Environmental Health and Safety Studies Questions Essay

Environmental Health and Safety Studies Questions - Essay Example Indirect costs that relate to workplace accidents and injuries include the damage to the tools and equipment used by the worker, the loss of time and the cost of hiring and training other new employees that would be a replacement for the injured employee on either temporary or permanent basis. Other costs include the possibility of rise of insurance premiums as a result of the accident. The indirect costs may sometimes rise to as much as 3 to 4 times that of direct costs. This, however, depends on the type of accident that occurred. It is impossible to be accurate in determination of actual costs given the uniqueness of each injury type. The type of occupation will help determine the likelihood of a risk occurring, as some occupations expose the workers to much more risk than others. All the same, all jobs expose the employees to risk to certain degrees regardless of one’s occupation. Employers who employ workers in jobs which expose them to high risk would likely incur much more cost than those who involve in jobs with little risk. In addition, organizations having safety programs have low incidents of accidents, increased productivity and higher worker moral and motivation. Other costs include legal fees in cases where employees sue the company, cost of implementation of accident reduction standards and the cost of conducting investigations. Lastly, since safety training may be instituted following accidents, operations are slowed and therefore profits are reduced. When an employee violates safety rules for the first time, they are summoned and a discussion is held with them over the matter. They are instructed over the proper procedures and the particular hazards that they control. The instance is kept as a notification in the file of the supervisor. The advance of technology is likely to completely change the profession of occupational health and

Research write up for publication in a UK nursing journal from an Essay

Research write up for publication in a UK nursing journal from an already written disertation - Essay Example Methods: An ethnographic approach was the basis of the research undertaken. This approach allows an understanding from an insider’s perspective that focuses on the interactions that occur and lead to the assessment of hand washing. In keeping with the requirements of the approach a sampling plan was devised. Intrusive data collection methods were eliminated from use. Four care homes from within two primary care trusts were selected from the care homes that volunteered for the study. The sampling process for participants was the same for each of the four participating care homes. The participants included both qualified nursing staff and care assistants. Observation and interviews were the means by which data was collected. Domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis and theme analysis was used to analyse the data collected. Findings: Management styles had a significant impact on the socio-cultural influence on the decisions with regard to hand washing. Where management styles were authoritative and interfered in all aspects of the functioning, thus reducing the autonomy of the nursing staff there was a negative impact on the socio-cultural influences and thereby a negative attitude towards hand washing. Where the management styles offered greater autonomy in the functioning of the nursing staff and encouraged discussions on hand washing a positive impact on the socio-cultural influences was clearly visible and accordingly a higher importance given to hand washing. Conclusions: Lack of motivation is not the reason for health care workers not performing hand decontamination risk assessment. It is the social and cultural environment that the health care worker is in that decides the performance of hand decontamination risk assessment. The more amenable the environment the more favourable the impact upon the ability to perform the decision