HEALTH AND SAFETY--POLLUTION PREVENTION IN HOSPITALS

描述：为响应新的监管和基于社区的倡议， 许多美国医院将制定计划，改变他们的废物管理和 在未来两年内进行材料使用实践。这一快速介绍 新材料和工作实践的出现将对 医院工作人员的职业健康和安全，特别是在 这些旨在改善周围环境的工作场所变化并不是 带来了使用健全的工作环境实践。该项目将使用 环境激励为医院提供的机会 制定积极的污染预防计划，与三家医院合作 制定实施职业健康的具体、综合的方法 和安全污染预防(OHS-PP)干预战略。这个 拟议工作的目标是发展工作场所干预 减少聚氯乙烯(PVC)使用的战略--和 医院含汞材料同时提高职业性 医院工作人员的健康和安全。该项目的目标包括： 建立多学科的院内OHS-PP干预小组 三家医院中的每一家；确定 OHS-PP问题；制定课程和教材 院内OHS-PP干预小组；制定和实施 干预前OHS-PP走查调查和工作分析；研究 医院物资和工作实践的具体干预策略 产生含有聚氯乙烯或汞的废物；实现 干预；进行干预后OHS-PP走查调查和 工作分析；分析收集的数据，并将研究结果进行比较 三家医院内部和之间的调查结果。这项研究的产品将 成为组建医院的样板计划和指导手册 职业健康和安全--计划和案例研究 同行评议的文献，评估了 三家医院的拟议工作，并将比较以下各项的结果 它们，以及替代工作做法、材料、产品和 由干预团队和项目工作人员确定的供应商。信息 关于这些替代方案，将制定OHS-PP模式计划和手册 通过最近创建的可持续发展计划提供给全国的医院 马萨诸塞大学医院信息中心和网站 洛厄尔。

DESCRIPTION: In response to new regulatory and community-based initiatives, many U.S. hospitals will develop plans to change their waste management and materials use practices within the next two years. This rapid introduction of new materials and work practices will have significant implications for the occupational health and safety of hospital workers, particularly if these workplace changes intended to improve the ambient environment are not brought about using sound work environment practices. This project will use the opportunity provided by the environmental incentives for hospitals to develop active pollution prevention plans to work with three hospitals to develop specific, integrated methods for implementing occupational health and safety-pollution prevention (OHS-PP) intervention strategies. The objective of the proposed work is to develop workplace intervention strategies to reduce the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)- and mercury-containing materials in hospitals while improving the occupational health and safety of hospital workers. Aims of the project include: establishing multidisciplinary, in-hospital OHS-PP intervention teams for each of the three hospitals; identifying the important dimensions of the OHS-PP problems; developing a curriculum and educational materials for in-hospital OHS-PP intervention teams; developing and conducting pre-intervention OHS-PP walkthrough surveys and job analyses; researching specific intervention strategies for hospital materials and work practices that generate PVC- or mercury- containing waste; implementing the interventions; conducting post-intervention OHS-PP walkthrough surveys and job analyses; and analyzing the data collected and comparing the study findings within and among the three hospitals. Products of this study will be a model plan and instructional manual for setting up hospital occupational health and safety-programs, case studies intended for the peer-reviewed literature that evaluates the motivations and barriers to the proposed work in the three hospitals and that will compare the results among them, and a list of alternative work practices, materials, products and vendors identified by the intervention teams and project staff. Information about these alternatives and the model OHS-PP plan and manual will be made available to hospitals nationwide through the recently created Sustainable Hospitals Clearinghouse and Web site at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.