASA office/laboratory buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, H. E.

1986-11-01

A fire safety evaluation system for office/laboratory buildings is developed. The system is a life safety grading system. The system scores building construction, hazardous areas, vertical openings, sprinklers, detectors, alarms, interior finish, smoke control, exit systems, compartmentation, and emergency preparedness.

Safety Learning, Organizational Contradictions and the Dynamics of Safety Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ripamonti, Silvio Carlo; Scaratti, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the enactment of safety routines in a transshipment port. Research on work safety and reliability has largely neglected the role of the workers' knowledge in practice in the enactment of organisational safety. The workers' lack of compliance with safety regulations represents an enduring problem…

Implementing AORN Recommended Practices for Laser Safety.

PubMed

Castelluccio, Donna

2012-05-01

Lasers used in the OR pose many risks to both patients and personnel. AORN's "Recommended practices for laser safety in perioperative practice settings" identifies the potential hazards associated with laser use, such as eye damage and fire- and smoke-related injuries. The practice recommendations are intended to be used as a guide for establishing best practices in the workplace and to give perioperative nurses strategies for implementing the recommended safety measures. A laser safety program should include measures to control access to laser use areas; protect staff members and patients from exposure to the laser beam; provide staff members and patients with the appropriate safety eyewear for use in the laser use area; and protect staff members and patients from surgical smoke, electrical, and fire hazards. Measures such as using a safety checklist or creating a laser cart can help perioperative nurses successfully incorporate the practice recommendations. Patient scenarios are included as examples of how to use the document in real-life situations. Copyright © 2012 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preclinical good laboratory practice-compliant safety study to evaluate biodistribution and tumorigenicity of a cartilage advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP).

PubMed

Zscharnack, Matthias; Krause, Christoph; Aust, Gabriela; Thümmler, Christian; Peinemann, Frank; Keller, Thomas; Smink, Jeske J; Holland, Heidrun; Somerson, Jeremy S; Knauer, Jens; Schulz, Ronny M; Lehmann, Jörg

2015-05-20

The clinical development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), a new class of drugs, requires initial safety studies that deviate from standard non-clinical safety protocols. The study provides a strategy to address the safety aspects of biodistribution and tumorigenicity of ATMPs under good laboratory practice (GLP) conditions avoiding cell product manipulation. Moreover, the strategy was applied on a human ATMP for cartilage repair. The testing strategy addresses biodistribution and tumorigenicity using a multi-step analysis without any cell manipulation to exclude changes of test item characteristics. As a safeguard measurement for meeting regulatory expectations, the project design and goals were discussed continuously with the regulatory authority using a staggered scientific advice concept. Subsequently, the strategy was applied to co.don chondrosphere® (huChon spheroid), a tissue-engineered matrix-free ATMP of human normal chondrocytes. In both the biodistribution and tumorigenicity studies, huChon spheroids were implanted subcutaneously into 40 immunodeficient mice. Biodistribution was studied 1 month after implantation. A skin disc containing the huChon spheroid, two surrounding skin rings and selected organs were analyzed by validated, gender-specific, highly-sensitive triplex qPCR and by immunohistochemistry (IHC). No human DNA was detected in distant skin rings and analyzed organs. IHC revealed no direct or indirect indications of cell migration. Tumorigenicity was assessed 6 months after huChon spheroid implantation by palpation, macroscopic inspection, histology and IHC. No mice from the huChon spheroid group developed a tumor at the implantation site. In two mice, benign tumors were detected that were negative for HLA-ABC, suggesting that they were of spontaneous murine origin. In summary, the presented strategy using a multi-step analysis was confirmed to be suitable for safety studies of ATMPs.

Incorporating Safety into a Unit Operations Laboratory Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Julia A.

1998-01-01

Details the incorporation of safety procedures and issues into the curriculum of an undergraduate chemical engineering unit operations laboratory course. Includes checklists and sample reporting forms. (DDR)

Good Laboratory Practice. Part 1. An Introduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedlich, Richard C.; Libera, Agata E.; Pires, Amanda; Therrien, Matthew T.

2013-01-01

The Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations were put into place in 1978. They establish a standard of practice to ensure that results from the nonclinical laboratory study reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are valid and that the study report accurately reflects the conduct of the study. While the GLP regulations promulgate…

Managing Safety and Operations: The Effect of Joint Management System Practices on Safety and Operational Outcomes.

PubMed

Tompa, Emile; Robson, Lynda; Sarnocinska-Hart, Anna; Klassen, Robert; Shevchenko, Anton; Sharma, Sharvani; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Amick, Benjamin C; Johnston, David A; Veltri, Anthony; Pagell, Mark

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether management system practices directed at both occupational health and safety (OHS) and operations (joint management system [JMS] practices) result in better outcomes in both areas than in alternative practices. Separate regressions were estimated for OHS and operational outcomes using data from a survey along with administrative records on injuries and illnesses. Organizations with JMS practices had better operational and safety outcomes than organizations without these practices. They had similar OHS outcomes as those with operations-weak practices, and in some cases, better outcomes than organizations with safety-weak practices. They had similar operational outcomes as those with safety-weak practices, and better outcomes than those with operations-weak practices. Safety and operations appear complementary in organizations with JMS practices in that there is no penalty for either safety or operational outcomes.

Challenges to laboratory hematology practice: Egypt perspective.

PubMed

Rizk, S H

2018-05-01

Laboratory hematology is an integral part of all clinical laboratories along the extensive healthcare facilities in Egypt. The aim of this review is to portrait the laboratory hematology practice in Egypt including its unique socioeconomic background, blood disease pattern, education and training, regulatory oversight, and the related challenges. Current practice varies widely between different parts of the healthcare system in terms of the range of tests, applied techniques, workforce experience, and quality of service. The national transfusion service (NBTS) in Egypt has been recently upgraded and standardized according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Formal postgraduate education roughly follows the British system. Laboratory hematology specialization is achieved through 2-3 years masters' degree followed by 2-4 years doctorate degree in clinical pathology with training and research in hematology. Improvement of laboratory hematology education is recently undergoing a reform as a part of the modernization of higher education policy and following the standards developed by the National Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (NQAAA). Accreditation of medical laboratories is recently progressing with the development of the "Egyptian Accreditation Council" (EGAC) as the sole accreditation body system and training of assessors. Current laboratory system has many challenges, some are related to the inadequate system performance, and others are unique to laboratory hematology issues. The rapid technological advances and therapeutic innovations in hematology practice call for an adapting laboratory system with continuous upgrading. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Laboratory-supported influenza surveillance in Victorian sentinel general practices.

PubMed

Kelly, H; Murphy, A; Leong, W; Leydon, J; Tresise, P; Gerrard, M; Chibo, D; Birch, C; Andrews, R; Catton, M

2000-12-01

Laboratory-supported influenza surveillance is important as part of pandemic preparedness, for identifying and isolating candidate vaccine strains, for supporting trials of anti-influenza drugs and for refining the influenza surveillance case definition in practice. This study describes the implementation of laboratory-supported influenza surveillance in Victorian sentinel general practices and provides an estimate of the proportion of patients with an influenza-like illness proven to have influenza. During 1998 and 1999, 25 sentinel general practices contributed clinical surveillance data and 16 metropolitan practices participated in laboratory surveillance. Serological, virus-antigen detection, virus culture and multiplex polymerase chain reaction procedures were used to establish the diagnosis of influenza. Two laboratories at major teaching hospitals in Melbourne provided additional data on influenza virus identification. General practice sentinel surveillance and laboratory identification of influenza provided similar data on the pattern of influenza in the community between May and September. The clinical suspicion of influenza was confirmed in 49 to 54 per cent of cases seen in general practice.

Science Laboratory Safety: Findings and Implications for Teacher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swami, Piyush

1986-01-01

Summarizes a survey of the condition of high school science laboratories in the greater Cincinnati area (N=36). Reports safety measures undertaken for fire and burn and eye and face protection, waste disposal, storage facilities, and ventilation. Offers suggestions and plans for enriching safety education programs for teachers. (ML)

Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, Washington, DC. Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

This guide recommends procedures for safe handling and disposal of hazardous substances, along with broad recommendations for developing comprehensive laboratory safety programs. Although specific information is provided, general principles which can be adapted to activities in any laboratory are emphasized. Section 1 focuses on procedures for…

Food safety practices among Norwegian consumers.

PubMed

Røssvoll, Elin Halbach; Lavik, Randi; Ueland, Øydis; Jacobsen, Eivind; Hagtvedt, Therese; Langsrud, Solveig

2013-11-01

An informed consumer can compensate for several potential food safety violations or contaminations that may occur earlier in the food production chain. However, a consumer can also destroy the work of others in the chain by poor food handling practices, e.g., by storing chilled ready-to-eat foods at abusive temperatures. To target risk-reducing strategies, consumer groups with high-risk behavior should be identified. The aim of this study was to identify demographic characteristics associated with high-risk food handling practices among Norwegian consumers. More than 2,000 randomly selected Norwegian consumers were surveyed, and the results were analyzed with a risk-based grading system, awarding demerit points for self-reported food safety violations. The violations were categorized into groups, and an ordinary multiple linear regression analysis was run on the summarized demerit score for each group and for the entire survey group as a whole. Young and elderly men were identified as the least informed consumer groups with the most unsafe practices regarding food safety. Single persons reported poorer practices than those in a relationship. People with higher education reported poorer practices than those with lower or no education, and those living in the capital of Norway (Oslo) reported following more unsafe food practices than people living elsewhere in Norway. Men reported poorer food safety practices than women in all categories with two exceptions: parboiling raw vegetables before consumption and knowledge of refrigerator temperature. These findings suggest that risk-reducing measures should target men, and a strategy is needed to change their behavior and attitudes.

Food Safety Practices in the Egg Products Industry.

PubMed

Viator, Catherine L; Cates, Sheryl C; Karns, Shawn A; Muth, Mary K; Noyes, Gary

2016-07-01

We conducted a national census survey of egg product plants (n = 57) to obtain information on the technological and food safety practices of the egg products industry and to assess changes in these practices from 2004 to 2014. The questionnaire asked about operational and sanitation practices, microbiological testing practices, food safety training for employees, other food safety issues, and plant characteristics. The findings suggest that improvements were made in the industry's use of food safety technologies and practices between 2004 and 2014. The percentage of plants using advanced pasteurization technology and an integrated, computerized processing system increased by almost 30 percentage points. Over 90% of plants voluntarily use a written hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan to address food safety for at least one production step. Further, 90% of plants have management employees who are trained in a written HACCP plan. Most plants (93%) conduct voluntary microbiological testing. The percentage of plants conducting this testing on egg products before pasteurization has increased by almost 30 percentage points since 2004. The survey findings identify strengths and weaknesses in egg product plants' food safety practices and can be used to guide regulatory policymaking and to conduct required regulatory impact analysis of potential regulations.

Safety leadership in the teaching laboratories of electrical and electronic engineering departments at Taiwanese Universities.

PubMed

Wu, Tsung-Chih

2008-01-01

Safety has always been one of the principal goals in teaching laboratories. Laboratories cannot serve their educational purpose when accidents occur. The leadership of department heads has a major impact on laboratory safety, so this study discusses the factors affecting safety leadership in teaching laboratories. This study uses a mail survey to explore the perceived safety leadership in electrical and electronic engineering departments at Taiwanese universities. An exploratory factor analysis shows that there are three main components of safety leadership, as measured on a safety leadership scale: safety controlling, safety coaching, and safety caring. The descriptive statistics also reveals that among faculty, the perception of department heads' safety leadership is in general positive. A two-way MANOVA shows that there are interaction effects on safety leadership between university size and instructor age; there are also interaction effects between presence of a safety committee and faculty gender and faculty age. It is therefore necessary to assess organizational factors when determining whether individual factors are the cause of differing perceptions among faculty members. The author also presents advice on improving safety leadership for department heads at small universities and at universities without safety committees.

Safety Issues in Agricultural Education Laboratories: A Synthesis of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyer, James E.; Andreasen, Randall J.

1999-01-01

Synthesis of research on safety in agricultural education laboratories found most research focused on agricultural mechanics. Labs appeared to be potentially hazardous places, and teachers have inadequate knowledge of safety laws and ways to provide a safe working environment. (SK)

A culture of safety: a business strategy for medical practices.

PubMed

Saxton, James W; Finkelstein, Maggie M; Marles, Adam F

2012-01-01

Physician practices can enhance their economics by taking patient safety to a new level within their practices. Patient safety has a lot to do with systems and processes that occur not only at the hospital but also within a physician's practice. Historically, patient safety measures have been hospital-focused and -driven, largely due to available resources; however, physician practices can impact patient safety, efficiently and effectively, with a methodical plan involving assessment, prioritization, and compliance. With the ever-increasing focus of reimbursement on quality and patient safety, physician practices that implement a true culture of safety now could see future economic benefits using this business strategy.

Revised guidelines for good practice in IVF laboratories (2015).

PubMed

De los Santos, Maria José; Apter, Susanna; Coticchio, Giovanni; Debrock, Sophie; Lundin, Kersti; Plancha, Carlos E; Prados, Fernando; Rienzi, Laura; Verheyen, Greta; Woodward, Bryan; Vermeulen, Nathalie

2016-04-01

Which recommendations can be provided by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Special Interest Group (ESHRE SIG) Embryology to support laboratory specialists in the organization and management of IVF laboratories and the optimization of IVF patient care? Structured in 13 sections, the guideline development group formulated recommendations for good practice in the organization and management of IVF laboratories, and for good practice of the specific procedures performed within the IVF laboratory. NA. The guideline was produced by a group of 10 embryologists representing different European countries, settings and levels of expertise. The group evaluated the document of 2008, and based on this assessment, each group member rewrote one or more sections. Two 2-day meetings were organized during which each of the recommendations was discussed and rewritten until consensus within the guideline group was reached. After finalizing the draft, the members of the ESHRE SIG embryology were invited to review the guideline. NA. The guideline provides recommendations on the general organization of an IVF laboratory (staffing and direction, quality management, laboratory safety), and on the specific aspects of the procedures performed in IVF laboratories (Identification of patients and traceability of their reproductive cells, consumables, handling of biological material, oocyte retrieval, sperm preparation, insemination of oocytes, scoring for fertilization, embryo culture and transfer, and cryopreservation). A last section provides recommendations regarding an Emergency plan for IVF laboratories. Evidence on most of the issues described is scarce, and therefore it was decided not to perform a formal search for and assessment of scientific evidence. However, recommendations published in the EUTCD and relevant and recent documents, manuals and consensus papers were taken into account when formulating the recommendations. Despite the limitations, the guideline

Engineered nanomaterials: toward effective safety management in research laboratories.

PubMed

Groso, Amela; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara; Hofmann, Heinrich; Meyer, Thierry

2016-03-15

It is still unknown which types of nanomaterials and associated doses represent an actual danger to humans and environment. Meanwhile, there is consensus on applying the precautionary principle to these novel materials until more information is available. To deal with the rapid evolution of research, including the fast turnover of collaborators, a user-friendly and easy-to-apply risk assessment tool offering adequate preventive and protective measures has to be provided. Based on new information concerning the hazards of engineered nanomaterials, we improved a previously developed risk assessment tool by following a simple scheme to gain in efficiency. In the first step, using a logical decision tree, one of the three hazard levels, from H1 to H3, is assigned to the nanomaterial. Using a combination of decision trees and matrices, the second step links the hazard with the emission and exposure potential to assign one of the three nanorisk levels (Nano 3 highest risk; Nano 1 lowest risk) to the activity. These operations are repeated at each process step, leading to the laboratory classification. The third step provides detailed preventive and protective measures for the determined level of nanorisk. We developed an adapted simple and intuitive method for nanomaterial risk management in research laboratories. It allows classifying the nanoactivities into three levels, additionally proposing concrete preventive and protective measures and associated actions. This method is a valuable tool for all the participants in nanomaterial safety. The users experience an essential learning opportunity and increase their safety awareness. Laboratory managers have a reliable tool to obtain an overview of the operations involving nanomaterials in their laboratories; this is essential, as they are responsible for the employee safety, but are sometimes unaware of the works performed. Bringing this risk to a three-band scale (like other types of risks such as biological, radiation

Improving patient safety through quality assurance.

PubMed

Raab, Stephen S

2006-05-01

Anatomic pathology laboratories use several quality assurance tools to detect errors and to improve patient safety. To review some of the anatomic pathology laboratory patient safety quality assurance practices. Different standards and measures in anatomic pathology quality assurance and patient safety were reviewed. Frequency of anatomic pathology laboratory error, variability in the use of specific quality assurance practices, and use of data for error reduction initiatives. Anatomic pathology error frequencies vary according to the detection method used. Based on secondary review, a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study showed that the mean laboratory error frequency was 6.7%. A College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks study measuring frozen section discrepancy found that laboratories improved the longer they monitored and shared data. There is a lack of standardization across laboratories even for governmentally mandated quality assurance practices, such as cytologic-histologic correlation. The National Institutes of Health funded a consortium of laboratories to benchmark laboratory error frequencies, perform root cause analysis, and design error reduction initiatives, using quality assurance data. Based on the cytologic-histologic correlation process, these laboratories found an aggregate nongynecologic error frequency of 10.8%. Based on gynecologic error data, the laboratory at my institution used Toyota production system processes to lower gynecologic error frequencies and to improve Papanicolaou test metrics. Laboratory quality assurance practices have been used to track error rates, and laboratories are starting to use these data for error reduction initiatives.

Non-clinical studies in the process of new drug development - Part II: Good laboratory practice, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, safety and dose translation to clinical studies.

PubMed

Andrade, E L; Bento, A F; Cavalli, J; Oliveira, S K; Schwanke, R C; Siqueira, J M; Freitas, C S; Marcon, R; Calixto, J B

2016-12-12

The process of drug development involves non-clinical and clinical studies. Non-clinical studies are conducted using different protocols including animal studies, which mostly follow the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations. During the early pre-clinical development process, also known as Go/No-Go decision, a drug candidate needs to pass through several steps, such as determination of drug availability (studies on pharmacokinetics), absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) and preliminary studies that aim to investigate the candidate safety including genotoxicity, mutagenicity, safety pharmacology and general toxicology. These preliminary studies generally do not need to comply with GLP regulations. These studies aim at investigating the drug safety to obtain the first information about its tolerability in different systems that are relevant for further decisions. There are, however, other studies that should be performed according to GLP standards and are mandatory for the safe exposure to humans, such as repeated dose toxicity, genotoxicity and safety pharmacology. These studies must be conducted before the Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The package of non-clinical studies should cover all information needed for the safe transposition of drugs from animals to humans, generally based on the non-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) obtained from general toxicity studies. After IND approval, other GLP experiments for the evaluation of chronic toxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, carcinogenicity and genotoxicity, are carried out during the clinical phase of development. However, the necessity of performing such studies depends on the new drug clinical application purpose.

Impact of access management practices to pedestrian safety.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-31

This study focused on the impact of access management practices to the safety of pedestrians. Some : of the access management practices considered to impact pedestrian safety included limiting direct : access to and from major streets, locating signa...

Laboratory Safety Monitoring of Chronic Medications in Ambulatory Care Settings

PubMed Central

Hurley, Judith S; Roberts, Melissa; Solberg, Leif I; Gunter, Margaret J; Nelson, Winnie W; Young, Linda; Frost, Floyd J

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE To evaluate laboratory safety monitoring in patients taking selected chronic prescription drugs. DESIGN Retrospective study using 1999–2001 claims data to calculate rates of missed laboratory tests (potential laboratory monitoring errors). Eleven drugs/drug groups and 64 laboratory tests were evaluated. SETTING Two staff/network model health maintenance organizations. PATIENTS Continuously enrolled health plan members age≥19 years taking ≥1 chronic medications. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Among patients taking chronic medications (N=29,823 in 1999, N=32,423 in 2000, and N=36,811 in 2001), 47.1% in 1999, 45.0% in 2000, and 44.0% in 2001 did not receive ≥1 test recommended for safety monitoring. Taking into account that patients were sometimes missing more than 1 test for a given drug and that patients were frequently taking multiple drugs, the rate of all potential laboratory monitoring errors was 849/1,000 patients/year in 1999, 810/1,000 patients/year in 2000, and 797/1,000 patients/year in 2001. Rates of potential laboratory monitoring errors varied considerably across individual drugs and laboratory tests. CONCLUSIONS Lapses in laboratory monitoring of patients taking selected chronic medications were common. Further research is needed to determine whether, and to what extent, this failure to monitor patients is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. PMID:15857489

Nurses' but not supervisors' safety practices are linked with job satisfaction.

PubMed

Hurtado, David A; Kim, Seung-Sup; Subramanian, S V; Dennerlein, Jack T; Christiani, David C; Hashimoto, Dean M; Sorensen, Glorian

2017-10-01

To test the associations of safety practices as reported by nurses and their respective unit supervisors with job satisfaction. Psychosocial workplace factors are associated with job satisfaction; however, it is unknown whether nurses and supervisors accounts of safety practices are differentially linked to this outcome. Cross-sectional study design including nurses (n = 1052) nested in 94 units in two hospitals in Boston (MA, USA). Safety practices refer to the identification and control of occupational hazards at the unit. Safety practices were measured aggregating nurses' responses per unit, and supervisory levels. Individual's job satisfaction for each nurse was the response variable. Supervisors assessed safety practices more favourably than their unit nursing staff. Adjusted random intercept logistic regressions showed that the odds of higher job satisfaction were higher for nurses at units with better safety practices (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.68) compared with nurses at units that averaged lower safety practices. Supervisors' reports of safety practices were not correlated with the job satisfaction of their staff. Adequate safety practices might be a relevant managerial role that enhances job satisfaction among nurses. Nursing supervisors should calibrate their safety assessments with their nursing staff to improve nurses' job satisfaction. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Improving patient safety culture in general practice: an interview study

PubMed Central

Verbakel, Natasha J; de Bont, Antoinette A; Verheij, Theo JM; Wagner, Cordula; Zwart, Dorien LM

2015-01-01

Background When improving patient safety a positive safety culture is key. As little is known about improving patient safety culture in primary care, this study examined whether administering a culture questionnaire with or without a complementary workshop could be used as an intervention for improving safety culture. Aim To gain insight into how two interventions affected patient safety culture in everyday practice. Design and setting After conducting a randomised control trial of two interventions, this was a qualitative study conducted in 30 general practices to aid interpretation of the previous quantitative findings. Method Interviews were conducted at practice locations (n = 27) with 24 GPs and 24 practice nurses. The theory of communities of practice — in particular, its concepts of a domain, a community, and a practice — was used to interpret the findings by examining which elements were or were not present in the participating practices. Results Communal awareness of the problem was only raised after getting together and discussing patient safety. The combination of a questionnaire and workshop enhanced the interaction of team members and nourished team feelings. This shared experience also helped them to understand and develop tools and language for daily practice. Conclusion In order for patient safety culture to improve, the safety culture questionnaire was more successful when accompanied by a practice workshop. Initial discussion and negotiation of shared goals during the workshop fuelled feelings of coherence and belonging to a community wishing to learn about enhancing patient safety. Team meetings and day-to-day interactions enhanced further liaison and sharing, making patient safety a common and conscious goal. PMID:26622035

[Validation of a questionnaire to evaluate patient safety in clinical laboratories].

PubMed

Giménez Marín, Ángeles; Rivas-Ruiz, Francisco

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to prepare, pilot and validate a questionnaire to evaluate patient safety in the specific context of clinical laboratories. A specific questionnaire on patient safety in the laboratory, with 62 items grouped into six areas, was developed, taking into consideration the diverse human and laboratory contextual factors which may contribute to producing errors. A pilot study of 30 interviews was carried out, including validity and reliability analyses using principal components factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Subsequently, 240 questionnaires were sent to 21 hospitals, followed by a test-retest of 41 questionnaires with the definitive version. The sample analyzed was composed of 225 questionnaires (an overall response rate of 80%). Of the 62 items initially assessed, 17 were eliminated due to non-compliance with the criteria established before the principal components factor analysis was performed. For the 45 remaining items, 12 components were identified, with an cumulative variance of 69.5%. In seven of the 10 components with two or more items, Cronbach's alpha was higher than 0.7. The questionnaire items assessed in the test-retest were found to be stable. We present the first questionnaire with sufficiently proven validity and reliability for evaluating patient safety in the specific context of clinical laboratories. This questionnaire provides a useful instrument to perform a subsequent macrostudy of hospital clinical laboratories in Spain. The questionnaire can also be used to monitor and promote commitment to patient safety within the search for continuous quality improvement. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Implementing AORN recommended practices for medication safety.

PubMed

Hicks, Rodney W; Wanzer, Linda J; Denholm, Bonnie

2012-12-01

Medication errors in the perioperative setting can result in patient morbidity and mortality. The AORN "Recommended practices for medication safety" provide guidance to perioperative nurses in developing, implementing, and evaluating safe medication use practices. These practices include recognizing risk points in the medication use process, collaborating with pharmacy staff members, conducting preoperative assessments and postoperative evaluations (eg, medication reconciliation), and handling hazardous medications and pharmaceutical waste. Strategies for successful implementation of the recommended practices include promoting a basic understanding of the nurse's role in the medication use process and developing a medication management plan as well as policies and procedures that support medication safety and activities to measure compliance with safe practices. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Harmonization of good laboratory practice requirements and laboratory accreditation programs.

PubMed

Royal, P D

1994-09-01

Efforts to harmonize Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) requirements have been underway through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 1981. In 1985, a GLP panel was established to facilitate the practical implementation of the OECD/GLP program. Through the OECD/GLP program, Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) agreements which foster requirements for reciprocal data and study acceptance and unified GLP standards have been developed among member countries. Three OECD Consensus Workshops and three inspectors training workshops have been held. In concert with these efforts, several OECD countries have developed GLP accreditation programs, managed by local health and environmental ministries. In addition, Canada and the United States are investigating Laboratory Accreditation programs for environmental monitoring assessment and GLP-regulated studies. In the European Community (EC), the need for quality standards specifying requirements for production and international trade has promoted International Standards Organization (ISO) certification for certain products. ISO-9000 standards identify requirements for certification of quality systems. These certification programs may affect the trade and market of laboratories conducting GLP studies. Two goals identified by these efforts are common to both programs: first, harmonization and recognition of requirements, and second, confidence in the rigor of program components used to assess the integrity of data produced and study activities. This confidence can be promoted, in part, through laboratory inspection and screening processes. However, the question remains, will data produced by sanctioned laboratories be mutually accepted on an international basis?(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

National Survey of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Medication Safety Practices.

PubMed

Greenberg, Rachel G; Smith, P Brian; Bose, Carl; Clark, Reese H; Cotten, C Michael; DeRienzo, Chris

2018-06-15

 We conducted a detailed survey to identify medication safety practices among a large network of United States neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).  We created a 53-question survey to assess 300 U.S. NICU's demographics, medication safety practices, adverse drug event (ADE) reporting, and ADE response plans.  Among the 164 (55%) NICUs that responded to the survey, more than 85% adhered to practices including use of electronic health records, computerized physician order entry, and clinical decision support; fewer reported adopting barcoding, formal safety surveys, and formal culture training; 137 of 164 (84%) developed at least one NICU-specific order-set with a median of 10 order-sets.  Among our survey of 164 NICUs, we found that many safety practices remain unused. Understanding safety practice variation is critical to prevent ADEs and other negative infant outcomes. Future efforts should focus on linking safety practices identified from our survey with ADEs and infant outcomes. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Laboratory Safety Needs of Kentucky School-Based Agricultural Mechanics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saucier, P. Ryan; Vincent, Stacy K.; Anderson, Ryan G.

2014-01-01

The frequency and severity of accidents that occur in the agricultural mechanics laboratory can be reduced when these facilities are managed by educators who are competent in the area of laboratory safety and facility management (McKim & Saucier, 2011). To ensure teachers are technically competent and prepared to manage an agricultural…

Habits of Mind for the Science Laboratory: Establishing Proper Safety Habits in the Laboratory Will Help Minimize the Risk of Accidents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Lisa; Smith, Margaret; Eick, Charles

2005-01-01

Lab safety begins with the teacher. Teachers must make learning how to be safe an integral and important part of their professional development and work. Teachers who are unfamiliar with laboratory instruction should take whatever steps necessary to prepare for the unique challenges associated with safety in conducting laboratory investigations…

Safety climate practice in Korean manufacturing industry.

PubMed

Baek, Jong-Bae; Bae, Sejong; Ham, Byung-Ho; Singh, Karan P

2008-11-15

Safety climate survey was sent to 642 plants in 2003 to explore safety climate practices in the Korean manufacturing plants, especially in hazardous chemical treating plants. Out of 642 plants contacted 195 (30.4%) participated in the surveys. Data were collected by e-mail using SQL-server and mail. The main objective of this study was to explore safety climate practices (level of safety climate and the underlying problems). In addition, the variables that may influence the level of safety climate among managers and workers were explored. The questionnaires developed by health and safety executive (HSE) in the UK were modified to incorporate differences in Korean culture. Eleven important factors were summarized. Internal reliability of these factors was validated. Number of employees in the company varied from less than 30 employees (9.2%) to over 1000 employees (37.4%). Both managers and workers showed generally high level of safety climate awareness. The major underlying problems identified were inadequate health and safety procedures/rules, pressure for production, and rule breaking. The length of employment was a significant contributing factor to the level of safety climate. In this study, participants showed generally high level of safety climate, and length of employment affected the differences in the level of safety climate. Managers' commitment to comply safety rules, procedures, and effective safety education and training are recommended.

Quality assurance of laboratory work and clinical use of laboratory tests in general practice in norway: a survey.

PubMed

Thue, Geir; Jevnaker, Marianne; Gulstad, Guri Andersen; Sandberg, Sverre

2011-09-01

Virtually all the general practices in Norway participate in the Norwegian Quality Improvement of Laboratory Services in Primary Care, NOKLUS. In order to assess and develop NOKLUS's services, it was decided to carry out an investigation in the largest participating group, general practices. In autumn 2008 a questionnaire was sent to all Norwegian general practices asking for feedback on different aspects of NOKLUS's main services: contact with medical laboratory technologists, sending of control materials, use and maintenance of practice-specific laboratory binders, courses, and testing of laboratory equipment. In addition, attitudes were elicited towards possible new services directed at assessing other technical equipment and clinical use of tests. Responses were received from 1290 of 1552 practices (83%). The great majority thought that the frequency of sending out control material should continue as at present, and they were pleased with the feedback reports and follow-up by the laboratory technologists in the counties. Even after many years of practical experience, there is still a need to update laboratory knowledge through visits to practices, courses, and written information. Practices also wanted quality assurance of blood pressure meters and spirometers, and many doctors wanted feedback on their use of laboratory tests. Services regarding quality assurance of point-of-care tests, guidance, and courses should be continued. Quality assurance of other technical equipment and of the doctor's clinical use of laboratory tests should be established as part of comprehensive quality assurance.

Expressions of cultural safety in public health nursing practice.

PubMed

Richardson, Anna; Yarwood, Judy; Richardson, Sandra

2017-01-01

Cultural safety is an essential concept within New Zealand nursing that is formally linked to registration and competency-based practice certification. Despite its centrality to New Zealand nursing philosophies and the stated expectation of cultural safety as a practice element, there is limited evidence of its application in the literature. This research presents insight into public health nurse's (PHN) experiences, demonstrating the integration of cultural safety principles into practice. These findings emerged following secondary analysis of data from a collaborative, educative research project where PHNs explored the use of family assessment tools. In particular, the 15-minute interview tool was introduced and used by the PHNs when working with families. Critical analysis of transcribed data from PHN interviews, utilising a cultural safety lens, illuminated practical ways in which cultural safety concepts infused PHN practice with families. The themes that emerged reflected the interweaving of the principles of cultural safety with the application of the five components of the 15-minute interview. This highlights elements of PHN work with individuals and families not previously acknowledged. Examples of culturally safe nursing practice resonated throughout the PHN conversations as they grappled with the increasing complexity of working with a diverse range of families. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Resilient Practices in Maintaining Safety of Health Information Technologies

PubMed Central

Ash, Joan S.; Sittig, Dean F.; Singh, Hardeep

2014-01-01

Electronic health record systems (EHRs) can improve safety and reliability of health care, but they can also introduce new vulnerabilities by failing to accommodate changes within a dynamic EHR-enabled health care system. Continuous assessment and improvement is thus essential for achieving resilience in EHR-enabled health care systems. Given the rapid adoption of EHRs by many organizations that are still early in their experiences with EHR safety, it is important to understand practices for maintaining resilience used by organizations with a track record of success in EHR use. We conducted interviews about safety practices with 56 key informants (including information technology managers, chief medical information officers, physicians, and patient safety officers) at two large health care systems recognized as leaders in EHR use. We identified 156 references to resilience-related practices from 41 informants. Framework analysis generated five categories of resilient practices: (a) sensitivity to dynamics and interdependencies affecting risks, (b) basic monitoring and responding practices, (c) management of practices and resources for monitoring and responding, (d) sensitivity to risks beyond the horizon, and (e) reflecting on risks with the safety and quality control process itself. The categories reflect three functions that facilitate resilience: reflection, transcending boundaries, and involving sharp-end practitioners in safety management. PMID:25866492

Practical Child Safety Education in England: A National Survey of the Child Safety Education Coalition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulvaney, Caroline A.; Watson, Michael C.; Walsh, Patrick

2013-01-01

Objective: To examine the provision of practical safety education by Child Safety Education Coalition (CSEC) organizations in England. Design: A postal survey. Setting: Providers of child practical safety education who were also part of CSEC. Methods: In February 2010 all CSEC organizations were sent a self-completion postal questionnaire which…

Incorporating organisational safety culture within ergonomics practice.

PubMed

Bentley, Tim; Tappin, David

2010-10-01

This paper conceptualises organisational safety culture and considers its relevance to ergonomics practice. Issues discussed in the paper include the modest contribution that ergonomists and ergonomics as a discipline have made to this burgeoning field of study and the significance of safety culture to a systems approach. The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics work with regard to the analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process, and implications for participatory ergonomics approaches, are also discussed. A potential user-friendly, qualitative approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented, based on a recently published conceptual framework that recognises the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of safety culture. The paper concludes by considering the use of such an approach, where an understanding of different aspects of safety culture within an organisation is seen as important to the success of ergonomics projects. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics practice is a key focus of this paper, including its relationship with the systems approach, participatory ergonomics and the ergonomics analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process. An approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented.

Using baby books to increase new mothers' safety practices.

PubMed

Reich, Stephanie M; Penner, Emily K; Duncan, Greg J

2011-01-01

To determine whether educational baby books are an effective method for increasing low-income, first-time mothers' safety practices during their child's first 18 months. Primiparous women (n = 167) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: an educational book group, a noneducational book group, or a no-book group. Home visits and interviews measured safety practices when women were in their third trimester of pregnancy (baseline) and when their children were 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age. Women in the educational book group had fewer risks in their homes and exercised more safety practices than the no-book group (- 20% risk reduction; effect size = -.30). When the safety practices involved little time or expense (eg, putting away sharp objects), the educational book group was significantly more likely to engage in these behaviors than the no-book group (40% higher practices; effect size = 0.19) or noneducational book group (27% higher practices; effect size = 0.13). However, no differences were found between groups for behaviors that required high effort in time, money, or hassle (eg, installing latches on cabinets). Educational baby books appear to be an easy and low-cost way to increase the safety practices of new mothers, especially if the practices involve little to no time, money, or hassle. Copyright © 2011 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Baby Books to Increase New Mothers’ Safety Practices

PubMed Central

Reich, Stephanie M.; Penner, Emily K.; Duncan, Greg J.

2010-01-01

Objective To determine if educational baby books are an effective method for increasing low-income, first-time mothers’ safety practices during their child’s first 18 months. Patients and Methods Primiparous women (n = 167) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an educational book group, a non-educational book group, or a no-book group. Home visits and interviews measured safety practices when women were in their third trimester of pregnancy (baseline) and when their child was 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age. Results Women in the educational book group had fewer risks in their homes and exercised more safety practices than the no-book group (effect size = −0.30; 20% risk reduction). When the safety practices involved little time or expense (e.g., putting away sharp objects), the educational book group was significantly more likely to engage in these behaviors than the no-book (40% higher practices; effect size = 0.19) or non-educational book groups (27% higher practices; effect size = 0.13). However, no differences were found between groups for behaviors that required high effort in time, money or hassle (e.g., installing latches on cabinets). Discussion Educational baby books appear to be an easy and low cost way to increase the safety practices of new mothers, especially if the practices involve little to no time, money, and hassle. PMID:21272822

Dimensions of patient safety culture in family practice.

PubMed

Palacios-Derflingher, Luz; O'Beirne, Maeve; Sterling, Pam; Zwicker, Karen; Harding, Brianne K; Casebeer, Ann

2010-01-01

Safety culture has been shown to affect patient safety in healthcare. While the United States and United Kingdom have studied the dimensions that reflect patient safety culture in family practice settings, to date, this has not been done in Canada. Differences in the healthcare systems between these countries and Canada may affect the dimensions found to be relevant here. Thus, it is important to identify and compare the dimensions from the United States and the United Kingdom in a Canadian context. The objectives of this study were to explore the dimensions of patient safety culture that relate to family practice in Canada and to determine if differences and similarities exist between dimensions found in Canada and those found in previous studies undertaken in the United States and the United Kingdom. A qualitative study was undertaken applying thematic analysis using focus groups with family practice offices and supplementary key stakeholders. Analysis of the data indicated that most of the dimensions from the United States and United Kingdom are appropriate in our Canadian context. Exceptions included owner/managing partner/leadership support for patient safety, job satisfaction and overall perceptions of patient safety and quality. Two unique dimensions were identified in the Canadian context: disclosure and accepting responsibility for errors. Based on this early work, it is important to consider differences in care settings when understanding dimensions of patient safety culture. We suggest that additional research in family practice settings is critical to further understand the influence of context on patient safety culture.

Practice-specific risk perceptions and self-reported food safety practices.

PubMed

Levy, Alan S; Choinière, Conrad J; Fein, Sara B

2008-06-01

The relationship between risk perception and risk avoidance is typically analyzed using self-reported measures. However, in domains such as driving or food handling, the validity of responses about usual behavior is threatened because people think about the situations in which they are self-aware, such as when they encounter a hazard. Indeed, researchers have often noted a divergence between what people say about their behavior and how they actually behave. Thus, in order to draw conclusions about risk perceptions and risk avoidance from survey data, it is important to identify particular cognitive elements, such as those measured by questions about risk and safety knowledge, risk perceptions, or information search behavior, which may be effective antecedents of self-reported safety behavior. It is also important to identify and correct for potential sources of bias that may exist in the data. The authors analyze the Food and Drug Administration's 1998 Food Safety Survey to determine whether there are consistent cognitive antecedents for three types of safe food practices: preparation, eating, and cooling of foods. An assessment of measurement biases shows that endogeneity of food choices affects reports of food preparation. In addition, response bias affects reports of cooling practices as evidenced by its relation to knowledge and information search, a pattern of cognitive effects unique to cooling practices. After correcting for these biases, results show that practice-specific risk perceptions are the primary cognitive antecedents of safe food behavior, which has implications for the design of effective education messages about food safety.

Perceived safety management practices in the logistics sector.

PubMed

Auyong, Hui-Nee; Zailani, Suhaiza; Surienty, Lilis

2016-03-09

Malaysia's progress on logistics has been slowed to keep pace with its growth in trade. The Government has been pressing companies to improve the safety of their activities in order to reduce society's loss due to occupational accidents and illnesses. Occupational safety and health is a crucial part of a workplace because every worker has to take care of his/her own safety and health. The main occupational safety and health (OSH) national policy in Malaysia is the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994. Only those companies which have excellent health and safety care have good quality and productive employees. This study investigated safety management practices in the logistics sector. The present study is concerned with the human factors to safety in the logistics industry. The authors examined the perceived safety management practices of workers in the logistics sector. The purpose was to identify the perception of safety management practices of Malaysian logistics personnel. Survey questionnaires were distributed to assess logistics personnel about management commitment. The quantitative method using the availability sampling method was applied. The data gathered from the survey were analysed using SPSS software. The responses to the survey were rated according to the Likert scale type, with '1' indicating strongly disagree and '5' indicating strongly agree. One hundred and three employees of logistics functions completed the survey. The highest mean scores were found for fire apparatus, prioritisation of safety, and safety policy. The results from this study also emphasise the importance of the management's commitment in enhancing workplace safety. Specifically, companies should maintain good relations between the employer and the employee to help reduce workplace injuries.

Patient safety in practical nurses' education: A cross-sectional survey of newly registered practical nurses in Canada.

PubMed

VanDenKerkhof, Elizabeth; Sears, Nancy; Edge, Dana S; Tregunno, Deborah; Ginsburg, Liane

2017-04-01

Practical nurses have experienced an increasing scope of practice, including an expectation to care for complex patients and function on interdisciplinary teams. Little is known about the degree to which patient safety principles are addressed in practical nursing education. To examine self-reported patient safety competencies of practical nurses. A cross-sectional online survey (July 2014) and face-to-face interviews (June 2015). Ontario, Canada. Survey participants were practical nurses newly registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario between January 2012 and December 2013. Interview participants were faculty and students in a practical nursing program in Ontario. Survey respondents completed the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey online. Self-reported competencies in various patient safety domains were compared between classroom and clinical settings. Faculty members were interviewed about educational preparation of practical nurses and students were interviewed to provide insight into interpretation of survey questions. The survey response rate was 28.4% (n=1104/3883). Mean domain scores indicated a high level of confidence in patient safety competence (<4.0/5.0). Confidence was highest in respondents registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario >2years and in those who obtained their education outside of Canada. Faculty believed their approach to teaching and learning instilled a deep understanding of the limits to practical nurse autonomous practice. Practical nurses were confident in what they learned about patient safety in their educational programs. The high degree of patient safety competence may be a true reflection of practical nurses understanding of, and comfort with, the limits of their knowledge and, ultimately, the limits of their individual autonomous practice. Further exploration as to whether the questionnaire requires additional modification for use with practical nurse populations is warranted. However, this

[Establishment of Quality Control System of Nucleic Acid Detection for Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory].

PubMed

Wang, Qin; Zhang, Yong; Nie, Kai; Wang, Huanyu; Du, Haijun; Song, Jingdong; Xiao, Kang; Lei, Wenwen; Guo, Jianqiang; Wei, Hejiang; Cai, Kun; Wang, Yanhai; Wu, Jiang; Gerald, Bangura; Kamara, Idrissa Laybohr; Liang, Mifang; Wu, Guizhen; Dong, Xiaoping

2016-03-01

The quality control process throughout the Ebola virus nucleic acid detection in Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory (SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab) was described in detail, in order to comprehensively display the scientific, rigorous, accurate and efficient practice in detection of Ebola virus of first batch detection team in SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab. Firstly, the key points of laboratory quality control system was described, including the managements and organizing, quality control documents and information management, instrument, reagents and supplies, assessment, facilities design and space allocation, laboratory maintenance and biosecurity. Secondly, the application of quality control methods in the whole process of the Ebola virus detection, including before the test, during the test and after the test, was analyzed. The excellent and professional laboratory staffs, the implementation of humanized management are the cornerstone of the success; High-level biological safety protection is the premise for effective quality control and completion of Ebola virus detection tasks. And professional logistics is prerequisite for launching the laboratory diagnosis of Ebola virus. The establishment and running of SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab has landmark significance for the friendship between Sierra Leone and China, and the lab becomes the most important base for Ebola virus laboratory testing in Sierra Leone.

[Medical safety in infectious disease--chairmen's introductory remarks].

PubMed

Shimetani, Naoto; Miida, Takashi

2012-10-01

"The National Joint Action of Risk Management" was started in May 2008. The Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine took this opportunity to set up a Medical Safety Committee as a participant in this Action. The Society holds symposia concerning medical safety to educate the Society members. Nosocomial infections are medical accidents. Whereas community-acquired infections are likely to develop depending on a balance between pathogens and hosts, nosocomial infections are implicated with medical practices, so they develop depending on the interrelationship among pathogens, hosts, and medical practices. Medical practices are mostly indispensable for providing medical services; therefore, activities against nosocomial infections are critical for establishing medical safety, freedom from anxiety, and reliability. Hence, this symposium deals with five themes: Countermeasures against and the management of needle-stick and cut accidents, collaboration between the infection control team (ICT) and the bacteriology laboratory, information transmission from the clinical laboratory department to physicians engaged in infectious disease treatment, utilization of laboratory data for infection control, and medical safety against tuberculosis infection.

Implementing AORN recommended practices for sharps safety.

PubMed

Ford, Donna A

2014-01-01

Prevention of percutaneous sharps injuries in perioperative settings remains a challenge. Occupational transmission of bloodborne pathogens, not only from patients to health care providers but also from health care providers to patients, is a significant concern. Legislation and position statements geared toward ensuring the safety of patients and health care workers have not resulted in significantly reduced sharps injuries in perioperative settings. Awareness and understanding of the types of percutaneous injuries that occur in perioperative settings is fundamental to developing an effective sharps injury prevention program. The AORN "Recommended practices for sharps safety" clearly delineates evidence-based recommendations for sharps injury prevention. Perioperative RNs can lead efforts to change practice for the safety of patients and perioperative team members by promoting the elimination of sharps hazards; the use of engineering, work practice, and administrative controls; and the proper use of personal protective equipment, including double gloving. Copyright © 2014 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Eye protection in dental laboratories.

PubMed

Palenik, C J

1997-09-01

Many dental laboratory procedures increase the chances of serious eye injury. This would include traumatic injuries due to projectiles or through exposure to harsh chemicals or heat and infections from contact with patient body fluids. To help assure a safer working environment, awareness of the need for eye protection must be established and maintained by all laboratory personnel. The purpose of this article are: 1) to list the applicable federal regulations concerning eye safety in dental laboratory workplaces; 2) to describe the various types of appropriate eyewear; and 3) to identify which protective devices best prevent exposure to specific types of hazards. The goal of this article is to help dental laboratories with their employee safety programs, especially concerning the selection of protective eyewear. Such programs must include engineering controls and work practice controls plus appropriate personal protective equipment. Laboratories today must comply with safety mandates in the most effective and efficient manner.

Food safety knowledge and practices of young adults.

PubMed

Green, Eric J; Knechtges, Paul L

2015-06-01

The objective of the study described in this article was to ascertain the food safety knowledge and practices of undergraduate students attending a major American university. The study participants were undergraduate college students (mean age 18.9 +/- 1.14 SD) enrolled in a required health course. The students were invited to take a validated food safety knowledge questionnaire as part of a health risk behavior online survey. The 786 respondents indicated their food is most often prepared at on-campus dining facilities and the majority of the students (72%) felt they were "unlikely or "very unlikely" at risk of foodborne disease. The mean food safety knowledge score of the participants was 10.23 (43%) +/- 4.13 SD (25%-60%), indicating the study population overall has poor knowledge of safe food practices. As a result, food safety educational initiatives and awareness campaigns should be developed to better inform young adults about safe food handling practices and habits.

Safety management practices in small and medium enterprises in India.

PubMed

Unnikrishnan, Seema; Iqbal, Rauf; Singh, Anju; Nimkar, Indrayani M

2015-03-01

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often the main pillar of an economy. Minor accidents, ergonomics problems, old and outdated machinery, and lack of awareness have created a need for implementation of safety practices in SMEs. Implementation of healthy working conditions creates positive impacts on economic and social development. In this study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 randomly chosen SMEs in and around Mumbai, Maharashtra, and other states in India to evaluate safety practices implemented in their facilities. The study also looked into the barriers and drivers for technology innovation and suggestions were also received from the respondent SMEs for best practices on safety issues. In some SMEs, risks associated with safety issues were increased whereas risks were decreased in others. Safety management practices are inadequate in most SMEs. Market competitiveness, better efficiency, less risk, and stringent laws were found to be most significant drivers; and financial constraints, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of training for employees were found to be main barriers. Competition between SMEs was found to be major reason for implementation of safety practices in the SMEs. The major contribution of the study has been awareness building on safety issues in the SMEs that participated in the project.

Safety Management Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in India

PubMed Central

Unnikrishnan, Seema; Iqbal, Rauf; Singh, Anju; Nimkar, Indrayani M.

2014-01-01

Background Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often the main pillar of an economy. Minor accidents, ergonomics problems, old and outdated machinery, and lack of awareness have created a need for implementation of safety practices in SMEs. Implementation of healthy working conditions creates positive impacts on economic and social development. Methods In this study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 randomly chosen SMEs in and around Mumbai, Maharashtra, and other states in India to evaluate safety practices implemented in their facilities. The study also looked into the barriers and drivers for technology innovation and suggestions were also received from the respondent SMEs for best practices on safety issues. Results In some SMEs, risks associated with safety issues were increased whereas risks were decreased in others. Safety management practices are inadequate in most SMEs. Market competitiveness, better efficiency, less risk, and stringent laws were found to be most significant drivers; and financial constraints, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of training for employees were found to be main barriers. Conclusion Competition between SMEs was found to be major reason for implementation of safety practices in the SMEs. The major contribution of the study has been awareness building on safety issues in the SMEs that participated in the project. PMID:25830070

Evaluation of radiation safety in 29 central Ohio veterinary practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moritz, S.A.; Wilkins, J.R. III; Hueston, W.D.

1989-07-01

A sample of 29 veterinary practices in Central Ohio were visited to assess radiation safety practices and observance of state regulations. Lead aprons and gloves were usually available, but gloves were not always worn. Protective thyroid collars and lead glasses were not available in any practice, lead shields in only five practices, and lead-lined walls and doors in only two practices. Eighteen practices had none of the required safety notices posted.

Accidental fires in clinical laboratories.

PubMed

Hoeltge, G A; Miller, A; Klein, B R; Hamlin, W B

1993-12-01

The National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Mass, estimates that 169 fires have occurred annually in health care, medical, and chemical laboratories. On the average, there are 13 civilian injuries and $1.5 million per year in direct property damage. Most fires in which the cause or ignition source can be identified originate in malfunctioning electrical equipment (41.6%) or in the facility's electrical distribution system (14.7%). The prevalence of fire safety deficiencies was measured in the College of American Pathologists Laboratory Accreditation Program. Of the 1732 inspected laboratories, 5.5% lacked records of electrical receptacle polarity and ground checks in the preceding year. Of these inspected laboratories, 4.7% had no or incomplete documentation of electrical safety checks on laboratory instruments. There was no evidence of quarterly fire exit drills in 9% of the laboratories. Deficiencies were also found in precautionary labeling (6.8%), in periodic review of safe work practices (4.2%), in the use of safety cans (3.7%), and in venting of flammable liquid storage areas (2.8%). Fire preparedness would be improved if all clinical laboratories had smoke detectors and automatic fire-extinguishing systems. In-service training courses in fire safety should be targeted to the needs of specific service areas.

Biomonitoring at the UK Health and Safety Laboratory.

PubMed

Cocker, J; Jones, K; Morton, J; Mason, H J

2007-05-01

The UK Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) provides research and analytical support to the Health and Safety Executive, other Government Departments and employers. In the area of biomonitoring HSL conducts research studies and provides an analytical service for regular surveillance of worker exposure to hazardous substances. This paper gives brief examples of how data from such studies can be used to develop biological monitoring guidance values for isocyanates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and hexavalent chromium. In addition, a study of occupational exposure to copper chrome arsenic wood preservatives is briefly described to show how biological monitoring can be used for post-approval surveillance of a biocide.

Online Assessment of Learning and Engagement in University Laboratory Practicals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitworth, David E.; Wright, Kate

2015-01-01

In science education, laboratory practicals are frequently assessed through submission of a report. A large increase in student numbers necessitated us adapting a traditional practical report into an online test with automated marking. The assessment was designed to retain positive features of the traditional laboratory report but with added…

Improving consistency in large laboratory courses: a design for a standardized practical exam.

PubMed

Chen, Xinnian; Graesser, Donnasue; Sah, Megha

2015-06-01

Laboratory courses serve as important gateways to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. One of the challenges in assessing laboratory learning is to conduct meaningful and standardized practical exams, especially for large multisection laboratory courses. Laboratory practical exams in life sciences courses are frequently administered by asking students to move from station to station to answer questions, apply knowledge gained during laboratory experiments, interpret data, and identify various tissues and organs using various microscopic and gross specimens. This approach puts a stringent time limit on all questions regardless of the level of difficulty and also invariably increases the potential risk of cheating. To avoid potential cheating in laboratory courses with multiple sections, the setup for practical exams is often changed in some way between sections. In laboratory courses with multiple instructors or teaching assistants, practical exams may be handled inconsistently among different laboratory sections, due to differences in background knowledge, perceptions of the laboratory goals, or prior teaching experience. In this article, we describe a design for a laboratory practical exam that aims to align the assessment questions with well-defined laboratory learning objectives and improve the consistency among all laboratory sections. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

Safety and Liability in the New Technology Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynie, W. J., III

2009-01-01

All laboratories, even modern high-tech ones, have some degree of hazard potential. It is the teacher's responsibility to make the lab as safe as possible and to do all that is reasonable and prudent to prevent accidents. The teacher's goal should be to insure the safety of every student. This goal is met best via well-planned instruction and…

Developing laboratory networks: a practical guide and application.

PubMed

Kirk, Carol J; Shult, Peter A

2010-01-01

The role of the public health laboratory (PHL) in support of public health response has expanded beyond testing to include a number of other core functions, such as emergency response, training and outreach, communications, laboratory-based surveillance, and laboratory data management. These functions can only be accomplished by a network that includes public health and other agency laboratories and clinical laboratories. It is a primary responsibility of the PHL to develop and maintain such a network. In this article, we present practical recommendations-based on 17 years of network development experience-for the development of statewide laboratory networks. These recommendations, and examples of current laboratory networks, are provided to facilitate laboratory network development in other states. The development of laboratory networks will enhance each state's public health system and is critical to the development of a robust national Laboratory Response Network.

Fire and Explosion Hazards Expected in a Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rasool, Shireen R.; Al-Dahhan, Wedad; Al-Zuhairi, Ali Jassim

Scientists at universities across Iraq are actively working to report actual incidents and accidents occurring in their laboratories, as well as structural improvements made to improve safety and security, to raise awareness and encourage openness, leading to widespread adoption of robust Chemical Safety and Security (CSS) practices. This manuscript is the fifth in a series of five case studies describing laboratory incidents, accidents, and laboratory improvements. In this study, we summarize unsafe practices involving the improper installation of a Gas Chromatograph (GC) at an Iraqi university which, if not corrected, could have resulted in a dangerous fire and explosion. Wemore » summarize the identified infractions and highlight lessons learned. By openly sharing the experiences at the university involved, we hope to minimize the possibility of another researcher being injured due to similarly unsafe practices in the future.« less

Using the Laboratory to Engage All Students in Science Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, J. P.; Sampson, V.; Southerland, S.; Enderle, P. J.

2016-01-01

This study examines the extent to which the type of instruction used during a general chemistry laboratory course affects students' ability to use core ideas to engage in science practices. We use Ford's (2008) description of the nature of scientific practices to categorize what students do in the laboratory as either empirical or…

Good laboratory practices guarantee biosafety in the Sierra Leone-China friendship biosafety laboratory.

PubMed

Wang, Qin; Zhou, Wei-Min; Zhang, Yong; Wang, Huan-Yu; Du, Hai-Jun; Nie, Kai; Song, Jing-Dong; Xiao, Kang; Lei, Wen-Wen; Guo, Jian-Qiang; Wei, He-Jiang; Cai, Kun; Wang, Yan-Hai; Wu, Jiang; Kamara, Gerard; Kamara, Idrissa; Wei, Qiang; Liang, Mi-Fang; Wu, Gui-Zhen; Dong, Xiao-Ping

2016-06-23

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa between 2014 and 2015 was the largest EDV epidemic since the identification of Ebola virus (EBOV) in 1976, and the countries most strongly affected were Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. The Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory (SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab), a fixed Biosafety Level 3 laboratory in the capital city of Sierra Leone, was established by the Chinese government and has been active in EBOV detection since 11 March 2015. Complete management and program documents were created for the SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab, and it was divided into four zones (the green, yellow, brown, and red zones) based on the risk assessment. Different types of safe and appropriate personnel protection equipment (PPE) are used in different zones of the laboratory, and it fully meets the Biosafety Level 3 laboratory standards of the World Health Organization. Good preparedness, comprehensive risk assessment and operation documents, appropriate PPE, effective monitoring and intensive training, together with well-designed and reasonable laboratory sectioning are essential for guaranteeing biosafety.

Sun safety knowledge and practice in UK postal delivery workers.

PubMed

Houdmont, J; Davis, S; Griffiths, A

2016-06-01

Postal delivery workers spend a large proportion of their work time outdoors, placing them at increased risk of skin cancer. To date, no studies have examined occupational sun safety knowledge and practice within this group in the UK. To describe the occupational sun safety knowledge and practice of UK postal delivery workers and to investigate the association of demographic, personal and occupational factors with knowledge and practice in order to identify potential strategies for improving sun safety in this occupational group. Postal delivery workers completed a questionnaire that collected data on occupational sun safety knowledge and practice in addition to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. One-way analysis of variances were applied to assess differences in knowledge and practice by these characteristics. A total of 1153 postal delivery workers completed the questionnaire, a 60% response rate. Thirty-three per cent reported receiving sun safety training within the previous 12 months. The majority of respondents reported correct knowledge on three of the six domains and good practice on four of the six behavioural domains. However, only one-fifth of respondents reported wearing sunglasses and ensuring a plentiful intake of water. Knowledge and practice differed significantly according to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. There is a need to raise the profile of occupational skin cancer in this occupational group and to increase the priority given to occupational sun safety policies alongside targeted and tailored interventions, the effect of which can be evaluated. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

Participatory design of a preliminary safety checklist for general practice

PubMed Central

Bowie, Paul; Ferguson, Julie; MacLeod, Marion; Kennedy, Susan; de Wet, Carl; McNab, Duncan; Kelly, Moya; McKay, John; Atkinson, Sarah

2015-01-01

Background The use of checklists to minimise errors is well established in high reliability, safety-critical industries. In health care there is growing interest in checklists to standardise checking processes and ensure task completion, and so provide further systemic defences against error and patient harm. However, in UK general practice there is limited experience of safety checklist use. Aim To identify workplace hazards that impact on safety, health and wellbeing, and performance, and codesign a standardised checklist process. Design and setting Application of mixed methods to identify system hazards in Scottish general practices and develop a safety checklist based on human factors design principles. Method A multiprofessional ‘expert’ group (n = 7) and experienced front-line GPs, nurses, and practice managers (n = 18) identified system hazards and developed and validated a preliminary checklist using a combination of literature review, documentation review, consensus building workshops using a mini-Delphi process, and completion of content validity index exercise. Results A prototype safety checklist was developed and validated consisting of six safety domains (for example, medicines management), 22 sub-categories (for example, emergency drug supplies) and 78 related items (for example, stock balancing, secure drug storage, and cold chain temperature recording). Conclusion Hazards in the general practice work system were prioritised that can potentially impact on the safety, health and wellbeing of patients, GP team members, and practice performance, and a necessary safety checklist prototype was designed. However, checklist efficacy in improving safety processes and outcomes is dependent on user commitment, and support from leaders and promotional champions. Although further usability development and testing is necessary, the concept should be of interest in the UK and internationally. PMID:25918338

Compliance With Recommended Food Safety Practices in Television Cooking Shows.

PubMed

Cohen, Nancy L; Olson, Rita Brennan

Examine compliance with recommended food safety practices in television cooking shows. Using a tool based on the Massachusetts Food Establishment Inspection Report, raters examined 39 episodes from 10 television cooking shows. Chefs demonstrated conformance with good retail practices for proper use and storage of utensils in 78% of episodes; preventing contamination (62%), and fingernail care (82%). However, 50% to 88% of episodes were found to be out of compliance with other personal hygiene practices, proper use of gloves and barriers (85% to 100%), and maintaining proper time and temperature controls (93%). Over 90% failed to conform to recommendations regarding preventing contamination through wiping cloths and washing produce. In only 13% of episodes were food safety practices mentioned. There appears to be little attention to food safety during most cooking shows. Celebrity and competing chefs have the opportunity to model and teach good food safety practices for millions of viewers. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence-based safety (EBS) management: A new approach to teaching the practice of safety management (SM).

PubMed

Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Shi, Bo; Huang, Lang

2017-12-01

In safety management (SM), it is important to make an effective safety decision based on the reliable and sufficient safety-related information. However, many SM failures in organizations occur for a lack of the necessary safety-related information for safety decision-making. Since facts are the important basis and foundation for decision-making, more efforts to seek the best evidence relevant to a particular SM problem would lead to a more effective SM solution. Therefore, the new paradigm for decision-making named "evidence-based practice (EBP)" can hold important implications for SM, because it uses the current best evidence for effective decision-making. Based on a systematic review of existing SM approaches and an analysis of reasons why we need new SM approaches, we created a new SM approach called evidence-based safety (EBS) management by introducing evidence-based practice into SM. It was necessary to create new SM approaches. A new SM approach called EBS was put forward, and the basic questions of EBS such as its definition and core were analyzed in detail. Moreover, the determinants of EBS included manager's attitudes towards EBS; evidence-based consciousness in SM; evidence sources; technical support; EBS human resources; organizational culture; and individual attributes. EBS is a new and effective approach to teaching the practice of SM. Of course, further research on EBS should be carried out to make EBS a reality. Practical applications: Our work can provide a new and effective idea and method to teach the practice of SM. Specifically, EBS proposed in our study can help safety professionals make an effective safety decision based on a firm foundation of high-grade evidence. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of Behaviour-Based Safety Programme into Engineering Laboratories and Workshops Conceptually

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koo, Kean Eng; Zain, Ahmad Nurulazam Md; Zainal, Siti Rohaida Mohamed

2012-01-01

The purpose of this conceptual research framework is to develop and integrate a safety training model using a behaviour-based safety training programme into laboratories for young adults, during their tertiary education, particularly in technical and vocational education. Hence, this research will be investigating the outcome of basic safety…

Maintenance and Safety Practices of Escalator in Commercial Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afida Isnaini Janipha, Nurul; Nur Aina Syed Alwee, Sharifah; Ariff, Raihan Mohd; Ismail, Faridah

2018-02-01

The escalator is very crucial to transport a person from one place to another. Nevertheless, there are many cases recorded the accidents in relation to escalator. These may occur due to lack of maintenance which leads to systems breakdown, poor safety practices, wear and tear, users’ negligence and others. Thus, proper maintenance systems need to be improvised to prevent and reduce escalator accident in future. This research was aimed to determine the escalator maintenance activities and safety practices in a commercial building. Three case studies were selected within Selangor area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting data from these three case studies. To achieve the aim of this research, the study was carried out on the maintenance activities, safety practices and cost related to escalator maintenance. As one of the important means of access in building, it is very crucial to increase effectiveness of escalator particularly in commercial building. It is expected that readers will get clear information on the maintenance activities and safety practices of escalator in commercial building.

Survey of Clinical Laboratory Practices for 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in the Republic of Korea.

PubMed

Lee, Mi-Kyung; Kim, Sinyoung; Kim, Mi-Na; Kweon, Oh Joo; Lim, Yong Kwan; Ki, Chang-Seok; Kim, Jae-Seok; Seong, Moon-Woo; Sung, Heungsup; Yong, Dongeun; Lee, Hyukmin; Choi, Jong-Rak; Kim, Jeong-Ho

2016-03-01

It is crucial to understand the current status of clinical laboratory practices for the largest outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in the Republic of Korea to be well prepared for future emerging infectious diseases. We conducted a survey of 49 clinical laboratories in medical institutions and referral medical laboratories. A short questionnaire to survey clinical laboratory practices relating to MERS-CoV diagnostic testing was sent by email to the directors and clinical pathologists in charge of the clinical laboratories performing MERS-CoV testing. The survey focused on testing volume, reporting of results, resources, and laboratory safety. A total of 40 clinical laboratories responded to the survey. A total of 27,009 MERS-CoV real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) tests were performed. Most of the specimens were sputum (73.5%). The median turnaround time (TAT) was 5.29 hr (first and third quartile, 4.11 and 7.48 hr) in 26 medical institutions. The median TAT of more than a half of the laboratories (57.7%) was less than 6 hr. Many laboratories were able to perform tests throughout the whole week. Laboratory biosafety preparedness included class II biosafety cabinets (100%); separated pre-PCR, PCR, and post-PCR rooms (88.6%); negative pressure pretreatment rooms (48.6%); and negative pressure sputum collection rooms (20.0%). Clinical laboratories were able to quickly expand their diagnostic capacity in response to the 2015 MERS-CoV outbreak. Our results show that clinical laboratories play an important role in the maintenance and enhancement of laboratory response in preparation for future emerging infections.

Survey of Clinical Laboratory Practices for 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in the Republic of Korea

PubMed Central

Lee, Mi-Kyung; Kim, Sinyoung; Kim, Mi-Na; Kweon, Oh Joo; Lim, Yong Kwan; Ki, Chang-Seok; Kim, Jae-Seok; Seong, Moon-Woo; Sung, Heungsup; Yong, Dongeun; Lee, Hyukmin; Choi, Jong-Rak

2016-01-01

Background It is crucial to understand the current status of clinical laboratory practices for the largest outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in the Republic of Korea to be well prepared for future emerging infectious diseases. Methods We conducted a survey of 49 clinical laboratories in medical institutions and referral medical laboratories. A short questionnaire to survey clinical laboratory practices relating to MERS-CoV diagnostic testing was sent by email to the directors and clinical pathologists in charge of the clinical laboratories performing MERS-CoV testing. The survey focused on testing volume, reporting of results, resources, and laboratory safety. Results A total of 40 clinical laboratories responded to the survey. A total of 27,009 MERS-CoV real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) tests were performed. Most of the specimens were sputum (73.5%). The median turnaround time (TAT) was 5.29 hr (first and third quartile, 4.11 and 7.48 hr) in 26 medical institutions. The median TAT of more than a half of the laboratories (57.7%) was less than 6 hr. Many laboratories were able to perform tests throughout the whole week. Laboratory biosafety preparedness included class II biosafety cabinets (100%); separated pre-PCR, PCR, and post-PCR rooms (88.6%); negative pressure pretreatment rooms (48.6%); and negative pressure sputum collection rooms (20.0%). Conclusions Clinical laboratories were able to quickly expand their diagnostic capacity in response to the 2015 MERS-CoV outbreak. Our results show that clinical laboratories play an important role in the maintenance and enhancement of laboratory response in preparation for future emerging infections. PMID:26709263

Safety, security and dual-use chemicals

DOE PAGES

Walters, Douglas B.; Ho, Pauline; Hardesty, Jasper

2014-12-18

Many chemicals that are frequently used in laboratories and industries can be harmful if not handled properly. Chemical safety best practices are designed to protect people from accidentally being exposed to hazardous chemicals. On the other hand, chemical security best practices are designed to protect people from someone deliberately exposing others to hazardous chemicals. Finally, many chemical safety best practices overlap with chemical security best practices, but there are important differences, as will be discussed in this paper.

Phlebotomy, a bridge between laboratory and patient.

PubMed

Ialongo, Cristiano; Bernardini, Sergio

2016-01-01

The evidence-based paradigm has changed and evolved medical practice. Phlebotomy, which dates back to the age of ancient Greece, has gained experience through the evolution of medicine becoming a fundamental diagnostic tool. Nowadays it connects the patient with the clinical laboratory dimension building up a bridge. However, more often there is a gap between laboratory and phlebotomist that causes misunderstandings and burdens on patient safety. Therefore, the scope of this review is delivering a view of modern phlebotomy to "bridge" patient and laboratory. In this regard the paper describes devices, tools and procedures in the light of the most recent scientific findings, also discussing their impact on both quality of blood testing and patient safety. It also addresses the issues concerning medical aspect of venipuncture, like the practical approach to the superficial veins anatomy, as well as the management of the patient's compliance with the blood draw. Thereby, the clinical, technical and practical issues are treated with the same relevance throughout the entire paper.

Farm Safety Practices and Farm Size in New South Wales.

PubMed

Bailey, Jannine; Dutton, Tegan; Payne, Kristy; Wilson, Ross; Brew, Bronwyn K

2017-01-01

There is some evidence to suggest that safety on small-area farms may not be high priority due to economic constraints and lack of knowledge. This has important ramifications for injury and economic burden. The objective of this research was to conduct a pilot study to investigate whether small- to medium-area farms implement fewer safety practices than large-area farms. Farmers were recruited from farm safety training days, field days, and produce stores in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Small- and medium-area farms less than 500 ha (1235 acres) in size were aggregated for analysis and compared with large-area farms (≥500 ha) for survey items, including safety equipment owned and used, safety practices protecting children, barriers to improving safety, and causes of injury. Overall, small/medium-area farms were found to own less safety equipment and to employ less safety practices than large-area farms. In particular, fewer tractors were fitted with rollover protection structures, there was less signage, less hearing protection, and fewer machinery guides. Injury rates were slightly less for small/medium-area farms, particularly involving vehicles. Small- and medium-area farmers were more likely to report lack of skills as barriers to making safety improvements. This pilot study found some evidence that small/medium-area farms implement fewer safety practices than large-area farms. A larger study is warranted to investigate this further, with particular focus on barriers and ways to overcome them. This could have important ramifications for government policies supporting struggling farmers on small/medium-area farms.

Nurse prescribing: reflections on safety in practice.

PubMed

Bradley, Eleanor; Hynam, Brian; Nolan, Peter

2007-08-01

This qualitative study explores how recently qualified nurse prescribers describe, and rate, the safety of their prescribing. Internationally, the costs of drug errors are enormous and they can have serious implications for staff and patients. Nurses are now undertaking extended prescribing practice throughout the UK. Nurse prescribers work across different work settings and although safe prescribing is a priority in all of them, it is essential to ascertain the conditions that foster the highest levels of safety and how nurses can be supported in practice. Thirty-one nurses form the West Midlands area of England agreed to participate in an in-depth interview which sought to elicit their responses to various aspects of their prescribing work. They came from a variety of specialities and from hospital, community and general practice backgrounds. On completion of their training nurses were acutely aware of the responsibility that prescribing imposed on them. Although this awareness was thought to encourage caution and safety, it may also account for the fact that 26% of the nurses (n=8) had not prescribed since qualifying. Nurses felt that the multidisciplinary team had a vital role to play in supporting their prescribing practice as did collaborative working. It is concluded that those working in specialty areas that are less well-defined in terms of scope of practice (e.g. older adult nursing and learning disability) would benefit in particular from ongoing mentoring relationships with experienced prescribers and the development of individual formularies.

Recommended safety guides for industrial laboratories and shops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, W. W.

1971-01-01

Booklet provides references to 29 publications providing information on hazard control and approved safety practices. Areas include pressurized gas and vacuum systems. Guidelines are presented for safeguarding facilities where machinery, equipment, electrical devices, or hazardous chemicals are used.

Sun Safety Practices Among Schools in the United States

PubMed Central

Guy, Gery P.

2017-01-01

Importance Exposure to the sun’s UV radiation is a leading cause of skin cancer. Positive attitudes and beliefs about sun safety behavior, which would make sun protective behavior more likely, could be promoted and supported by school policies and practices. Objective To identify school characteristics associated with having adopted practices that promote sun safety. Design, Setting, and Participants School-level data from the February 3 to July 23, 2014, School Health Policies and Practices Study’s Healthy and Safe School Environment questionnaire were analyzed. The School Health Policies and Practices Study uses a 2-stage sampling design to select a nationally representative sample of schools. All public, state-administered, Catholic, and non-Catholic private schools with any of the grades from kindergarten through 12 were eligible for inclusion. All analyses were conducted using weighted data. Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence of sun safety practices. Results In a nationally representative sample of 828 US schools, representatives of 577 schools (69.7%) responded. Overall, sun safety practices were not common among schools. The most frequent practice was having teachers allow time for students to apply sunscreen at school (47.6%; 95% CI, 42.4%-52.9%). Few schools made sunscreen available for students to use (13.3%; 95% CI, 10.2%-17.0%), almost always or always scheduled outdoor activities to avoid times when the sun was at peak intensity (15.0%; 95% CI, 11.4%-19.6%), or asked parents to ensure that students applied sunscreen before school (16.4%; 95% CI, 12.9%-20.6%). High schools were less likely than elementary schools and middle schools to adopt several practices: for instance, 37.5% of high schools (95% CI, 29.7%-46.0%), 51.6% of middle schools (95% CI, 43.3%-59.7%), and 49.5% of elementary schools (95% CI, 42.0%-57.0%) had teachers allow time for students to apply sunscreen at school, and 11.8% of high schools (95% CI, 7.7%-17.5%), 18.2% of middle

Sun Safety Practices Among Schools in the United States.

PubMed

Everett Jones, Sherry; Guy, Gery P

2017-05-01

Exposure to the sun's UV radiation is a leading cause of skin cancer. Positive attitudes and beliefs about sun safety behavior, which would make sun protective behavior more likely, could be promoted and supported by school policies and practices. To identify school characteristics associated with having adopted practices that promote sun safety. School-level data from the February 3 to July 23, 2014, School Health Policies and Practices Study's Healthy and Safe School Environment questionnaire were analyzed. The School Health Policies and Practices Study uses a 2-stage sampling design to select a nationally representative sample of schools. All public, state-administered, Catholic, and non-Catholic private schools with any of the grades from kindergarten through 12 were eligible for inclusion. All analyses were conducted using weighted data. Prevalence of sun safety practices. In a nationally representative sample of 828 US schools, representatives of 577 schools (69.7%) responded. Overall, sun safety practices were not common among schools. The most frequent practice was having teachers allow time for students to apply sunscreen at school (47.6%; 95% CI, 42.4%-52.9%). Few schools made sunscreen available for students to use (13.3%; 95% CI, 10.2%-17.0%), almost always or always scheduled outdoor activities to avoid times when the sun was at peak intensity (15.0%; 95% CI, 11.4%-19.6%), or asked parents to ensure that students applied sunscreen before school (16.4%; 95% CI, 12.9%-20.6%). High schools were less likely than elementary schools and middle schools to adopt several practices: for instance, 37.5% of high schools (95% CI, 29.7%-46.0%), 51.6% of middle schools (95% CI, 43.3%-59.7%), and 49.5% of elementary schools (95% CI, 42.0%-57.0%) had teachers allow time for students to apply sunscreen at school, and 11.8% of high schools (95% CI, 7.7%-17.5%), 18.2% of middle schools (95% CI, 13.3%-24.4%), and 14.7% of elementary schools (95% CI, 9.6%-21.8%) almost

Biosafety principles and practices for the veterinary diagnostic laboratory.

PubMed

Kozlovac, Joseph; Schmitt, Beverly

2015-01-01

Good biosafety and biocontainment programs and practices are critical components of the successful operation of any veterinary diagnostic laboratory. In this chapter we provide information and guidance on critical biosafety management program elements, facility requirements, protective equipment, and procedures necessary to ensure that the laboratory worker and the environment are adequately protected in the challenging work environment of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory in general and provide specific guidance for those laboratories employing molecular diagnostic techniques.

Improving Consistency in Large Laboratory Courses: A Design for a Standardized Practical Exam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Xinnian; Graesser, Donnasue; Sah, Megha

2015-01-01

Laboratory courses serve as important gateways to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. One of the challenges in assessing laboratory learning is to conduct meaningful and standardized practical exams, especially for large multisection laboratory courses. Laboratory practical exams in life sciences courses are frequently…

The Design of a Practical Enterprise Safety Management System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabbar, Hossam A.; Suzuki, Kazuhiko

This book presents design guidelines and implementation approaches for enterprise safety management system as integrated within enterprise integrated systems. It shows new model-based safety management where process design automation is integrated with enterprise business functions and components. It proposes new system engineering approach addressed to new generation chemical industry. It will help both the undergraduate and professional readers to build basic knowledge about issues and problems of designing practical enterprise safety management system, while presenting in clear way, the system and information engineering practices to design enterprise integrated solution.

Practical methodological guide for hydrometric inter-laboratory organisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besson, David; Bertrand, Xavier

2015-04-01

Discharge measurements performed by the French governmental hydrometer team feed a national database. This data is available for general river flows knowkedge, flood forecasting, low water survey, statistical calculations flow, control flow regulatory and many other uses. Regularly checking the measurements quality and better quantifying its accuracy is therefore an absolute need. The practice of inter-laboratory comparison in hydrometry particularly developed during the last decade. Indeed, discharge measurement can not easily be linked to a standard. Therefore, on-site measurement accuracy control is very difficult. Inter-laboratory comparison is thus a practical solution to this issue. However, it needs some regulations in order to ease its practice and legitimize its results. To do so, the French government hydrometrics teams produced a practical methodological guide for hydrometric inter-laboratory organisation in destination of hydrometers community in view of ensure the harmonization of inter-laboratory comparison practices for different materials (ADCP, current meter on wadind rod or gauging van, tracer dilution, surface speed) and flow range (flood, low water). Ensure the results formalization and banking. The realisation of this practice guide is grounded on the experience of the governmental teams & their partners (or fellows), following existing approaches (Doppler group especially). The guide is designated to validate compliance measures and identify outliers : Hardware, methodological, environmental, or human. Inter-laboratory comparison provides the means to verify the compliance of the instruments (devices + methods + operators) and provides methods to determine an experimental uncertainty of the tested measurement method which is valid only for the site and the measurement conditions but does not address the calibration or periodic monitoring of the few materials. After some conceptual definitions, the guide describes the different stages of an

Using the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory at Idaho National Laboratory for Safety Focused Research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joe, Jeffrey .C; Boring, Ronald L.

Under the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been using the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL) to conduct critical safety focused Human Factors research and development (R&D) for the nuclear industry. The LWRS program has the overall objective to develop the scientific basis to extend existing nuclear power plant (NPP) operating life beyond the current 60-year licensing period and to ensure their long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. One focus area for LWRS is the NPP main control room (MCR), because many of the instrumentation andmore » control (I&C) system technologies installed in the MCR, while highly reliable and safe, are now difficult to replace and are therefore limiting the operating life of the NPP. This paper describes how INL researchers use the HSSL to conduct Human Factors R&D on modernizing or upgrading these I&C systems in a step-wise manner, and how the HSSL has addressed a significant gap in how to upgrade systems and technologies that are built to last, and therefore require careful integration of analog and new advanced digital technologies.« less

Laboratory testing of alcohol safety interlock systems employing divided attention tests

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-12-01

Author's abstract: Prototype Alcohol Safety Interlock Systems employing measurements of tracking ability, reaction time, and response accuracy to discern alcohol impairment were submitted to laboratory testing. These systems were modified versions of...

Radiation safety knowledge and practices among Irish orthopaedic trainees.

PubMed

Nugent, M; Carmody, O; Dudeney, S

2015-06-01

Fluoroscopy is frequently used in orthopaedic surgery, particularly in a trauma setting. Exposure of patients and staff to ionising radiation has been studied extensively; however, little work has been done to evaluate current knowledge and practices among orthopaedic trainees. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and practices of Irish orthopaedic trainees regarding use of ionising radiation. A confidential internet-based survey on workplace radiation safety practices was distributed via email to 40 higher specialist trainees. Questions included related to radiation safety training and regular work practices. A total of 26 trainees completed the questionnaire (65% response rate). All reported regular exposure to ionising radiation. Compliance with body shields was high (25, 96%), however, other protective measures such as thyroid shields were less frequently employed. The 'as low as reasonably achievable principle' was practised regularly by 14 (54%). Radiation safety training was variable-while just over half (14) respondents felt adequately trained in radiation safety, 17 (65%) had attended a radiation protection course. Use of dosimeters was particularly poor, with only 4 (15%) using them regularly and most citing lack of availability as the main barrier. Although most Irish orthopaedic trainees have some knowledge regarding radiation safety, many do not regularly use all available measures to reduce exposure to ionising radiation. Barriers to use of protective mechanisms include lack of availability and perceived impracticality.

Mini-Special Issue: Taking Practical Work Beyond the Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodson, Derek

1998-01-01

Reviews the traditional definition of practical work in science, offers a different definition of it, and points out that practical work is not always laboratory based. Discusses the logistics of coordinating fieldwork. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

EMS providers' perceptions of safety climate and adherence to safe work practices.

PubMed

Eliseo, Laura J; Murray, Kate A; White, Laura F; Dyer, Sophia; Mitchell, Patricia A; Fernandez, William G

2012-01-01

Occupational injuries are an important source of morbidity for emergency medical services (EMS) providers. Previous work has shown that employee perceptions of an organization's commitment to safety (i.e., safety climate) correlate with adherence to safe practices. To assess the association between perceived safety climate and compliance with safety procedures in an urban EMS system with >100,000 calls/year. EMS providers were issued a self-administered survey that included questions on demographics, years of experience, perceived safety climate, and adherence to safety procedures. Safety climate was assessed with a 20-item validated instrument. Adherence to safety procedures was assessed with a nine-item list of safety behaviors. Strict adherence to safety procedures was defined as endorsing "agree" or "strongly agree" on 80% of items. The effect of safety climate on compliance with safe practices was estimated using multiple logistic regression. One hundred ninety-six of 221 providers (89%) completed surveys; 74% were male; the median age was 36-40 years; and the median amount of experience was 8 years. One hundred twenty-seven of 196 respondents (65%) reported strict adherence to safe work practice. Factor analysis confirmed the original six-factor grouping of questions; frequent safety-related feedback/training was significantly associated with safe practices (odds ratio [OR] = 2.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-4.51). EMS workers perceiving a high degree of perceived safety climate was associated with twofold greater odds of self-reported level of strict adherence to safe work practices. Frequent safety-related feedback/training was the one dimension of safety climate that had the strongest association with adherence to safe workplace behaviors.

[Clinical governance and patient safety culture in clinical laboratories in the Spanish National Health System].

PubMed

Giménez-Marín, Á; Rivas-Ruiz, F

To conduct a situational analysis of patient safety culture in public laboratories in the Spanish National Health System and to determine the clinical governance variables that most strongly influence patient safety. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, in which a Survey of Patient Safety in Clinical Laboratories was addressed to workers in 26 participating laboratories. In this survey, which consisted of 45 items grouped into 6 areas, scores were assigned on a scale from 0 to 100 (where 0 is the lowest perception of patient safety). Laboratory managers were asked specific questions about quality management systems and technology. The mean scores for the 26 participating hospitals were evaluated, and the following results observed: in 4of the 6areas, the mean score was higher than 70 points. In the third area (equipment and resources) and the fourth area (working conditions), the scores were lower than 60 points. Every hospital had a digital medical record system. This 100% level of provision was followed by that of an electronic request management system, which was implemented in 82.6% of the hospitals. The results obtained show that the culture of security is homogeneous and of high quality in health service laboratories, probably due to the steady improvement observed. However, in terms of clinical governance, there is still some way to go, as shown by the presence of weaknesses in crucial dimensions of safety culture, together with variable levels of implementation of fail-safe technologies and quality management systems. Copyright © 2017 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Collaborating with nurse leaders to develop patient safety practices.

PubMed

Kanerva, Anne; Kivinen, Tuula; Lammintakanen, Johanna

2017-07-03

Purpose The organisational level and leadership development are crucial elements in advancing patient safety, because patient safety weaknesses are often caused by system failures. However, little is known about how frontline leader and director teams can be supported to develop patient safety practices. The purpose of this study is to describe the patient safety development process carried out by nursing leaders and directors. The research questions were: how the chosen development areas progressed in six months' time and how nursing leaders view the participatory development process. Design/methodology/approach Participatory action research was used to engage frontline nursing leaders and directors into developing patient safety practices. Semi-structured group interviews ( N = 10) were used in data collection at the end of a six-month action cycle, and data were analysed using content analysis. Findings The participatory development process enhanced collaboration and gave leaders insights into patient safety as a part of the hospital system and their role in advancing it. The chosen development areas advanced to different extents, with the greatest improvements in those areas with simple guidelines to follow and in which the leaders were most participative. The features of high-reliability organisation were moderately identified in the nursing leaders' actions and views. For example, acting as a change agent to implement patient safety practices was challenging. Participatory methods can be used to support leaders into advancing patient safety. However, it is important that the participants are familiar with the method, and there are enough facilitators to steer development processes. Originality/value Research brings more knowledge of how leaders can increase their effectiveness in advancing patient safety and promoting high-reliability organisation features in the healthcare organisation.

Food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among veterinary medicine students at Trakia University, Bulgaria.

PubMed

Stratev, Deyan; Odeyemi, Olumide A; Pavlov, Alexander; Kyuchukova, Ralica; Fatehi, Foad; Bamidele, Florence A

The results from the first survey on food safety knowledge, attitudes and hygiene practices (KAP) among veterinary medicine students in Bulgaria are reported in this study. It was designed and conducted from September to December 2015 using structured questionnaires on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. Data were collected from 100 undergraduate veterinary medicine students from the Trakia University, Bulgaria. It was observed that the age and the gender did not affect food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) on food safety knowledge and practices among students based on the years of study. A high level of food safety knowledge was observed among the participants (85.06%), however, the practice of food safety was above average (65.28%) while attitude toward food safety was high (70%). Although there was a significant awareness of food safety knowledge among respondents, there is a need for improvement on food safety practices, interventions on food safety and foodborne diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Young worker safety in construction: do family ties and workgroup size affect hazard exposures and safety practices?

PubMed

Rauscher, Kimberly J; Myers, Douglas J; Runyan, Carol W; Schulman, Michael

2012-01-01

Little is known about how social aspects of the work environment influence exposures or safety practices affecting young construction workers. Our objective was to investigate whether working on a construction site with a small number of workers (≤10 vs. 11-50) or having a family-firm connection (working in a family-owned firm or one in which a family member also works) impacts hazard exposures and safety practices. Participants included 187 North Carolina construction workers 14 to 17 years old who were surveyed about their jobs. We conducted stratified analyses using cross-tabulations and chi-square statistics to measure associations between workgroup size (i.e., the total number of workers on a jobsite) and family-firm connections (yes/no) and hazard exposures (e.g., saws) and safety practices (e.g., supervision). Having a family-firm connection was associated with fewer hazard exposures and greater safety practices. Youth who worked on jobsites with a larger workgroup (11-50 workers) reported more hazards but also more safety practices. Family-firm connections, in particular, may have a protective effect for youth in construction. Even though the statistical significance of our findings on workgroup size was limited in places, the pattern of differences found suggest that further research in this area is warranted.

Getting Students in the Safety Zone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Ken

2010-01-01

Students coming into science labs need initial and ongoing training about safety standards and best practices. They also need to develop good attitudes about their work and the health and safety of their teachers and fellow students. The "School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide" is a resource for science teachers and school administrators to help…

[Implementation of "5S" methodology in laboratory safety and its effect on employee satisfaction].

PubMed

Dogan, Yavuz; Ozkutuk, Aydan; Dogan, Ozlem

2014-04-01

a statistically significant effect on employees, and some sufficient satisfaction was observed. In addition, the non-conformity score, which was identified in the laboratory during the previous years, was significantly reduced at a rate of 69.7% after the implementation of 5S. 5S practices have successfully contributed to the establishment and to the sustainability of laboratory safety systems in the first public ISO 15189 accredited public clinical laboratory in Turkey. It is concluded that 5S methods can be used as an effective improvement tool in order to maintain a safe environment, to facilitate the job, and to encourage employees to participate in the management process.

Food safety educational intervention positively influences college students' food safety attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and self-reported practices.

PubMed

Yarrow, Linda; Remig, Valentina M; Higgins, Mary Meck

2009-01-01

In this study, the authors evaluated college students' food safety attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and self-reported practices and explored whether these variables were positively influenced by educational intervention. Students (n=59), were mostly seniors, health or non-health majors, and responsible for meal preparation. Subjects completed a food safety questionnaire (FSQ) prior to educational intervention, which consisted of three interactive modules. Subjects completed module pre-, post-, and post-posttests. The FSQ was also administered after exposure to intervention and five weeks later to determine changes in food safety attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and self-reported practices. Students' FSQ attitude scores increased from 114 to 122 (p < or = .001); FSQ belief and knowledge scores improved from 86 to 98 (p < or = .001) and from 11 to 13 (p < or = .001), respectively. Food safety knowledge was also measured by module pre- and posttests, and improved significantly after intervention for all students, with health majors having the greatest increase. Intervention resulted in improved food safety self-reported practices for health majors only. The educational intervention appeared effective in improving food safety beliefs and knowledge. For health majors, attitudes and some self-reported practices improved. For all areas, the strongest effects were seen in health majors.

Good Laboratory Practice. Part 2. Recording and Retaining Raw Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedlich, Richard C.; Libera, Agata E.; Pires, Amanda; Tellarini, Cassandra

2013-01-01

A clear understanding of how "raw data" is defined, recorded, and retained in the laboratory record is essential to the chemist employed in the laboratory compliant with the Good Laboratory Practices regulations. This article is intended to provide an understanding by drawing upon examples taken from the modern pharmaceutical analysis…

Do Leadership Style, Unit Climate, and Safety Climate Contribute to Safe Medication Practices?

PubMed

Farag, Amany; Tullai-McGuinness, Susan; Anthony, Mary K; Burant, Christopher

2017-01-01

This study aims at: examining if leadership style and unit climate predict safety climate; and testing the direct, indirect, and total effect of leadership style, unit climate, and safety climate on nurses' safe medication practices. The Institute of Medicine and nursing scholars propose that safety climate is a prerequisite to safety practices. However, there is limited empirical evidence about factors contributing to the development of safety climate and about the association with nurses' safe medication practices. This cross-sectional study used survey data from 246 RNs working in a Magnet® hospital. Leadership style and unit climate predicted 20% to 50% of variance on all safety climate dimensions. Model testing revealed the indirect impact of leadership style and unit climate on nurses' safe medication practices. Our hypothesized model explained small amount of the variance on nurses' safe medication practices. This finding suggests that nurses' safe medication practices are influenced by multiple contextual and personal factors that should be further examined.

Phlebotomy, a bridge between laboratory and patient

PubMed Central

Ialongo, Cristiano; Bernardini, Sergio

2016-01-01

The evidence-based paradigm has changed and evolved medical practice. Phlebotomy, which dates back to the age of ancient Greece, has gained experience through the evolution of medicine becoming a fundamental diagnostic tool. Nowadays it connects the patient with the clinical laboratory dimension building up a bridge. However, more often there is a gap between laboratory and phlebotomist that causes misunderstandings and burdens on patient safety. Therefore, the scope of this review is delivering a view of modern phlebotomy to “bridge” patient and laboratory. In this regard the paper describes devices, tools and procedures in the light of the most recent scientific findings, also discussing their impact on both quality of blood testing and patient safety. It also addresses the issues concerning medical aspect of venipuncture, like the practical approach to the superficial veins anatomy, as well as the management of the patient’s compliance with the blood draw. Thereby, the clinical, technical and practical issues are treated with the same relevance throughout the entire paper. PMID:26981016

Assessment of patient safety culture in clinical laboratories in the Spanish National Health System.

PubMed

Giménez-Marín, Angeles; Rivas-Ruiz, Francisco; García-Raja, Ana M; Venta-Obaya, Rafael; Fusté-Ventosa, Margarita; Caballé-Martín, Inmaculada; Benítez-Estevez, Alfonso; Quinteiro-García, Ana I; Bedini, José Luis; León-Justel, Antonio; Torra-Puig, Montserrat

2015-01-01

There is increasing awareness of the importance of transforming organisational culture in order to raise safety standards. This paper describes the results obtained from an evaluation of patient safety culture in a sample of clinical laboratories in public hospitals in the Spanish National Health System. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers employed in the clinical laboratories of 27 public hospitals in 2012. The participants were recruited by the heads of service at each of the participating centers. Stratified analyses were performed to assess the mean score, standardized to a base of 100, of the six survey factors, together with the overall patient safety score. 740 completed questionnaires were received (88% of the 840 issued). The highest standardized scores were obtained in Area 1 (individual, social and cultural) with a mean value of 77 (95%CI: 76-78), and the lowest ones, in Area 3 (equipment and resources), with a mean value of 58 (95%CI: 57-59). In all areas, a greater perception of patient safety was reported by the heads of service than by other staff. We present the first multicentre study to evaluate the culture of clinical safety in public hospital laboratories in Spain. The results obtained evidence a culture in which high regard is paid to safety, probably due to the pattern of continuous quality improvement. Nevertheless, much remains to be done, as reflected by the weaknesses detected, which identify areas and strategies for improvement.

Review article: practical current issues in perioperative patient safety.

PubMed

Eichhorn, John H

2013-02-01

This brief review provides an overview and, importantly, a context perspective of relevant current practical issues in perioperative patient safety. The dramatic improvement in anesthesia patient safety over the last 30 years was not initiated by electronic monitors but, rather, largely by a set of behaviours known as "safety monitoring" that were then made decidedly more effective by extending the human senses through electronic monitoring, for example, capnography and pulse oximetry. In the highly developed world, this current success is threatened by complacency and production pressure. In some areas of the developing/underdeveloped world, the challenge is implementing the components of anesthesia practice that will bring safety improvements to parallel the overall current success, for instance, applying the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) "International Standards for A Safe Practice of Anaesthesia". Generally, expanding the current success in safety involves many practical issues. System issues involve research, effective reporting mechanisms and analysis/broadcasting of results, perioperative communication (including "speaking up to power"), and checklists. Monitoring issues involve enforcing existing published monitoring standards and also recognizing the risk of danger to the patient from hypoventilation during procedural sedation and from postoperative intravenous pain medications. Issues of clinical care include medication errors in the operating room, cerebral hypoperfusion (especially in the head-up position), dangers of airway management, postoperative residual weakness from muscle relaxants, operating room fires, and risks specific in obstetric anesthesia. Recognition of the issues outlined here and empowerment of all anesthesia professionals, from the most senior professors and administrators to the newest practitioners, should help maintain, solidify, and expand the improvements in anesthesia and perioperative patient

Designing easy DNA extraction: Teaching creativity through laboratory practice.

PubMed

Susantini, Endang; Lisdiana, Lisa; Isnawati; Tanzih Al Haq, Aushia; Trimulyono, Guntur

2017-05-01

Subject material concerning Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) structure in the format of creativity-driven laboratory practice offers meaningful learning experience to the students. Therefore, a laboratory practice in which utilizes simple procedures and easy-safe-affordable household materials should be promoted to students to develop their creativity. This study aimed to examine whether designing and conducting DNA extraction with household materials could foster students' creative thinking. We also described how this laboratory practice affected students' knowledge and views. A total of 47 students participated in this study. These students were grouped and asked to utilize available household materials and modify procedures using hands-on worksheet. Result showed that this approach encouraged creative thinking as well as improved subject-related knowledge. Students also demonstrated positive views about content knowledge, social skills, and creative thinking skills. This study implies that extracting DNA with household materials is able to develop content knowledge, social skills, and creative thinking of the students. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(3):216-225, 2017. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The practice of pre-marketing safety assessment in drug development.

PubMed

Chuang-Stein, Christy; Xia, H Amy

2013-01-01

The last 15 years have seen a substantial increase in efforts devoted to safety assessment by statisticians in the pharmaceutical industry. While some of these efforts were driven by regulations and public demand for safer products, much of the motivation came from the realization that there is a strong need for a systematic approach to safety planning, evaluation, and reporting at the program level throughout the drug development life cycle. An efficient process can help us identify safety signals early and afford us the opportunity to develop effective risk minimization plan early in the development cycle. This awareness has led many pharmaceutical sponsors to set up internal systems and structures to effectively conduct safety assessment at all levels (patient, study, and program). In addition to process, tools have emerged that are designed to enhance data review and pattern recognition. In this paper, we describe advancements in the practice of safety assessment during the premarketing phase of drug development. In particular, we share examples of safety assessment practice at our respective companies, some of which are based on recommendations from industry-initiated working groups on best practice in recent years.

Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories: Volume 1. Accident Prevention for College and University Students, 7th Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

This book contains volume 1 of 2 and describes safety guidelines for academic chemistry laboratories to prevent accidents for college and university students. Contents include: (1) "Your Responsibility for Accident Prevention"; (2) "Guide to Chemical Hazards"; (3) "Recommended Laboratory Techniques"; and (4) "Safety Equipment and Emergency…

Predictors of Hospital Nurses' Safety Practices: Work Environment, Workload, Job Satisfaction, and Error Reporting.

PubMed

Chiang, Hui-Ying; Hsiao, Ya-Chu; Lee, Huan-Fang

Nurses' safety practices of medication administration, prevention of falls and unplanned extubations, and handover are essentials to patient safety. This study explored the prediction between such safety practices and work environment factors, workload, job satisfaction, and error-reporting culture of 1429 Taiwanese nurses. Nurses' job satisfaction, error-reporting culture, and one environmental factor of nursing quality were found to be major predictors of safety practices. The other environment factors related to professional development and participation in hospital affairs and nurses' workload had limited predictive effects on the safety practices. Increasing nurses' attention to patient safety by improving these predictors is recommended.

Risk assessment for safety laboratories in Politeknik Negeri Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viyata Sundawa, Bakti; Hutajulu, Elferida; Sirait, Regina; Banurea, Waldemar; Indrayadi; Mulyadi, Sangap

2017-09-01

International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated 2.34 million people die each year because accidents and diseases in workplace. It also impact to economic losses in some countries. It need to do safety and healthy in working environment especially in laboratory. Identification of potential hazards and risks must be done in Telecommunication Laboratory Politeknik Negeri Medan. Therefore, this study was assessed 5 of potential hazards and risks in our laboratory by Likert Scale. This object was divided into 2 assessment namely likelihood of hazards and severity of consequences. Collecting data is taken from questionnaire who involved 100 students at random academic level. The result showed The highest score is chemical hazards 73.2% in likelihood of hazards and electrical hazards 85% in severity of consequences. This condition is classified as “high” state. Big attention must be given to “high” state because it can help us to determine mitigate action.

Electronic health records and patient safety: co-occurrence of early EHR implementation with patient safety practices in primary care settings.

PubMed

Tanner, C; Gans, D; White, J; Nath, R; Pohl, J

2015-01-01

The role of electronic health records (EHR) in enhancing patient safety, while substantiated in many studies, is still debated. This paper examines early EHR adopters in primary care to understand the extent to which EHR implementation is associated with the workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety, as compared to practices with paper records. Early adoption is defined as those who were using EHR prior to implementation of the Meaningful Use program. We utilized the Physician Practice Patient Safety Assessment (PPPSA) to compare primary care practices with fully implemented EHR to those utilizing paper records. The PPPSA measures the extent of adoption of patient safety practices in the domains: medication management, handoffs and transition, personnel qualifications and competencies, practice management and culture, and patient communication. Data from 209 primary care practices responding between 2006-2010 were included in the analysis: 117 practices used paper medical records and 92 used an EHR. Results showed that, within all domains, EHR settings showed significantly higher rates of having workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety than paper record settings. While these results were expected in the area of medication management, EHR use was also associated with adoption of patient safety practices in areas in which the researchers had no a priori expectations of association. Sociotechnical models of EHR use point to complex interactions between technology and other aspects of the environment related to human resources, workflow, policy, culture, among others. This study identifies that among primary care practices in the national PPPSA database, having an EHR was strongly empirically associated with the workflow, policy, communication and cultural practices recommended for safe patient care in ambulatory settings.

Best Practices in Boater Safety Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graefe, Alan R.

Recreational boating education in the United States is offered through a system of government agencies and non-government organizations, including the boating industry. The "best practices" in boater safety education include means of ensuring the availability of education programs, ensuring the content and quality of the educational…

Safety and compliance-related hazards in the medical practice: Part one.

PubMed

Calway, R C

2001-01-01

Safety and risk management hazards are a fact of life for the medical practice, and the costs of these incidents can place the group at significant risk of liability. Good compliance and risk management programs help minimize these incidents, improve staff morale, increase a practice's visibility in the community, and positively affect the practice's financial and operational bottom line performance. Medical practices that implement effective safety and risk management programs can realize savings in staffing costs, operational efficiency, morale, insurance premiums, and improved third-party relationships while at the same time avoiding embarrassing risks, fines, and liability. This article outlines some of the most common safety and risk management-related deficiencies seen in medical practices today. The author explains how to remedy these deficiencies and provides a self-test tool to enable the reader to assess areas within his or her own practice in need of attention.

The role of informal dimensions of safety in high-volume organisational routines: an ethnographic study of test results handling in UK general practice.

PubMed

Grant, Suzanne; Checkland, Katherine; Bowie, Paul; Guthrie, Bruce

2017-04-27

The handling of laboratory, imaging and other test results in UK general practice is a high-volume organisational routine that is both complex and high risk. Previous research in this area has focused on errors and harm, but a complementary approach is to better understand how safety is achieved in everyday practice. This paper ethnographically examines the role of informal dimensions of test results handling routines in the achievement of safety in UK general practice and how these findings can best be developed for wider application by policymakers and practitioners. Non-participant observation was conducted of high-volume organisational routines across eight UK general practices with diverse organisational characteristics. Sixty-two semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the key practice staff alongside the analysis of relevant documents. While formal results handling routines were described similarly across the eight study practices, the everyday structure of how the routine should be enacted in practice was informally understood. Results handling safety took a range of local forms depending on how different aspects of safety were prioritised, with practices varying in terms of how they balanced thoroughness (i.e. ensuring the high-quality management of results by the most appropriate clinician) and efficiency (i.e. timely management of results) depending on a range of factors (e.g. practice history, team composition). Each approach adopted created its own potential risks, with demands for thoroughness reducing productivity and demands for efficiency reducing handling quality. Irrespective of the practice-level approach adopted, staff also regularly varied what they did for individual patients depending on the specific context (e.g. type of result, patient circumstances). General practices variably prioritised a legitimate range of results handling safety processes and outcomes, each with differing strengths and trade-offs. Future safety

Safety Is No Laughing Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Patricia S.; Greco, Thomas G.

1995-12-01

At the beginning of each fall semester the chemistry department holds a safety seminar for all beginning chemistry students and student laboratory assistants to emphasize safe laboratory practices. As part of the program, two faculty members have presented a light-hearted skit which highlights numerous safety violations made by two general chemistry "students" as they carry out a titration lab. The audience is challenged to participate in a contest to identify the violations and the student with the most correct safety errors receives a prize. The skit can be carried out with minimal props and preparation time and script for the skit is presented for your use.

Assessment of patient safety culture in clinical laboratories in the Spanish National Health System

PubMed Central

Giménez-Marín, Angeles; Rivas-Ruiz, Francisco; García-Raja, Ana M.; Venta-Obaya, Rafael; Fusté-Ventosa, Margarita; Caballé-Martín, Inmaculada; Benítez-Estevez, Alfonso; Quinteiro-García, Ana I.; Bedini, José Luis; León-Justel, Antonio; Torra-Puig, Montserrat

2015-01-01

Introduction There is increasing awareness of the importance of transforming organisational culture in order to raise safety standards. This paper describes the results obtained from an evaluation of patient safety culture in a sample of clinical laboratories in public hospitals in the Spanish National Health System. Material and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers employed in the clinical laboratories of 27 public hospitals in 2012. The participants were recruited by the heads of service at each of the participating centers. Stratified analyses were performed to assess the mean score, standardized to a base of 100, of the six survey factors, together with the overall patient safety score. Results 740 completed questionnaires were received (88% of the 840 issued). The highest standardized scores were obtained in Area 1 (individual, social and cultural) with a mean value of 77 (95%CI: 76-78), and the lowest ones, in Area 3 (equipment and resources), with a mean value of 58 (95%CI: 57-59). In all areas, a greater perception of patient safety was reported by the heads of service than by other staff. Conclusions We present the first multicentre study to evaluate the culture of clinical safety in public hospital laboratories in Spain. The results obtained evidence a culture in which high regard is paid to safety, probably due to the pattern of continuous quality improvement. Nevertheless, much remains to be done, as reflected by the weaknesses detected, which identify areas and strategies for improvement. PMID:26525595

Food suppliers' perceptions and practical implementation of food safety regulations in Taiwan.

PubMed

Ko, Wen-Hwa

2015-12-01

The relationships between the perceptions and practical implementation of food safety regulations by food suppliers in Taiwan were evaluated. A questionnaire survey was used to identify individuals who were full-time employees of the food supply industry with at least 3 months of experience. Dimensions of perceptions of food safety regulations were classified using the constructs of attitude of employees and corporate concern attitude for food safety regulation. The behavior dimension was classified into employee behavior and corporate practice. Food suppliers with training in food safety were significantly better than those without training with respect to the constructs of perception dimension of employee attitude, and the constructs of employee behavior and corporate practice associated with the behavior dimension. Older employees were superior in perception and practice. Employee attitude, employee behavior, and corporate practice were significantly correlated with each other. Satisfaction with governmental management was not significantly related to corporate practice. The corporate implementation of food safety regulations by suppliers was affected by employees' attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, employees' attitudes and behaviors explain 35.3% of corporate practice. Employee behavior mediates employees' attitudes and corporate practices. The results of this study may serve as a reference for governmental supervision and provide training guidelines for workers in the food supply industry. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Remote PLC Laboratory (RLab) for Distance Practical Work of Industrial Automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haritman, E.; Somantri, Y.; Wahyudin, D.; Mulyana, E.

2018-02-01

A laboratory is an essential equipment for engineering students to do a useful practical work. Therefore, universities should provide an adequate facility for practical work. On the other hand, industrial automation laboratory would offer students beneficial experience by using various educational PLC kits. This paper describes the development of Web-based Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) remote laboratory called RLab. It provides an environment for learners to study PLC application to control the level of the non-interacting tank. The RLab architecture is based on a Moodle and Remote Desktop, which also manages the booking system of the schedule of practical work in the laboratory. The RLab equipped by USB cameras providing a real-time view of PLC environment. To provide a secured system, the RLab combines Moodle and Remote Desktop application for the authentication system and management of remote users. Moodle will send PartnerID and password to connect to TeamViewer. It has been examined that the laboratory requirement, time and flexibility restrictions constitute a significant obstacle facing traditional students desiring to finish the course. A remote access laboratory can be eliminating time and flexibility restrictions. The preliminary study of RLab usability proved that such system is adequate to give the learners a distance practical work environment.

78 FR 63438 - Rules of Practice in Air Safety Proceedings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-24

... NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD 49 CFR Part 821 [Docket No. NTSB-GC-2011-0001] Rules of Practice in Air Safety Proceedings AGENCY: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board). ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening of comment period. SUMMARY: The NTSB amends the comment deadline...

Office procedures: practical and safety considerations.

PubMed

Erickson, Ty B

2012-09-01

Gynecologic invasive procedures have moved into the physician's office due to improved reimbursement and convenience. Creating a just and safe office culture has generated robust conversations in the medical literature. This article reviews the foundational principles relating to safe practices in the office including: checklists, drills, selecting a safety officer, achieving office certification, medication usage, and engaging the patient in the safety culture. Reduction of medical errors in the office will require open dialogue between the stake holders: providers, insurers, patients, state and federal agencies, and educational bodies such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Health and safety plan for the Environmental Restoration Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, C. Jr.; Burman, S.N.; Cipriano, D.J. Jr.

1994-08-01

This Programmatic Health and Safety plan (PHASP) is prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program. This plan follows the format recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for remedial investigations and feasibility studies and that recommended by the EM40 Health and Safety Plan (HASP) Guidelines (DOE February 1994). This plan complies with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements found in 29 CFR 1910.120 and EM-40 guidelines for any activities dealing with hazardous waste operations and emergency response efforts and with OSHA requirements found in 29 CFR 1926.65.more » The policies and procedures in this plan apply to all Environmental Restoration sites and activities including employees of Energy Systems, subcontractors, and prime contractors performing work for the DOE ORNL ER Program. The provisions of this plan are to be carried out whenever activities are initiated that could be a threat to human health or the environment. This plan implements a policy and establishes criteria for the development of procedures for day-to-day operations to prevent or minimize any adverse impact to the environment and personnel safety and health and to meet standards that define acceptable management of hazardous and radioactive materials and wastes. The plan is written to utilize past experience and best management practices to minimize hazards to human health and safety and to the environment from event such as fires, explosions, falls, mechanical hazards, or any unplanned release of hazardous or radioactive materials to air, soil, or surface water.« less

Proper laboratory notebook practices: protecting your intellectual property.

PubMed

Nickla, Jason T; Boehm, Matthew B

2011-03-01

A laboratory notebook contains a wealth of knowledge that can be critical for establishing evidence in support of intellectual property rights and for refuting claims of research misconduct. The proper type, organization, use, maintenance, and storage of laboratory notebooks should be a priority for everyone at research institutions. Failure to properly document research activities can lead to serious problems, including the loss of valuable patent rights. Consequences of improper laboratory notebook practices can be harsh; numerous examples are described in court cases and journal articles, indicating a need for research institutions to develop strict policies on the proper use and storage of research documentation.

Role of champions in the implementation of patient safety practice change.

PubMed

Soo, Stephanie; Berta, Whitney; Baker, G Ross

2009-01-01

Practitioners of patient safety practice change agree that champions are central to the success of implementation. The clinical champion role is a concept that has been widely promoted yet empirically underdeveloped in health services literature. Questions remain as to who these champions are, what roles they play in patient safety practice change and what contexts serve to facilitate their efforts. This investigation used a multiple-case study design to critically examine the role of champions in the implementation of rapid response teams (RRTs), an innovative complex patient safety intervention, in two large urban acute care facilities. An analysis of interviews with key individuals involved in the RRT implementation process revealed a typology of the patient safety practice champion that extended beyond clinical personnel to include managerial and executive staff. Champions engaged to a varying extent in a number of core activities, including education, advocacy, relationship building and boundary spanning. Individuals became champions both through informal emergence and a combination of formal appointment and informal emergence. By identifying and elaborating upon specific features of the champion role, this study aims to expand the dialogue about champions for patient safety practice change.

Health and Safety Plan for Waste Area Grouping 6 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Environmental Restoration Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Hoesen, S.D.; Clark, C. Jr.; Burman, S.N.

1993-12-01

The Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), policy is to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all employees and subcontractors. The accomplishment of this policy requires that operations at Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 6 at the Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory are guided by an overall plan and consistent proactive approach to safety and health (S&H) issues. The plan is written to utilize past experience and best management practices to minimize hazards to human health or the environment from events such as fires, explosions, falls, mechanical hazards, or any unplanned release of hazardous or radioactivemore » materials to air, soil, or surface water This plan explains additional site-specific health and safety requirements such as Site Specific Hazards Evaluation Addendums (SSHEAs) to the Site Safety and Health Plan which should be used in concert with this plan and existing established procedures.« less

Quality Indicators in Laboratory Medicine: the status of the progress of IFCC Working Group "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" project.

PubMed

Sciacovelli, Laura; Lippi, Giuseppe; Sumarac, Zorica; West, Jamie; Garcia Del Pino Castro, Isabel; Furtado Vieira, Keila; Ivanov, Agnes; Plebani, Mario

2017-03-01

The knowledge of error rates is essential in all clinical laboratories as it enables them to accurately identify their risk level, and compare it with those of other laboratories in order to evaluate their performance in relation to the State-of-the-Art (i.e. benchmarking) and define priorities for improvement actions. Although no activity is risk free, it is widely accepted that the risk of error is minimized by the use of Quality Indicators (QIs) managed as a part of laboratory improvement strategy and proven to be suitable monitoring and improvement tools. The purpose of QIs is to keep the error risk at a level that minimizes the likelihood of patients. However, identifying a suitable State-of-the-Art is challenging, because it calls for the knowledge of error rates measured in a variety of laboratories throughout world that differ in their organization and management, context, and the population they serve. Moreover, it also depends on the choice of the events to keep under control and the individual procedure for measurement. Although many laboratory professionals believe that the systemic use of QIs in Laboratory Medicine may be effective in decreasing errors occurring throughout the total testing process (TTP), to improve patient safety as well as to satisfy the requirements of International Standard ISO 15189, they find it difficult to maintain standardized and systematic data collection, and to promote continued high level of interest, commitment and dedication in the entire staff. Although many laboratories worldwide express a willingness to participate to the Model of QIs (MQI) project of IFCC Working Group "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety", few systematically enter/record their own results and/or use a number of QIs designed to cover all phases of the TTP. Many laboratories justify their inadequate participation in data collection of QIs by claiming that the number of QIs included in the MQI is excessive. However, an analysis of results suggests

Tiger Team Assessment of the Ames Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-03-01

This report documents the Tiger Assessment of the Ames Laboratory (Ames), located in Ames, Iowa. Ames is operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) by Iowa State University. The assessment was conducted from February 10 to March 5, 1992, under the auspices of the Office of Special Projects, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Environment, Safety and Health, Headquarters, DOE. The assessment was comprehensive, encompassing Environment, Safety, and Health (ES H) disciplines; management practices; and contractor and DOE self-assessments. Compliance with applicable Federal, State of Iowa, and local regulations; applicable DOE Orders; best management practices; and internal requirements atmore » Ames Laboratory were assessed. In addition, an evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of DOE and the site contractor's management of ES H/quality assurance program was conducted.« less

Governance implications of nanomaterials companies' inconsistent risk perceptions and safety practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engeman, Cassandra D.; Baumgartner, Lynn; Carr, Benjamin M.; Fish, Allison M.; Meyerhofer, John D.; Satterfield, Terre A.; Holden, Patricia A.; Harthorn, Barbara Herr

2012-03-01

Current research on the nanotechnology industry indicates its downstream expansion at a rapid pace, while toxicological research and best practices for environmental health and safety are still being developed. Companies that use and/or produce engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have enormous potential to influence safe-handling practices for ENMs across the product life cycle. Knowledge of both industry practices and leaders' perceptions of risk is vital for understanding how companies will act to control potential environmental and health risks. This article reports results from a new international survey of nanomaterials companies in 14 countries. In this survey, company participants reported relatively high levels of uncertainty and/or perceived risk with regard to ENMs. However, these perspectives were not accompanied by expected risk-avoidant practices or preferences for regulatory oversight. A majority of companies indicated "lack of information" as a significant impediment to implementing nano-specific safety practices, but they also reported practices that were inconsistent with widely available guidance. Additionally, in the absence of safe-handling regulations, companies reported nano-specific health and safety programs that were narrow in scope. Taken together, these findings indicate that health and safety guidance is not reaching industry. While industry leaders' reluctance toward regulation might be expected, their own reported unsafe practices and recognition of possible risks suggest a more top-down approach from regulators is needed to protect workers and the environment.

Good laboratory practices for biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening for inherited metabolic disorders.

PubMed

2012-04-06

Biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening are essential laboratory services for the screening, detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of inborn errors of metabolism or inherited metabolic disorders. Under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations, laboratory testing is categorized on the basis of the level of testing complexity as either waived (i.e., from routine regulatory oversight) or nonwaived testing (which includes tests of moderate and high complexity). Laboratories that perform biochemical genetic testing are required by CLIA regulations to meet the general quality systems requirements for nonwaived testing and the personnel requirements for high-complexity testing. Laboratories that perform public health newborn screening are subject to the same CLIA regulations and applicable state requirements. As the number of inherited metabolic diseases that are included in state-based newborn screening programs continues to increase, ensuring the quality of performance and delivery of testing services remains a continuous challenge not only for public health laboratories and other newborn screening facilities but also for biochemical genetic testing laboratories. To help ensure the quality of laboratory testing, CDC collaborated with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to develop guidelines for laboratories to meet CLIA requirements and apply additional quality assurance measures for these areas of genetic testing. This report provides recommendations for good laboratory practices that were developed based on recommendations from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee, with additional input from the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society; the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children; and representatives of newborn

[Software for illustrating a cost-quality balance carried out by clinical laboratory practice].

PubMed

Nishibori, Masahiro; Asayama, Hitoshi; Kimura, Satoshi; Takagi, Yasushi; Hagihara, Michio; Fujiwara, Mutsunori; Yoneyama, Akiko; Watanabe, Takashi

2010-09-01

We have no proper reference indicating the quality of clinical laboratory practice, which should clearly illustrates that better medical tests require more expenses. Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine was concerned about recent difficult medical economy and issued a committee report proposing a guideline to evaluate the good laboratory practice. According to the guideline, we developed software that illustrate a cost-quality balance carried out by clinical laboratory practice. We encountered a number of controversial problems, for example, how to measure and weight each quality-related factor, how to calculate costs of a laboratory test and how to consider characteristics of a clinical laboratory. Consequently we finished only prototype software within the given period and the budget. In this paper, software implementation of the guideline and the above-mentioned problems are summarized. Aiming to stimulate these discussions, the operative software will be put on the Society's homepage for trial

Computerized Grading of Anatomy Laboratory Practical Examinations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krippendorf, Beth B.; Bolender, David L.; Kolesari, Gary L.

2008-01-01

At the Medical College of Wisconsin, a procedure was developed to allow computerized grading and grade reporting of laboratory practical examinations in the Clinical Human Anatomy course. At the start of the course, first year medical students were given four Lists of Structures. On these lists, numbered items were arranged alphabetically; the…

Practices for Identifying and Rejecting Hemolyzed Specimens Are Highly Variable in Clinical Laboratories.

PubMed

Howanitz, Peter J; Lehman, Christopher M; Jones, Bruce A; Meier, Frederick A; Horowitz, Gary L

2015-08-01

Hemolysis is an important clinical laboratory quality attribute that influences result reliability. To determine hemolysis identification and rejection practices occurring in clinical laboratories. We used the College of American Pathologists Survey program to distribute a Q-Probes-type questionnaire about hemolysis practices to Chemistry Survey participants. Of 3495 participants sent the questionnaire, 846 (24%) responded. In 71% of 772 laboratories, the hemolysis rate was less than 3.0%, whereas in 5%, it was 6.0% or greater. A visual scale, an instrument scale, and combination of visual and instrument scales were used to identify hemolysis in 48%, 11%, and 41% of laboratories, respectively. A picture of the hemolysis level was used as an aid to technologists' visual interpretation of hemolysis levels in 40% of laboratories. In 7.0% of laboratories, all hemolyzed specimens were rejected; in 4% of laboratories, no hemolyzed specimens were rejected; and in 88% of laboratories, some specimens were rejected depending on hemolysis levels. Participants used 69 different terms to describe hemolysis scales, with 21 terms used in more than 10 laboratories. Slight and moderate were the terms used most commonly. Of 16 different cutoffs used to reject hemolyzed specimens, moderate was the most common, occurring in 30% of laboratories. For whole blood electrolyte measurements performed in 86 laboratories, 57% did not evaluate the presence of hemolysis, but for those that did, the most common practice in 21 laboratories (24%) was centrifuging and visually determining the presence of hemolysis in all specimens. Hemolysis practices vary widely. Standard assessment and consistent reporting are the first steps in reducing interlaboratory variability among results.

Governance and implementation of sports safety practices by municipal offices in Swedish communities.

PubMed

Backe, S; Janson, S; Timpka, T

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to explore whether all-purpose health or safety promotion programmes and sports safety policies affect sports safety practices in local communities. Case study research methods were used to compare sports safety activities among offices in 73 Swedish municipalities; 28 with ongoing health or safety promotion programmes and 45 controls. The offices in municipalities with the WHO Healthy Cities (HC) or Safe Communities programmes were more likely to perform frequent inspections of sports facilities, and offices in the WHO HC programme were more likely to involve sports clubs in inspections. More than every second, property management office and environmental protection office conducted sports safety inspections compared with less than one in four planning offices and social welfare offices. It is concluded that all-purpose health and safety promotion programmes can reach out to have an effect on sports safety practices in local communities. These safety practices also reflect administrative work routines and managerial traditions.

Establishing powder-handling workflow practices and standard operating procedures: compounding pharmacy and safety.

PubMed

Prince, Bryan; Lundevall, Jeremy

2014-01-01

This is an ongoing discussion and analysis of powder-handling safety in the compounding pharmacy laboratory that started in the November/December 2013 issue of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding. In the previous technical article, we established that most chemical powders handled during compounding procedures have an established occupational exposure limits and that powders are micronized during manipulation. All micronized powders handled on an open bench create health hazards to the technicians and create a potential for cross-contamination to the lab environment. Proper identification of the chemical hazard and established standard operating procedures in direct correlation to Good Lab Practices when working inside a powder hood will positively improve the compounding pharmacy's work environment.

Recipe Modification Improves Food Safety Practices during Cooking of Poultry.

PubMed

Maughan, Curtis; Godwin, Sandria; Chambers, Delores; Chambers, Edgar

2016-08-01

Many consumers do not practice proper food safety behaviors when preparing food in the home. Several approaches have been taken to improve food safety behaviors among consumers, but there still is a deficit in actual practice of these behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess whether the introduction of food safety instructions in recipes for chicken breasts and ground turkey patties would improve consumers' food safety behaviors during preparation. In total, 155 consumers in two locations (Manhattan, KS, and Nashville, TN) were asked to prepare a baked chicken breast and a ground turkey patty following recipes that either did or did not contain food safety instructions. They were observed to track hand washing and thermometer use. Participants who received recipes with food safety instructions (n = 73) demonstrated significantly improved food safety preparation behaviors compared with those who did not have food safety instructions in the recipe (n = 82). In addition, the majority of consumers stated that they thought the recipes with instructions were easy to use and that they would be likely to use similar recipes at home. This study demonstrates that recipes could be a good source of food safety information for consumers and that they have the potential to improve behaviors to reduce foodborne illness.

49 CFR 385.321 - What failures of safety management practices disclosed by the safety audit will result in a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... disclosed by the safety audit will result in a notice to a new entrant that its USDOT new entrant... MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS SAFETY FITNESS PROCEDURES New Entrant Safety Assurance Program § 385.321 What failures of safety management practices disclosed by the safety audit will result in a notice...

There is more to risk and safety planning than dramatic risks: Mental health nurses' risk assessment and safety-management practice.

PubMed

Higgins, Agnes; Doyle, Louise; Downes, Carmel; Morrissey, Jean; Costello, Paul; Brennan, Michael; Nash, Michael

2016-04-01

Risk assessment and safety planning are considered a cornerstone of mental health practice, yet limited research exists into how mental health nurses conceptualize 'risk' and how they engage with risk assessment and safety planning. The aim of the present study was to explore mental health nurses' practices and confidence in risk assessment and safety planning. A self-completed survey was administered to 381 mental health nurses in Ireland. The findings indicate that nurses focus on risk to self and risk to others, with the risk of suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, and violence being most frequently assessed. Risk from others and 'iatrogenic' risk were less frequently considered. Overall, there was limited evidence of recovery-oriented practice in relation to risk. The results demonstrate a lack of meaningful engagement with respect to collaborative safety planning, the identification and inclusion of protective factors, and the inclusion of positive risk-taking opportunities. In addition, respondents report a lack of confidence working with positive risk taking and involving family/carers in the risk-assessment and safety-planning process. Gaps in knowledge about risk-assessment and safety-planning practice, which could be addressed through education, are identified, as are the implications of the findings for practice and research. © 2015 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Workplace road safety risk management: An investigation into Australian practices.

PubMed

Warmerdam, Amanda; Newnam, Sharon; Sheppard, Dianne; Griffin, Mark; Stevenson, Mark

2017-01-01

In Australia, more than 30% of the traffic volume can be attributed to work-related vehicles. Although work-related driver safety has been given increasing attention in the scientific literature, it is uncertain how well this knowledge has been translated into practice in industry. It is also unclear how current practice in industry can inform scientific knowledge. The aim of the research was to use a benchmarking tool developed by the National Road Safety Partnership Program to assess industry maturity in relation to risk management practices. A total of 83 managers from a range of small, medium and large organisations were recruited through the Victorian Work Authority. Semi-structured interviews aimed at eliciting information on current organisational practices, as well as policy and procedures around work-related driving were conducted and the data mapped onto the benchmarking tool. Overall, the results demonstrated varying levels of maturity of risk management practices across organisations, highlighting the need to build accountability within organisations, improve communication practices, improve journey management, reduce vehicle-related risk, improve driver competency through an effective workplace road safety management program and review organisational incident and infringement management. The findings of the study have important implications for industry and highlight the need to review current risk management practices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice: associations with musculoskeletal pain and injury-related absence among construction apprentices.

PubMed

Kim, Seung-Sup; Dutra, Lauren M; Okechukwu, Cassandra A

2014-07-01

This paper sought to assess organizational safety practices at three different levels of hierarchical workplace structure and to examine their association with injury outcomes among construction apprentices. Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,775 construction apprentices, three measures of organizational safety practice were assessed: contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice. Each safety practice measure was assessed using three similar questions (i.e., on-the-job safety commitment, following required or recommended safe work practices, and correcting unsafe work practices); the summed average of the responses ranged from 1 to 4, with a higher score indicating poorer safety practice. Outcome variables included the prevalence of four types of musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck, shoulder, hand, and back pain) and injury-related absence. In adjusted analyses, contractor-safety practice was associated with both hand pain (OR: 1.27, 95 % CI: 1.04, 1.54) and back pain (OR: 1.40, 95 % CI: 1.17, 1.68); coworker-safety practice was related to back pain (OR: 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.71) and injury-related absence (OR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.11, 1.67). In an analysis that included all three safety practice measures simultaneously, the association between coworker-safety practice and injury-related absence remained significant (OR: 1.68, 95 % CI: 1.20, 2.37), whereas all other associations became non-significant. This study suggests that organizational safety practice, particularly coworker-safety practice, is associated with injury outcomes among construction apprentices.

Measuring Best Practices for Workplace Safety, Health, and Well-Being: The Workplace Integrated Safety and Health Assessment.

PubMed

Sorensen, Glorian; Sparer, Emily; Williams, Jessica A R; Gundersen, Daniel; Boden, Leslie I; Dennerlein, Jack T; Hashimoto, Dean; Katz, Jeffrey N; McLellan, Deborah L; Okechukwu, Cassandra A; Pronk, Nicolaas P; Revette, Anna; Wagner, Gregory R

2018-05-01

To present a measure of effective workplace organizational policies, programs, and practices that focuses on working conditions and organizational facilitators of worker safety, health and well-being: the workplace integrated safety and health (WISH) assessment. Development of this assessment used an iterative process involving a modified Delphi method, extensive literature reviews, and systematic cognitive testing. The assessment measures six core constructs identified as central to best practices for protecting and promoting worker safety, health and well-being: leadership commitment; participation; policies, programs, and practices that foster supportive working conditions; comprehensive and collaborative strategies; adherence to federal and state regulations and ethical norms; and data-driven change. The WISH Assessment holds promise as a tool that may inform organizational priority setting and guide research around causal pathways influencing implementation and outcomes related to these approaches.

Narrative Practice and the Signs of Safety Approach: Engaging Adolescents in Building Rigorous Safety Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Matthew

2014-01-01

The Signs of Safety approach to child protection has been gaining prominence around the world and this approach has developed through learning from good practice. Generally, examples of good practice are derived from adults who pose a risk to children, while this paper outlines an example of good practice that engages an adolescent in building a…

Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity Risk Assessment Technical Guidance Document

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Astuto-Gribble, Lisa M; Caskey, Susan Adele

2014-07-01

The purpose of this document is threefold: 1) to describe the laboratory bio safety and biosecurity risk assessment process and its conceptual framework; 2) provide detailed guidance and suggested methodologies on how to conduct a risk assessment; and 3) present some practical risk assessment process strategies using realistic laboratory scenarios.

Ask the right question: a critical step for practicing evidence-based laboratory medicine.

PubMed

Price, Christopher P; Christenson, Robert H

2013-07-01

The purpose of laboratory medicine is to facilitate better decision making in clinical practice and healthcare delivery. Decision making implies an unresolved issue, problem or unmet need. The most important criterion for any investigation to be of value in clinical practice is that it addresses an unmet need. The different ways in which laboratory investigations are utilized in patient care can be represented in the form of questions. It is important that these questions are articulated to highlight the variables that will impact on the effectiveness of the investigation in the scenario being considered. These variables include the characteristics of the patient (or population) and clinical setting, the nature of the decision and action taken on receipt of the test result and the expected outcome. Asking a question is the first step of the evidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM) cycle, the other steps being acquiring the evidence, critically appraising the evidence, applying the evidence and auditing use of the evidence. Getting the question right determines the quality of the whole process, thus, defines the quality in practice of laboratory medicine. Whilst the main focus of the EBLM cycle is to provide a strong evidence base for use in clinical practice, it is clear that the five steps are equally applicable in commissioning, delivery and audit (performance management) of services. Asking the right question is crucial to improving the quality of evidence, and practice, in laboratory medicine, and should be used in routine laboratory medicine practice and management throughout healthcare.

Autoclaving practice in microbiology laboratories: report of a survey. The Public Health Laboratory Service Subcommittee on laboratory autoclaves.

PubMed Central

1978-01-01

The performance of autoclaves in 27 laboratories, operated in accordance with the normal routine of local practice, has been monitored using thermometric equipment. Sterilising performance was unsatisfactory on 10 of 62 occasions, and cooling was inadequate on 52 of 60 occasions. PMID:649767

Endorsing good quality assurance practices in molecular pathology: risks and recommendations for diagnostic laboratories and external quality assessment providers.

PubMed

Tembuyser, Lien; Dequeker, Elisabeth M C

2016-01-01

Quality assurance is an indispensable element in a molecular diagnostic laboratory. The ultimate goal is to warrant patient safety. Several risks that can compromise high quality procedures are at stake, from sample collection to the test performed by the laboratory, the reporting of test results to clinicians, and the organization of effective external quality assessment schemes. Quality assurance should therefore be safeguarded at each level and should imply a holistic multidisciplinary approach. This review aims to provide an overview of good quality assurance practices and discusses certain risks and recommendations to promote and improve quality assurance for both diagnostic laboratories and for external quality assessment providers. The number of molecular targets is continuously rising, and new technologies are evolving. As this poses challenges for clinical implementation and increases the demand for external quality assessment, the formation of an international association for improving quality assurance in molecular pathology is called for.

Going GLP: Conducting Toxicology Studies in Compliance with Good Laboratory Practices.

PubMed

Carroll, Erica Eggers

2016-01-01

Good laboratory practice standards are US federal regulations enacted as part of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (40 CFR Part 160), the Toxic Substance Control Act (40 CFR Part 792), and the Good Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies (21 CFR Part 58) to support protection of public health in the areas of pesticides, chemicals, and drug investigations in response to allegations of inaccurate data acquisition. Essentially, good laboratory practices (GLPs) are a system of management controls for nonclinical research studies involving animals to ensure the uniformity, consistency, reliability, reproducibility, quality, and integrity of data collected as part of chemical (including pharmaceuticals) tests, from in vitro through acute to chronic toxicity tests. The GLPs were established in the United States in 1978 as a result of the Industrial Bio-Test Laboratory scandal which led to congressional hearings and actions to prevent fraudulent data reporting and collection. Although the establishment of infrastructure for GLPs compliance is labor-intensive and time-consuming, achievement and maintenance of GLP compliance ensures the accuracy of the data collected from each study, which is critical for defending results, advancing science, and protecting human and animal health. This article describes how and why those in the US Army Medical Department responsible for protecting the public health of US Army and other military personnel made the policy decision to have its toxicology laboratory achieve complete compliance with GLP standards, the first such among US Army laboratories. The challenges faced and how they were overcome are detailed.

Medication Safety During Pregnancy: Improving Evidence-Based Practice.

PubMed

Sinclair, Susan M; Miller, Richard K; Chambers, Christina; Cooper, Elizabeth M

2016-01-01

Nearly 90% of women in the United States have taken medications during pregnancy. Medication exposures during pregnancy can result in adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes including birth defects, fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction, prematurity, and longer-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Advising pregnant women about the safety of medication use during pregnancy is complicated by a lack of data necessary to engage the woman in an informed discussion. Routinely, health care providers turn to the package insert, yet this information can be incomplete and can be based entirely on animal studies. Often, adequate safety data are not available. In a busy clinical setting, health care providers need to be able to quickly locate the most up-to-date information in order to counsel pregnant women concerned about medication exposure. Deciding where to locate the best available information is difficult, particularly when the needed information does not exist. Pregnancy registries are initiated to obtain more data about the safety of specific medication exposures during pregnancy; however, these studies are slow to produce meaningful information, and when they do, the information may not be readily available in a published form. Health care providers have valuable data in their everyday practice that can expand the knowledge base about medication safety during pregnancy. This review aims to discuss the limitations of the package insert regarding medication safety during pregnancy, highlight additional resources available to health care providers to inform practice, and communicate the importance of pregnancy registries for expanding knowledge about medication safety during pregnancy. © 2016 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice: associations with musculoskeletal pain and injury-related absence among construction apprentices

PubMed Central

Dutra, Lauren M.; Okechukwu, Cassandra A.

2013-01-01

Objectives This paper sought to assess organizational safety practices at three different levels of hierarchical workplace structure and to examine their association with injury outcomes among construction apprentices. Methods Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,775 construction apprentices, three measures of organizational safety practice were assessed: contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice. Each safety practice measure was assessed using three similar questions (i.e., on-the-job safety commitment, following required or recommended safe work practices, and correcting unsafe work practices); the summed average of the responses ranged from 1 to 4, with a higher score indicating poorer safety practice. Outcome variables included the prevalence of four types of musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck, shoulder, hand, and back pain) and injury-related absence. Results In adjusted analyses, contractor-safety practice was associated with both hand pain (OR: 1.27, 95 % CI: 1.04, 1.54) and back pain (OR: 1.40, 95 % CI: 1.17, 1.68); coworker-safety practice was related to back pain (OR: 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.71) and injury-related absence (OR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.11, 1.67). In an analysis that included all three safety practice measures simultaneously, the association between coworker-safety practice and injury-related absence remained significant (OR: 1.68, 95 % CI: 1.20, 2.37), whereas all other associations became non-significant. Conclusions This study suggests that organizational safety practice, particularly coworker-safety practice, is associated with injury outcomes among construction apprentices. PMID:23748366

Integrating Safety with Science,Technology and Innovation at Los Alamos National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rich, Bethany M

2012-04-02

The mission of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is to develop and apply science, technology and engineering solutions to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent; reduce global threats; and solve emerging national security challenges. The most important responsibility is to direct and conduct efforts to meet the mission with an emphasis on safety, security, and quality. In this article, LANL Environmental, Safety, and Health (ESH) trainers discuss how their application and use of a kinetic learning module (learn by doing) with a unique fall arrest system is helping to address one the most common industrialmore » safety challenges: slips and falls. A unique integration of Human Performance Improvement (HPI), Behavior Based Safety (BBS) and elements of the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) combined with an interactive simulator experience is being used to address slip and fall events at Los Alamos.« less

Health, Safety, and Environment Division

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wade, C

1992-01-01

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Meeting these responsibilities requires expertise in many disciplines, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science and engineering, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health, safety, and environmental problems occasionally arise from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory, and research programs in HSE Division often stem from thesemore » applied needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed, to study specific problems for the Department of Energy. The results of these programs help develop better practices in occupational health and safety, radiation protection, and environmental science.« less

Comprehensive evaluation of contemporary assisted reproduction technology laboratory operations to determine staffing levels that promote patient safety and quality care.

PubMed

Alikani, Mina; Go, Kathryn J; McCaffrey, Caroline; McCulloh, David H

2014-11-01

To consider how staffing requirements have changed with evolving and increasingly more complex assisted reproduction technology (ART) laboratory practice. Analysis by four laboratory directors from three different ART programs of the level of complexity and time requirements for contemporary ART laboratory activities to determine adequate staffing levels. University-based and private ART programs. None. None. Human resource requirements for ART procedures. Both complexity and time required for completion of a contemporary ART cycle have increased significantly compared with the same requirements for the "traditional cycle" of the past. The latter required roughly 9 personnel hours, but a contemporary cycle can require up to 20 hours for completion. Consistent with this increase, a quantitative analysis shows that the number of embryologists required for safe and efficient operation of the ART laboratory has also increased. This number depends on not only the volume but also the types of procedures performed: the higher the number of complex procedures, the more personnel required. An interactive Personnel Calculator is introduced that can help determine staffing needs. The increased complexity of the contemporary ART laboratory requires a new look at the allocation of human resources. Our work provides laboratory directors with a practical, individualized tool to determine their staffing requirements with a view to increasing the safety and efficiency of operations. The work could serve as the basis for revision of the 2008 American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) staffing guidelines. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory. Chemical Laboratory Safety: The Academic Anomaly.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bretherick, Leslie

1990-01-01

Discussed are accidents that occur in the laboratories of highly trained chemists. Four examples are provided to illustrate potential hazards that are often overlooked in chemistry laboratories, molten inorganic salt baths, the reaction of acetone and hydrogen peroxide, halogenated acetylene compounds, and the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and…

Nurses' experiences and perspectives on medication safety practices: an explorative qualitative study.

PubMed

Smeulers, Marian; Onderwater, Astrid T; van Zwieten, Myra C B; Vermeulen, Hester

2014-04-01

To explore nurses' experiences with and perspectives on preventing medication administration errors. Insight into nurses' experiences with and perspectives on preventing medication administration errors is important and can be utilised to tailor and implement safety practices. A qualitative interview study of 20 nurses in an academic medical centre was conducted between March and December of 2011. Three themes emerged from this study: (1) nurses' roles and responsibilities in medication safety: aside from safe preparation and administration, the clinical reasoning of nurses is essential for medication safety; (2) nurses' ability to work safely: knowledge of risks and nurses' work circumstances influence their ability to work safely; and (3) nurses' acceptance of safety practices: advantages, feasibility and appropriateness are important incentives for acceptance of a safety practice. Nurses' experiences coincide with the assumption that they are in a pre-eminent position to enable safe medication management; however, their ability to adequately perform this role depends on sufficient knowledge to assess the risks of medication administration and on the circumstances in which they work. Safe medication management requires a learning climate and professional practice environment that enables further development of professional nursing skills and knowledge. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patient safety in the clinical laboratory: a longitudinal analysis of specimen identification errors.

PubMed

Wagar, Elizabeth A; Tamashiro, Lorraine; Yasin, Bushra; Hilborne, Lee; Bruckner, David A

2006-11-01

Patient safety is an increasingly visible and important mission for clinical laboratories. Attention to improving processes related to patient identification and specimen labeling is being paid by accreditation and regulatory organizations because errors in these areas that jeopardize patient safety are common and avoidable through improvement in the total testing process. To assess patient identification and specimen labeling improvement after multiple implementation projects using longitudinal statistical tools. Specimen errors were categorized by a multidisciplinary health care team. Patient identification errors were grouped into 3 categories: (1) specimen/requisition mismatch, (2) unlabeled specimens, and (3) mislabeled specimens. Specimens with these types of identification errors were compared preimplementation and postimplementation for 3 patient safety projects: (1) reorganization of phlebotomy (4 months); (2) introduction of an electronic event reporting system (10 months); and (3) activation of an automated processing system (14 months) for a 24-month period, using trend analysis and Student t test statistics. Of 16,632 total specimen errors, mislabeled specimens, requisition mismatches, and unlabeled specimens represented 1.0%, 6.3%, and 4.6% of errors, respectively. Student t test showed a significant decrease in the most serious error, mislabeled specimens (P < .001) when compared to before implementation of the 3 patient safety projects. Trend analysis demonstrated decreases in all 3 error types for 26 months. Applying performance-improvement strategies that focus longitudinally on specimen labeling errors can significantly reduce errors, therefore improving patient safety. This is an important area in which laboratory professionals, working in interdisciplinary teams, can improve safety and outcomes of care.

Use of safety management practices for improving project performance.

PubMed

Cheng, Eddie W L; Kelly, Stephen; Ryan, Neal

2015-01-01

Although site safety has long been a key research topic in the construction field, there is a lack of literature studying safety management practices (SMPs). The current research, therefore, aims to test the effect of SMPs on project performance. An empirical study was conducted in Hong Kong and the data collected were analysed with multiple regression analysis. Results suggest that 3 of the 15 SMPs, which were 'safety committee at project/site level', 'written safety policy', and 'safety training scheme' explained the variance in project performance significantly. Discussion about the impact of these three SMPs on construction was provided. Assuring safe construction should be an integral part of a construction project plan.

Canadian Consumer Food Safety Practices and Knowledge: Foodbook Study.

PubMed

Murray, Regan; Glass-Kaastra, Shiona; Gardhouse, Christine; Marshall, Barbara; Ciampa, Nadia; Franklin, Kristyn; Hurst, Matt; Thomas, M Kate; Nesbitt, Andrea

2017-10-01

Understanding consumers' food safety practices and knowledge supports food safety education for the prevention of foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to describe Canadian consumer food safety practices and knowledge. This study identifies demographic groups for targeted food safety education messaging and establishes a baseline measurement to assess the effectiveness of food safety interventions over time. Questions regarding consumer food safety practices and knowledge were included in a population-based telephone survey, Foodbook, conducted from November 2014 to March 2015. The results were analyzed nationally by age group and by gender. The results showed that approximately 90% of Canadians reported taking the recommended cleaning and separating precautions when handling raw meat to prevent foodborne illness. Only 29% of respondents reported using a food thermometer when cooking any meat, and even fewer (12%) reported using a food thermometer for small cuts of meat such as chicken pieces. The majority (>80%) of Canadians were aware of the foodborne illness risks related to chicken and hamburger, but fewer (<40%) were aware of the risks related to frozen chicken nuggets, alfalfa sprouts, soft unpasteurized cheese, and unpasteurized juices. Generally, men were less likely to follow cooking instructions on packaging and took fewer steps to prevent cross-contamination than women. The youngest (18 to 29 years) age group was less likely to take steps to avoid cross-contamination and was less aware of the risks associated with eating an undercooked hamburger. The oldest (60+ years) respondents were less likely to be aware of the risks associated with raw eggs, alfalfa sprouts, and unpasteurized juice than the middle (30 to 59 years) age group. As a priority, food safety education in Canada should focus on increasing people's awareness of high-risk foods, specifically foods for which the awareness of risk found in this study was low; targeting messaging

Critical appraisal in the practice of laboratory medicine.

PubMed

Price, Christopher P; Christenson, Robert H

2016-03-01

Critical appraisal is a key skill employed across the spectrum of laboratory medicine practice. It underpins the use of information that is relevant, of good quality and is meaningful. Relevance is answering the right question for the right patient at the right time, with quality ensuring provision of the right information. Meaningful is making the right decisions in order to deliver the right outcomes. Critical appraisal is about minimizing the risk of bias or 'departures from trueness' in all of the facets of laboratory medicine practice. It can be summarized in four steps: (i) a clear understanding and articulation of the problem being addressed - whether it be an analytical challenge, individual patient care or policymaking; (ii) verifying the methodological approach employed; (iii) assuring the reliability of the results and (iv) ensuring the applicability and implications of the results. Reference is made to a number of checklists that can be used to assist in the process of critical appraisal. © The Author(s) 2015.

The growth of partnerships to support patient safety practice adoption.

PubMed

Mendel, Peter; Damberg, Cheryl L; Sorbero, Melony E S; Varda, Danielle M; Farley, Donna O

2009-04-01

To document the numbers and types of interorganizational partnerships within the national patient safety domain, changes over time in these networks, and their potential for disseminating patient safety knowledge and practices. Self-reported information gathered from representatives of national-level organizations active in promoting patient safety. Social network analysis was used to examine the structure and composition of partnership networks and changes between 2004 and 2006. Two rounds of structured telephone interviews (n=35 organizations in 2004 and 55 in 2006). Patient safety partnerships expanded between 2004 and 2006. The average number of partnerships per interviewed organization increased 40 percent and activities per reported partnership increased over 50 percent. Partnerships increased in all activity domains, particularly dissemination and tools development. Fragmentation of the overall partnership network decreased and potential for information flow increased. Yet network centralization increased, suggesting vulnerability to partnership failure if key participants disengage. Growth in partnerships signifies growing strength in the capacity to disseminate and implement patient safety advancements in the U.S. health care system. The centrality of AHRQ in these networks of partnerships bodes well for its leadership role in disseminating information, tools, and practices generated by patient safety research projects.

Implementation of Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) guidelines within the External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL).

PubMed

Todd, Christopher A; Sanchez, Ana M; Garcia, Ambrosia; Denny, Thomas N; Sarzotti-Kelsoe, Marcella

2014-07-01

The EQAPOL contract was awarded to Duke University to develop and manage global proficiency testing programs for flow cytometry-, ELISpot-, and Luminex bead-based assays (cytokine analytes), as well as create a genetically diverse panel of HIV-1 viral cultures to be made available to National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers. As a part of this contract, EQAPOL was required to operate under Good Clinical Laboratory Practices (GCLP) that are traditionally used for laboratories conducting endpoint assays for human clinical trials. EQAPOL adapted these guidelines to the management of proficiency testing programs while simultaneously incorporating aspects of ISO/IEC 17043 which are specifically designed for external proficiency management. Over the first two years of the contract, the EQAPOL Oversight Laboratories received training, developed standard operating procedures and quality management practices, implemented strict quality control procedures for equipment, reagents, and documentation, and received audits from the EQAPOL Central Quality Assurance Unit. GCLP programs, such as EQAPOL, strengthen a laboratory's ability to perform critical assays and provide quality assessments of future potential vaccines. © 2013.

Cultural safety in New Zealand midwifery practice. Part 1.

PubMed

Farry, Annabel; Crowther, Susan

2014-06-01

Midwives in New Zealand work within a unique cultural context. This calls for an understanding and appreciation of biculturalism and the equal status of Mãori and Europeans as the nation's founding peoples. This paper is the first of two papers that explore the notions of cultural safety and competence. Exploration and discussion take place in the New Zealand context, yet have transferable implications for midwives everywhere. This first paper provides a background to practice in a bicultural country where cultural safety strategies were introduced over 20 years ago to help reduce health disparities. The implications of these strategies are examined. The second paper will focus on midwifery education and practice.

Trichinella diagnostics and control: mandatory and best practices for ensuring food safety.

PubMed

Gajadhar, Alvin A; Pozio, Edoardo; Gamble, H Ray; Nöckler, Karsten; Maddox-Hyttel, Charlotte; Forbes, Lorry B; Vallée, Isabelle; Rossi, Patrizia; Marinculić, Albert; Boireau, Pascal

2009-02-23

Because of its role in human disease, there are increasing global requirements for reliable diagnostic and control methods for Trichinella in food animals to ensure meat safety and to facilitate trade. Consequently, there is a need for standardization of methods, programs, and best practices used in the control of Trichinella and trichinellosis. This review article describes the biology and epidemiology of Trichinella, and describes recommended test methods as well as modified and optimized procedures that are used in meat inspection programs. The use of ELISA for monitoring animals for infection in various porcine and equine pre- and post-slaughter programs, including farm or herd certification programs is also discussed. A brief review of the effectiveness of meat processing methods, such as freezing, cooking and preserving is provided. The importance of proper quality assurance and its application in all aspects of a Trichinella diagnostic system is emphasized. It includes the use of international quality standards, test validation and standardization, critical control points, laboratory accreditation, certification of analysts and proficiency testing. Also described, are the roles and locations of international and regional reference laboratories for trichinellosis where expert advice and support on research and diagnostics are available.

Injury prevention counselling to improve safety practices by parents in Mexico.

PubMed Central

Mock, Charles; Arreola-Risa, Carlos; Trevino-Perez, Rodolfo; Almazan-Saavedra, Victoria; Zozaya-Paz, Jaime E.; Gonzalez-Solis, Reynaldo; Simpson, Kate; Rodriguez-Romo, Laura; Hernandez-Torre, Martin H.

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational counselling programmes aimed at increasing parents' practice of childhood safety in Monterrey, Mexico, and to provide information aimed at helping to improve the effectiveness of future efforts in this field. METHODS: Three different counselling programmes were designed to meet the needs of the upper, middle and lower socioeconomic strata. Evaluation involved the use of baseline questionnaires on parents' existing safety-related practices for intervention and control groups and the administration of corresponding questionnaires after the programmes had been carried out. FINDINGS: Data were obtained on 1124 children before counselling took place and on 625 after it had been given. Overall safety scores (% safe responses) increased from 54% and 65% for the lower and upper socioeconomic strata, respectively, before counselling to 62% and 73% after counselling (P <0.001 for all groups). Improvements occurred both for activities that required caution and for activities that required the use of safety-related devices (e.g. helmets, car seats). However, scores for the use of such devices remained suboptimal even after counselling and there were wide discrepancies between the socioeconomic strata. The post-counselling scores for the use of safety-related devices were 55%, 38% and 19% for the upper, middle and lower socioeconomic strata, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Brief educational interventions targeting parents' practice of childhood safety improved safe behaviours. Increased attention should be given to specific safety-related devices and to the safety of pedestrians. Educational efforts should be combined with other strategies for injury prevention, such as the use of legislation and the improvement of environmental conditions. PMID:14576891

Variations in pretransfusion practices.

PubMed

Padget, B J; Hannon, J L

2003-01-01

A variety of pretransfusion tests have been developed to improve the safety and effectiveness of transfusion. Recently, a number of traditional tests have been shown to offer limited clinical benefit and have been eliminated in many facilities. A survey of pretransfusion test practices was distributed to 116 hospital transfusion services. Routine test practices and facility size were analyzed. Ninety-one responses were received. Many smaller laboratories include tests such as anti-A,B, an autocontrol, and DAT, and immediate spin and 37 degrees Celsius microscopic readings. Nine percent never perform an Rh control with anti-D typing on patient samples. Various antibody screening and crossmatch methods are utilized. Individual laboratory test practices should be periodically assessed to ensure that they comply with standards, represent the recognized best practice, and are cost-effective. The survey responses indicate that many laboratories perform tests that are not necessary or cost-effective. These facilities should review their processes to determine which tests contribute to transfusion safety. Smaller facilities may be reluctant to change or lack the expertise necessary for this decision making and often continue to perform tests that have been eliminated in larger facilities. Consultation with larger hospital transfusion services may provide guidance for this change.

Perception and Practice of Road Safety among Medical Students, Mansoura, Egypt.

PubMed

Helal, Randah; El-Khawaga, Ghada; El-Gilany, Abdel-Hady

2018-01-01

To assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards road safety and to determine their driving behavior and its relation to different related factors. This cross-sectional study involved 480 medical students at Mansoura University, Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect student personal data, knowledge about road safety, attitude towards road safety, and driving practices. More than 40% of students experienced an injury in the previous year, mainly as a pedestrian (56%), and 15.2% practiced driving, although only 9.6% had a driving licence. Most of the students had correct road safety knowledge except for awareness that the safe time to read maps is when your vehicle is parked (44%), one should drive in the left lane (29.6%), and one should overtake from the right-hand lane only (25.8%). The majority of the students reported that road traffic injuries can be prevented (89.2%). The mean score of the driving practices of the students ranged from 0.66±1.04 to 2.44±6.28 and rural residents showed significantly higher score regarding errors and lapses. Good road safety knowledge and a favorable, low risk attitude, did not translate into improved road traffic behavior and this highlights the importance of stricter implementation of the existing rules and including road safety in medical education programs.

78 FR 57602 - Rules of Practice in Air Safety Proceedings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

... Practice in Air Safety Proceedings AGENCY: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board). ACTION... currently prohibits motions to dismiss the complaint or motions for a more definite statement of the complaint's allegations. Instead, Sec. 821.55(c) provides ``the substance [of such motions] may be stated in...

Laboratory Practices of Beginning Secondary Science Teachers: A Five-Year Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Sissy S.; Firestone, Jonah B.; Luft, Julie A.; Weeks, Charles B.

2013-01-01

During the beginning years of teaching, science teachers develop the knowledge and skills needed to design and implement science laboratories. In this regard, this quantitative study focused on the reported laboratory practices of 61 beginning secondary science teachers who participated in four different induction programs. The results…

Specimen rejection in laboratory medicine: Necessary for patient safety?

PubMed

Dikmen, Zeliha Gunnur; Pinar, Asli; Akbiyik, Filiz

2015-01-01

The emergency laboratory in Hacettepe University Hospitals receives specimens from emergency departments (EDs), inpatient services and intensive care units (ICUs). The samples are accepted according to the rejection criteria of the laboratory. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the sample rejection ratios according to the types of pre-preanalytical errors and collection areas. The samples sent to the emergency laboratory were recorded during 12 months between January to December, 2013 in which 453,171 samples were received and 27,067 specimens were rejected. Rejection ratios was 2.5% for biochemistry tests, 3.2% for complete blood count (CBC), 9.8% for blood gases, 9.2% for urine analysis, 13.3% for coagulation tests, 12.8% for therapeutic drug monitoring, 3.5% for cardiac markers and 12% for hormone tests. The most frequent rejection reasons were fibrin clots (28%) and inadequate volume (9%) for biochemical tests. Clotted samples (35%) and inadequate volume (13%) were the major causes for coagulation tests, blood gas analyses and CBC. The ratio of rejected specimens was higher in the EDs (40%) compared to ICUs (30%) and inpatient services (28%). The highest rejection ratio was observed in neurology ICU (14%) among the ICUs and internal medicine inpatient service (10%) within inpatient clinics. We detected an overall specimen rejection rate of 6% in emergency laboratory. By documentation of rejected samples and periodic training of healthcare personnel, we expect to decrease sample rejection ratios below 2%, improve total quality management of the emergency laboratory and promote patient safety.

Specimen rejection in laboratory medicine: Necessary for patient safety?

PubMed Central

Dikmen, Zeliha Gunnur; Pinar, Asli; Akbiyik, Filiz

2015-01-01

Introduction The emergency laboratory in Hacettepe University Hospitals receives specimens from emergency departments (EDs), inpatient services and intensive care units (ICUs). The samples are accepted according to the rejection criteria of the laboratory. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the sample rejection ratios according to the types of pre-preanalytical errors and collection areas. Materials and methods The samples sent to the emergency laboratory were recorded during 12 months between January to December, 2013 in which 453,171 samples were received and 27,067 specimens were rejected. Results Rejection ratios was 2.5% for biochemistry tests, 3.2% for complete blood count (CBC), 9.8% for blood gases, 9.2% for urine analysis, 13.3% for coagulation tests, 12.8% for therapeutic drug monitoring, 3.5% for cardiac markers and 12% for hormone tests. The most frequent rejection reasons were fibrin clots (28%) and inadequate volume (9%) for biochemical tests. Clotted samples (35%) and inadequate volume (13%) were the major causes for coagulation tests, blood gas analyses and CBC. The ratio of rejected specimens was higher in the EDs (40%) compared to ICUs (30%) and inpatient services (28%). The highest rejection ratio was observed in neurology ICU (14%) among the ICUs and internal medicine inpatient service (10%) within inpatient clinics. Conclusions We detected an overall specimen rejection rate of 6% in emergency laboratory. By documentation of rejected samples and periodic training of healthcare personnel, we expect to decrease sample rejection ratios below 2%, improve total quality management of the emergency laboratory and promote patient safety. PMID:26527231

Effectiveness of Existing Eye Safety Legislation in Arizona.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillaspy, Roy Eugene

This study was designed to ascertain the current practices of eye safety in Arizona high school industrial education laboratories, including the enforcement of eye safety legislation, use of eye protection devices, how the eye ware meets the American National Standards Institute specifications, and the teachers' interpretations of the existing eye…

Laboratory testing in management of patients with suspected Ebolavirus disease: infection control and safety.

PubMed

Gilbert, G L

2015-08-01

If routine laboratory safety precautions are followed, the risk of laboratory-acquired infection from handling specimens from patients with Ebolavirus disease (EVD) is very low, especially in the early 'dry' stage of disease. In Australia, border screening to identify travellers returning from EVD-affected west African countries during the 2014-2015 outbreak has made it unlikely that specimens from patients with unrecognised EVD would be sent to a routine diagnostic laboratory. Australian public health and diagnostic laboratories associated with hospitals designated for the care of patients with EVD have developed stringent safety precautions for EVD diagnostic and other tests likely to be required for supportive care of the sickest (and most infectious) patients with EVD, including as wide a range of point-of-care tests as possible. However, it is important that the stringent requirements for packaging, transport and testing of specimens that might contain Ebolavirus--which is a tier 1 security sensitive biology agent--do not delay the diagnosis and appropriate management of other potentially serious but treatable infectious diseases, which are far more likely causes of a febrile illness in people returning from west Africa. If necessary, urgent haematology, biochemistry and microbiological tests can be performed safely, whilst awaiting the results of EVD tests, in a PC-2 laboratory with appropriate precautions including: use of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) for laboratory staff; handling any unsealed specimens in a class 1 or II biosafety cabinet; using only centrifuges with sealed rotors; and safe disposal or decontamination of all used equipment and laboratory waste.

[Patient safety and a culture of responsibility in ambulatory care: strategies for improving practice].

PubMed

Lichte, Thomas; Klement, Andreas; Herrmann, Markus

2009-01-01

The development of a medical safety culture is spreading beyond the hospital into the ambulatory setting. Patient safety defined as "absence of unwanted events" (primum non nocere) can serve as a starting point for the advancement of our ambulatory medical care system. Error analyses conducted in GP and specialist practices will identify gaps and traps in the system and provide ideas for the development and implementation of new safety strategies in ambulatory patient care. In the light of the structures and processes of GP medical care aspects of patient safety will be correlated to the outcome quality and examples will be discussed. Possible strategies for the improvement of patient safety in GP practice will be presented from the perspective of both patient- and practice individuality.

Terrain Safety Assessment in Support of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kipp, Devin

2012-01-01

In August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission will pioneer the next generation of robotic Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems by delivering the largest and most capable rover to date to the surface of Mars. The process to select the MSL landing site took over five years and began with over 50 initial candidate sites from which four finalist sites were chosen. The four finalist sites were examined in detail to assess overall science merit, EDL safety, and rover traversability on the surface. Ultimately, the engineering assessments demonstrated a high level of safety and robustness at all four finalist sites and differences in the assessment across those sites were small enough that neither EDL safety nor rover traversability considerations could significantly discriminate among the final four sites. Thus the MSL landing site at Gale Crater was selected from among the four finalists primarily on the basis of science considerations.

Observed Food Safety Practices in the Summer Food Service Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patten, Emily Vaterlaus; Alcorn, Michelle; Watkins, Tracee; Cole, Kerri; Paez, Paola

2017-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this exploratory, observational study was three-fold: 1) Determine current food safety practices at Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites; 2) Identify types of food served at the sites and collect associated temperatures; and 3) Establish recommendations for food safety training in the SFSP.…

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Healthcare Managers to Medical Waste Management and Occupational Safety Practices: Findings from Southeast Nigeria.

PubMed

Anozie, Okechukwu Bonaventure; Lawani, Lucky Osaheni; Eze, Justus Ndulue; Mamah, Emmanuel Johnbosco; Onoh, Robinson Chukwudi; Ogah, Emeka Onwe; Umezurike, Daniel Akuma; Anozie, Rita Onyinyechi

2017-03-01

Awareness of appropriate waste management procedures and occupational safety measures is fundamental to achieving a safe work environment, and ensuring patient and staff safety. This study was conducted to assess the attitude of healthcare managers to medical waste management and occupational safety practices. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 54 hospital administrators in Ebonyi state. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for qualitative data collection and analyzed with SPSS statistics for windows (2011), version 20.0 statistical software (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Two-fifth (40%) of healthcare managers had received training on medical waste management and occupational safety. Standard operating procedure of waste disposal was practiced by only one hospital (1.9%), while 98.1% (53/54) practiced indiscriminate waste disposal. Injection safety boxes were widely available in all health facilities, nevertheless, the use of incinerators and waste treatment was practiced by 1.9% (1/54) facility. However, 40.7% (22/54) and 59.3% (32/54) of respondents trained their staff and organize safety orientation courses respectively. Staff insurance cover was offered by just one hospital (1.9%), while none of the hospitals had compensation package for occupational hazard victims. Over half (55.6%; 30/54) of the respondents provided both personal protective equipment and post exposure prophylaxis for HIV. There was high level of non-compliance to standard medical waste management procedures, and lack of training on occupational safety measures. Relevant regulating agencies should step up efforts at monitoring and regulation of healthcare activities and ensure staff training on safe handling and disposal of hospital waste.

Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories: Volume 2. Accident Prevention for Faculty and Administrators, 7th Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

This book contains volume 2 of 2 and describes safety guidelines for academic chemistry laboratories to prevent accidents for college and university students. Contents include: (1) "Organizing for Accident Prevention"; (2) "Personal Protective Equipment"; (3) "Labeling"; (4) "Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)"; (5) "Preparing for Medical…

Internal Quality Control Practices in Coagulation Laboratories: recommendations based on a patterns-of-practice survey.

PubMed

McFarlane, A; Aslan, B; Raby, A; Moffat, K A; Selby, R; Padmore, R

2015-12-01

Internal quality control (IQC) procedures are crucial for ensuring accurate patient test results. The IQMH Centre for Proficiency Testing conducted a web-based survey to gather information on the current IQC practices in coagulation testing. A questionnaire was distributed to 174 Ontario laboratories licensed to perform prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). All laboratories reported using two levels of commercial QC (CQC); 12% incorporate pooled patient plasma into their IQC program; >68% run CQC at the beginning of each shift; 56% following maintenance, with reagent changes, during a shift, or with every repeat sample; 6% only run CQC at the beginning of the day and 25% when the instruments have been idle for a defined period of time. IQC run frequency was determined by manufacturer recommendations (71%) but also influenced by the stability of test (27%), clinical impact of an incorrect test result (25%), and sample's batch number (10%). IQC was monitored using preset limits based on standard deviation (66%), precision goals (46%), or allowable performance limits (36%). 95% use multirules. Failure actions include repeating the IQC (90%) and reporting patient results; if repeat passes, 42% perform repeat analysis of all patient samples from last acceptable IQC. Variability exists in coagulation IQC practices among Ontario clinical laboratories. The recommendations presented here would be useful in encouraging standardized IQC practices. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Occupational Safety and Health Practices: An Alarming Call to Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Threeton, Mark D.; Evanoski, Danielle C.

2014-01-01

In an effort to provide additional insight on providing a secure teaching and learning environment within schools, this study sought to: (1) explore the safety and health practices within Career and Technical Education (CTE); and (2) identify the perceived obstacles which appear to hinder implementation of health and safety programs. While it…

New graduate registered nurses' knowledge of patient safety and practice: A literature review.

PubMed

Murray, Melanie; Sundin, Deborah; Cope, Vicki

2018-01-01

To critically appraise available literature and summarise evidence pertaining to the patient safety knowledge and practices of new graduate registered nurses. Responsibility for patient safety should not be limited to the practice of the bedside nurses, rather the responsibility of all in the healthcare system. Previous research identified lapses in safety across the health care, more specifically with new practitioners. Understanding these gaps and what may be employed to counteract them is vital to ensuring patient safety. A focused review of research literature. The review used key terms and Boolean operators across a 5-year time frame in CINAHL, Medline, psycINFO and Google Scholar for research articles pertaining to the area of enquiry. Eighty-four articles met the inclusion criteria, 39 discarded due to irrelevant material and 45 articles were included in the literature review. This review acknowledges that nursing has different stages of knowledge and practice capabilities. A theory-practice gap for new graduate registered nurses exists, and transition to practice is a key learning period setting new nurses on the path to becoming expert practitioners. Within the literature, there was little to no acknowledgement of patient safety knowledge of the newly registered nurse. Issues raised in the 1970s remain a concern for today's new graduate registered nurses. Research has recognised several factors affecting transition from nursing student to new graduate registered nurse. These factors are leaving new practitioners open to potential errors and risking patient safety. Understanding the knowledge of a new graduate registered nurse upon entering clinical practice may assist in organisations providing appropriate clinical and theoretical support to these nurses during their transition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The hierarchy of environmental health and safety practices in the U.S. nanotechnology workplace.

PubMed

Engeman, Cassandra D; Baumgartner, Lynn; Carr, Benjamin M; Fish, Allison M; Meyerhofer, John D; Satterfield, Terre A; Holden, Patricia A; Harthorn, Barbara Herr

2013-01-01

Manufacturing of nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) is a major outcome of nanotechnology. However, the potential adverse human health effects of manufactured nanomaterial exposure are not yet fully understood, and exposures in humans are mostly uncharacterized. Appropriate exposure control strategies to protect workers are still being developed and evaluated, and regulatory approaches rely largely on industry self-regulation and self-reporting. In this context of soft regulation, the authors sought to: 1) assess current company-reported environmental health and safety practices in the United States throughout the product life cycle, 2) consider their implications for the manufactured nanomaterial workforce, and 3) identify the needs of manufactured nanomaterial companies in developing nano-protective environmental health and safety practices. Analysis was based on the responses of 45 U.S.-based company participants in a 2009-2010 international survey of private companies that use and/or produce nanomaterials. Companies reported practices that span all aspects of the current government-recommended hierarchical approach to manufactured nanomaterials' exposure controls. However, practices that were tailored to current manufactured nanomaterials' hazard and exposure knowledge, whether within or outside the hierarchical approach, were reported less frequently than general chemical hygiene practices. Product stewardship and waste management practices-the influences of which are substantially downstream-were reported less frequently than most other environmental health and safety practices. Larger companies had more workers handling nanomaterials, but smaller companies had proportionally more employees handling nanomaterials and more frequently identified impediments to implementing nano-protective practices. Company-reported environmental health and safety practices suggest more attention to environmental health and safety is necessary, especially with regard to

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Male Adolescents in West of Iran.

PubMed

Mirzaei, Amin; Nourmoradi, Heshmatollah; Zavareh, Mohammad Sadegh Abedzadeh; Jalilian, Mohsen; Mansourian, Morteza; Mazloomi, Sajad; Mokhtari, Neda; Mokhtari, Fariba

2018-05-20

Every year many people around the world become infected with food-borne infections. Insufficient knowledge and skills related to food safety and hygiene are among the factors affecting the incidence of food-borne diseases, especially in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices associated with food safety and hygiene in Ilam city male adolescents. Three hundred and eighty of male adolescents aged 13 to 19 were selected randomly and entered the cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire From December 2016 to February 2017. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data in SPSS software (version 19.0). The findings of the study showed a positive and significant relationship between knowledge and practices related to food safety and hygiene (r = 0.122; p = 0.018). Also, the findings showed that food safety knowledge and practice of adolescents were significantly affected by the level of their education, parental education level, parental employment status and household economic conditions, (p < 0.005). Also, the results showed that the participants generally obtained 57.74% of the knowledge score and 57.63% of practices score. The subjects had the most knowledge about food supply and storage (60%), and the highest practice was related to personal and environmental hygiene, (61.73%). The inadequacy of knowledge and performance of adolescents about food safety and hygiene shows the need for implementation of health education interventions in this area.

Improving the food provided and food safety practices in out-of-school-hours services.

PubMed

Cooke, Lara; Sangster, Janice; Eccleston, Philippa

2007-04-01

Food provided and food safety and serving practices in out-of-school-hours (OOSH) services. Health promotion strategies, developed in partnership with an advisory committee, were directed at three main areas: supporting local services; developing statewide training and resources; and advocacy. Significant improvements were seen in the food provided, food safety and serving practices and the number of services with planned menus and nutrition and food safety policies. This project is one of the first implemented and evaluated in the OOSH setting. Statistically significant improvements were achieved in the food provided, food safety and serving practices, and menu and policy development. The project also increased the capacity of the OOSH sector to improve children's health by making suitable nutrition and food safety resources and training available to OOSH services across New South Wales.

Syphilis testing in antenatal care: Policies and practices among laboratories in the Americas.

PubMed

Luu, Minh; Ham, Cal; Kamb, Mary L; Caffe, Sonja; Hoover, Karen W; Perez, Freddy

2015-06-01

To asses laboratory syphilis testing policies and practices among laboratories in the Americas. Laboratory directors or designees from PAHO member countries were invited to participate in a structured, electronically-delivered survey between March and August, 2014. Data on syphilis tests, algorithms, and quality control (QC) practices were analyzed, focusing on laboratories receiving specimens from antenatal clinics (ANCs). Surveys were completed by 69 laboratories representing 30 (86%) countries. Participating laboratories included 36 (52%) national or regional reference labs and 33 (48%) lower-level laboratories. Most (94%) were public sector facilities and 71% reported existence of a national algorithm for syphilis testing in pregnancy, usually involving both treponemal and non-treponemal testing (72%). Less than half (41%) used rapid syphilis tests (RSTs); and only seven laboratories representing five countries reported RSTs were included in the national algorithm for pregnant women. Most (83%) laboratories serving ANCs reported using some type of QC system; 68% of laboratories reported participation in external QC. Only 36% of laboratories reported data to national/local surveillance. Half of all laboratories serving ANC settings reported a stockout of one or more essential supplies during the previous year (median duration, 30days). Updating laboratory algorithms, improving testing standards, integrating data into existing surveillance, and improved procurement and distribution of commodities may be needed to ensure elimination of MTCT of syphilis in the Americas. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Prostate needle biopsy processing: a survey of laboratory practice across Europe.

PubMed

Varma, Murali; Berney, Daniel M; Algaba, Ferran; Camparo, Philippe; Compérat, Eva; Griffiths, David F R; Kristiansen, Glen; Lopez-Beltran, Antonio; Montironi, Rodolfo; Egevad, Lars

2013-02-01

To determine the degree of variation in the handling of prostate needle biopsies (PBNx) in laboratories across Europe. A web based survey was emailed to members of the European Network of Uropathology and the British Association of Urological Pathologists. Responses were received from 241 laboratories in 15 countries. PNBx were generally taken by urologists (93.8%) or radiologists (23.7%) but in 8.7% were also taken by non-medical personnel such as radiographers, nurses or biomedical assistants. Of the responding laboratories, 40.8% received cores in separate containers, 42.3% processed one core/block, 54.2% examined three levels/block, 49.4% examined one H&E section/level and 56.1% retained spare sections for potential immunohistochemistry. Of the laboratories, 40.9% retained unstained spares for over a year while 36.2% discarded spares within 1 month of reporting. Only two (0.8%) respondents routinely performed immunohistochemistry on all PNBx. There were differences in laboratory practice between the UK and the rest of Europe (RE). Procurement of PNBx by non-medical personnel was more common in the UK. RE laboratories more commonly received each core in a separate container, processed one core/block, examined fewer levels/block and examined more H&E sections/level. RE laboratories also retained spares for potential immunohistochemistry less often and for shorter periods. Use of p63 as the sole basal cell marker was more common in RE. There are marked differences in procurement, handling and processing of PNBx in laboratories across Europe. This data can help the development of best practice guidelines.

Launching a Laboratory Testing Process Quality Improvement Toolkit: From the Shared Networks of Colorado Ambulatory Practices and Partners (SNOCAP).

PubMed

Fernald, Douglas; Hamer, Mika; James, Kathy; Tutt, Brandon; West, David

2015-01-01

Family medicine and internal medicine physicians order diagnostic laboratory tests for nearly one-third of patient encounters in an average week, yet among medical errors in primary care, an estimated 15% to 54% are attributed to laboratory testing processes. From a practice improvement perspective, we (1) describe the need for laboratory testing process quality improvements from the perspective of primary care practices, and (2) describe the approaches and resources needed to implement laboratory testing process quality improvements in practice. We applied practice observations, process mapping, and interviews with primary care practices in the Shared Networks of Colorado Ambulatory Practices and Partners (SNOCAP)-affiliated practice-based research networks that field-tested in 2013 a laboratory testing process improvement toolkit. From the data collected in each of the 22 participating practices, common testing quality issues included, but were not limited to, 3 main testing process steps: laboratory test preparation, test tracking, and patient notification. Three overarching qualitative themes emerged: practices readily acknowledge multiple laboratory testing process problems; practices know that they need help addressing the issues; and practices face challenges with finding patient-centered solutions compatible with practice priorities and available resources. While practices were able to get started with guidance and a toolkit to improve laboratory testing processes, most did not seem able to achieve their quality improvement aims unassisted. Providing specific guidance tools with practice facilitation or other rapid-cycle quality improvement support may be an effective approach to improve common laboratory testing issues in primary care. © Copyright 2015 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Safety practices in Jordanian manufacturing enterprises within industrial estates.

PubMed

Khrais, Samir; Al-Araidah, Omar; Aweisi, Assaf Mohammad; Elias, Fadia; Al-Ayyoub, Enas

2013-01-01

This paper investigates occupational health and safety practices in manufacturing enterprises within Jordanian industrial estates. Response rates were 21.9%, 58.6% and 70.8% for small, medium and large sized enterprises, respectively. Survey results show that most companies comply with state regulations, provide necessary facilities to enhance safety and provide several measures to limit and control hazards. On the negative side, little attention is given to safety training that might be due to the lack of related regulations and follow-up, financial limitations or lack of awareness on the importance of safety training. In addition, results show that ergonomic hazards, noise and hazardous chemicals are largely present. Accident statistics show that medium enterprises have the highest accident cases per enterprise, and chemical industries reported highest total number of accidents per enterprise. The outcomes of this study establish a base for appropriate safety recommendations to enhance the awareness and commitment of companies to appropriate safety rules.

78 FR 4324 - Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (Non-Mandatory Appendix); Technical...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-22

... institutions that sponsor chemical laboratories accountable for providing safe working environments. Beyond... current laboratory practices, security, and emergency response, as well as promoting safe handling of.... Safety and training programs have been implemented to promote the safe handling of chemicals from...

Agricultural employers' hiring and safety practices for adolescent workers.

PubMed

Lee, B C; Westaby, J D; Chyou, P H; Purschwitz, M A

2007-01-01

The goal of the "Safety Training for Employers and Supervisors of Adolescent Farmworkers" initiative is to improve the occupational health and safety knowledge and practices of agricultural employers and supervisors responsible for employees, ages 14 to 17 years. Surveys were sent to members of the National Council of Agricultural Employers and the Washington Growers League to measure attitudes regarding adolescent employees, current hiring and training practices, and future intentions. More than half of the respondents hire adolescents. Two-thirds were male, nearly three-quarters of the respondents had college or post-graduate degrees, and more than half were 50 years or older. The majority of respondents had positive perceptions of adolescents in terms of dependability, helpfulness, and work ethic. Among those who currently hire young workers, the most common reasons were to provide a job for children of friends and family and because they can work part-time to fill a labor demand. Among those not hiring adolescents, the most common reason was concern about child labor regulations and associated tasks (e.g., paperwork, monitoring hours). Respondents use a variety of safety training resources, especially posters and safety meetings. For the future, they expect to need more handout materials and training videos. Study results provide insights into barriers to the employment of young workers and suggest methods by which agricultural safety specialists can best assist those employers and producers who are willing to hire adolescents into agricultural work settings.

Agrichemical safety practices on farms in the western Cape.

PubMed

London, L

1994-05-01

In order to study agrichemical safety practices in a rural farming area in the western Cape, an audit of 45 randomly sampled farms was performed over 3 months in 1992. A response rate of 87% was achieved, and the survey results suggest that approximately 9% of permanent and 14% of seasonal farm workers are employed in jobs with potential exposure to agrichemicals. While protective equipment was widely available, gloves and masks were seldom used, with little enforcement or commercial support from the suppliers of the equipment. Farm workers receive little training on pesticide safety, but interest in the possibility of further training for workers was high. In the absence of a system of pesticide disposal, the presence of residual, unwanted and outdated stocks of pesticides in farmers' stores, and to a lesser extent the presence of empty containers, are identified as important problems. Current pesticide storage practices require improvement by simple industrial hygiene measures. Health facilities available to workers on most farms are extremely limited, particularly in the light of statutory requirements for occupational safety and health under the Machinery and Occupational Safety Act. It is argued that collective solutions to problems of pesticide safety are possible within the ambit of a public health response, particularly given the willingness of the farming community to identify and address potential health problems. As a result, initiatives to meet these needs are currently under way in the region.

Conditions for building a community of practice in an advanced physics laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irving, Paul W.; Sayre, Eleanor C.

2014-06-01

We use the theory of communities of practice and the concept of accountable disciplinary knowledge to describe how a learning community develops in the context of an upper-division physics laboratory course. The change in accountable disciplinary knowledge motivates students' enculturation into a community of practice. The enculturation process is facilitated by four specific structural features of the course and supported by a primary instructional choice. The four structural features are "paucity of instructor time," "all in a room together," "long and difficult experiments," and "same experiments at different times." The instructional choice is the encouragement of the sharing and development of knowledge and understanding by the instructor. The combination of the instructional choice and structural features promotes the development of the learning community in which students engage in authentic practices of a physicist. This results in a classroom community that can provide students with the opportunity to have an accelerated trajectory towards being a more central participant of the community of a practice of physicists. We support our claims with video-based observations of laboratory classroom interactions and individual, semistructured interviews with students about their laboratory experiences and physics identity.

Effects of patient safety culture interventions on incident reporting in general practice: a cluster randomised trial.

PubMed

Verbakel, Natasha J; Langelaan, Maaike; Verheij, Theo J M; Wagner, Cordula; Zwart, Dorien L M

2015-05-01

A constructive safety culture is essential for the successful implementation of patient safety improvements. To assess the effect of two patient safety culture interventions on incident reporting as a proxy of safety culture. A three-arm cluster randomised trial was conducted in a mixed method study, studying the effect of administering a patient safety culture questionnaire (intervention I), the questionnaire complemented with a practice-based workshop (intervention II) and no intervention (control) in 30 general practices in the Netherlands. The primary outcome, the number of reported incidents, was measured with a questionnaire at baseline and a year after. Analysis was performed using a negative binomial model. Secondary outcomes were quality and safety indicators and safety culture. Mixed effects linear regression was used to analyse the culture questionnaires. The number of incidents increased in both intervention groups, to 82 and 224 in intervention I and II respectively. Adjusted for baseline number of incidents, practice size and accreditation status, the study showed that practices that additionally participated in the workshop reported 42 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.81 to 177.50) times more incidents compared to the control group. Practices that only completed the questionnaire reported 5 (95% CI = 1.17 to 25.49) times more incidents. There were no statistically significant differences in staff perception of patient safety culture at follow-up between the three study groups. Educating staff and facilitating discussion about patient safety culture in their own practice leads to increased reporting of incidents. It is beneficial to invest in a team-wise effort to improve patient safety. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

Construction managers' perceptions of construction safety practices in small and large firms: a qualitative investigation.

PubMed

Gillen, Marion; Kools, Susan; McCall, Cade; Sum, Juliann; Moulden, Kelli

2004-01-01

Despite the institution of explicit safety practices in construction, there continue to be exceedingly high rates of morbidity and mortality from work-related injury. This study's purpose was to identify, compare and contrast views of construction managers from large and small firms regarding construction safety practices. A complementary analysis was conducted with construction workers. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit information from construction managers (n = 22) in a series of focus groups. Questions were designed to obtain information on direct safety practices and indirect practices such as communication style, attitude, expectations, and unspoken messages. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Managers identified a broad commitment to safety, worker training, a changing workplace culture, and uniform enforcement as key constructs in maintaining safe worksites. Findings indicate that successful managers need to be involved, principled, flexible, and innovative. Best practices, as well as unsuccessful injury prevention programs, were discussed in detail. Obstacles to consistent safety practice include poor training, production schedules and financial constraints. Construction managers play a pivotal role in the definition and implementation of safety practices in the workplace. In order to succeed in this role, they require a wide variety of management skills, upper management support, and tools that will help them instill and maintain a positive safety culture. Developing and expanding management skills of construction managers may assist them in dealing with the complexity of the construction work environment, as well as providing them with the tools necessary to decrease work-related injuries.

Cultural safety and the challenges of translating critically oriented knowledge in practice.

PubMed

Browne, Annette J; Varcoe, Colleen; Smye, Victoria; Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Lynam, M Judith; Wong, Sabrina

2009-07-01

Cultural safety is a relatively new concept that has emerged in the New Zealand nursing context and is being taken up in various ways in Canadian health care discourses. Our research team has been exploring the relevance of cultural safety in the Canadian context, most recently in relation to a knowledge-translation study conducted with nurses practising in a large tertiary hospital. We were drawn to using cultural safety because we conceptualized it as being compatible with critical theoretical perspectives that foster a focus on power imbalances and inequitable social relationships in health care; the interrelated problems of culturalism and racialization; and a commitment to social justice as central to the social mandate of nursing. Engaging in this knowledge-translation study has provided new perspectives on the complexities, ambiguities and tensions that need to be considered when using the concept of cultural safety to draw attention to racialization, culturalism, and health and health care inequities. The philosophic analysis discussed in this paper represents an epistemological grounding for the concept of cultural safety that links directly to particular moral ends with social justice implications. Although cultural safety is a concept that we have firmly positioned within the paradigm of critical inquiry, ambiguities associated with the notions of 'culture', 'safety', and 'cultural safety' need to be anticipated and addressed if they are to be effectively used to draw attention to critical social justice issues in practice settings. Using cultural safety in practice settings to draw attention to and prompt critical reflection on politicized knowledge, therefore, brings an added layer of complexity. To address these complexities, we propose that what may be required to effectively use cultural safety in the knowledge-translation process is a 'social justice curriculum for practice' that would foster a philosophical stance of critical inquiry at both the

Understanding variations in secondary findings reporting practices across U.S. genome sequencing laboratories.

PubMed

Ackerman, Sara L; Koenig, Barbara A

2018-01-01

Increasingly used for clinical purposes, genome and exome sequencing can generate clinically relevant information that is not directly related to the reason for testing (incidental or secondary findings). Debates about the ethical implications of secondary findings were sparked by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) 2013 policy statement, which recommended that laboratories report pathogenic alterations in 56 genes. Although wide variation in laboratories' secondary findings policies has been reported, little is known about its causes. We interviewed 18 laboratory directors and genetic counselors at 10 U.S. laboratories to investigate the motivations and interests shaping secondary findings reporting policies for clinical exome sequencing. Analysis of interview transcripts and laboratory documents was informed by sociological theories of standardization. Laboratories varied widely in terms of the types of secondary findings reported, consent-form language, and choices offered to patients. In explaining their adaptation of the ACMG report, our participants weighed genetic information's clinical, moral, professional, and commercial value in an attempt to maximize benefits for patients and families, minimize the costs of sequencing and analysis, adhere to professional norms, attract customers, and contend with the uncertain clinical implications of much of the genetic information generated. Nearly all laboratories in our study voluntarily adopted ACMG's recommendations, but their actual practices varied considerably and were informed by laboratory-specific judgments about clinical utility and patient benefit. Our findings offer a compelling example of standardization as a complex process that rarely leads simply to uniformity of practice. As laboratories take on a more prominent role in decisions about the return of genetic information, strategies are needed to inform patients, families, and clinicians about the differences between laboratories' practices

A pharmacy practice laboratory exercise to apply biochemistry concepts.

PubMed

Harrold, Marc W; McFalls, Marsha A

2010-10-11

To develop exercises that allow pharmacy students to apply foundational knowledge discussed in a first-professional year (P1) biochemistry course to specific disease states and patient scenarios. A pharmacy practice laboratory exercise was developed to accompany a lecture sequence pertaining to purine biosynthesis and degradation. The assignment required students to fill a prescription, provide patient counseling tips, and answer questions pertaining to the disease state, the underlying biochemical problem, and the prescribed medication. Students were graded on the accuracy with which they filled the prescription, provided patient counseling, and answered the questions provided. Overall, students displayed mastery in all of these areas. Additionally, students completed a course survey on which they rated this exercise favorably, noting that it helped them to integrate basic science concepts and pharmacy practice. A laboratory exercise provided an opportunity for P1 students to apply foundational pharmacy knowledge to a patient case and can serve as a template for the design of additional exercises.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in food safety: An integrative review.

PubMed

Zanin, Laís Mariano; da Cunha, Diogo Thimoteo; de Rosso, Veridiana Vera; Capriles, Vanessa Dias; Stedefeldt, Elke

2017-10-01

This study presents an overview of the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of food handlers with training in food safety, in addition to proposing reflections on the training of food handlers, considering its responsibility for food safety and health of consumers. The review was based on the integrative method. The descriptors used were: (food handler), (knowledge, attitudes and practice) and (training). Six databases were searched, 253 articles were consulted and 36 original articles were included. Fifty per cent of the articles pointed that there was no proper translation of knowledge into attitudes/practices or attitudes into practices after training. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers are important for identifying how efficient training in food safety is allowing prioritize actions in planning training. The evaluation of KAP is the first step to understand the food handler's point of view. After this evaluation other diagnostic strategies become necessary to enhance this understanding. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Biology Laboratory Safety Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Case, Christine L.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that schools prepare or adapt a biosafety manual, and that instructors develop a list of safety procedures applicable to their own lab and distribute it to each student. In this way, safety issues will be brought to each student's attention. This document is an example of such a manual. It contains…

NIOSH health and safety practices survey of healthcare workers: training and awareness of employer safety procedures.

PubMed

Steege, Andrea L; Boiano, James M; Sweeney, Marie H

2014-06-01

The Health and Safety Practices Survey of Healthcare Workers describes current practices used to minimize chemical exposures and barriers to using recommended personal protective equipment for the following: antineoplastic drugs, anesthetic gases, high level disinfectants, surgical smoke, aerosolized medications (pentamidine, ribavirin, and antibiotics), and chemical sterilants. Twenty-one healthcare professional practice organizations collaborated with NIOSH to develop and implement the web-based survey. Twelve thousand twenty-eight respondents included professional, technical, and support occupations which routinely come in contact with the targeted hazardous chemicals. Chemical-specific safe handling training was lowest for aerosolized antibiotics (52%, n = 316), and surgical smoke (57%, n = 4,747). Reported employer procedures for minimizing exposure was lowest for surgical smoke (32%, n = 4,746) and anesthetic gases (56%, n = 3,604). Training and having procedures in place to minimize exposure to these chemicals is one indication of employer and worker safety awareness. Safe handling practices for use of these chemicals will be reported in subsequent papers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Training and qualification of health and safety technicians at a national laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Egbert, W.F.; Trinoskey, P.A.

1994-10-01

Over the last 30 years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has successfully implemented the concept of a multi-disciplined technician. LLNL Health and Safety Technicians have responsibilities in industrial hygiene, industrial safety, health physics, as well as fire, explosive, and criticality safety. One of the major benefits to this approach is the cost-effective use of workers who display an ownership of health and safety issues which is sometimes lacking when responsibilities are divided. Although LLNL has always promoted the concept of a multi-discipline technician, this concept is gaining interest within the Department of Energy (DOE) community. In November 1992, individuals frommore » Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE) and RUST Geotech, joined by LLNL established a committee to address the issues of Health and Safety Technicians. In 1993, the DOE Office of Environmental, Safety and Health, in response to the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board Recommendation 91-6, stated DOE projects, particularly environmental restoration, typically present hazards other than radiation such as chemicals, explosives, complex construction activities, etc., which require additional expertise by Radiological Control Technicians. They followed with a commitment that a training guide would be issued. The trend in the last two decades has been toward greater specialization in the areas of health and safety. In contrast, the LLNL has moved toward a generalist approach integrating the once separate functions of the industrial hygiene and health physics technician into one function.« less

A system of safety management practices and worker engagement for reducing and preventing accidents: an empirical and theoretical investigation.

PubMed

Wachter, Jan K; Yorio, Patrick L

2014-07-01

The overall research objective was to theoretically and empirically develop the ideas around a system of safety management practices (ten practices were elaborated), to test their relationship with objective safety statistics (such as accident rates), and to explore how these practices work to achieve positive safety results (accident prevention) through worker engagement. Data were collected using safety manager, supervisor and employee surveys designed to assess and link safety management system practices, employee perceptions resulting from existing practices, and safety performance outcomes. Results indicate the following: there is a significant negative relationship between the presence of ten individual safety management practices, as well as the composite of these practices, with accident rates; there is a significant negative relationship between the level of safety-focused worker emotional and cognitive engagement with accident rates; safety management systems and worker engagement levels can be used individually to predict accident rates; safety management systems can be used to predict worker engagement levels; and worker engagement levels act as mediators between the safety management system and safety performance outcomes (such as accident rates). Even though the presence of safety management system practices is linked with incident reduction and may represent a necessary first-step in accident prevention, safety performance may also depend on mediation by safety-focused cognitive and emotional engagement by workers. Thus, when organizations invest in a safety management system approach to reducing/preventing accidents and improving safety performance, they should also be concerned about winning over the minds and hearts of their workers through human performance-based safety management systems designed to promote and enhance worker engagement. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Safety | Argonne National Laboratory

Science.gov Websites

laboratory's ongoing effort to provide a safe and productive environment for employees, users, other site Skip to main content Argonne National Laboratory Toggle Navigation Toggle Search Energy Environment Careers Education Community Diversity Directory Energy Environment National Security User Facilities

Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines for the Molecular Diagnosis of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome During an Outbreak in Korea in 2015.

PubMed

Ki, Chang Seok; Lee, Hyukmin; Sung, Heungsup; Kim, Sinyoung; Seong, Moon Woo; Yong, Dongeun; Kim, Jae Seok; Lee, Mi Kyung; Kim, Mi Na; Choi, Jong Rak; Kim, Jeong Ho

2016-05-01

For two months between May and July 2015, a nationwide outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) occurred in Korea. On June 3, 2015, the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (KSLM) launched a MERS-CoV Laboratory Response Task Force (LR-TF) to facilitate clinical laboratories to set up the diagnosis of MERS-CoV infection. Based on the WHO interim recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of United States guidelines for MERS-CoV laboratory testing, and other available resources, the KSLM MERS-CoV LR-TF provided the first version of the laboratory practice guidelines for the molecular diagnosis of MERS-CoV to the clinical laboratories on June 12, 2015. The guidelines described here are an updated version that includes case definition, indications for testing, specimen type and protocols for specimen collection, specimen packing and transport, specimen handling and nucleic acid extraction, molecular detection of MERS-CoV, interpretation of results and reporting, and laboratory safety. The KSLM guidelines mainly focus on the molecular diagnosis of MERS-CoV, reflecting the unique situation in Korea and the state of knowledge at the time of publication.

Good practices : incorporating safety into resurfacing and restoration projects

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-12-01

Integrating safety improvements into resurfacing and restoration projects is a subject of long-standing interest by Federal, State, and local transportation agencies. A Scan Tour was conducted to identify and subsequently observe good practices in th...

A survey of current practices for genomic sequencing test interpretation and reporting processes in US laboratories.

PubMed

O'Daniel, Julianne M; McLaughlin, Heather M; Amendola, Laura M; Bale, Sherri J; Berg, Jonathan S; Bick, David; Bowling, Kevin M; Chao, Elizabeth C; Chung, Wendy K; Conlin, Laura K; Cooper, Gregory M; Das, Soma; Deignan, Joshua L; Dorschner, Michael O; Evans, James P; Ghazani, Arezou A; Goddard, Katrina A; Gornick, Michele; Farwell Hagman, Kelly D; Hambuch, Tina; Hegde, Madhuri; Hindorff, Lucia A; Holm, Ingrid A; Jarvik, Gail P; Knight Johnson, Amy; Mighion, Lindsey; Morra, Massimo; Plon, Sharon E; Punj, Sumit; Richards, C Sue; Santani, Avni; Shirts, Brian H; Spinner, Nancy B; Tang, Sha; Weck, Karen E; Wolf, Susan M; Yang, Yaping; Rehm, Heidi L

2017-05-01

While the diagnostic success of genomic sequencing expands, the complexity of this testing should not be overlooked. Numerous laboratory processes are required to support the identification, interpretation, and reporting of clinically significant variants. This study aimed to examine the workflow and reporting procedures among US laboratories to highlight shared practices and identify areas in need of standardization. Surveys and follow-up interviews were conducted with laboratories offering exome and/or genome sequencing to support a research program or for routine clinical services. The 73-item survey elicited multiple choice and free-text responses that were later clarified with phone interviews. Twenty-one laboratories participated. Practices highly concordant across all groups included consent documentation, multiperson case review, and enabling patient opt-out of incidental or secondary findings analysis. Noted divergence included use of phenotypic data to inform case analysis and interpretation and reporting of case-specific quality metrics and methods. Few laboratory policies detailed procedures for data reanalysis, data sharing, or patient access to data. This study provides an overview of practices and policies of experienced exome and genome sequencing laboratories. The results enable broader consideration of which practices are becoming standard approaches, where divergence remains, and areas of development in best practice guidelines that may be helpful.Genet Med advance online publication 03 Novemeber 2016.

Effects of patient safety culture interventions on incident reporting in general practice: a cluster randomised trial

PubMed Central

Verbakel, Natasha J; Langelaan, Maaike; Verheij, Theo JM; Wagner, Cordula; Zwart, Dorien LM

2015-01-01

Background A constructive safety culture is essential for the successful implementation of patient safety improvements. Aim To assess the effect of two patient safety culture interventions on incident reporting as a proxy of safety culture. Design and setting A three-arm cluster randomised trial was conducted in a mixed method study, studying the effect of administering a patient safety culture questionnaire (intervention I), the questionnaire complemented with a practice-based workshop (intervention II) and no intervention (control) in 30 general practices in the Netherlands. Method The primary outcome, the number of reported incidents, was measured with a questionnaire at baseline and a year after. Analysis was performed using a negative binomial model. Secondary outcomes were quality and safety indicators and safety culture. Mixed effects linear regression was used to analyse the culture questionnaires. Results The number of incidents increased in both intervention groups, to 82 and 224 in intervention I and II respectively. Adjusted for baseline number of incidents, practice size and accreditation status, the study showed that practices that additionally participated in the workshop reported 42 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.81 to 177.50) times more incidents compared to the control group. Practices that only completed the questionnaire reported 5 (95% CI = 1.17 to 25.49) times more incidents. There were no statistically significant differences in staff perception of patient safety culture at follow-up between the three study groups. Conclusion Educating staff and facilitating discussion about patient safety culture in their own practice leads to increased reporting of incidents. It is beneficial to invest in a team-wise effort to improve patient safety. PMID:25918337

Unlocking the Laboratory: Autonomous Wireless Sensor Authentication in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huggard, Meriel; McGoldrick, Ciaran

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate a practical laboratory task where final year undergraduate students design, implement and validate an inferred security wireless sensor access system. Design/methodology/approach: The quality of the learning and technical environment was evaluated from a number of perspectives using a mixed methods…

Practical Laboratory Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, W. R.

This book is intended as a guide for people who are planning chemistry and physics research laboratories. It deals with the importance of effective communication between client and architect, the value of preliminary planning, and the role of the project officer. It also discusses the size and layout of individual laboratories, the design of…

Food safety knowledge and practice by the stages of change model in school children

PubMed Central

Kang, Nam-E; Kim, Ju Hyeon; Kim, Young Soon

2010-01-01

In this study, 342 grade 4-6 elementary school students in Gyeonggi-do were recruited to determine their readiness to change food safety behavior and to compare their food safety knowledge and practices by the stages of change. The subjects were divided into three stages of change; the percentage of stage 1 (precontemplation) was 10.1%, the percentage of stage 2 (contemplation and preparation) was 62.4%, and that of stage 3 (action and maintenance) was 27.5%. Food safety knowledge scores in stage 3 (4.55) or stage 2 (4.50) children were significantly higher than those in stage 1 children (4.17) (P < 0.05). The two food safety behavior items "hand washing practice" and "avoidance of harmful food" were significantly different among the three groups (P < 0.05). Stages of change were significantly and positively correlated with food safety knowledge and practice. Age was significantly and negatively correlated with the total food safety behavior score (r = -0.142, P < 0.05). The most influential factor on the stage of change was a mother's instruction about food safety (P < 0.01). PMID:21286413

Prepare, Do, Review: A skills-based approach for laboratory practical classes in biochemistry and molecular biology.

PubMed

Arthur, Peter; Ludwig, Martha; Castelli, Joane; Kirkwood, Paul; Attwood, Paul

2016-05-06

A new laboratory practical system is described which is comprised of a number of laboratory practical modules, each based around a particular technique or set of techniques, related to the theory part of the course but not designed to be dependent on it. Each module comprises an online recorded pre-lab lecture, the laboratory practical itself and a post-lab session in which students make oral presentations on different aspects of the practical. Each part of the module is assessed with the aim of providing rapid feedback to staff and students. Each laboratory practical is the responsibility of a single staff member and through this "ownership," continual review and updating is promoted. Examples of changes made by staff to modules as a result of student feedback are detailed. A survey of students who had experienced both the old-style laboratory course and the new one provided evidence of increased satisfaction with the new program. The assessment of acquired shills in the new program showed that it was much more effective than the old course. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44:276-287, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

A safety study of oral tangeretin and xanthohumol administration to laboratory mice.

PubMed

Vanhoecke, Barbara W; Delporte, Femke; Van Braeckel, Eva; Heyerick, Arne; Depypere, Herman T; Nuytinck, Margareta; De Keukeleire, Denis; Bracke, Marc E

2005-01-01

The detection of molecular targets for flavonoids in cell signalling has opened new perspectives for their application in medicine. Both tangeretin, a citrus methoxyflavone, and xanthohumol, the main prenylated chalcone present in hops (Humulus lupulus L.), act on the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and await further investigation for administration in vivo. A safety study was designed in laboratory mice orally administered concentrates of purified tangeretin (1 x 10(-4) M) or xanthohumol (5 x 10(-4) M) at libitum for 4 weeks. Blood samples were collected for the analysis of a variety of haematological and biochemical parameters. A reduction of the circulating lymphocyte number was noticed for tangeretin, while all other parameters were unaffected by treatment with either tangeretin or xanthohumol. The parameters encompassed an integrity check of the following tissues and organs: bone marrow, liver, exocrine pancreas, kidneys, muscles, thyroid, ovaries and surrenal cortex. Furthermore, no differences were noted in the metabolism of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and uric acid, as well as in ion concentrations. All data indicate that oral administration of tangeretin or xanthohumol to laboratory mice does not affect major organ functions and opens the gate for further safety studies in humans.

Child Injury Prevention in the Home: A National Survey of Safety Practices and Use of Safety Equipment in Deprived Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulvaney, C. A.; Watson, M. C.; Smith, S.; Coupland, C.; Kendrick, D.

2014-01-01

Objective: To determine the prevalence of home safety practices and use of safety equipment by disadvantaged families participating in a national home safety equipment scheme in England. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey sent to a random sample of 1,000 families. Setting: England, United Kingdom. Results: Half the families (51%) returned a…

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: Developing Departmental Safety Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renfrew, Malcolm M., Ed.; Palladino, George F.

1980-01-01

Presents rationale and guidelines for development of Safety Standard Operating Procedures (Safety SOP) specific for local conditions. Includes an outline of a Safety SOP developed for a department primarily focused on undergraduate education with a wide variety of expertise from common laborer to PhD with 20 years experience. (Author/JN)

A survey of coagulation laboratory practices and satisfaction ratings of member laboratories of the Thailand National External Quality Assessment Scheme for blood coagulation.

PubMed

Chuntarut, A; Tientadakul, P; Wongkrajang, P

2016-06-01

The Thailand National External Quality Assessment Scheme (NEQAS) for blood coagulation was established in 2005. The objective of this study was to collect data of coagulation laboratory practices and satisfaction of NEQAS member. Two hundred seventy-six questionnaires were sent to laboratories that are members of NEQAS to obtain data relating to coagulation laboratory practice and satisfaction in 2014. Data from this survey were compared with data from the survey conducted in 2005 to evaluate levels of improvement. Of 276 questionnaires sent, 212 (76.8%) were returned. Improvements were characterized by the number of laboratories that (i) decreased use of 3.8% sodium citrate as anticoagulant; (ii) implemented use of at least two control levels for internal quality control; and (iii) implemented reporting of reference values with results, as well as establishing their own reference range and using geometric mean as the denominator for international normalized ratio calculation. For overall satisfaction, 179 of 206 (86.9%) participant laboratories reported being satisfied or very satisfied. Improvements in coagulation laboratory practices in Thailand were observed in every step of the total testing process. However, additional improvements are still needed, such as determination and use of a local reference range. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Health, Safety, and Environment Division annual report 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wade, C.

1992-01-01

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Meeting the responsibilities involves many disciplines, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science and engineering, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health, safety, and environmental problems occasionally arise from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory, and research programs in the HSE Division often stem from these appliedmore » needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed, to study specific problems for the Department of Energy. The result of these programs is to help develop better practices in occupational health and safety, radiation protection, and environmental sciences.« less

eLearning Hands-On: Blending Interactive eLearning with Practical Engineering Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiravu, Cheddi; Yanev, Kamen M.; Tunde, Moses O.; Jeffrey, Anna M.; Schoenian, Dirk; Renner, Ansel

2016-01-01

Purpose: Integrating laboratory work into interactive engineering eLearning contents augments theory with practice while simultaneously ameliorating the apparent theory-practice gap in traditional eLearning. The purpose of this paper is to assess and recommend media that currently fulfil this desirable dual pedagogical goal.…

The OSHA hazardous chemical occupational exposure standard for laboratories.

PubMed

Armbruster, D A

1991-01-01

OSHA's chemical occupational exposure standard for laboratories is an outgrowth of the previously issued Hazard Communication Standard. The standard relieves laboratories from complying with general industry standards but does require compliance with specific laboratory guidelines. The heart of the standard is the creation of a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP). The CHP addresses major issues such as safety equipment and procedures, work practices, training, the designation of a chemical hygiene officer, and the provision of medical consultation and examination for affected employees. This new standard, in full effect as of January 31, 1991, presents yet another regulatory challenge to laboratory managers but also ensures a safer environment for laboratory workers.

Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations.

PubMed

Castleman, Barry; Allen, Barbara; Barca, Stefania; Bohme, Susanna Rankin; Henry, Emmanuel; Kaur, Amarjit; Massard-Guilbaud, Genvieve; Melling, Joseph; Menendez-Navarro, Alfredo; Renfrew, Daniel; Santiago, Myrna; Sellers, Christopher; Tweedale, Geoffrey; Zalik, Anna; Zavestoski, Stephen

2008-01-01

At a conference held at Stony Brook University in December 2007, "Dangerous Trade: Histories of Industrial Hazard across a Globalizing World," participants endorsed a Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations. The Code outlines practices that would ensure corporations enact the highest health and environmentally protective measures in all the locations in which they operate. Corporations should observe international guidelines on occupational exposure to air contaminants, plant safety, air and water pollutant releases, hazardous waste disposal practices, remediation of polluted sites, public disclosure of toxic releases, product hazard labeling, sale of products for specific uses, storage and transport of toxic intermediates and products, corporate safety and health auditing, and corporate environmental auditing. Protective measures in all locations should be consonant with the most protective measures applied anywhere in the world, and should apply to the corporations' subsidiaries, contractors, suppliers, distributors, and licensees of technology. Key words: corporations, sustainability, environmental protection, occupational health, code of practice.

Effect of Practice Ownership on Work Environment, Learning Culture, Psychological Safety, and Burnout.

PubMed

Cuellar, Alison; Krist, Alex H; Nichols, Len M; Kuzel, Anton J

2018-04-01

Physicians have joined larger groups and hospital systems in the face of multiple environmental challenges. We examine whether there are differences across practice ownership in self-reported work environment, a practice culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout. Using cross-sectional data from staff surveys of small and medium-size practices that participated in EvidenceNOW in Virginia, we tested for differences in work environment, culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout by practice type. We conducted weighted multivariate linear regression of outcomes on ownership, controlling for practice size, specialty mix, payer mix, and whether the practice was located in a medically underserved area. We further analyzed clinician and staff responses separately. Participating were 104 hospital-owned and 61 independent practices and 24 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). We analyzed 2,005 responses from practice clinicians and staff, a response rate of 49%. Working in a hospital-owned practice was associated with favorable ratings of work environment, psychological safety, and burnout compared with independent practices. When we examined separately the responses of clinicians vs staff, however, the association appears to be largely driven by staff. Hospital ownership was associated with positive perceptions of practice work environment and lower burnout for staff relative to independent ownership, whereas clinicians in FQHCs perceive a more negative, less joyful work environment and burnout. Our findings are suggestive that clinician and nonclinician staff perceive practice adaptive reserve differently, which may have implications for creating the energy for ongoing quality improvement work. © 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Young Age as a Predictor of Poor Road Safety Practices of Commercial Motorcyclists in Oyo State, Nigeria.

PubMed

Olumide, Adesola O; Owoaje, Eme T

2015-01-01

This study examined the association between young age and poor road safety practices of commercial motorcyclists in Oyo state, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study of 371 commercial motorcyclists selected via a multistage sampling technique was conducted. Information on sociodemographic characteristics and road safety practices (possession of a valid license, helmet use, number of passengers carried per trip, and compliance with 10 selected traffic signs) was obtained with the aid of an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Individual road safety practice items were scored and a total score was obtained giving minimum and maximum obtainable scores of 0 and 35. Respondents with scores ≤ 17.5 (i.e., less than or equal to half of the maximum obtainable score of 35) were categorized as having poor road safety practices. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and multiple logistic regression tests were conducted. Selected sociodemographic and occupation-related factors were controlled for in the logistic regression analysis. All respondents were male, 80.1% had been riding for commercial purposes for less than 5 years, and 73.0% had other jobs in addition to commercial riding. Road safety practices were generally poor; that is, 84.4% of commercial riders were categorized as having poor road safety practices. Almost all (98.6%) respondents aged < 25 years compared to 84.3% of those aged 25 to <35 years and 76.8% of those ≥35 years had poor road safety practices. This difference was statistically significant. Following logistic regression, younger age (<25 years) remained predictive of poor road safety practices. Motorcyclists aged < 25 years had about 16 times higher odds of having poor road safety practices compared to those aged 35 years and more (odds ratio = 15.72, 95% confidence interval, 1.82-135.91). Most studies conduct only bivariate analysis to test the association between age and road practices of commercial motorcyclists; however, we investigated the

Safety in the Physics Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bullen, Brother T. G.

1974-01-01

Briefly defines the legal aspects of safety. Presents prominent safety hazards and procedures that should be followed when dealing with electricity, radioactive materials, lasers, poisons, and vacuum apparatus. (GS)

Improving patient safety via automated laboratory-based adverse event grading.

PubMed

Niland, Joyce C; Stiller, Tracey; Neat, Jennifer; Londrc, Adina; Johnson, Dina; Pannoni, Susan

2012-01-01

The identification and grading of adverse events (AEs) during the conduct of clinical trials is a labor-intensive and error-prone process. This paper describes and evaluates a software tool developed by City of Hope to automate complex algorithms to assess laboratory results and identify and grade AEs. We compared AEs identified by the automated system with those previously assessed manually, to evaluate missed/misgraded AEs. We also conducted a prospective paired time assessment of automated versus manual AE assessment. We found a substantial improvement in accuracy/completeness with the automated grading tool, which identified an additional 17% of severe grade 3-4 AEs that had been missed/misgraded manually. The automated system also provided an average time saving of 5.5 min per treatment course. With 400 ongoing treatment trials at City of Hope and an average of 1800 laboratory results requiring assessment per study, the implications of these findings for patient safety are enormous.

Audit of clinical-laboratory practices in haematology and blood transfusion at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania.

PubMed

Makubi, Abel N; Meda, Collins; Magesa, Alex; Minja, Peter; Mlalasi, Juliana; Salum, Zubeda; Kweka, Rumisha E; Rwehabura, James; Quaresh, Amrana; Magesa, Pius M; Robert, David; Makani, Julie; Kaaya, Ephata

2012-10-01

In Tanzania, there is paucity of data for monitoring laboratory medicine including haematology. This therefore calls for audits of practices in haematology and blood transfusion in order to provide appraise practice and devise strategies that would result in improved quality of health care services. This descriptive cross-sectional study which audited laboratory practice in haematology and blood transfusion at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) aimed at assessing the pre-analytical stage of laboratory investigations including laboratory request forms and handling specimen processing in the haematology laboratory and assessing the chain from donor selection, blood component processing to administration of blood during transfusion. A national standard checklist was used to audit the laboratory request forms (LRF), phlebotomists' practices on handling and assessing the from donor selection to administration 6f blood during transfusion. Both interview and observations were used. A total of 195 LRF were audited and 100% of had incomplete information such as patients' identification numbers, time sample ordered, reason for request, summary of clinical assessment and differential diagnoses. The labelling of specimens was poorly done by phlebotomists/clinicians in 82% of the specimens. Also 65% (132/202) of the blood samples delivered in the haematology laboratory did not contain the recommended volume of blood. There was no laboratory request form specific for ordering blood and there were no guidelines for indication of blood transfusion in the wards/ clinics. The blood transfusion laboratory section was not participating in external quality assessment and the hospital transfusion committee was not in operation. It is recommended that a referral hospital like MNH should have a transfusion committee to provide an active forum to facilitate communication between those involved with transfusion, monitor, coordinate and audit blood transfusion practices as per national

Safety in psychiatric inpatient care: The impact of risk management culture on mental health nursing practice.

PubMed

Slemon, Allie; Jenkins, Emily; Bungay, Vicky

2017-10-01

The discourse of safety has informed the care of individuals with mental illness through institutionalization and into modern psychiatric nursing practices. Confinement arose from safety: out of both societal stigma and fear for public safety, as well as benevolently paternalistic aims to protect individuals from self-harm. In this paper, we argue that within current psychiatric inpatient environments, safety is maintained as the predominant value, and risk management is the cornerstone of nursing care. Practices that accord with this value are legitimized and perpetuated through the safety discourse, despite evidence refuting their efficacy, and patient perspectives demonstrating harm. To illustrate this growing concern in mental health nursing care, we provide four exemplars of risk management strategies utilized in psychiatric inpatient settings: close observations, seclusion, door locking and defensive nursing practice. The use of these strategies demonstrates the necessity to shift perspectives on safety and risk in nursing care. We suggest that to re-centre meaningful support and treatment of clients, nurses should provide individualized, flexible care that incorporates safety measures while also fundamentally re-evaluating the risk management culture that gives rise to and legitimizes harmful practices. © 2017 The Authors Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Laboratory Medicine Best Practice Guideline: Vitamins A, E and the Carotenoids in Blood

PubMed Central

Greaves, Ronda F; Woollard, Gerald A; Hoad, Kirsten E; Walmsley, Trevor A; Johnson, Lambro A; Briscoe, Scott; Koetsier, Sabrina; Harrower, Tamantha; Gill, Janice P

2014-01-01

Despite apparent method similarities between laboratories there appear to be confounding factors inhibiting uniform reporting and standardisation of vitamin assays. The Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB) Vitamins Working Party, in conjunction with The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs, has formulated a guideline to improve performance, reproducibility and accuracy of fat-soluble vitamin results. The aim of the guideline is to identify critical pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical components of the analysis of vitamins A, E and carotenoids in blood to promote best practice and harmonisation. This best practice guideline has been developed with reference to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Laboratory Medicine Best Practices: Developing an Evidence-Based Review and Evaluation Process”. The CDC document cites an evaluation framework for generating best practice recommendations that are specific to laboratory medicine. These 50 recommendations proposed herein, were generated from a comprehensive literature search and the extensive combined experience of the AACB Vitamins Working Party members. They were formulated based on comparison between an impact assessment rating and strength of evidence and were classified as either: (1) strongly recommend, (2) recommend, (3) no recommendation for or against, or (4) recommend against. These best practice recommendations represent the consensus views, in association with peer reviewed evidence of the AACB Vitamins Working Party, towards best practice for the collection, analysis and interpretation of vitamins A, E and carotenoids in blood. PMID:25210208

Radiation exposure and safety practices during pediatric central line placement

PubMed Central

Saeman, Melody R.; Burkhalter, Lorrie S.; Blackburn, Timothy J.; Murphy, Joseph T.

2015-01-01

Purpose Pediatric surgeons routinely use fluoroscopy for central venous line (CVL) placement. We examined radiation safety practices and patient/surgeon exposure during fluoroscopic CVL. Methods Fluoroscopic CVL procedures performed by 11 pediatric surgeons in 2012 were reviewed. Fluoroscopic time (FT), patient exposure (mGy), and procedural data were collected. Anthropomorphic phantom simulations were used to calculate scatter and dose (mSv). Surgeons were surveyed regarding safety practices. Results 386 procedures were reviewed. Median FT was 12.8 seconds. Median patient estimated effective dose was 0.13 mSv. Median annual FT per surgeon was 15.4 minutes. Simulations showed no significant difference (p = 0.14) between reported exposures (median 3.5 mGy/min) and the modeled regression exposures from the C-arm default mode (median 3.4 mGy/min). Median calculated surgeon exposure was 1.5 mGy/year. Eight of 11 surgeons responded to the survey. Only three reported 100% lead protection and frequent dosimeter use. Conclusion We found non-standard radiation training, safety practices, and dose monitoring for the 11 surgeons. Based on simulations, the C-arm default setting was typically used instead of low dose. While most CVL procedures have low patient/surgeon doses, every effort should be used to minimize patient and occupational exposure, suggesting the need for formal hands-on training for non-radiologist providers using fluoroscopy. PMID:25837269

Criticality Safety Evaluation for the TACS at DAF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Percher, C. M.; Heinrichs, D. P.

2011-06-10

Hands-on experimental training in the physical behavior of multiplying systems is one of ten key areas of training required for practitioners to become qualified in the discipline of criticality safety as identified in DOE-STD-1135-99, Guidance for Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineer Training and Qualification. This document is a criticality safety evaluation of the training activities and operations associated with HS-3201-P, Nuclear Criticality 4-Day Training Course (Practical). This course was designed to also address the training needs of nuclear criticality safety professionals under the auspices of the NNSA Nuclear Criticality Safety Program1. The hands-on, or laboratory, portion of the course will utilizemore » the Training Assembly for Criticality Safety (TACS) and will be conducted in the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS). The training activities will be conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory following the requirements of an Integrated Work Sheet (IWS) and associated Safety Plan. Students will be allowed to handle the fissile material under the supervision of an LLNL Certified Fissile Material Handler.« less

Designing and Conducting a Purification Scheme as an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Practical

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Kate J.; Johnson, Brian J.; Jones, T. Nicholas; McIntee, Edward J.; Schaller, Chris P.

2008-01-01

An open-ended laboratory practical has been developed that challenges students to evaluate when different purification techniques are appropriate. In contrast to most lab practicals, the overall grade includes an evaluation of spectral analysis as well as writing skills. However, a significant portion of the grade lies in successful execution of a…

Injection safety practices in a main referral hospital in Northeastern Nigeria.

PubMed

Gadzama, G B; Bawa, S B; Ajinoma, Z; Saidu, M M; Umar, A S

2014-01-01

No adherence of safe injection policies remains a major challenge, and, worldwide, annually, it leads to 21 million new hepatitis B cases and 260,000 HIV infection cases. This descriptive observational survey was conducted to determine the level of adherence to universal precaution for safe injection practices in the hospital. The study units were selected using a simple random sampling of injection services provider/phlebotomist in 27 units/wards of the hospital. The study instruments were observation checklist and interviewer administered questionnaires. EPI info (version 3.5.2) software was used for data entry and generation of descriptive statistics was done with units of analysis (units/wards) on injection safety practices of health workers, availability of logistics and supplies, and disposal methods. Only 33.3% of the units (95% CI, 16-54) had non-sharps infectious healthcare waste of any type inside containers specific for non-sharps infectious waste and 17 (77.3%) of the observed therapeutic injections were prepared on a clean, dedicated table or tray, where contamination of the equipment with blood, body fluids, or dirty swabs was unlikely. Absence of recapping of needles was observed in 11 (50.0%) units giving therapeutic injections. Only 7.4% of units surveyed had separate waste containers for infectious non-sharps. This study depicts poor knowledge and a practice of injection safety, inadequate injection safety supplies, and non-compliance to injection safety policy and guidelines.

Evaluation of the status of laboratory practices and the need for continuing education in medical mycology.

PubMed

Rosner, Eunice R; Reiss, Errol; Warren, Nancy G; Shadomy, H Jean; Lipman, Harvey B

2002-08-01

A survey to determine the need for training in medical mycology was sent to 605 US laboratories. Training needs were determined by comparing actual laboratory mycology practices with recommended practices, documenting the extent of mycology training reported by employees, and asking respondents to specify the fungi they considered most difficult to identify. The response rate was 56.7% (with only 316 laboratories providing sufficient information). Results showed a large degree of interlaboratory variation in practices and suggested that more judicious practices could lower costs and improve clinical relevance. Only 55.6% of laboratories reported that at least 1 employee attended a formal mycology continuing education program in the 4 years before the survey. Species of dermatophytes, dematiaceous fungi, and non-Candida yeasts were the most difficult to identify. Training may be needed in basic isolation procedures and in advanced topics such as identification of problematic molds and yeasts and antifungal susceptibility testing. Educators should consider clinical relevance and cost-containment without sacrificing quality when designing courses. Support for additional mycology training may improve if hospital and laboratory administrators are alerted to potential dangers and costs involved in treating patients with invasive fungal infections.

Infection as a Background to Safety: Source Material for Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyatt, H. V.

1986-01-01

Offers selections from papers which illustrate accidents, epidemics, and bad practices which could be used as background material for lessons on laboratory safety. Advocates the need for instruction on pathogenicity and infectivity. (ML)

An evaluation of a new instrument to measure organisational safety culture values and practices.

PubMed

Díaz-Cabrera, D; Hernández-Fernaud, E; Isla-Díaz, R

2007-11-01

The main aim of this research is to evaluate a safety culture measuring instrument centred upon relevant organisational values and practices related to the safety management system. Seven dimensions that reflect underlying safety meanings are proposed. A second objective is to explore the four cultural orientations in the field of safety arising from the competing values framework. The study sample consisted of 299 participants from five companies in different sectors. The results show six dimensions of organisational values and practices and different company profiles in the organisations studied. The four cultural orientations proposed by the competing values framework are not confirmed. Nevertheless, a coexistence of diverse cultural orientations or paradoxes in the companies is observed.

Laboratory Safety and Chemical Hazards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Chemical Education, 1983

1983-01-01

Toxicology/chemical hazards, safety policy, legal responsibilities, adequacy of ventilation, chemical storage, evaluating experimental hazards, waste disposal, and laws governing chemical safety were among topics discussed in 10 papers presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (Stillwater, Oklahoma 1982). Several topics…

Surgical team member assessment of the safety of surgery practice in 38 South Carolina hospitals.

PubMed

Singer, Sara J; Jiang, Wei; Huang, Lyen C; Gibbons, Lorri; Kiang, Mathew V; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Gawande, Atul A; Berry, William R

2015-06-01

We assessed surgical team member perceptions of multiple dimensions of safe surgical practice in 38 South Carolina hospitals participating in a statewide initiative to implement surgical safety checklists. Primary data were collected using a novel 35-item survey. We calculated the percentage of 1,852 respondents with strongly positive, positive, and neutral/negative responses about the safety of surgical practice, compared results by hospital and professional discipline, and examined how readiness, teamwork, and adherence related to staff perception of care quality. Overall, 78% of responses were positive about surgical safety at respondent's hospitals, but in each survey dimension, from 16% to 40% of responses were neutral/negative, suggesting significant opportunity to improve surgical safety. Respondents not reporting they would feel safe being treated in their operating rooms varied from 0% to 57% among hospitals. Surgeons responded more positively than nonsurgeons. Readiness, teamwork, and practice adherence related directly to staff perceptions of patient safety (p < .001). © The Author(s) 2015.

Managing health and safety risks: Implications for tailoring health and safety management system practices.

PubMed

Willmer, D R; Haas, E J

2016-01-01

As national and international health and safety management system (HSMS) standards are voluntarily accepted or regulated into practice, organizations are making an effort to modify and integrate strategic elements of a connected management system into their daily risk management practices. In high-risk industries such as mining, that effort takes on added importance. The mining industry has long recognized the importance of a more integrated approach to recognizing and responding to site-specific risks, encouraging the adoption of a risk-based management framework. Recently, the U.S. National Mining Association led the development of an industry-specific HSMS built on the strategic frameworks of ANSI: Z10, OHSAS 18001, The American Chemistry Council's Responsible Care, and ILO-OSH 2001. All of these standards provide strategic guidance and focus on how to incorporate a plan-do-check-act cycle into the identification, management and evaluation of worksite risks. This paper details an exploratory study into whether practices associated with executing a risk-based management framework are visible through the actions of an organization's site-level management of health and safety risks. The results of this study show ways that site-level leaders manage day-to-day risk at their operations that can be characterized according to practices associated with a risk-based management framework. Having tangible operational examples of day-to-day risk management can serve as a starting point for evaluating field-level risk assessment efforts and their alignment to overall company efforts at effective risk mitigation through a HSMS or other processes.

Variations in hospital worker perceptions of safety culture.

PubMed

Listyowardojo, Tita Alissa; Nap, Raoul E; Johnson, Addie

2012-02-01

To compare the attitudes toward and perceptions of institutional practices that can influence patient safety between all professional groups at a university medical center. A questionnaire measuring nine dimensions of organizational and safety culture was distributed to all hospital workers. Each item was rated on a 1 ('strongly disagree') to 5 ('strongly agree') scale. Professionals (2995), grouped as 'physicians' (16.6%), 'nurses' (40.3%), 'clinical workers' (e.g. psychologists; 21.7%), 'laboratory workers' (e.g. technicians; 11%) and 'non-medical workers' (e.g. managers; 10.4%). One-way analysis of variances (ANOVAs) carried out separately on each dimension with professional group as the independent variable of interest. Differences in ratings of organizational and safety culture were found across professional groups. Physicians and non-medical workers tended to rate the dimensions of organizational and safety culture more positively than did nurses, clinical workers and laboratory workers. For example, physicians gave more positive ratings of 'institutional commitment to safety' than did nurses, clinical workers and laboratory workers (mean = 3.71 vs. 3.62, 3.61 and 3.58, respectively, P < 0.01) and non-medical workers gave more positive ratings than did physicians, nurses, clinical workers and laboratory workers to 'perceptions towards the hospital' (mean = 3.69 vs. 3.39, 3.36, 3.49 and 3.47, respectively, P < 0.001). Interventions to promote safety culture should be tailored to the target group as attitudes and perceptions may differ among groups.

Nursing practice environment, job outcomes and safety climate: a structural equation modelling analysis.

PubMed

Dos Santos Alves, Daniela Fernanda; da Silva, Dirceu; de Brito Guirardello, Edinêis

2017-01-01

To assess correlations between the characteristics of the nursing practice environment, job outcomes and safety climate. The nursing practice environment is critical to the well-being of professionals and to patient safety, as highlighted by national and international studies; however, there is a lack of evidence regarding this theme in paediatric units. A cross-sectional study, in two paediatric hospitals in Brazil, was conducted from December 2013 to February 2014. For data collection, we used the Nursing Work Index - Revised, Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - Short Form 2006 and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and for analysis Spearman's correlation coefficient and structural equation modelling were used. Two hundred and sixty-seven professional nurses participated in the study. Autonomy, control over the work environment and the relationship between nursing and medical staff are factors associated with job outcomes and safety climate and can be considered their predictors. Professional nurses with greater autonomy, good working relationships and control over their work environment have lower levels of emotional exhaustion, higher job satisfaction, less intention of leaving the job and the safety climate is positive. Initiatives to improve the professional practice environment can improve the safety of paediatric patients and the well-being of professional nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The H-PEPSS: an instrument to measure health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competence at entry into practice.

PubMed

Ginsburg, Liane; Castel, Evan; Tregunno, Deborah; Norton, Peter G

2012-08-01

Enhancing competency in patient safety at entry to practice requires introduction and integration of patient safety into health professional education. As efforts to include patient safety in health professional education increase, it is important to capture new health professionals' perspectives of their own patient safety competence at entry to practice. Existing instruments to measure patient safety knowledge, skills and attitudes have been developed largely to examine the impact of specific patient safety curricular initiatives and the psychometric analyses of the instruments used thus far have been exploratory in nature. Confirmatory factor analytic approaches are used to extensively test the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS), a newly designed survey rooted in a patient safety competency framework and designed to measure health professionals' self-reported patient safety competence around the time of entry to practice. The H-PEPSS focuses primarily on the socio-cultural aspects of patient safety including culture, teamwork, communication, managing risk and understanding human factors. Results support a parsimonious six-factor measurement model of health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competency. These results support the validity of a reduced version of the H-PEPSS and suggest it can be appropriately used at or near training completion with a variety of health professional groups. Given increased demands for patient safety competency among health professionals at entry to practice and slow, but emerging changes in health professional education, ongoing research to understand the extent of patient safety competency among health professionals around the time of entry to practice will be important.

The H-PEPSS: an instrument to measure health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competence at entry into practice

PubMed Central

Castel, Evan; Tregunno, Deborah; Norton, Peter G

2012-01-01

Background Enhancing competency in patient safety at entry to practice requires introduction and integration of patient safety into health professional education. As efforts to include patient safety in health professional education increase, it is important to capture new health professionals' perspectives of their own patient safety competence at entry to practice. Existing instruments to measure patient safety knowledge, skills and attitudes have been developed largely to examine the impact of specific patient safety curricular initiatives and the psychometric analyses of the instruments used thus far have been exploratory in nature. Methods Confirmatory factor analytic approaches are used to extensively test the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS), a newly designed survey rooted in a patient safety competency framework and designed to measure health professionals' self-reported patient safety competence around the time of entry to practice. The H-PEPSS focuses primarily on the socio-cultural aspects of patient safety including culture, teamwork, communication, managing risk and understanding human factors. Results Results support a parsimonious six-factor measurement model of health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competency. These results support the validity of a reduced version of the H-PEPSS and suggest it can be appropriately used at or near training completion with a variety of health professional groups. Conclusions Given increased demands for patient safety competency among health professionals at entry to practice and slow, but emerging changes in health professional education, ongoing research to understand the extent of patient safety competency among health professionals around the time of entry to practice will be important. PMID:22562876

Policies and practices pertaining to the selection, qualification requirements, and training programs for nuclear-reactor operating personnel at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Culbert, W.H.

1985-10-01

This document describes the policies and practices of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) regarding the selection of and training requirements for reactor operating personnel at the Laboratory's nuclear-reactor facilities. The training programs, both for initial certification and for requalification, are described and provide the guidelines for ensuring that ORNL's research reactors are operated in a safe and reliable manner by qualified personnel. This document gives an overview of the reactor facilities and addresses the various qualifications, training, testing, and requalification requirements stipulated in DOE Order 5480.1A, Chapter VI (Safety of DOE-Owned Reactors); it is intended to be in compliancemore » with this DOE Order, as applicable to ORNL facilities. Included also are examples of the documentation maintained amenable for audit.« less

[Patient safety culture in Family practice residents of Galicia].

PubMed

Portela Romero, Manuel; Bugarín González, Rosendo; Rodríguez Calvo, María Sol

To determine the views held by Family practice (FP) residents on the different dimensions of patient safety, in order to identify potential areas for improvement. A cross-sectional study. Seven FP of Galicia teaching units. 182 FP residents who completed the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was chosen because it is translated, validated, and adapted to the Spanish model of Primary Care. The results were grouped into 12 composites assessed by the mentioned questionnaire. The study variables were the socio-demographic dimensions of the questionnaire, as well as occupational/professional variables: age, gender, year of residence, and teaching unit of FP of Galicia. The "Organisational learning" and "Teamwork" items were considered strong areas. However, the "Patient safety and quality issues", "Information exchange with other settings", and "Work pressure and pace" items were considered areas with significant potential for improvement. First-year residents obtained the best results and the fourth-year ones the worst. The results may indicate the need to include basic knowledge on patient safety in the teaching process of FP residents in order to increase and consolidate the fragile patient safety culture described in this study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Patient safety culture in Norwegian primary care: a study in out-of-hours casualty clinics and GP practices.

PubMed

Bondevik, Gunnar Tschudi; Hofoss, Dag; Hansen, Elisabeth Holm; Deilkås, Ellen Catharina Tveter

2014-09-01

This study aimed to investigate patient safety attitudes amongst health care providers in Norwegian primary care by using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, in both out-of-hours (OOH) casualty clinics and GP practices. The questionnaire identifies five major patient safety factors: Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Job satisfaction, Perceptions of management, and Working conditions. Cross-sectional study. Statistical analysis included multiple linear regression and independent samples t-tests. Seven OOH casualty clinics and 17 GP practices in Norway. In October and November 2012, 510 primary health care providers working in OOH casualty clinics and GP practices (316 doctors and 194 nurses) were invited to participate anonymously. To study whether patterns in patient safety attitudes were related to professional background, gender, age, and clinical setting. The overall response rate was 52%; 72% of the nurses and 39% of the doctors answered the questionnaire. In the OOH clinics, nurses scored significantly higher than doctors on Safety climate and Job satisfaction. Older health care providers scored significantly higher than younger on Safety climate and Working conditions. In GP practices, male health professionals scored significantly higher than female on Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Perceptions of management and Working conditions. Health care providers in GP practices had significant higher mean scores on the factors Safety climate and Working conditions, compared with those working in the OOH clinics. Our study showed that nurses scored higher than doctors, older health professionals scored higher than younger, male GPs scored higher than female GPs, and health professionals in GP practices scored higher than those in OOH clinics - on several patient safety factors.

Space station pressurized laboratory safety guidelines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgonigal, Les

1990-01-01

Before technical safety guidelines and requirements are established, a common understanding of their origin and importance must be shared between Space Station Program Management, the User Community, and the Safety organizations involved. Safety guidelines and requirements are driven by the nature of the experiments, and the degree of crew interaction. Hazard identification; development of technical safety requirements; operating procedures and constraints; provision of training and education; conduct of reviews and evaluations; and emergency preplanning are briefly discussed.

Road safety practices among commercial motorcyclists in a rural town in Nigeria: implications for health education.

PubMed

Amoran, O E; Eme, Owoaje; Giwa, O A; Gbolahan, O B

This cross-sectional, community-based study was carried out among commercial motorcyclists in Igboora. All the commercial motor parks in Igboora were visited and all the commercial motorcyclists who consented to participate in the study were interviewed. Information on the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, and the practice of road safety measures was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. A total of 299 motorcyclists were interviewed. All (100%) of them were males. The mean age of the respondents was 27.4 +/- 7.4 years. One hundred eighty-two (60.7%) of the motorcyclists had the correct knowledge of the purpose of Highway Code. Only 70 (23.3%) could recognize more than half of the currently used road safety codes and 47 (15.7%) obey these road safety codes more than half of the time they see it. Only 183 (61.2%) of them had a driving license and 72 (24.1%) were able to produce these licenses on demand. All (100%) of the respondents did not use any protective helmet. Those who have longer years of working experience, higher level of education and higher knowledge of the safety codes practice it more regularly (r = 0.198, p = 0.001, chi2= 9.31, p = 0.025, and r = 0.28, p = 0.001 respectively). One hundred thirty-six (45.5%) have been involved in at least one accident in the preceding year. The overall incidence of road traffic accident was 2.16 per 1,000. There was however on statistically significant association between the practice of road safety codes and the occurrence of road traffic accidents (chi2= 0.176, p = 0.916). The study shows that the practice of road safety measures was low in this rural Nigerian community and was not associated with the incidence of road traffic accidents. Introducing road safety education particularly targeted at educating the motorcyclists on the importance and practice of road safety measures would lead to an increase in the practice of the safety measures and hopefully a reduction in the incidence

Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 1. Biosafety Level 4 Suit Laboratory Suite Entry and Exit Procedures

PubMed Central

Janosko, Krisztina; Holbrook, Michael R.; Adams, Ricky; Barr, Jason; Bollinger, Laura; Newton, Je T'aime; Ntiforo, Corrie; Coe, Linda; Wada, Jiro; Pusl, Daniela; Jahrling, Peter B.; Kuhn, Jens H.; Lackemeyer, Matthew G.

2016-01-01

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) suit laboratories are specifically designed to study high-consequence pathogens for which neither infection prophylaxes nor treatment options exist. The hallmarks of these laboratories are: custom-designed airtight doors, dedicated supply and exhaust airflow systems, a negative-pressure environment, and mandatory use of positive-pressure (“space”) suits. The risk for laboratory specialists working with highly pathogenic agents is minimized through rigorous training and adherence to stringent safety protocols and standard operating procedures. Researchers perform the majority of their work in BSL-2 laboratories and switch to BSL-4 suit laboratories when work with a high-consequence pathogen is required. Collaborators and scientists considering BSL-4 projects should be aware of the challenges associated with BSL-4 research both in terms of experimental technical limitations in BSL-4 laboratory space and the increased duration of such experiments. Tasks such as entering and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories are considerably more complex and time-consuming compared to BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories. The focus of this particular article is to address basic biosafety concerns and describe the entrance and exit procedures for the BSL-4 laboratory at the NIH/NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick. Such procedures include checking external systems that support the BSL-4 laboratory, and inspecting and donning positive-pressure suits, entering the laboratory, moving through air pressure-resistant doors, and connecting to air-supply hoses. We will also discuss moving within and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories, including using the chemical shower and removing and storing positive-pressure suits. PMID:27768063

Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 1. Biosafety Level 4 Suit Laboratory Suite Entry and Exit Procedures.

PubMed

Janosko, Krisztina; Holbrook, Michael R; Adams, Ricky; Barr, Jason; Bollinger, Laura; Newton, Je T'aime; Ntiforo, Corrie; Coe, Linda; Wada, Jiro; Pusl, Daniela; Jahrling, Peter B; Kuhn, Jens H; Lackemeyer, Matthew G

2016-10-03

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) suit laboratories are specifically designed to study high-consequence pathogens for which neither infection prophylaxes nor treatment options exist. The hallmarks of these laboratories are: custom-designed airtight doors, dedicated supply and exhaust airflow systems, a negative-pressure environment, and mandatory use of positive-pressure ("space") suits. The risk for laboratory specialists working with highly pathogenic agents is minimized through rigorous training and adherence to stringent safety protocols and standard operating procedures. Researchers perform the majority of their work in BSL-2 laboratories and switch to BSL-4 suit laboratories when work with a high-consequence pathogen is required. Collaborators and scientists considering BSL-4 projects should be aware of the challenges associated with BSL-4 research both in terms of experimental technical limitations in BSL-4 laboratory space and the increased duration of such experiments. Tasks such as entering and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories are considerably more complex and time-consuming compared to BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories. The focus of this particular article is to address basic biosafety concerns and describe the entrance and exit procedures for the BSL-4 laboratory at the NIH/NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick. Such procedures include checking external systems that support the BSL-4 laboratory, and inspecting and donning positive-pressure suits, entering the laboratory, moving through air pressure-resistant doors, and connecting to air-supply hoses. We will also discuss moving within and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories, including using the chemical shower and removing and storing positive-pressure suits.

Practicing chemical process safety: a look at the layers of protection.

PubMed

Sanders, Roy E

2004-11-11

This presentation will review a few public perceptions of safety in chemical plants and refineries, and will compare these plant workplace risks to some of the more traditional occupations. The central theme of this paper is to provide a "within-the-fence" view of many of the process safety practices that world class plants perform to pro-actively protect people, property, profits as well as the environment. It behooves each chemical plant and refinery to have their story on an image-rich presentation to stress stewardship and process safety. Such a program can assure the company's employees and help convince the community that many layers of safety protection within our plants are effective, and protect all from harm.

Pediatrician attitudes, knowledge, and practice behavior regarding teen driving safety.

PubMed

Campbell, Brendan T; Borrup, Kevin; Corsi, John M; Kelliher, Kristine M; Saleheen, Hassan; Banco, Leonard; Lapidus, Garry

2009-01-01

Each year about 4,000 teens ages 16-19 die on U.S. roads. Injury prevention counseling is recommended as a valuable and cost-effective part of routine health supervision. This study describes pediatrician knowledge and practice regarding teen driving safety. A 31-item self-administered survey was mailed to pediatricians. 160 of 392 pediatricians (41%) completed the survey. During a health supervision visit 93% of pediatricians reported discussing seat belt use, 89% impaired driving, 54% teen licensing laws, and 16% parent teen contract. Half reported having a teen in their practice killed in a crash. A majority surveyed report discussing and counseling teens on first wave teen driver safety issues (seat belts, alcohol use), but most do not discuss graduated driver licensing laws or related issues. Broadly adopted, this inexpensive counseling approach, could lead to reductions in teen motorvehicle crash injuries.

Good Practice Recommendations in the Field of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning for Health Related Research Laboratories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laboratory Design Notes, 1966

1966-01-01

A collection of laboratory design notes to set forth minimum criteria required in the design of basic medical research laboratory buildings. Recommendations contained are primarily concerned with features of design which affect quality of performance and future flexibility of facility systems. Subjects of economy and safety are discussed where…

Idaho National Laboratory Integrated Safety Management System FY 2016 Effectiveness Review and Declaration Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hunt, Farren J.

Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) effectiveness review of fiscal year (FY) 2016 shows that INL has integrated management programs and safety elements throughout the oversight and operational activities performed at INL. The significant maturity of Contractor Assurance System (CAS) processes, as demonstrated across INL’s management systems and periodic reporting through the Management Review Meeting process, over the past two years has provided INL with current real-time understanding and knowledge pertaining to the health of the institution. INL’s sustained excellence of the Integrated Safety and effective implementation of the Worker Safety and Health Program is also evidencedmore » by other external validations and key indicators. In particular, external validations include VPP, ISO 14001, DOELAP accreditation, and key Laboratory level indicators such as ORPS (number, event frequency and severity); injury/illness indicators such as Days Away, Restricted and Transfer (DART) case rate, back & shoulder metric and open reporting indicators, demonstrate a continuous positive trend and therefore improved operational performance over the last few years. These indicators are also reflective of the Laboratory’s overall organizational and safety culture improvement. Notably, there has also been a step change in ESH&Q Leadership actions that have been recognized both locally and complex-wide. Notwithstanding, Laboratory management continues to monitor and take action on lower level negative trends in numerous areas including: Conduct of Operations, Work Control, Work Site Analysis, Risk Assessment, LO/TO, Fire Protection, and Life Safety Systems, to mention a few. While the number of severe injury cases has decreased, as evidenced by the reduction in the DART case rate, the two hand injuries and the fire truck/ambulance accident were of particular concern. Aggressive actions continue in order to understand the causes

Workplace safety and health programs, practices, and conditions in auto collision repair businesses.

PubMed

Brosseau, L M; Bejan, A; Parker, D L; Skan, M; Xi, M

2014-01-01

This article describes the results of a pre-intervention safety assessment conducted in 49 auto collision repair businesses and owners' commitments to specific improvements. A 92-item standardized audit tool employed interviews, record reviews, and observations to assess safety and health programs, training, and workplace conditions. Owners were asked to improve at least one-third of incorrect, deficient, or missing (not in compliance with regulations or not meeting best practice) items, of which a majority were critical or highly important for ensuring workplace safety. Two-thirds of all items were present, with the highest fraction related to electrical safety, machine safety, and lockout/tagout. One-half of shops did not have written safety programs and had not conducted recent training. Many had deficiencies in respiratory protection programs and practices. Thirteen businesses with a current or past relationship with a safety consultant had a significantly higher fraction of correct items, in particular related to safety programs, up-to-date training, paint booth and mixing room conditions, electrical safety, and respiratory protection. Owners selected an average of 58% of recommended improvements; they were most likely to select items related to employee Right-to-Know training, emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and respiratory protection. They were least likely to say they would improve written safety programs, stop routine spraying outside the booth, or provide adequate fire protection for spray areas outside the booth. These baseline results suggest that it may be possible to bring about workplace improvements using targeted assistance from occupational health and safety professionals.

Policies and practices in haemostasis testing among laboratories in Croatia: a survey on behalf of a Working Group for Laboratory Coagulation of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine.

PubMed

Bronić, Ana; Herak, Desiree Coen; Margetić, Sandra; Milić, Marija

2017-02-15

The objective of this survey was to assess current policies and practice in haemostasis testing among both hospital and outpatient laboratories in Republic of Croatia. A questionnaire with seventy questions divided into nine sections was created in May 2015. Participants were asked about their practice related to test request form, sample collection, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time assays, other individual haemostasis assays, point-of-care testing (POCT), reporting of coagulation tests results and quality assurance of procedures, the personnel and other laboratory resources, as well as on issues related to education and implementation of additional coagulation assays in their laboratory. The survey was administered and data were collected between June and September 2015. A total survey response rate was 104/170 (61.2%). Most respondents were faced with incomplete information on prescribed therapy and diagnosis on the test request or inappropriate samples withdrawn on distant locations, but also do not have protocols for handling samples with high haematocrit values. Reporting of PT-INR and D-dimer results was different between laboratories. Although almost all laboratories developed a critical value reporting system, reporting a value to general practitioners is still a problem. Result on coagulation POCT testing showed that not all devices were supervised by laboratories, which is not in compliance with Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemistry acts. Obtained results highlighted areas that need improvement and different practice patterns in particular field of haemostasis testing among laboratories. A harmonization of the overall process of haemostasis testing at national level should be considered and undertaken.

75 FR 24799 - Safety Zone; Tri-City Water Follies Hydroplane Races Practice Sessions, Columbia River, Kennewick...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Tri-City Water Follies Hydroplane Races Practice Sessions, Columbia River, Kennewick...-City Water Follies Association hosts annual hydroplane races on the Columbia River in Kennewick... Safety Zone; Tri-City Water Follies Hydroplane Races Practice Sessions, Columbia River, Kennewick, WA (a...

Using the electronic health record to build a culture of practice safety: evaluating the implementation of trigger tools in one general practice.

PubMed

Margham, Tom; Symes, Natalie; Hull, Sally A

2018-04-01

Identifying patients at risk of harm in general practice is challenging for busy clinicians. In UK primary care, trigger tools and case note reviews are mainly used to identify rates of harm in sample populations. This study explores how adaptions to existing trigger tool methodology can identify patient safety events and engage clinicians in ongoing reflective work around safety. Mixed-method quantitative and narrative evaluation using thematic analysis in a single East London training practice. The project team developed and tested five trigger searches, supported by Excel worksheets to guide the case review process. Project evaluation included summary statistics of completed worksheets and a qualitative review focused on ease of use, barriers to implementation, and perception of value to clinicians. Trigger searches identified 204 patients for GP review. Overall, 117 (57%) of cases were reviewed and 62 (53%) of these cases had patient safety events identified. These were usually incidents of omission, including failure to monitor or review. Key themes from interviews with practice members included the fact that GPs' work is generally reactive and GPs welcomed an approach that identified patients who were 'under the radar' of safety. All GPs expressed concern that the tool might identify too many patients at risk of harm, placing further demands on their time. Electronic trigger tools can identify patients for review in domains of clinical risk for primary care. The high yield of safety events engaged clinicians and provided validation of the need for routine safety checks. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.

Site safety plan for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory CERCLA investigations at site 300. Revision 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kilmer, J.

Various Department of Energy Orders incorporate by reference, health and safety regulations promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). One of the OSHA regulations, 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, requires that site safety plans are written for activities such as those covered by work plans for Site 300 environmental investigations. Based upon available data, this Site Safety Plan (Plan) for environmental restoration has been prepared specifically for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300, located approximately 15 miles east of Livermore, California. As additional facts, monitoring data, or analytical data on hazards are provided,more » this Plan may need to be modified. It is the responsibility of the Environmental Restoration Program and Division (ERD) Site Safety Officer (SSO), with the assistance of Hazards Control, to evaluate data which may impact health and safety during these activities and to modify the Plan as appropriate. This Plan is not `cast-in-concrete.` The SSO shall have the authority, with the concurrence of Hazards Control, to institute any change to maintain health and safety protection for workers at Site 300.« less

Introducing Proper Chemical Hygiene and Safety in the General Chemistry Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Gordon J.; Heideman, Stephen A.; Greenbowe, Thomas J.

2000-09-01

Chemical safety is an important component of science education for everyone, not just for chemistry majors. Developing a responsible and knowledgeable attitude towards chemical safety best starts at the early stages of a student's career. In many colleges and universities, safety education in undergraduate chemistry has been relegated primarily to a few regulatory documents at the beginning of a laboratory course, or an occasional warning in the description of a specific experiment in a prelaboratory lecture. Safety issues are seldom raised in general chemistry or organic chemistry lecture-based chemistry courses. At Iowa State University we have begun to implement a program, Chemical Hygiene and Safety in the Laboratory, into the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. This program is designed to increase the awareness and knowledge of proper chemical hygiene and laboratory safety issues among all students taking general chemistry and organic chemistry courses. Laboratory protocol, use of safety equipment, familiarity with MSD sheets, basics of first aid, some specific terminology surrounding chemical hygiene, EPA and OSHA requirements, and the use of the World Wide Web to search and locate chemical safety information are topics that are applied throughout the chemistry curriculum. The novelty of this approach is to incorporate MSD sheets and safety information that can be located on the World Wide Web in a series of safety problems and assignments, all related to the chemistry experiments students are about to perform. The fundamental idea of our approach is not only to teach students what is required for appropriate safety measures, but also to involve them in the enforcement of basic prudent practices.

Autonomy and Privacy in Clinical Laboratory Science Policy and Practice.

PubMed

Leibach, Elizabeth Kenimer

2014-01-01

Rapid advancements in diagnostic technologies coupled with growth in testing options and choices mandate the development of evidence-based testing algorithms linked to the care paths of the major chronic diseases and health challenges encountered most frequently. As care paths are evaluated, patient/consumers become partners in healthcare delivery. Clinical laboratory scientists find themselves firmly embedded in both quality improvement and clinical research with an urgent need to translate clinical laboratory information into knowledge required by practitioners and patient/consumers alike. To implement this patient-centered care approach in clinical laboratory science, practitioners must understand their roles in (1) protecting patient/consumer autonomy in the healthcare informed consent process and (2) assuring patient/consumer privacy and confidentiality while blending quality improvement study findings with protected health information. A literature review, describing the current ethical environment, supports a consultative role for clinical laboratory scientists in the clinical decision-making process and suggests guidance for policy and practice regarding the principle of autonomy and its associated operational characteristics: informed consent and privacy.

Project health and safety plan for the Gunite and Associated Tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abston, J.P.

1997-04-01

The Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems) policy is to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all employees and subcontractors. The accomplishment of this policy requires that operations at the Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT) in the North and South Tank Farms (NTF and STF) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory are guided by an overall plan and consistent proactive approach to health and safety (H and S) issues. The policy and procedures in this plan apply to all GAAT operations in the NTF and STF. The provisions of this plan are to bemore » carried out whenever activities identifies s part of the GAAT are initiated that could be a threat to human health or the environment. This plan implements a policy and establishes criteria for the development of procedures for day-to-day operations to prevent or minimize any adverse impact to the environment and personnel safety and health and to meet standards that define acceptable management of hazardous and radioactive materials and wastes. The plan is written to utilize past experience and best management practices in order to minimize hazards to human health or the environment from events such as fires, explosions, falls, mechanical hazards, or any unplanned release of hazardous or radioactive materials to the air. This plan explains additional task-specific health and safety requirements such as the Site Safety and health Addendum and Activity Hazard Analysis, which should be used in concert with this plan and existing established procedures.« less

Students integrate knowledge acquisition and practical work in the laboratory.

PubMed

Agüera, E I; Sánchez-Hermosín, P; Díz-Pérez, J; Tovar, P; Camacho, R; Escribano, B M

2015-09-01

The aim of the present work was to transfer a wider concept of teamwork and self-learning to the laboratory, encouraging students' capabilities when seeking, acquiring, and processing knowledge. This educational innovation was carried out with a total of 38 students (fourth year of degree in Biology) in the area of physiology (Advances in Reproduction course) at University of Córdoba in Córdoba, Spain. The design of the project's application methodology consisted of establishing a way in which problems would be tackled in the practical classes. For this purpose, the different tasks were set up so that students could relate them to the concepts learned in the theory classes. On the first day of class, the project was presented to the students. Groups of two to three students worked in the laboratory and set up an outline of the protocol of the practical work that they had done. This outline was performed individually and sent to the lecturers through a learning management system (Moodle). The teachers gave feedback and assessed student submissions. Upon finishing the course, students completed a survey. The project-based learning method promotes practical self-learning on the part of students. This methodology demonstrated to us that it stimulates a critical and self-critical capacity in students, both individually and in groups, and that writing didactic practical material helped students to enhance their theory knowledge. The experiment was a success in view of the scores obtained upon finishing the subject. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

Investigating the experiences of New Zealand MRI technologists: Exploring intra-orbital metallic foreign body safety practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacobs, Philippa K; Henwood, Suzanne; River Radiology, Victoria Clinic, 750 Victoria Street, Hamilton, Waikato

2013-12-15

Qualitative research is lacking regarding the experiences of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologists and their involvement in workplace safety practices. This article provides a gateway to explore, describe and document experiences of MRI technologists in New Zealand (NZ) pertaining to intra-orbital metallic foreign body (IMFB) safety practices. This phenomenological study describes the experiences of seven MRI technologists all with a minimum of 5 years' NZ work experience in MRI. The MRI technologists were interviewed face-to-face regarding their professional IMFB workplace experiences in order to explore historical, current and potential issues. Findings demonstrated that aspects of organization and administration are fundamentallymore » important to MRI technologists. Varying levels of education and knowledge, as well as experience and skills gained, have significantly impacted on MRI technologists’ level of confidence and control in IMFB practices. Participants’ descriptions of their experiences in practice regarding decision-making capabilities further highlight the complexity of these themes. A model was developed to demonstrate the interrelated nature of the themes and the complexity of the situation in totality. Findings of this study have provided insight into the experiences of MRI technologists pertaining to IMFB safety practices and highlighted inconsistencies. It is hoped that these findings will contribute to and improve the level of understanding of MRI technologists and the practices and protocols involved in IMFB safety screening. The scarcity of available literature regarding IMFB safety practices highlights that more research is required to investigate additional aspects that could improve MRI technologists’ experiences.« less

An international survey of current practice in the laboratory assessment of anticoagulant therapy with heparin.

PubMed

Favaloro, Emmanuel J; Bonar, Roslyn; Sioufi, John; Wheeler, Michael; Low, Joyce; Aboud, Margaret; Lloyd, John; Street, Alison; Marsden, Katherine

2005-06-01

We conducted a survey of laboratory practice for assessment of heparin anticoagulant therapy by participants of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Program (RCPA QAP). A questionnaire was sent to 646 laboratories enrolled in the Haematology component of the QAP, requesting details of tests used for monitoring heparin therapy. Seventy laboratories (10.8%) returned results that indicated that they performed laboratory monitoring of heparin therapy. Most laboratories (69/70 = 98.6%) use the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) to monitor unfractionated heparin, with eight (11.4%) also using the APTT for monitoring low molecular weight (LMW) heparin. Five (7.1%) laboratories use the thrombin time (TT) test to help monitor heparin therapy and 37 (52.9%) laboratories use an anti-Xa assay to monitor heparin (either LMW or unfractionated). Normal reference ranges (NRR) for APTT differed considerably between laboratories, even those using the same reagent. Therapeutic ranges (TR) also differed considerably between laboratories, for both APTT and the anti-Xa assay. Laboratory differences in NRR and TR using the same reagents could only be partly explained by the use of different instrumentation. There is a large variation in current laboratory practice relating to monitoring of heparin anticoagulant therapy. This finding is similar to that of a similar survey conducted by the RCPA QAP almost a decade ago. This study suggests that better standardisation is still required for laboratory monitoring of heparin therapy.

Simulated settings; powerful arenas for learning patient safety practices and facilitating transference to clinical practice. A mixed method study.

PubMed

Reime, Marit Hegg; Johnsgaard, Tone; Kvam, Fred Ivan; Aarflot, Morten; Breivik, Marit; Engeberg, Janecke Merethe; Brattebø, Guttorm

2016-11-01

Poor teamwork is an important factor in the occurrence of critical incidents because of a lack of non-technical skills. Team training can be a key to prevent these incidents. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of nursing and medical students after a simulation-based interprofessional team training (SBITT) course and its impact on professional and patient safety practices, using a concurrent mixed-method design. The participants (n = 262) were organized into 44 interprofessional teams. The results showed that two training sequences the same day improved overall team performance. Making mistakes during SBITT appeared to improve the quality of patient care once the students returned to clinical practice as it made the students more vigilant. Furthermore, the video-assisted oral debriefing provided an opportunity to strengthen interprofessional teamwork and share situational awareness. SBITT gave the students an opportunity to practice clinical reasoning skills and to share professional knowledge. The students conveyed the importance of learning to speak up to ensure safe patient practices. Simulated settings seem to be powerful arenas for learning patient safety practices and facilitating transference of this awareness to clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Translating Health Services Research into Practice in the Safety Net.

PubMed

Moore, Susan L; Fischer, Ilana; Havranek, Edward P

2016-02-01

To summarize research relating to health services research translation in the safety net through analysis of the literature and case study of a safety net system. Literature review and key informant interviews at an integrated safety net hospital. This paper describes the results of a comprehensive literature review of translational science literature as applied to health care paired with qualitative analysis of five key informant interviews conducted with senior-level management at Denver Health and Hospital Authority. Results from the literature suggest that implementing innovation may be more difficult in the safety net due to multiple factors, including financial and organizational constraints. Results from key informant interviews confirmed the reality of financial barriers to innovation implementation but also implied that factors, including institutional respect for data, organizational attitudes, and leadership support, could compensate for disadvantages. Translating research into practice is of critical importance to safety net providers, which are under increased pressure to improve patient care and satisfaction. Results suggest that translational research done in the safety net can better illuminate the special challenges of this setting; more such research is needed. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

75 FR 48992 - Baseline Safety and Health Practices; Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-12

... health practices of private sector establishments in agriculture (with 10 or more workers) and non-agriculture industries, as well as public sector establishments in those states with OSHA-approved safety and... agriculture sector to assess the prevalence of safety and health practices among farms with more than 10...

Pharmacist Staffing, Technology Use, and Implementation of Medication Safety Practices in Rural Hospitals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Michelle M.; Moscovice, Ira S.; Davidson, Gestur

2006-01-01

Context: Medication safety is clearly an important quality issue for rural hospitals. However, rural hospitals face special challenges implementing medication safety practices in terms of their staffing and financial and technical resources. Purpose: This study assessed the capacity of small rural hospitals to implement medication safety…

Development of the Consumer Refrigerator Safety Questionnaire: A Measure of Consumer Perceptions and Practices.

PubMed

Cairnduff, Victoria; Dean, Moira; Koidis, Anastasios

2016-09-01

Food preparation and storage behaviors in the home deviating from the "best practice" food safety recommendations may result in foodborne illnesses. Currently, there are limited tools available to fully evaluate the consumer knowledge, perceptions, and behavior in the area of refrigerator safety. The current study aimed to develop a valid and reliable tool in the form of a questionnaire, the Consumer Refrigerator Safety Questionnaire (CRSQ), for assessing systematically all these aspects. Items relating to refrigerator safety knowledge (n =17), perceptions (n =46), and reported behavior (n =30) were developed and pilot tested by an expert reference group and various consumer groups to assess face and content validity (n =20), item difficulty and consistency (n =55), and construct validity (n =23). The findings showed that the CRSQ has acceptable face and content validity with acceptable levels of item difficulty. Item consistency was observed for 12 of 15 in refrigerator safety knowledge. Further, all 5 of the subscales of consumer perceptions of refrigerator safety practices relating to risk of developing foodborne disease showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α value > 0.8). Construct validity of the CRSQ was shown to be very good (P = 0.022). The CRSQ exhibited acceptable test-retest reliability at 14 days with the majority of knowledge items (93.3%) and reported behavior items (96.4%) having correlation coefficients of greater than 0.70. Overall, the CRSQ was deemed valid and reliable in assessing refrigerator safety knowledge and behavior; therefore, it has the potential for future use in identifying groups of individuals at increased risk of deviating from recommended refrigerator safety practices, as well as the assessment of refrigerator safety knowledge and behavior for use before and after an intervention.

Machinery safety of lathe machine using SHARP-systemic human action reliability procedure: a pilot case study in academic laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryoputro, M. R.; Sari, A. D.; Sugarindra, M.; Arifin, R.

2017-12-01

This research aimed to understand the human reliability analysis, to find the SHARP method with its functionality on case study and also emphasize the practice in Lathe machine, continued with identifying improvement that could be made to the existing safety system. SHARP comprises of 7 stages including definition, screening, breakdown, representation, impact assessment, quantification and documentation. These steps were combined and analysed using HIRA, FTA and FMEA. HIRA analysed the lathe at academic laboratory showed the level of the highest risk with a score of 9 for the activities of power transmission parts and a score of 6 for activities which shall mean the moving parts required to take action to reduce the level of risk. Hence, the highest RPN values obtained in the power transmission activities with a value of 18 in the power transmission and then the activities of moving parts is 12 and the activities of the operating point of 8. Thus, this activity has the highest risk of workplace accidents in the operation. On the academic laboratory the improvement made on the engineering control initially with a machine guarding and completed with necessary administrative controls (SOP, work permit, training and routine cleaning) and dedicated PPEs.

Practical, transparent prospective risk analysis for the clinical laboratory.

PubMed

Janssens, Pim Mw

2014-11-01

Prospective risk analysis (PRA) is an essential element in quality assurance for clinical laboratories. Practical approaches to conducting PRA in laboratories, however, are scarce. On the basis of the classical Failure Mode and Effect Analysis method, an approach to PRA was developed for application to key laboratory processes. First, the separate, major steps of the process under investigation are identified. Scores are then given for the Probability (P) and Consequence (C) of predefined types of failures and the chances of Detecting (D) these failures. Based on the P and C scores (on a 10-point scale), an overall Risk score (R) is calculated. The scores for each process were recorded in a matrix table. Based on predetermined criteria for R and D, it was determined whether a more detailed analysis was required for potential failures and, ultimately, where risk-reducing measures were necessary, if any. As an illustration, this paper presents the results of the application of PRA to our pre-analytical and analytical activities. The highest R scores were obtained in the stat processes, the most common failure type in the collective process steps was 'delayed processing or analysis', the failure type with the highest mean R score was 'inappropriate analysis' and the failure type most frequently rated as suboptimal was 'identification error'. The PRA designed is a useful semi-objective tool to identify process steps with potential failures rated as risky. Its systematic design and convenient output in matrix tables makes it easy to perform, practical and transparent. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Effects of a team-based assessment and intervention on patient safety culture in general practice: an open randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Hoffmann, B; Müller, V; Rochon, J; Gondan, M; Müller, B; Albay, Z; Weppler, K; Leifermann, M; Mießner, C; Güthlin, C; Parker, D; Hofinger, G; Gerlach, F M

2014-01-01

The measurement of safety culture in healthcare is generally regarded as a first step towards improvement. Based on a self-assessment of safety culture, the Frankfurt Patient Safety Matrix (FraTrix) aims to enable healthcare teams to improve safety culture in their organisations. In this study we assessed the effects of FraTrix on safety culture in general practice. We conducted an open randomised controlled trial in 60 general practices. FraTrix was applied over a period of 9 months during three facilitated team sessions in intervention practices. At baseline and after 12 months, scores were allocated for safety culture as expressed in practice structure and processes (indicators), in safety climate and in patient safety incident reporting. The primary outcome was the indicator error management. During the team sessions, practice teams reflected on their safety culture and decided on about 10 actions per practice to improve it. After 12 months, no significant differences were found between intervention and control groups in terms of error management (competing probability=0.48, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.63, p=0.823), 11 further patient safety culture indicators and safety climate scales. Intervention practices showed better reporting of patient safety incidents, reflected in a higher number of incident reports (mean (SD) 4.85 (4.94) vs 3.10 (5.42), p=0.045) and incident reports of higher quality (scoring 2.27 (1.93) vs 1.49 (1.67), p=0.038) than control practices. Applied as a team-based instrument to assess safety culture, FraTrix did not lead to measurable improvements in error management. Comparable studies with more positive results had less robust study designs. In future research, validated combined methods to measure safety culture will be required. In addition, more attention should be paid to evaluation of process parameters. Implemented actions and incident reporting may be more appropriate target endpoints. German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register

Creating Best Practices for the Submission of Actionable Food and Feed Testing Data Generated in State and Local Laboratories.

PubMed

Wangsness, Kathryn; Salfinger, Yvonne; Randolph, Robyn; Shea, Shari; Larson, Kirsten

2017-07-01

Laboratory accreditation provides a level of standardization in laboratories and confidence in generated food and feed testing results. For some laboratories, ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation may not be fiscally viable, or a requested test method may be out of the scope of the laboratory's accreditation. To assist laboratories for whom accreditation is not feasible, the Association of Public Health Laboratories Data Acceptance Work Group developed a white paper entitled "Best Practices for Submission of Actionable Food and Feed Testing Data Generated in State and Local Laboratories." The basic elements of a quality management system, along with other best practices that state and local food and feed testing laboratories should follow, are included in the white paper. It also covers program-specific requirements that may need to be addressed. Communication with programs and end data users is regarded as essential for establishing the reliability and accuracy of laboratory data. Following these suggested best practices can facilitate the acceptance of laboratory data, which can result in swift regulatory action and the quick removal of contaminated product from the food supply, improving public health nationally.

Status of Biology Laboratory and Practical Activities in Some Selected Secondary and Preparatory Schools of Borena Zone, South Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daba, Tolessa Muleta; Anbassa, Baressa; Oda, Bula Kere; Degefa, Itefa

2016-01-01

Science laboratory is a very important resource input for teaching science. Learning science is enhanced and the understanding level is improved when students are engaged in science laboratory for practical experiments. The current study aimed to assess the status of Biology laboratory and practical activities in some selected secondary and…

Policies and practices in haemostasis testing among laboratories in Croatia: a survey on behalf of a Working Group for Laboratory Coagulation of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine

PubMed Central

Bronić, Ana; Herak, Desiree Coen; Margetić, Sandra; Milić, Marija

2017-01-01

Introduction The objective of this survey was to assess current policies and practice in haemostasis testing among both hospital and outpatient laboratories in Republic of Croatia. Materials and methods A questionnaire with seventy questions divided into nine sections was created in May 2015. Participants were asked about their practice related to test request form, sample collection, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time assays, other individual haemostasis assays, point-of-care testing (POCT), reporting of coagulation tests results and quality assurance of procedures, the personnel and other laboratory resources, as well as on issues related to education and implementation of additional coagulation assays in their laboratory. The survey was administered and data were collected between June and September 2015. Results A total survey response rate was 104/170 (61.2%). Most respondents were faced with incomplete information on prescribed therapy and diagnosis on the test request or inappropriate samples withdrawn on distant locations, but also do not have protocols for handling samples with high haematocrit values. Reporting of PT-INR and D-dimer results was different between laboratories. Although almost all laboratories developed a critical value reporting system, reporting a value to general practitioners is still a problem. Result on coagulation POCT testing showed that not all devices were supervised by laboratories, which is not in compliance with Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemistry acts. Conclusion Obtained results highlighted areas that need improvement and different practice patterns in particular field of haemostasis testing among laboratories. A harmonization of the overall process of haemostasis testing at national level should be considered and undertaken. PMID:28392741

Spectroscopy 101: A Practical Introduction to Spectroscopy and Analysis for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrill, Lucas A.; Kammeyer, Jacquelin K.; Garg, Neil K.

2017-01-01

An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory that provides an introduction to various spectroscopic techniques is reported. Whereas organic spectroscopy is most often learned and practiced in the context of reaction analyses, this laboratory experiment allows students to become comfortable with [superscript 1]H NMR, [superscript 13]C NMR, and IR…

Decision-making in general practice: the effect of financial incentives on the use of laboratory analyses.

PubMed

Munkerud, Siri Fauli

2012-04-01

This paper examines the reaction of general practitioners (GPs) to a reform in 2004 in the remuneration system for using laboratory services in general practice. The purpose of this paper is to study whether income motivation exists regarding the use of laboratory services in general practice, and if so, the degree of income motivation among general practitioners (GPs) in Norway. We argue that the degree of income motivation is stronger when the physicians are uncertain about the utility of the laboratory service in question. We have panel data from actual physician-patient encounters in general practices in the years 2001-2004 and use discrete choice analysis and random effects models. Estimation results show that an increase in the fees will lead to a small but significant increase in use. The reform led to minor changes in the use of laboratory analyses in GPs' offices, and we argue that financial incentives were diluted because they were in conflict with medical recommendations and existing medical practice. The patient's age has the most influence and the results support the hypothesis that the impact of income increases with increasing uncertainty about diagnosis and treatment. The policy implication of our results is that financial incentives alone are not an effective tool for influencing the use of laboratory services in GPs' offices.

An audit of immunofixation requesting practices at a South African referral laboratory

PubMed Central

Rampursat, Yashna

2014-01-01

Background It is common practice in most chemical pathology laboratories for reflective immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) to occur following the detection or suspicion of a paraprotein on serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP). The chemical pathology laboratory at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH) in Durban, South Africa, is currently the only non-private laboratory in the KwaZulu Natal province that performs SPEP analysis, with current practice requiring that the clinician request IFE following suggestion by the laboratory after a suspicious SPEP result. Objectives To review the current process for IFE at IALCH in the context of reflective testing and to examine the use of the alpha-2-globulin/alpha-1-globulin ratio as a predictor of a positive IFE result. Methods Data for 1260 consecutive SPEP tests performed at the IALCH National Health Laboratory Service were collected between February and July 2011. SPEP and IFE were performed with a Sebia Hydrasys automated electrophoresis system. The alpha-2-globulin/alpha-1-globulin ratio was calculated using density of corresponding fractions on SPEP. Results Analysis revealed that of the 1260 SPEPs performed during the analysis period, 304 IFEs were suggested by the reviewing pathologist. A total of 45 (15%) of the suggested IFEs were subsequently requested by the attending clinicians. Almost half (46.5%) (n = 20) of the suggested IFEs that were performed revealed the presence of a paraprotein. There was no statistically-significant difference between the alpha-2-globulin/alpha-1-globulin ratio for patients with positive or negative IFEs (p-value = 0.2). Conclusions This study reveals the need for reflective addition of IFE testing by the laboratory following suspicious findings on SPEP. PMID:29043173

Knowledge, attitude and practice of medical laboratory practitioners in the fight against Ebola virus disease.

PubMed

Hamid, Kabir M; Yusuf, Ibrahim; Onoja, Bernard A; Koki, Abdullahi Y

2018-01-01

Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was an enormous public health challenge. Nigeria was able to contain the spread of the virus with a concerted effort and an effective public health response in terms of identification of contacts, rapid laboratory diagnosis, quarantine and symptomatic treatment. We determined the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical laboratory practitioners (MLPs) in this post-Ebola epidemic era. This cross-sectional study was carried out in eight hospitals in Kano State for 6 months, between January and June 2016. It involved medical laboratory scientists (MLS), medical laboratory technicians (MLT) and medical laboratory assistants (MLA). Questionnaires were administered and analysed. Of the 75 participants, mean knowledge score was 5.54 (standard deviation [SD] ±1.44) while the mean attitude score was 13.72 ±2.80, and mean practice score was 3.10 ±0.80. Mean age of participants was 36.82 ± 8.07 years. There was full awareness of EVD among all 75 participants; however, many medical laboratory practitioners (52.7%) did not know EVD prevention methods. The majority (86.1%) knew the source of disease outbreak and most MLPs (66.7%) practised improper hand washing to prevent Ebola transmission. In addition, they had a negative attitude and practice towards EVD. Of 71 MLPs, 52 (73.2%) strongly disagreed that a traditional remedy was preferable in EVD treatment. Fear of EVD among MLPs has declined.

Enhancing the Student Experience of Laboratory Practicals through Digital Video Guides

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croker, Karen; Andersson, Holger; Lush, David; Prince, Rob; Gomez, Stephen

2010-01-01

Laboratory-based learning allows students to experience bioscience principles first hand. In our experience, practical content and equipment may have changed over time, but teaching methods largely remain the same, typically involving; whole class introduction with a demonstration, students emulating the demonstration in small groups, gathering…

77 FR 16551 - Standards for Private Laboratory Analytical Packages and Introduction to Laboratory Related...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

... Food Modernization Safety Act for Private Laboratory Managers AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS... Food Modernization Safety Act for Private Laboratory Managers.'' The topic to be discussed is the...

[Errors in laboratory daily practice].

PubMed

Larrose, C; Le Carrer, D

2007-01-01

Legislation set by GBEA (Guide de bonne exécution des analyses) requires that, before performing analysis, the laboratory directors have to check both the nature of the samples and the patients identity. The data processing of requisition forms, which identifies key errors, was established in 2000 and in 2002 by the specialized biochemistry laboratory, also with the contribution of the reception centre for biological samples. The laboratories follow a strict criteria of defining acceptability as a starting point for the reception to then check requisition forms and biological samples. All errors are logged into the laboratory database and analysis report are sent to the care unit specifying the problems and the consequences they have on the analysis. The data is then assessed by the laboratory directors to produce monthly or annual statistical reports. This indicates the number of errors, which are then indexed to patient files to reveal the specific problem areas, therefore allowing the laboratory directors to teach the nurses and enable corrective action.

Salaries and compensation practices in public health, environmental, and agricultural laboratories: findings from a 2010 national survey.

PubMed

DeBoy, John M; Boulton, Matthew L; Carpenter, David F

2013-01-01

The public health, environmental, and agricultural laboratory (PHEAL) workforce is a key component of the public health infrastructure. The national laboratory workforce faces an ongoing challenge of recruitment and retention of workers often related to pay and other compensation issues. To collect information on laboratory salaries and laboratory compensation practices using a national compensation survey targeting the PHEAL workforce. Seventy-three of 109 (67%) PHEAL directors in the 50 states and District of Columbia collectively employ 3723/4830 (77%) PHEAL employees in the United States. A standardized survey was developed and administered in 2010. Compensation data were compiled by job classification, geographic region, laboratory gross operating budget size, laboratory staff size, and laboratory type. Laboratory staff size ranged from 3 to 327 individuals (mean = 74 and median = 51). Median base salaries were lowest in the Southwest and South and highest in the Mountain and Pacific regions. Mean and median laboratory gross operating budgets for all participating PHEALs were $8 609 238 and $5 671 500, respectively. Extra cash compensation, used by 8 of 60 (13.3%) PHEALs, was more likely to go to a scientist-manager or scientist-supervisor. In 2010, a standardized national compensation survey of technical and scientific public health employees working in 73 PHEALs was effective in collecting previously unavailable data about laboratory salaries, laboratory budgets, and payroll practices. Laboratory salaries varied by geographic region and there was an uneven distribution of extra cash compensation among job classifications. The compensation data collected may be useful in characterizing and improving laboratory salary structures and practices to better support workforce recruitment and retention.

A Survey of the Practices, Procedures, and Techniques in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Teaching Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Christopher B.; Schmidt, Monica; Soniat, Michael

2011-01-01

A survey was conducted of four-year institutions that teach undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories in the United States. The data include results from over 130 schools, describes the current practices at these institutions, and discusses the statistical results such as the scale of the laboratories performed, the chemical techniques applied,…

Safety risks with investigational drugs: Pharmacy practices and perceptions in the veterans affairs health system.

PubMed

Cruz, Jennifer L; Brown, Jamie N

2015-06-01

Rigorous practices for safe dispensing of investigational drugs are not standardized. This investigation sought to identify error-prevention processes utilized in the provision of investigational drug services (IDS) and to characterize pharmacists' perceptions about safety risks posed by investigational drugs. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to an audience of IDS pharmacists within the Veteran Affairs Health System. Multiple facets were examined including demographics, perceptions of medication safety, and standard processes used to support investigational drug protocols. Twenty-one respondents (32.8% response rate) from the Northeast, Midwest, South, West, and Non-contiguous United States participated. The mean number of pharmacist full-time equivalents (FTEs) dedicated to the IDS was 0.77 per site with 0.2 technician FTEs. The mean number of active protocols was 22. Seventeen respondents (81%) indicated some level of concern for safety risks. Concerns related to the packaging of medications were expressed, most notably lack of product differentiation, expiration dating, barcodes, and choice of font size or color. Regarding medication safety practices, the majority of sites had specific procedures in place for storing and securing drug supply, temperature monitoring, and prescription labeling. Repackaging bulk items and proactive error-identification strategies were less common. Sixty-seven percent of respondents reported that an independent double check was not routinely performed. Medication safety concerns exist among pharmacists in an investigational drug service; however, a variety of measures have been employed to improve medication safety practices. Best practices for the safe dispensing of investigational medications should be developed in order to standardize these error-prevention strategies.

Safety risks with investigational drugs: Pharmacy practices and perceptions in the veterans affairs health system

PubMed Central

Brown, Jamie N.

2015-01-01

Objectives: Rigorous practices for safe dispensing of investigational drugs are not standardized. This investigation sought to identify error-prevention processes utilized in the provision of investigational drug services (IDS) and to characterize pharmacists’ perceptions about safety risks posed by investigational drugs. Methods: An electronic questionnaire was distributed to an audience of IDS pharmacists within the Veteran Affairs Health System. Multiple facets were examined including demographics, perceptions of medication safety, and standard processes used to support investigational drug protocols. Results: Twenty-one respondents (32.8% response rate) from the Northeast, Midwest, South, West, and Non-contiguous United States participated. The mean number of pharmacist full-time equivalents (FTEs) dedicated to the IDS was 0.77 per site with 0.2 technician FTEs. The mean number of active protocols was 22. Seventeen respondents (81%) indicated some level of concern for safety risks. Concerns related to the packaging of medications were expressed, most notably lack of product differentiation, expiration dating, barcodes, and choice of font size or color. Regarding medication safety practices, the majority of sites had specific procedures in place for storing and securing drug supply, temperature monitoring, and prescription labeling. Repackaging bulk items and proactive error-identification strategies were less common. Sixty-seven percent of respondents reported that an independent double check was not routinely performed. Conclusions: Medication safety concerns exist among pharmacists in an investigational drug service; however, a variety of measures have been employed to improve medication safety practices. Best practices for the safe dispensing of investigational medications should be developed in order to standardize these error-prevention strategies. PMID:26240744

Good Laboratory Practice Preclinical Safety Studies for GSK2696273 (MLV Vector-Based Ex Vivo Gene Therapy for Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency Severe Combined Immunodeficiency) in NSG Mice.

PubMed

Carriglio, Nicola; Klapwijk, Jan; Hernandez, Raisa Jofra; Vezzoli, Michela; Chanut, Franck; Lowe, Rhiannon; Draghici, Elena; Nord, Melanie; Albertini, Paola; Cristofori, Patrizia; Richards, Jane; Staton, Hazel; Appleby, Jonathan; Aiuti, Alessandro; Sauer, Aisha V

2017-03-01

GSK2696273 (autologous CD34+ cells transduced with retroviral vector that encodes for the human adenosine deaminase [ADA] enzyme) is a gamma-retroviral ex vivo gene therapy of bone marrow-derived CD34+ cells for the treatment of adenosine deaminase deficiency severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID). ADA-SCID is a severe monogenic disease characterized by immunologic and nonimmunologic symptoms. Bone-marrow transplant from a matched related donor is the treatment of choice, but it is available for only a small proportion of patients. Ex vivo gene therapy of patient bone-marrow CD34+ cells is an alternative treatment. In order to prepare for a marketing authorization application in the European Union, preclinical safety studies in mice were requested by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A pilot study and a main biodistribution study were performed according to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy test facility. In the main study, human umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived CD34+ cells were transduced with gamma-retroviral vector used in the production of GSK2696273. Groups of 10 male and 10 female NOD-SCID gamma (NSG) mice were injected intravenously with a single dose of transduced- or mock-transduced UCB CD34+ cells, and they were observed for 4 months. Engraftment and multilineage differentiation of blood cells was observed in the majority of animals in both groups. There was no significant difference in the level of chimerism between the two groups. In the gene therapy group, vector was detectable in lymphohemopoietic and nonlymphohemopoietic tissues, consistent with the presence of gene-modified human hematopoietic donor cells. Given the absence of relevant safety concerns in the data, the nonclinical studies and the clinical experience with GSK2696273 supported a successful application for market authorization in the European Union for the treatment of ADA-SCID patients, for whom no suitable human leukocyte

Industrial Hygiene Laboratory accreditation: The JSC experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fadner, Dawn E.

1993-01-01

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is a society of professionals dedicated to the health and safety of workers and community. With more than 10,000 members, the AIHA is the largest international association serving occupational and environmental health professionals practicing industrial hygiene in private industry, academia, government, labor, and independent organizations. In 1973, AIHA developed a National Industrial Hygiene Laboratory Accreditation Program. The purposes of this program are shown.

Effects of organizational safety practices and perceived safety climate on PPE usage, engineering controls, and adverse events involving liquid antineoplastic drugs among nurses.

PubMed

DeJoy, David M; Smith, Todd D; Woldu, Henok; Dyal, Mari-Amanda; Steege, Andrea L; Boiano, James M

2017-07-01

Antineoplastic drugs pose risks to the healthcare workers who handle them. This fact notwithstanding, adherence to safe handling guidelines remains inconsistent and often poor. This study examined the effects of pertinent organizational safety practices and perceived safety climate on the use of personal protective equipment, engineering controls, and adverse events (spill/leak or skin contact) involving liquid antineoplastic drugs. Data for this study came from the 2011 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health and Safety Practices Survey of Healthcare Workers which included a sample of approximately 1,800 nurses who had administered liquid antineoplastic drugs during the past seven days. Regression modeling was used to examine predictors of personal protective equipment use, engineering controls, and adverse events involving antineoplastic drugs. Approximately 14% of nurses reported experiencing an adverse event while administering antineoplastic drugs during the previous week. Usage of recommended engineering controls and personal protective equipment was quite variable. Usage of both was better in non-profit and government settings, when workers were more familiar with safe handling guidelines, and when perceived management commitment to safety was higher. Usage was poorer in the absence of specific safety handling procedures. The odds of adverse events increased with number of antineoplastic drugs treatments and when antineoplastic drugs were administered more days of the week. The odds of such events were significantly lower when the use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment was greater and when more precautionary measures were in place. Greater levels of management commitment to safety and perceived risk were also related to lower odds of adverse events. These results point to the value of implementing a comprehensive health and safety program that utilizes available hazard controls and effectively communicates

Embedding technology into inter-professional best practices in home safety evaluation.

PubMed

Burns, Suzanne Perea; Pickens, Noralyn Davel

2017-08-01

To explore inter-professional home evaluators' perspectives and needs for building useful and acceptable decision-support tools for the field of home modifications. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of home modification professionals from different regions of the United States. The interview transcripts were analyzed with a qualitative, descriptive, perspective approach. Technology supports current best practice and has potential to inform decision making through features that could enhance home evaluation processes, quality, efficiency and inter-professional communication. Technological advances with app design have created numerous opportunities for the field of home modifications. Integrating technology and inter-professional best practices will improve home safety evaluation and intervention development to meet client-centred and societal needs. Implications for rehabilitation Understanding home evaluators technology needs for home safety evaluations contributes to the development of app-based assessments. Integrating inter-professional perspectives of best practice and technological needs in an app for home assessments improves processes. Novice and expert home evaluators would benefit from decision support systems embedded in app-based assessments. Adoption of app-based assessment would improve efficiency while remaining client-centred.

Alternative Realities: Faculty and Student Perceptions of Instructional Practices in Laboratory Courses

PubMed Central

Beck, Christopher W.; Blumer, Lawrence S.

2016-01-01

Curricular reform efforts depend on our ability to determine how courses are taught and how instructional practices affect student outcomes. In this study, we developed a 30-question survey on inquiry-based learning and assessment in undergraduate laboratory courses that was administered to 878 students in 54 courses (41 introductory level and 13 upper level) from 20 institutions (four community colleges, 11 liberal arts colleges, and five universities, of which four were minority-serving institutions). On the basis of an exploratory factor analysis, we defined five constructs: metacognition, feedback and assessment, scientific synthesis, science process skills, and instructor-directed teaching. Using our refined survey of 24 items, we compared student and faculty perceptions of instructional practices both across courses and across instructors. In general, faculty and student perceptions were not significantly related. Although mean perceptions were often similar, faculty perceptions were more variable than those of students, suggesting that faculty may have more nuanced views than students. In addition, student perceptions of some instructional practices were influenced by their previous experience in laboratory courses and their self-efficacy. As student outcomes, such as learning gains, are ultimately most important, future research should examine the degree to which faculty and student perceptions of instructional practices predict student outcomes in different contexts. PMID:27810867

Can TTIP Improve Laboratory Animal Welfare in Safety Testing and 3Rs?

PubMed

Busquet, Francois; Zurlo, Joanne; Hartung, Thomas

2016-05-01

In the context of the current negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United States under the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP), there is the opportunity to look at both legislative frameworks to better pinpoint convergences, synergies, and gaps when it comes to use of laboratory animals for scientific purposes and bring together the best of both worlds. The objectives in this article are to indicate what are the current EU pieces of legislation that are relevant under TTIP regarding the uses of laboratory animals for scientific purposes under the regulations about cosmetics and chemicals, among others. The same approach will be taken to look at the relevant American legal frameworks, that is, the Food and Cosmetics Act and the Toxic Safety Control Act as well as its most recent reauthorization. In conclusion, the authors will identify future frameworks that can contribute to the harmonization of regulatory standards and further steps where TTIP negotiators should strengthen regulatory cooperation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Practical Risk Assessment Methodology for Safety-Critical Train Control Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-07-01

This project proposes a Practical Risk Assessment Methodology (PRAM) for analyzing railroad accident data and assessing the risk and benefit of safety-critical train control systems. This report documents in simple steps the algorithms and data input...

Independence as a practice issue in occupational therapy: the safety clause.

PubMed

Russell, Cherry; Fitzgerald, Maureen H; Williamson, Peter; Manor, Debra; Whybrow, Samantha

2002-01-01

This article reports findings from interviews that explored the meanings occupational therapists attach to independence as a value and a therapeutic goal in interactions with elderly clients. Through a historical review of the literature, we trace the changing use of this term and identify two analytically distinct concepts associated with it: independence as self-reliance in activity and independence as autonomy, self-determination, or choice. We show how the latter has emerged in contemporary service contexts to represent an ideal of client-centered practice for persons with chronic disabilities, such as frail elderly clients. Using a "critical incident" interview approach with 12 Australian occupational therapists, we identified the therapists' explicit and implicit understandings of independence as a value concept and practice issue. Our findings suggest that a mismatch often exists between idealized and practice-based talk about independence and that therapists narrativize this opposition around what we call "the safety clause." That is, therapists invoke concerns about safety and duty of care as a caveat to implementing their independence ideals and justifying the retention of professional control. We identify key issues that therapists need to address if the rhetoric of independence-related client-centered practice is to be achieved in reality.

Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers

PubMed Central

Lee, Hui Key; Abdul Halim, Hishamuddin; Thong, Kwai Lin; Chai, Lay Ching

2017-01-01

Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) of food safety assessment and microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands as an indicator of hygiene practices in food premises. This study involved 85 food handlers working in a university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food safety KAP among food handlers (n = 67) was assessed using a questionnaire; while the hand swabs (n = 85) were tested for the total aerobic count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The food handlers had moderate levels of food safety knowledge (61.7%) with good attitude (51.9/60) and self-reported practices (53.2/60). It is noteworthy that the good self-reported practices were not reflected in the microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands, in which 65% of the food handlers examined had a total aerobic count ≥20 CFU/cm2 and Salmonella was detected on 48% of the food handlers’ hands. In conclusion, the suggestion of this study was that the food handlers had adequate food safety knowledge, but perceived knowledge failed to be translated into practices at work.

A multi-disciplinary approach to medication safety and the implication for nursing education and practice.

PubMed

Adhikari, Radha; Tocher, Jennifer; Smith, Pam; Corcoran, Janet; MacArthur, Juliet

2014-02-01

Medication management is a complex multi-stage and multi-disciplinary process, involving doctors, pharmacists, nurses and patients. Errors can occur at any stage from prescribing, dispensing and administering, to recording and reporting. There are a number of safety mechanisms built into the medication management system and it is recognised that nurses are the final stage of defence. However, medication error still remains a major challenge to patient safety globally. This paper aims to illustrate two main aspects of medication safety practices that have been elicited from an action research study in a Scottish Health Board and three local Higher Education Institutions: firstly current medication safety practices in two clinical settings; and secondly pre and post-registration nursing education and teaching on medication safety. This paper is based on Phase One and Two of an Action Research project. An ethnography-style observational method, influenced by an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach was adapted to study the everyday medication management systems and practices of two hospital wards. This was supplemented by seven in-depth interviews with nursing staff, numerous informal discussions with healthcare professionals, two focus-groups, one peer-interview and two in-depth individual interviews with final year nursing students from three Higher Education Institutions in Scotland. This paper highlights the current positive practical efforts in medication safety practices in the chosen clinical areas. Nursing staff do employ the traditional 'five right' principles - right patient, right medication, right dose, right route and right time - for safe administration. Nursing students are taught these principles in their pre-registration nursing education. However, there are some other challenges remaining: these include the establishment of a complete medication history (reconciliation) when patients come to hospital, the provision of an in-depth training in

Innovative intersection safety improvement strategies and management practices : a domestic scan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

Intersection safety is and has been a major program at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). : As a means to share best practices used in various locations, the FHWA and selected representatives : of the transportation community conducted a dome...

The Pathology Laboratory Act 2007 explained.

PubMed

Looi, Lai-Meng

2008-06-01

The past century has seen tremendous changes in the scope and practice of pathology laboratories in tandem with the development of the medical services in Malaysia. Major progress was made in the areas of training and specialization of pathologists and laboratory technical staff. Today the pathology laboratory services have entered the International arena, and are propelled along the wave of globalization. Many new challenges have emerged as have new players in the field. Landmark developments over the past decade include the establishment of national quality assurance programmes, the mushrooming of private pathology laboratories, the establishment of a National Accreditation Standard for medical testing laboratories based on ISO 15189, and the passing of the Pathology Laboratory Act in Parliament in mid-2007. The Pathology Laboratory Act 2007 seeks to ensure that the pathology laboratory is accountable to the public, meets required standards of practice, participates in Quality Assurance programmes, is run by qualified staff, complies with safety requirements and is subject to continuous audit. The Act is applicable to all private laboratories (stand alone or hospital) and laboratories in statutory bodies (Universities, foundations). It is not applicable to public laboratories (established and operated by the government) and side-room laboratories established in clinics of registered medical or dental practitioners for their own patients (tests as in the First and Second Schedules respectively). Tests of the Third Schedule (home test blood glucose, urine glucose, urine pregnancy test) are also exempted. The Act has 13 Parts and provides for control of the pathology laboratory through approval (to establish and maintain) and licensing (to operate or provide). The approval or license may only be issued to a sole proprietor, partnership or body corporate, and then only if the entity includes a registered medical practitioner. Details of personnel qualifications and

A mixed methods study of food safety knowledge, practices and beliefs in Hispanic families with young children.

PubMed

Stenger, Kristen M; Ritter-Gooder, Paula K; Perry, Christina; Albrecht, Julie A

2014-12-01

Children are at a higher risk for foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to explore food safety knowledge, beliefs and practices among Hispanic families with young children (≤10 years of age) living within a Midwestern state. A convergent mixed methods design collected qualitative and quantitative data in parallel. Food safety knowledge surveys were administered (n = 90) prior to exploration of beliefs and practices among six focus groups (n = 52) conducted by bilingual interpreters in community sites in five cities/towns. Descriptive statistics determined knowledge scores and thematic coding unveiled beliefs and practices. Data sets were merged to assess concordance. Participants were female (96%), 35.7 (±7.6) years of age, from Mexico (69%), with the majority having a low education level. Food safety knowledge was low (56% ± 11). Focus group themes were: Ethnic dishes popular, Relating food to illness, Fresh food in home country, Food safety practices, and Face to face learning. Mixed method analysis revealed high self confidence in preparing food safely with low safe food handling knowledge and the presence of some cultural beliefs. On-site Spanish classes and materials were preferred venues for food safety education. Bilingual food safety messaging targeting common ethnic foods and cultural beliefs and practices is indicated to lower the risk of foodborne illness in Hispanic families with young children. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Good Laboratory Practices of Materials Testing at NASA White Sands Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirsch, David; Williams, James H.

2005-01-01

An approach to good laboratory practices of materials testing at NASA White Sands Test Facility is presented. The contents include: 1) Current approach; 2) Data analysis; and 3) Improvements sought by WSTF to enhance the diagnostic capability of existing methods.

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: Procedures for Laboratory Destruction of Chemicals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKusick, Blaine C.

1984-01-01

Discusses a National Research Council report which summarizes what laboratories need to know about Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation regulations that apply to laboratory waste. The report provides guidelines for establishing and operating waste management systems for laboratories and gives specific advice on waste…

Understanding safety data sheets as a strategy to protect humans and the environment at the laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elza, Rizkiawalia; Suherman, Suherman

2018-02-01

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) gave important information for safe chemicals handling and widely used in communicating chemical hazards. Laboratory as one of the places associated with the consumption of a number of chemicals, then the worker in laboratory have to know the information chemicals used. The purpose of this research is to know the perception and understanding of workers in a laboratory toward SDS. The quantitative research was used and the collect data by questionnaire using Likert scale, then analyzed descriptively. The total sample of data was twenty-seven of laboratory worker people. The finding from this study showed that a great majority of people agree SDS has benefits for workers in the laboratory, agree the SDS should be available in the workplace, feel the need to know the contents of the SDS, but not so many people agree `I access SDS while working using chemicals' and great majority of people feel `I obtained chemical information other than SDS'.

Safety assessment in primary Mycobacterium tuberculosis smear microscopy centres in Blantyre Malawi: a facility based cross sectional survey.

PubMed

Majamanda, J; Ndhlovu, P; Shawa, I T

2013-12-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is transmitted mainly through aerosolization of infected sputum which puts laboratory workers at risk in spite of the laboratory workers' risk of infection being at 3 to 9 times higher than the general public. Laboratory safety should therefore be prioritized and optimized to provide sufficient safety to laboratory workers. To assess the safety for the laboratory workers in TB primary microscopy centres in Blantyre urban. TB primary microscopy centers in Blantyre urban were assessed in aspects of equipment availability, facility layout, and work practice, using a standardized WHO/AFRO ISO 15189 checklist for the developing countries which sets the minimum safety score at ≥80%. Each center was graded according to the score it earned upon assessment. Only one (1) microscopy center out nine (9) reached the minimum safety requirement. Four (4) centers were awarded 1 star level, four (4) centers were awarded 2 star level and only one (1) center was awarded 3 star level. In Blantyre urban, 89% of the Tuberculosis microscopy centers are failing to provide the minimum safety to the laboratory workers. Government and other stake holders should be committed in addressing the safety challenges of TB microscopy centres in the country to ensure safety for the laboratory workers. It is recommended that the study be conducted at the regional or national level for both public and private laboratories in order to have a general picture of safety in Tb microscopy centres possibly across the country.

Quality assurance practices in Europe: a survey of molecular genetic testing laboratories

PubMed Central

Berwouts, Sarah; Fanning, Katrina; Morris, Michael A; Barton, David E; Dequeker, Elisabeth

2012-01-01

In the 2000s, a number of initiatives were taken internationally to improve quality in genetic testing services. To contribute to and update the limited literature available related to this topic, we surveyed 910 human molecular genetic testing laboratories, of which 291 (32%) from 29 European countries responded. The majority of laboratories were in the public sector (81%), affiliated with a university hospital (60%). Only a minority of laboratories was accredited (23%), and 26% was certified. A total of 22% of laboratories did not participate in external quality assessment (EQA) and 28% did not use reference materials (RMs). The main motivations given for accreditation were to improve laboratory profile (85%) and national recognition (84%). Nearly all respondents (95%) would prefer working in an accredited laboratory. In accredited laboratories, participation in EQA (P<0.0001), use of RMs (P=0.0014) and availability of continuous education (CE) on medical/scientific subjects (P=0.023), specific tasks (P=0.0018), and quality assurance (P<0.0001) were significantly higher than in non-accredited laboratories. Non-accredited laboratories expect higher restriction of development of new techniques (P=0.023) and improvement of work satisfaction (P=0.0002) than accredited laboratories. By using a quality implementation score (QIS), we showed that accredited laboratories (average score 92) comply better than certified laboratories (average score 69, P<0.001), and certified laboratories better than other laboratories (average score 44, P<0.001), with regard to the implementation of quality indicators. We conclude that quality practices vary widely in European genetic testing laboratories. This leads to a potentially dangerous situation in which the quality of genetic testing is not consistently assured. PMID:22739339

Safety Education and Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center