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Biomedical subjects

J H Verbeek

Publications and source records attributed to J H Verbeek.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Do smokers get more back pain?

Recently smoking has been increasingly implicated as a possible risk factor for low-back pain. One explanation for this finding is confounding by occupation. To investigate this possibility, the relationship between smoking and self-reported back pain was studied within 13 occupations. A relationship between smoking and back pain was observed only in occupations that require physical exertion. The relationship between smoking and other musculoskeletal pain also was explored. Pain in the extremities turned out to be related more clearly to smoking than to pain in the neck or the back. This suggests confounding or a general influence of smoking on pain. It is concluded that prevention of back pain could be a beneficial side-effect of anti-smoking campaigns. However, the prime target for prevention of low-back pain would have to be other factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Quality assessment of occupational health services instruments.

Interest in the quality of instruments for occupational health services is growing as a result of European legislation on preventive services stressing, for example, risk identification and assessment. The quality of the services can be enhanced when the quality of the applied instruments can be judged and improved. To judge quality aspects of instruments, a basic draft scheme and criteria are presented. A first category of criteria covers measurement objective and study design and comprises for example sample strategy and data aggregation level. Technical quality aspects are validity, reliability, standardization and precision. Acceptability of an instrument by employees, employers and professionals belongs to the process quality. At last, strategic quality or presumed utility has to be assessed. As an illustration four instruments have been judged: periodic occupational health surveys, pre-employment medicals, the company audit on work and health, and specific working conditions assessment instruments. Finally the presented basic scheme and criteria are brought into discussion.

Europe↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of an occupational health care programme: negative results, positive results or a failure?

Among personnel of the city of Amsterdam the incidence of disability as a result of musculoskeletal problems amounts to 15 per 1000 person-years in the refuse collecting department. A disability prevention programme in accordance with literature was started to decrease this high incidence of disability. In the process-evaluation after 2 years from the start of the project it turned out that only three of the ten preventive measures advocated were realized. These meagre results were explained by strategic factors such as lack of motivation among management and the fact that policy on worker health protection was isolated from the overall company policy. Recommendations for future evaluation research are given.

Humans↗
PubMed1993

Development and evaluation of an occupational health services programme on the prevention and control of effects of vibration.

The outline of a study in occupational health services (OHS) on the prevention and control of effects of whole-body vibration is described and preliminary results are presented here. The study comprises an inventory of current activities of occupational health services in vibration-related issues, the development of a specific OHS-programme and evaluation of this programme, mainly on process level. Results of the inventory, a questionnaire survey in occupational health services (n = 112, response 67%), show that the impact of OHS in prevention and control of adverse health effects is small. The development and evaluation of a specific OHS-programme may be useful in setting up a preventive approach. Some methodologic problems are discussed also.

Health Surveys↗
PubMed1987

Non-auditory effects of noise in industry. IV. A field study on industrial noise and blood pressure.

Audiometry and casual blood pressure measurements were carried out among industrial workers exposed to noise levels exceeding 80 dB(A). Workers with long-term noise exposure had increased blood pressure, after correction for age. Only a weak correlation was observed between noise-induced hearing loss and the corrected blood pressure. The influence of other working conditions and of the relative body weight could not be evaluated.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1987

Non-auditory effects of noise in industry. V. A field study in a shipyard.

Workers of a shipbuilding and a machine shop department of a shipyard, with average noise levels of 98 dB(A) and 85.5 dB(A) respectively, were compared with respect to auditory and non-auditory effects. The distribution of years of noise exposure and of age was similar in both departments. No difference in blood pressure was observed after correction for age and relative body weight, however, the cross-sectional study design may have obscured a relationship. Analysis of other adverse working conditions could not explain the absence of a relationship between noise exposure and blood pressure. Noise-induced hearing loss and noise annoyance were observed far more frequently in the shipbuilding department in comparison with the machine shop. There were no differences in the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Non-auditory effects of noise in industry. III. Secondary analysis of a national survey.

A secondary analysis of data from a national survey was carried out in order to assess the number of industrial workers exposed to noise and other adverse working conditions. This permitted us to study correlations with parameters of health. More than half of the male blue collar workers in industry and building trades (sample n = 311) reported a great deal of noise. Dirty work and strenuous physical activity were also frequently mentioned. Noise exposure is often present together with exposure to stench and dirty and dangerous work. A weak correlation exists between reported noise exposure and experienced ill-being and diminished satisfaction with their own health. This observed relationship probably underestimates the true risks.

Adult↗