Outgoing AAOHN President Kay Campbell with 2011 International OHN Participants
AAOHN Update from MWAOHN President Barbara Hayden, RN COHN-S
The
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) has a compelling
definition for our field:
"Occupational
and environmental health nursing is the specialty practice that provides for
and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, worker
populations and community groups. The practice focuses on promotion and
restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury and protection from
work related and environmental hazards. Occupational and environmental
health nurses (OHNs) have a combined knowledge of health and business that they
blend with healthcare expertise to balance the requirement for a safe and
healthful work environment with a 'healthy' bottom line."
How
do we accomplish all of this? Only through continuous learning so that we will
not get entrenched in what we do but instead stay open all the emerging and
cross-pollinating ideas that swirl around occupational health and safety.
Seven
MWAOHN members answered the call to do this by attending the AAOHN
National Conference in Atlanta May 2 - 5: "Health and Safety of Workers
at Home and
Around the World." Three of us also
attended the Pre-conference: "The Global Summit-OHNs Contributions to a
Healthy Workforce" on May 1 - 2.
What did we learn? You can ask each of us when you see us: Karen Barry,
Esmee Swann, and I attended the Global Summit as well as the National
Conference; Denise James, Angela Ward, Rochelle Vinson, and Deborah
Garrison
attended the National Conference. I can speak for myself only, of
course, and
share the following high points/take-home points from the 5 days:
The World Health Organization (WHO) identified
in its 2007 World Health Assembly that 25% of the global burden of
disease is occupationally related. WHO created a global plan of action on
workers health, identifying that "workers represent half of the world's
population and are the major contributors to economic and social
development." The evidence is in: healthy workers will make a healthy,
productive nation. To read the document (only 12 pages!) go to http://www.who.int/occupational_health/WHO_health_assembly_en_web.pdf
By 2030, the global burden of disease
in industrialized nations will shift to chronic diseases, many linked to
lifestyle/behavior. The need for prevention programs is irrefutable: forward-thinking employers recognize the
business imperatives of promoting good
health. Johnson & Johnson's global model of primary care clinics staffed
with OHNs and Nurse Practitioners has shown a 2-to-1 return on investment and
100% employee satisfaction and requests for more service. A trend is growing to
integrate primary care with occupational health nursing.
In 1993, the European Union (EU)
established its first Occupational Health Nursing organization, the counterpart
to AAOHN: "The Federation of Occupational Health Nurses within the
European Union." They have their work cut out for them: in 2007, the EU
suffered 5,580 fatal work accidents; in 207 alone, 83 million days of sick
leave due to work related accidents was used and that figure excludes those on
permanent injury. There are an estimated 45,000 Occupational Health Nurses in
the EU; by contrast, AAOHN estimates that North America has 53,000 Occupational
Health Nurses. All are invited - and Esmee is really excited about going - to
their 5th International Congress on Occupational Health in
Tarragona, Spain September 20 - 22, 2012. Their web site is www.fohneu.org.
Brave, dedicated occupational health nurses
work in the Pacific Rim, which includes China, a country only recently
awakening to the health scourges of industrialization. In the city of Hong
Kong, 7 million people live and work; in China, the population is 1.3 billion
The Carter Center, whose mission is "Waging
Peace and Fighting disease" and whose modus
operandi is action and results, not think-tank activities, has several
mental health initiatives in addition to its eradication efforts on several
devastating tropical diseases. Former
First Lady Rosalynn Carter has written two books on the subject "Helping Someone
with Mental Illness" and "Within our Reach." While on tour in the Carter Center, we heard a
presentation on mental health in the UK that highlighted the leading causes of
sickness absence there as stress, anxiety, and depression. Go to the website to see the compelling
research on this new field: http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/published-projects/mental-capital-and-wellbeing.
2011 DC Delegates Denise, Karen, Esmee, Barbara, Angela, and Rochelle
MWAOHN Members and International Summit Participants
DC Delegates at the Business Meeting
Deb Garrison, 2nd from Left. Scholarship Recipient
AAOHN hopes to have a global summit
attached to the National Conference every few years because the world is
shrinking and we can use all the help we
can get to achieve healthy workers and workplaces.
From the national conference, my main take home
point is that, at LL Bean, Wellness programs have proven a 5.3-to-1 return on
investment.
Next year's national Conference will
be in Nashville, TN April 23 - 26, 2012 - let's ALL go!
CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
MMWR Quick Stats
Latest Top (5) News
Role of Drugs, Drive-by Shootings, and Other Crimes in Gang Homicides Gang homicides often occur in public and involve firearms, but are less likely to involve drugs or other crimes than generally believed by the public, according to a report released today by the CDC. Gang homicides frequently involve youth as victims and are often retaliatory reactions to gang conflict.
Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST CDC Vital Signs — Prescription Painkiller Overdoses in the U.S. Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed in the past decade. Every year, nearly 15,000 people die from overdoses involving these drugs—more than those who die from heroin and cocaine combined.
Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST CDC Vital Signs — Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone U.S. adults got behind the wheel after drinking too much about 112 million times in 2010. Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST Color Me Safe – A Coloring Book from CDC's Injury Center Check out the new coloring book, Color Me Safe! This new CDC resource tells the rhyming story of the "Safe Family" who take steps to protect themselves at home, on the road, and at play.
Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST Safe Youth. Safe Schools. This fall, approximately 55.5 million students return to classrooms across the United States. While our nation's schools are expected to be safe havens for learning, unintentional injuries and even violence can occur. These events may disrupt the educational process and negatively affect the school and surrounding community.
Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:55:00 EST QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates* for the 10 Leading Causes of Death† — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2008 and 2009 The 10 leading causes of death in the United States were the same in 2008 and 2009. The rankings also remained the same. The preliminary age-adjusted death rate for the leading cause of death, diseases of heart, decreased by 3.6%. The age-adjusted death rate for malignant neoplasms decreased by 1.0%. Deaths from these two diseases combined accounted for 48% of deaths in the United States in 2009.
Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:47:00 EST QuickStats: Health-Care Visits* for Children Aged 1–17 Years, by Health Insurance Status† — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2006–2010 The percentage of children aged 1–17 years who did not see a doctor or other health-care professional during the past 12 months was higher for children without health insurance coverage (33.8%) than for children with public health insurance coverage (10.3%) or those with private health insurance (8.7%). Children without health insurance also were more likely than children with public or private health insurance coverage to have had only one health-care visit during the past 12 months. Children with private health insurance coverage were more likely to have two to five health-care visits during the past 12 months than children with public health insurance coverage or children without health insurance coverage, but children with public health insurance coverage were more likely to have had six or more health-care visits during the past 12 months than children with private health insurance
Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:43:00 EST
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Megan Menth| AAOHN | Chapter Services | Megan.Menth@aaohn.org | Direct Line (850) 475-3505
