Influenza is a serious infectious disease, causing 226,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the United States each year. Since 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all health care workers receive influenza vaccination annually. Current CDC reports indicate that only 40% of health care workers receive influenza vaccination. Vaccination rates are lower among registered nurses than other health care workers. This integrative review encompasses international research published between 2003 and 2009, and explores factors that influence nurses' decision to receive or decline influenza vaccination. Findings indicated that concerns about the vaccine's safety and efficacy continue to be major barriers for registered nurses. Future efforts to improve vaccination rates should include rigorous education on vaccine efficacy and safety specific to nursing personnel.

Workplace bullying is a significant occupational health problem worldwide. Nurses are vulnerable to workplace bullying. During interactions with staff nurses, occupational health nurses have crucial opportunities to identify victims of workplace bullying and provide effective techniques for preventing and managing workplace bullying behaviors. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify best practices for preventing and managing workplace bullying among staff nurses. The best method found to control and stop workplace bullying involves cognitive rehearsal of responses to common bullying behaviors. Translation of the 3-hour workplace bullying prevention and management program is discussed.

This article explores the personal challenges inherent in accepting limitations and a change in self-image. Nurses can assist their clients in moving toward a new vision of self that can better support health and wellness and perhaps a more realistic level of functioning as they age.

The use of pesticides in agriculture, public places, and private homes and gardens is ubiquitous throughout the United States. Children are particularly vulnerable to pesticide exposure because of immature biological and developmental processes. Thus, it is important that primary health care providers identify clients at risk for pesticide exposure and poisoning and know how to respond effectively if clients experience exposure. However, many primary health care providers are not adequately trained or prepared to manage the health-related effects of pesticide exposure. Recent efforts, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have addressed this shortcoming in nursing and medical education. A primary initiative is to find ways to integrate basic environmental health content, specifically regarding pesticide exposure, into nursing and medical curricula. As one strategy to achieve this, a pilot case study was developed by revising and enhancing an existing pediatric case study used in a required course for nurse practitioner students. The aim was to raise students' awareness of risk assessment, prevention, and appropriate care strategies for pesticide exposure. Evaluation of students' experience with the pilot case study suggested it was a meaningful and valued addition to their training, as well as an efficient way to introduce environmental health content into primary health care provider curricula.

This study examined Thai nursing students' knowledge and health beliefs about the use of universal precautions to prevent infections, particularly HIV. After providing informed consent, 26 nursing students participated in the study. The students responded to a questionnaire with four sections: demographics, education, knowledge about universal precautions and transmission of HIV, and health beliefs. Students had substantial knowledge about the transmission of HIV; however, they were not confident in the use of universal precautions to prevent transmission. This research will assist occupational health nurses in hospitals and educational institutions develop programs to enhance skills and attitudes to prevent HIV infection.

Global business practices have created a new category of worker, the stealth expatriate. Tax, immigration, and political risks exist for corporations that do not track this type of worker. Critical implications exist for occupational health nurses in the areas of travel health, fitness for duty, and emergency response.

Global business practices have created a new category of worker, the stealth expatriate. Tax, immigration, and political risks exist for corporations that do not track this type of worker. Critical implications exist for occupational health nurses in the areas of travel health, fitness for duty, and emergency response.

A critical review was conducted of social, psychological, and health science literature on the array of health risks and morbidities of truckers. Multilevel worksite-induced strains (e.g., long work hours and fatigue, shift work and sleep deprivation, postural fatigue and exposure to noise and vibration, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet, exposure to diesel exhaust fumes, and other occupational stressors) were categorized into six primary morbidities for truckers: (1) psychological and psychiatric disorders; (2) detriments resulting from disrupted biological cycles; (3) musculoskeletal disorders; (4) cancer and respiratory morbidities; (5) cardiovascular disease; and (6) risk-laden substance use and sexual practices. Elevated morbidity risks suggest the need for the design and implementation of systematic epidemiological research and environmental interventions in the transport sector.