AHA guidance on improving employee health and engagement

AHA guidance on improving employee health and engagement

Dr KK Aggarwal

The American Heart Association (AHA) has released an evidence review report titled “Resilience in the Workplace: An Evidence Review and Implications for Practice”, with practical actionable guidance for employers looking to implement resilience training programs. According to the report, resilience is an emerging, innovative strategy to improve employee health and productivity, and organizational performance.

The CEO Roundtable is the AHA’s leadership collaborative with 30-plus member CEOs who represent some of the nation’s largest employers who are committed to applying evidence-based approaches to improve their employees’ overall health.

Studies suggest resilience training may be a useful primary prevention strategy for employers to improve employee health and engagement. Although there is no consensus on how to define resilience, the report says that “resilience can be considered, in general, the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stressors and changing demands”.

Resilience training aims to develop or strengthen a person’s ability to withstand, recover and bounce back from adversity and may improve the ability to cope with, and recover from negative workplace stressors.

In an online employee of 1,001 working adults within the US, which has also been included in the report, 73% said that their participation in resilience training programs improved their health a great deal or fair amount; specifically, they reported having more energy (51%), exercising regularly (45%), and improved quality of life (41%).

(Source: AHA News Release, October 11, 2017)

CDC updates guidance on interpretation of Zika testing results for pregnant women

CDC updates guidance on interpretation of Zika testing results for pregnant women The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated guidance for healthcare professionals to interpret Zika test results for women who live in, or frequently travel (daily or weekly) to areas with a CDC Zika travel notice. Emerging data suggests that Zika virus IgM can persist beyond 12 weeks after infection in some individuals making it difficult to determine the timing of infection, especially in testing of asymptomatic people. It may not be easy to determine whether women were infected before or after they became pregnant. Hence, the CDC has recommended the following guidance for healthcare professionals evaluating women without symptoms who had potential Zika exposure—particularly women who live in or frequently travel (daily or weekly) to areas with CDC Zika travel notices. • Screen pregnant women for risk of Zika exposure and symptoms of Zika. Test pregnant women promptly, using nucleic acid testing (NAT), if they develop symptoms at any point during pregnancy or if their sexual partner tests positive for Zika virus infection • Consider NAT testing at least once during each trimester of pregnancy to detect evidence of Zika virus, unless a previous test has been positive • Consider testing specimens obtained during amniocentesis to detect evidence of Zika virus if amniocentesis is performed for other reasons • Counsel all pregnant women each trimester about the limitations of Zika testing (Source: CDC Press Release, May 5, 2017) Dr KK Aggarwal National President IMA & HCFI