Characteristics of health counselling in the workplace via e-mail

Effects of rational emotive occupational health therapy intervention on the perceptions of organizational climate and occupational risk management practices among electronics technology employees in Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Improving employees' perception of organizational climate, and coaching them to remain steadfast when managing occupational risks associated with their job, might have an important effect on their psychosocial wellbeing and occupational health. This study examined the effects of a rational emotive occupational health therapy intervention program on the perceptions of organizational climate and occupational risk management practices.

METHODS

The participants were 77 electronics technology employees in the south-east of Nigeria. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design.

RESULTS

The rational emotive occupational health therapy intervention program significantly improved perceptions of the organizational climate for the people in the treatment group compared to those in the waitlist control group at post-intervention and follow-up assessments. Occupational risk management practices of the employees in the treatment group were also significantly better than those in the waitlist control group at the same 2 assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

Corporate application of a rational emotive behavior therapy as an occupational health therapy intervention program is essential for improving the perceptions of organizational climate and promoting the adoption of feasible occupational risk management strategies in the workplace.

Controlled trial of worksite health education through face-to-face counseling vs. e-mail on drinking behavior modification

This study examined the effectiveness of a traditional face-to-face health education and e-mail health education on alcohol usage among male workers in comparison with a control group. Male workers at a manufacturing plant (N=36) who had abnormal serum gamma-GTP were stratified by age and job types, then randomized into three groups: face-to-face education, e-mail education, and the control. The subjects were assessed on their knowledge about and attitude towards drinking, reported alcohol consumption, and serum gamma-GTP before the start of education and 2 months later after comparison of the education. Paired t-test and repeated ANOVA were conducted to test the significance of changes pre and post the intervention and across groups. In the face-to-face group, knowledge (p=0.001), attitude (p=0.026), alcohol consumption (p=0.003) and serum gamma-GTP showed significant improvement. In the e-mail group, only alcohol consumption showed marginal improvement (p=0.077). In the control group, no variables remarkably changed. These results indicate that the face-to-face health education was more effective than the e-mail program. We discuss why the face-to-face approach was superior to the e-mail approach in this study by referring to self-monitoring, goal setting processes and timely feedback. We concluded that further studies are warranted to identify the effect of health education using e-mails and other network tools in consideration of the above three factors.

An effective exercise-based intervention for improving mental health and quality of life measures: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

This study investigates the effectiveness of 24-week aerobic and weight-training exercise plus behavior modification for mental health and quality of life (QOL) outcomes.

METHODS

Mental health and QOL data was collected using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales and SF-36 Health Status Survey, respectively. Employees from a single work-site were randomized into either treatment or wait-list control groups.

RESULTS

Mental Health (P = 0.005), Vitality (P < 0.001), General Health (P = 0.009), Bodily Pain (P = 0.005), Physical Functioning (P = 0.004), Depression (P = 0.048), and Stress (P = 0.036) scales significantly improved for the treatment group compared to wait-list controls after 24 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

Multimodal exercise is as effective as other single-modality exercise treatments for depressive symptoms and, in contrast to other studies, does improve stress symptoms and QOL outcomes.