Author Question: The occupational health nurse at a company has seen three different employees in one week who have ... (Read 83 times)

CQXA · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

The occupational health nurse at a company has seen three different employees in one week who have all reported similar upper respiratory symptoms.

Which rate should the nurse consider calculating to understand the severity of this problem and to determine whether a cluster or cohort is forming?
A) Productivity rate
B) Incidence rate
C) Prevalence rate
D) Ratio of affected to unaffected

Question 2

Which data are tracked under epidemiologic workplace surveillance? (Select all that apply.)

A) Injuries
B) Illness
C) Hazards
D) Exposures
E) Productivity

jojobee318 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Ans: B
Feedback:
If there happens to be more than one worker from the same department with consistent symptoms and objective findings, the OHN may immediately begin to suspect that a cluster or cohort is forming and should determine the number of new cases of the condition, or the incidence rate. Clusters are aggregations of disease diagnoses collected from a specific population within a distinct period of time or space. The calculation of incidence rates is a helpful tool in understanding the severity of a workplace problem. Prevalence reflects the total burden of the injury or illness that exists in the populationin this case, the workplace. It includes both new cases and existing cases, as opposed to the incidence rate, which only includes new cases. Ratios can compare and involve groups of workers in settings. This approach adds clarity when comparing the number of affected workers in an organization that employs workers located in various geographic locations.

Answer to Question 2

Ans: A, B, C, D
Feedback:
Workplace health surveillance includes physical examinations and the tracking of injuries, illness, hazards, and exposures both in individual people and for groups of workers. Productivity would not be tracked under epidemiologic workplace surveillance.