Leading experts in the occupational health field review the latest books and
videos for the profession
CD-Rom
The Successful Management of Hand-Arm Vibration
HSE, £95 plus VAT
This interactive CD-Rom is aimed at managers and occupational health and
safety practitioners to help them address the problem of hand-arm vibration.
Set out on two disks, it covers information on the size of the problem, who is
at risk, practical solutions to everyday problems and legal duties.
The programme takes you through the process in easy steps. It is easy to use
and would be an excellent addition to any OH and safety practitioner’s training
library, both as an educational tool for themselves and a training aid for
managers and employees.
Cynthia Atwell, independent occupational health consultant
Book
Occupational Health – Risk Assessment and Management
Edited by SS Sadhra & KG Rampal,
Blackwell Sciences, ISBN 0 6320 4199 4
£79.50
This is an expensive book, so I had to ask myself is this a value-for-money
book for: students on OH&S courses?; OH&S practitioners to update
themselves?; or a reference bookshelf?
There are four sections: Introduction, Risk Assessment, Risk Management and
Applications of Risk Assessment and Management in Industry. The topic is
covered comprehensively and case studies support the principles and rationales.
I do think this book should be bought, borrowed or given as a gift. However,
it should be renamed "Occupational Health and Safety Management".
The "Occupational Health" label in the title hides the fact that
this book is relevant to everyone in health and safety.
Lily Lim, chairwoman, the Association of Occupational Health Nurse
Educators
Book
Lighting for Health and Safety
NA Smith, Butterworth Heinemann, ISBN 0 7506 4566 0
This is the first comprehensive book I have seen covering the fundamentals
of vision and lighting. There is a lot of technical data including charts and
diagrams to help the reader consider remedies to lighting problems. I found the
chapter on display screen equipment particularly useful. Easy to read and
understand, the book provides information on the physiology of the eye and
defects and anomalies of vision. I would recommend the book in particular to
occupational health and hygiene staff.
Kit Artus, chairwoman, RCN Society of Occupational Health Nursing
Video
The Magic of Counselling
(set of three videos)
Counselling Skills – Their Story not Yours 91 mins
Pitfalls in Counselling – Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in Working One to
One 52 mins
Different Strokes – Alternative Approaches for Skilled Counsellors 200 mins
These videos are excellent and provide good advice and examples by using
interview role-play. They are ideal for those involved in helping clients in
the workplace, but who are not qualified in counselling. Training booklets
support the video material.
Counselling Skills outlines the basic principles for counselling using cases
to demonstrate the required skills of listening, reflecting and managing
silences. It provides excellent examples of using and recognising body
language, empathising and confidentiality.
Pitfalls in Counselling includes good examples of what not to do. It
features common mistakes and how to avoid them. For me this was the most useful
and would help OH nurses improve their day-to-day counselling skills.
Different Strokes is aimed at the skilled experienced counsellor and
provides information on advanced techniques. It is enlightening, but not to be
attempted by the counselling novice.
These videos are an excellent training tool and would be valuable for all OH
nurse education establishments, especially for modules on communication and
listening.
Cynthia Atwell,occupational health consultant
Book
Contributions to the History of Occupational and Environmental Protection
Antonio Grieco, Sergio Iavicoli and Giovani Berlinguer, Elsevier Science,
ISBN 0 4445 0255 6, £95
This book sets the scene with the statement: "He who ignores the past
has no roots and he who has no roots has no future".
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Investigation and control of occupational and environmental diseases over
the past four centuries is reported in detail and makes essential reading for
all in occupational health. In the 40 chapters famous places and famous names
appear from the past, and their research and solutions to a wide range of
problems are a lesson to us all.
Frank Gill, occupational hygiene consultant
