Anne Drummond

Fractions of cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders attributable to job strain

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate fractions of diseases attributable to job strain defined using Karasek’s model among the French working population for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), mental disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD).MethodsJob strain was defined as the combination of high psychological demands and low decision latitude. The prevalence of exposure (Pe) was estimated using the representative national sample of 24,486 employees of the French SUMER survey. Relative risks (RR) were estimated from a literature review (1990–2008) using the same inclusion criteria for the three health outcomes. Pe and RR estimates were used to calculate attributable fractions (AF).ResultsPe estimates were 19.6% for men, 28.2% for women, and 23.2% for men and women combined. The literature review led to a selection of 13 studies for CVD, 7 studies for mental disorders, and 11 studies for MSD. RR estimates were 0.63–2.45 for CVD (morbidity and mortality), 1.2–3.3 for mental disorders, and 0.94–2.3 for MSD. AF estimates for CVD morbidity were 4.9–21.5% for men, 0–15.9% for women, and 6.5–25.2% for men and women combined, for CVD mortality 7.9–21.5% for men, 2.5% for women, and 6.5–25.2% for men and women combined, for mental disorders 10.2–31.1% for men, 5.3–33.6% for women, and 6.5% for men and women combined, and for MSD 0–19.6% for men, 0–26.8% for women, and 3.4–19.9% for men and women combined.ConclusionThis study is the first one to provide fractions of diseases attributable to job strain for three health outcomes in France on the basis of a systematic review of the literature. These results could contribute to the estimation of the economic cost of diseases attributable to job strain.

Workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use: the mediating role of physical and mental health status

OBJECTIVES The association between workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use is not well established. This study was aimed at exploring the association between workplace bullying, and its characteristics, and psychotropic drug use and studying the mediating role of physical and mental health. METHODS The study population consisted of a random sample of 3132 men and 4562 women of the working population in the south-east of France. Workplace bullying, evaluated using the validated instrument elaborated by Leymann, and psychotropic drug use, as well as covariates, were measured using a self-administered questionnaire. Covariates included age, marital status, presence of children, education, occupation, working hours, night work, physico-chemical exposures at work, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis and was carried out separately for men and women. RESULTS Workplace bullying was strongly associated with psychotropic drug use. Past exposure to bullying increased the risk for this use. The more frequent and the longer the exposure to bullying, the stronger the association with psychotropic drug use. Observing bullying on someone else at the workplace was associated with psychotropic drug use. Adjustment for covariates did not modify the results. Additional adjustment for self-reported health and depressive symptoms reduced the magnitude of the associations, especially for men. CONCLUSIONS The association between bullying and psychotropic drug use was found to be significant and strong and was partially mediated by physical and mental health.

The use of data mining in the design and implementation of an incident report retrieval system

Incident reporting is becoming increasingly important in large organizations. Legislation is progressively being introduced to deal with this information. One example is the European Directive No. 94/95/EC, which obliges airlines and national bodies to collect and collate reports of incidents. Typically these organizations use manual files and standard databases to store and retrieve incident reports. However, research has established that database technology needs to be enhanced in order to deal with incidents. We describe the design and implementation of In-Ret, an incident report retrieval system that endeavours to find similarities and patterns between incidents by combining the strengths of case-based reasoning and information retrieval techniques in an integrated system. Preliminary results from InRet are presented and are encouraging.

Textual CBR for incident report retrieval

Incident Management Systems can play a crucial role in helping to reduce the number of workplace accidents by providing support for incident analysis. In particular, the retrieval of relevant similar incident reports can help safety personnel to identify factors and patterns that have contributed or might potentially contribute to accidents. Incident Report Retrieval is a relatively new research topic in the field of Accident Reporting and Analysis, and we are interested in developing intelligent computational support for retrieving incident information that leverages both the featural and textual components of incident reports. This paper describes InRet-T, an Incident Report Retrieval system that incorporates approaches from textual case-based reasoning to integrate both featural and textual aspects in retrieving civil aviation incident reports. It also provides a preliminary evaluation of InRet-T that offers some insight into the use of textual CBR approaches to incident analysis.

Using T-Ret System to Improve Incident Report Retrieval

This papers describes novel research involving the development of Textual CBR techniques and applying them to the problem of Incident Report Retrieval. Incident Report Retrieval is a relatively new research area in the domain of Accident Reporting and Analysis. We describe T-Ret, an Incident Report Retrieval system that incorporates textual CBR techniques and outline preliminary evaluation results.

PP41 The prevalence of drug use, including intravenous drug use, among the irish prisoner population

Background The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of drug use, including injecting drug use, among the prisoner population in the Republic of Ireland. Drug use surveys carried out by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol (NACDA) provide population data, but the most recent drug prevalence data on the Irish prisoner population dated from a 1999 study on Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) in prisons. Accurate up-to-date data for service planning and policy development were required. Methods An observational cross-sectional study was undertaken, with 824 prisoners randomly selected in proportion to the population in each prison. Data collection instruments included a self-completion questionnaire (based on European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction guidelines), and oral fluid samples, which were tested for six drugs. Prevalence proportions and confidence intervals were calculated. T-tests and Chi2 testing were used for group comparisons. Results The response rate was 50% and the sample was representative of the full prison population. Prevalence of any drug use for individual drugs was, not unexpectedly, higher than in the general population. Results are presented as prevalence range for individual drugs (95% CI lower and upper bounds) for: lifetime, 33% (CI: 30–36%) to 87% (CI: 85–89%); last year, 12 (CI: 10–14%) to 69% (CI: 66–71%); and last month, 2% (CI: 1–3%) to 43% (CI: 40–47%). Lifetime injecting prevalence for any drug was 26% (CI: 23–28%) and lifetime individual drug injecting rates ranged from 2 (CI: 1–2%) to 19% (CI: 17–22%). Women were significantly more likely to inject drugs than men (44% vs 24%, p < 0.01). Conclusion The findings confirmed the need for drug treatment and harm reduction services in prisons and highlighted key risk areas and groups for specific and targeted interventions. The NACDA has published recommendations for practice, policy and research based on the results.

Use of hierarchical cluster analysis to classify prisons in Ireland into mutually exclusive drug-use risk categories

Abstract Aims: The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for classifying prisons into distinct drug-use risk categories based on prisoners’ use of specified prescription and illegal drugs. The categories of prisons thus defined have particular relevance for the planning of drug-related interventions, education and services in Irish prisons. The methodology may be transferable to, and of value in, prison systems elsewhere. Methods: From the 14 prisons in Ireland, 824 randomly selected prisoners completed a self-administered questionnaire on lifetime, last year and last month use of specified prescription and non-prescription drugs. Questions were derived from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and other sources. Oral fluid samples were collected for verification of recent drug use. The EMCDDA definition of “recent problematic drug use” was used in post hoc hierarchical cluster analysis to define categories of prisons with similar drug-use patterns. Findings: Four categories of prisons, designated “low”, “medium”, “high” and “very high” drug use, were identified. While the prisons comprising each category were known, drug use patterns in individual prisons were not disclosed because of concerns about prisoner confidentiality in a small jurisdiction. The clusters identified were used to contextualise subsequent analyses of drug use, the availability and use of harm-reduction services and differential service requirements by prison category. Conclusions: The methodology described allows for identification of prison categories by drug-use patterns. With restrictions on disclosure of information by individual prison, it provides more valuable information than would derive from data on all prisons combined.