County Council (county + council)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Burnout and physical and mental health among Swedish healthcare workers

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 1 2008
Ulla Peterson
Abstract Title.,Burnout and physical and mental health among Swedish healthcare workers Aim., This paper is a report of a study to investigate how burnout relates to self-reported physical and mental health, sleep disturbance, memory and lifestyle factors. Background., Previous research on the possible relationship between lifestyle factors and burnout has yielded somewhat inconsistent results. Most of the previous research on possible health implications of burnout has focused on its negative impact on mental health. Exhaustion appears to be the most obvious manifestation of burnout, which also correlates positively with workload and with other stress-related outcomes. Method., A cross-sectional study was conducted, using questionnaires sent to all employees in a Swedish County Council (N = 6118) in 2002. The overall response rate was 65% (n = 3719). A linear discriminant analysis was used to look for different patterns of health indicators and lifestyle factors in four burnout groups (non-burnout, disengaged, exhausted and burnout). Results., Self-reported depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, memory impairment and neck- and back pain most clearly discriminated burnout and exhausted groups from disengaged and non-burnout groups. Self-reported physical exercise and alcohol consumption played a minor role in discriminating between burnout and non-burnout groups, while physical exercise discriminated the exhausted from the disengaged group. Conclusion., Employees with burnout had most symptoms, compared with those who experienced only exhaustion, disengagement from work or no burnout, and the result underlines the importance of actions taken to prevent and combat burnout. [source]


Association of boiled and filtered coffee with incidence of first nonfatal myocardial infarction: the SHEEP and the VHEEP study

JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2003
N. Hammar
Abstract., Hammar N, Andersson T, Alfredsson L, Reuterwall C, Nilsson T, Hallqvist J, Knutsson A, Ahlbom A (Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Stockholm Center of Public Health, Stockholm, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Västernorrland County Council, Sundsvall, Division of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Norrland University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden) Association of boiled and filtered coffee with incidence of first nonfatal myocardial infarction: the SHEEP and the VHEEP study. J Intern Med 2003; 253: 653,659. Objectives., To evaluate the influence of consumption of filtered and boiled coffee, on the incidence of first nonfatal myocardial infarction. Design., Population-based case,control study. Setting and subjects., The study base consisted of the population 45,65/70 years-old in two Swedish counties, Stockholm and Västernorrland, 1992/93,94. In all, 1943 cases of first nonfatal myocardial infarction were identified. For each case one control was selected from the study base concurrently with disease incidence by matching the sex, age and place of residence of the case. Information about coffee consumption and other factors was obtained by mailed questionnaire and a medical examination. The participation rate was 85% amongst cases and 74% amongst controls. Results., Men with a reported consumption of 7,9 dL filtered coffee per day showed an increased incidence of first myocardial infarction compared with consumers of 3 dL day,1 or less (RR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.03,1.70). A consumption of at least 10 dL day,1 was associated with an RR of 1.93 (95% CI: 1.42,2.63) for filtered and 2.20 (95% CI: 1.17,4.15) for boiled coffee. Amongst women, no clear association was seen between consumption of filtered coffee and myocardial infarction but consumption of boiled coffee tended to be related to an increased incidence. Comparing subjects drinking boiled coffee with those drinking filtered coffee and adjusting for the amount consumed gave an increased incidence for boiled coffee amongst both men (RR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.07,1.80) and women (RR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.04,2.56). Conclusions., Consumption of boiled coffee appears to increase the incidence of first nonfatal myocardial infarction. This increased incidence is consistent with randomized trials showing an adverse impact of boiled coffee on blood lipids. [source]


Sexual Orientation Discrimination after Grant v South-West Trains

THE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 5 2000
Nicholas Bamforth
In Grant v South-West Trains [1998] ECR I-621, the European Court of Justice implied that, as a general matter, discrimination against an employee on the ground of sexual orientation did not violate Article 141 EC. This article argues that Grant rests on shaky foundations, in that it is conceptually inconsistent with the Court's earlier decision in P v S and Cornwall County Council [1996] ECR I-2143. Furthermore, the scope of Grant has since been qualified by decisions of the European Court of Human Rights , decisions which may well have undermined the status of the case more broadly. However these difficulties are ultimately resolved, the Court of Justice's treatment of sexual orientation discrimination exposes flaws in its approach as a self-proclaimed constitutional court. [source]


Obesity in looked after children: is foster care protective from the dangers of obesity?

CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2008
S. C. Hadfield
Abstract Background Obesity in all age groups of children has become an increasing concern in recent years. Children looked after by the Local Authority (LA) should be protected from health problems while being accommodated. These studies assess the effect on weight of looked after children (LAC) in the care of a Midlands County Council. They assess the frequency of obesity or overweight problems in looked after children following receipt into care and review changes in body mass index (BMI) while in the care of the LA. Method The height and weight measurements of all 106 children who had statutory health assessments while in the care of the LA between 1 January 2004 and 30 December 2004 were used to calculate their BMI. The data were plotted onto standard Growth Foundation charts and the International Obesity Task Force Paediatric cut-offs were determined to distinguish overweight and obese children and young people. The date that the child had come into the care system and the number of moves of placement was obtained for each child from the social care. This was related to the total group and the overweight group of looked after children. Result Looked after children are more likely to be overweight and obese compared with standard norms, and there are a number of children (35%) whose BMI increases once in care. Outcome Looked after care did not protect a child from the national problem of increasing weight gain and obesity. [source]


District magnitude, electoral formula, and the number of parties

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001
KENNETH BENOIT
Duverger's propositions concerning the psychological and mechanical consequences of electoral rules have previously been examined mainly through the lens of district magnitude, comparing the properties of single,member district plurality elections with those of multimember proportional representation elections. The empirical consequences of multimember plurality (MMP) rules, on the other hand, have received scant attention. Theory suggests that the effect of district magnitude on the number and concentration of parties will differ with regard to whether the allocation rules are plurality,based or proportional. I test this theory by drawing on a uniquely large,sample dataset where district magnitude and electoral formula vary but the basic universe of political parties is held constant, applying regression analysis to data from several thousand Hungarian local bodies elected in 1994 consisting of municipal councils, county councils, and mayors. The results indicate that omitting the variable of electoral formula has the potential to cause significant bias in estimates of Duvergerian consequences of district magnitude. In addition, the analysis of multi,member plurality elections from the local election dataset reveals counter,intuitively that candidate and party entry may increase with district magnitude under MMP, suggesting important directions for future investigation of MMP rules. [source]