Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers
Occupational exposures in on-campus healthcare settings have increasingly been investigated, while the sector of home healthcare typically receives less focus. This study explored work stress exposure and air pollution’s effects on home healthcare workers through the collection of multiple salivary...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1393 |
| _version_ | 1797581295078866944 |
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| author | Thomas Gerding Jun Wang Nicholas Newman |
| author_facet | Thomas Gerding Jun Wang Nicholas Newman |
| author_sort | Thomas Gerding |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Occupational exposures in on-campus healthcare settings have increasingly been investigated, while the sector of home healthcare typically receives less focus. This study explored work stress exposure and air pollution’s effects on home healthcare workers through the collection of multiple salivary cortisol samples per day, the completion of stress diaries, and the use of low-cost personal air monitors. This study was designed to identify the physiological responses to various types of stress, as well as the impact of air pollution on the home healthcare workforce. Due to the sample size and duration, the data showed that neither the stress levels recorded in the diaries (<i>p</i> = 0.754), nor the air pollution data (with only VOC and PM<sub>1</sub> having Pearson correlation coefficients of >0.25), exhibited a significant association with the cortisol levels. The air sensor data were inconsistent with previously published indoor air pollutant literature. Forty percent of events reported by participants were identified as high stressor (level 6–10) events. One participant in this study accounted for 18% of these high-stress events. The most common emotional responses to these stressor events included feelings of frustration, irritation, anger, and fury, which together comprised 22.4% of the reactions. Future work should include studies with a larger sample size, a more robust air quality monitor, and a longer study duration to improve the power to detect potential associations. Although previous studies have indicated that home healthcare workers experience workplace stress and exposure to multiple air pollutants, this study did not detect a consistent relationship between these exposures and the physiological stress response. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:03:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5060ca8518614762a4a03b0ac791c087 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:03:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-5060ca8518614762a4a03b0ac791c0872023-11-19T09:30:40ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332023-09-01149139310.3390/atmos14091393Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare WorkersThomas Gerding0Jun Wang1Nicholas Newman2Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USADepartment of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USADepartment of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USAOccupational exposures in on-campus healthcare settings have increasingly been investigated, while the sector of home healthcare typically receives less focus. This study explored work stress exposure and air pollution’s effects on home healthcare workers through the collection of multiple salivary cortisol samples per day, the completion of stress diaries, and the use of low-cost personal air monitors. This study was designed to identify the physiological responses to various types of stress, as well as the impact of air pollution on the home healthcare workforce. Due to the sample size and duration, the data showed that neither the stress levels recorded in the diaries (<i>p</i> = 0.754), nor the air pollution data (with only VOC and PM<sub>1</sub> having Pearson correlation coefficients of >0.25), exhibited a significant association with the cortisol levels. The air sensor data were inconsistent with previously published indoor air pollutant literature. Forty percent of events reported by participants were identified as high stressor (level 6–10) events. One participant in this study accounted for 18% of these high-stress events. The most common emotional responses to these stressor events included feelings of frustration, irritation, anger, and fury, which together comprised 22.4% of the reactions. Future work should include studies with a larger sample size, a more robust air quality monitor, and a longer study duration to improve the power to detect potential associations. Although previous studies have indicated that home healthcare workers experience workplace stress and exposure to multiple air pollutants, this study did not detect a consistent relationship between these exposures and the physiological stress response.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1393occupational stresssalivary cortisolair qualityhealthcare workersstress diary |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Gerding Jun Wang Nicholas Newman Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers Atmosphere occupational stress salivary cortisol air quality healthcare workers stress diary |
| title | Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers |
| title_full | Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers |
| title_fullStr | Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers |
| title_short | Examining Work Stress and Air Pollutants Exposure of Home Healthcare Workers |
| title_sort | examining work stress and air pollutants exposure of home healthcare workers |
| topic | occupational stress salivary cortisol air quality healthcare workers stress diary |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/9/1393 |
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