Health Care and Social Assistance
Activities: NIOSH Research Projects
Hazardous drugs
Permeation of Protective Gloves by Antineoplastic Drugs
The newly established American Society for Testing and Materials Standard D6978-05, the first established specifically to evaluate permeation of protective gloves by chemotherapy drugs, will require testing a large number of gloves in order to demonstrate adequate performance. The proposed project will test a wide range of gloves against seven drugs required under the standard and others selected according to stakeholder interest. Whenever possible, necessary drug quantification will be done using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, which provides the necessary analytical sensitivity and specificity. Reliable and objective permeation data compiled through rigorous testing according to the standard criteria will assist stakeholders including health care providers who may be exposed to chemotherapy drugs in the course of work and glove manufacturers seeking to document product performance.
Project Contact: Jack Pretty
Division of Applied Research & Technology
(513)533-8462
Project Start-End Dates: 10/01/06 - 09/30/09
R2P Assistance on Engineering Controls for Hazardous Drugs
This project seeks to re-establish the r2p momentum necessary to support the worker-protective objectives within the NIOSH Hazardous Drug Alert and facilitate their continued adoption into protective public health practice. The r2p efforts will nurture the adoption of NIOSH worker-protection guidance via three critical arenas: (1) Consensus standard development, (2) Foster development of protective equipment performance consensus standards, and (3) Ongoing information dissemination responding to client-driven inquiries and uncertainties.
Project Contact: Kenneth Mead
Division of Applied Research & Technology
(513) 533-8462
Project Period: 06/01/07 - 09/30/09
Updating the List of Hazardous Drugs for the NIOSH Alert
This continuing project, Updating the List of Hazardous Drugs for the NIOSH Alert, will provide a mechanism to update the definition and list of hazardous drugs in the NIOSH Alert. An update to the list is needed because FDA has approved a number of new drugs and issued warnings for existing drugs since the publication of the Alert in 2004. In order to provide guidance to health care institutions and other locations where hazardous drugs are handled on which drugs should be considered hazardous, NIOSH plans on updating the list on a regular basis. NIOSH receives many inquiries about the list of hazardous drugs and many institutions in the U.S. and in other countries will utilize the updated list as the basis for their institution’s list.
Project Contact: Tom Connor
Division of Applied Research & Technology
(5130 533-8462
Project Period 04/01/07 - 09/30/13
Surveillance
Hazard Surveillance Survey of Workers in the HCSA Sector
The project objective is to conduct worker and management surveys that address the occupational health and safety surveillance needs of healthcare stakeholders. Specific aims are: 1) conduct a population-based healthcare worker survey; 2) conduct a establishment-based management survey; 3) compile and analyze the survey results; 4) describe prevalence and distribution of worker exposures and use of exposure controls; and describe the prevalence and distribution of facility–based health and safety management policies, programs, and resources; and 5) share results with stakeholders. This project will provide stakeholders with data on current worker and management health and safety practices, which can be used for identifying gaps, benchmarking, and for establishing future research priorities.
Project Contact: Jim Boiano
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations & Field Studies
(513) 533-8462
Project Period: 10/01/07 - 09/30/10
Surveillance Needs for Emergency and Epidemic Preparedness and Response
This project is to provide expertise and support as needed for components of the NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Program. The mission of the NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Program Portfolio is to advance research and collaborations to protect the health and safety of emergency response providers and recovery workers by preventing diseases, injuries, and fatalities in anticipation of and during responses to natural and man-made disasters and novel emergent events. As surveillance needs and activities have increasingly been defined by agencies (such as in accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002) and the occupational component of emergency response and preparedness has been recognized, the Surveillance Branch of DSHEFS has been asked to contribute its expertise in such efforts. This project is intended to allow such activities.
Project Contact:
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations & Field Studies
(513) 841-4428
Project Period: 10/01/07 - 09/30/12
Injuries
"Best Practices" Patient Lifting Intervention in a Hospital
A pre-post intervention trial and cost-benefit analysis will assess the effectiveness of a “best practices” safe patient lifting program being implemented by Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). The program consists of ceiling-mounted and portable patient-lifting equipment and lateral transfer aids. We hypothesize that the health outcomes (back and shoulder injuries) will be significantly reduced following implementation of the program. Workers’ compensation data, OSHA logs and personnel records will be collected for three years pre- and three years post-intervention. Injury rates will be computed by job title, age, gender, length of employment, and shift. Lost workday injury rates and restricted injury rates will be compared pre- and post intervention. A cost-benefit analysis will examine the costs of the capital investment to establish the program relative to the changes in workers’ compensation benefits.
Project Contact: Jim Collins
Division of Safety Research
(304) 285-5894
Project Period: 04/01/07 - 09/30/09
Slips, Trips, and Falls Prevention in Hospitals
NIOSH completed a study that designed, implemented, and evaluated the effectiveness of a slip, trip, and fall prevention program in hospitals, and documented a significant reduction in the STF workers' compensation claims rate after the STF prevention program was introduced in the hospitals. This public health practice project involves communicating both the research findings from the NIOSH STF hospital study and guidelines enabling hospitals to effectively implement STF prevention programs. The main output of this project will be a communication toolkit which will serve diverse functions for hospital staff: problem identification, hazard evaluations, implementation of a STF prevention program and staff involvement. Through the dissemination of the toolkit, hospital safety staff will have the necessary tools to recognize hazards, implement prevention methods, and involve staff throughout the process.
Project Contact: Jennifer Bell
Division of Safety Research
(304) 285-5894
Project Period: 04/01/07 - 09/30/09
Reducing Violence against Nurses
The purpose of this project is to reduce patient violence against nurses on in-patient psychiatry units through implementation of an innovative treatment program—the Violence Prevention Community Meeting (VPCM). The project is a collaboration between NIOSH and the Veterans Health Administration. The VPCM will be implemented in multiple psychiatric hospital settings to determine its effectiveness in reducing patient violence to nursing personnel.
Project Contact: Marilyn Ridenour
Division of Safety Research
(304) 285-5894
Project Period 10/01/07 - 09/30/10
Respirators
No Fit Test Filtering Facepiece Respirator Workshop
The objective of this project is to better understand the interdisciplinary research needs and challenges in developing and certifying respirators with improved fitting characteristics, leading towards the development of a “no fit test” respirator. To achieve this objective, a workshop will be conducted to bring together respirator manufacturers, technology developers/researchers, government policy experts, and respirator users to discuss the state-of-the art in respirator technology and the research needs and challenges. Workshop presentations and a literature analysis will be described in a final report that will be disseminated via the NIOSH website. The final report will be used as an input to prioritize the NIOSH research agenda and by other government agencies and respirator manufacturers to conduct research to address the identified priority research gaps.
Project Contact: Ron Shaffer
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
(412) 386-6593
Project Period: 10/01/07 - 09/30/09
Frequency of Fit Testing
The goals of this project are to (a) assess the rate at which respirator fit changes as a function of time for a representative sample of subjects wearing filtering-facepiece respirators and (b) investigate the factors that affect such change. Percentage of subjects whose fit become unacceptable is the best estimate of the true percentage of workers who will benefit from the annual fit testing. The results of this study will provide the scientific basis for regulatory agencies to enforce the annual fit testing requirement. The results will also help convince users to be incompliance with the standards. Correlating changes in physical appearance and facial anthropometrics with changes in respirator fit could result in improved guidelines for respirator program administrators and improved respirator designs.
Project Contact; Ziqing Zhuang
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
(412) 386-6593
Project Period: 10/01/05 - 09/30/08
Metabolic Evaluation of N95 Respirator Use with Surgical Masks
If an influenza pandemic arrives in the United States, the availability of N95 particulate filtering respirators may be insufficient for the duration of the pandemic. The Institute of Medicine has recommended the possibility of extending the duration of individual N95 respirators by covering the respirator with a surgical mask. This recommendation was made without the knowledge if this practice would have an adverse effect on the wearer. This investigation explores the feasibility of using an N95 respirator with a surgical mask and its effects on the inhaled gases and pressures of the wearer, using the ABMS/3 instead of human subjects. Depending on any adverse affects, future investigations could include the reconfiguration of the ABMS/3 program to mimic special populations, i.e. children.
Project Contact: Eddie Sinkule
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
(412) 386-6595
Project Period 10/01/06 - 09/30/08
Reuseability of Filtering Facepiece Respirators
This project focuses on the reusability of NIOSH certified filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) that are used for respiratory protection against influenza and other infectious aerosols. Laboratory studies will be conducted to understand the efficacy and impact of decontamination methods on respirator performance and to understand the risks associated with handling a previously worn respirator. These studies will be used by NIOSH and CDC to develop scientific recommendations on respiratory protection for healthcare workers, emergency responders, and the general public. These studies will also be used by national and international standards development organizations to support new test methods.
Project Contact: Ron Shaffer
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
(412) 386-6593
Project Period: 10/01/06 - 09/30/10
The Impact of Respirator Use on C02 Levels and 02 Saturation (formerly NPPTL004)
Healthcare workers will be required to wear filtering facepiece (FFP) respirators to protect themselves during an influenza pandemic. Long term use may result in increased CO2 retention and a decrease in O2 saturation which reduces the performance of the wearer. To prolong the useful life of the FFP, a surgical facemask may be additionally worn as an overlay to the FFP thus exaggerating the CO2 and O2 issues. This study will evaluate the magnitude of these effects in subjects exercising on a treadmill at a predetermined work load. This data can be used by both manufacturers of FFP respirators to improve their products and by consensus standards organizations to develop appropriate performance levels and write guidance documents.
Project Contact: Jon (Warren) Williams
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
(412) 386-6593
Project Period: 10/01/07 - 09/30/10
