Offshore Medicine

To be asked to prepare a second edition of a book is heartening for any author or editor. Apart from the opportunity to make the corrections and amendments which are inevitable in a practical manual there is also the possibility to make additions which enhance its usefulness. Above all a further edition usually means that the book has been found to be accept able to a large number of readers and has fulfilled a need. This is indeed the case with Offshore Medicine, which in its description of the medical aspects of offshore work has provided a unique guide to the occupational health of a new industry. The rapid development of offshore exploration for gas and oil which began in the 1960s created a whole new range of related industries. Most attention was focused on the problems of deep diving in the North Sea because of the great expansion of the diving industry, its technological advances and the high mortality of divers in the early years. Diving, however, is only a fraction of the total endeavour concerned with the offshore industry. The much larger population of workers offshore who man the rigs and barges, the toolpushers, helicop ter pilots, crane drivers, scaffolders and roustabouts, geologists and so on, so sympathetically described by A. Alvarez in his recent book Off shore, A North Sea Journey, and the harsh and difficult conditions in which they often have to work are sometimes forgotten.

Now more than ever, the design of systems and devices for effective and safe healthcare delivery has taken center stage. And the importance of human factors and ergonomics in achieving this goal can’t be ignored. Underlining the utility of research in achieving effective design, Advances in Human Aspects of Healthcare discusses how human factors and ergonomics principles can be applied to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness in patient care. Topics include the design of work environments to improve satisfaction and well-being of patients, healthcare providers, and professionals. The book explores new approaches for improving healthcare devices such as portable ultrasound systems, better work design, and effective communications and systems support. It also examines healthcare informatics for the public and usability for patient users, building on results from usability studies for medical personnel. Several chapters explore quality and safety while others examine medical error for risk factors and information transfer in error reduction. The book provides an integrated review of physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects that facilitates a systems approach to implementation. These features and more allow practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of the issues in healthcare delivery and the role ergonomics and human factors can play in solving them.

By a knowledgeable seagoing doctor, this book is intended for the medical layman.

International cooperation on the health of seafarers began many years ago. As early as 1921, an international convention regarding this matter was presented to govern ments of maritime countries for ratification. The First World Health Assembly, in 1948, recommended that WHO should establish, with the International Labour Of fice, a Joint Committee on the hygiene of seafarers. The first session of this Com mittee, held in 1949, defined the problems affecting the health of seamen and made a number of recommendations. In the opinion of this Joint Committee, the health of seamen called for interna tional attention for a nu mb er of reasons. By the nature of his work, the seafarer is obliged to travel from country to country and is exposed to great variations of cli mate and also to any disease that may be prevalent in the port of call. He may there fore become a carrier of disease, so that the protection of his health is of importance not only to himself and the other members of the crew but also to the populations of other countries he visits. Yet, on account ofthe nature ofhis employment, it is diffi cult to provide the seafarer with the same standard of health care that is gene rally available to other sections of the population.

Fully revised for its third edition, the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine continues to be the essential resource for all expedition medics and well-informed travellers, as well as nurses, paramedics, medical students, and other expedition members travelling in remote, wilderness areas of the world. Now containing more guidance about caving medicine, the third edition includes revised and additional illustrations and essential maps of the spread of diseases. Clear and concise, readers can rely on this handbook to provide the key knowledge and practical advice they need. It enables efficient preparation and planning before the journey, advises on camp logistics, risk management, and medical problems during the expedition, as well as highlighting rare but important risks to those visiting remote areas. Focusing on preventative measures, it also contains chapters dealing with crisis management, emergency care, and evacuation from challenging environments, with guidance about the obligations of a clinician joining an expedition, ethical approaches to such work, and medicine in various extreme environments. This edition will give you the confidence and skills you need to travel to any extreme or remote environment. Incorporating the combined knowledge and experience of a team of experienced clinicians and expeditioners, this is a practical, easy-to-use guide to all aspects of expedition and wilderness medicine.

The Laboratory of Hyperbaric Physiology of the Medical Clinic of the University of Zurich came into existence in 1960 thanks to private initiative and a readiness to undertake risks; the success ful start was made possible with help from the French Navy and the United States Navy. A prerequisite for the development of the laboratory was also the benevolence of the authorities of the University of Zurich toward a research project from which scarcely any practical use could be expected for the land-locked country of Switzerland. The development of the laboratory and the systematic research were supported generously from 1964 by Shell Intemationale Petroleum Maatschappij of The Hague. The basic theme of the research was always the well-being and functional ability of the human being in an atmosphere of abnor mal pressure and or abnormal composition. Many connections became obvious with respiratory physiolo gy, circulatory physiology, and physiology at great heigts, and close contact with other special laboratories of the Medical Clin ic proved very valuable. With a relatively small number of steady collaborators it was possible to master an extensive experimental program. Special thanks are due to Mr. Benno Schenk, who as technical head was responsible for the exact performance of all the hyperbaric experiments.

This fourth edition continues to provide a link between occupational health and clinical practice. It covers target organ systems that can be affected by hazardous exposures in workplaces, and it focuses on the clinical presentations, investigations and management of affected individuals. We have retained consideration of some special issues relevant to occupational medicine practice in this new edition. The main emphasis continues to be prevention of disease and early detection of health effects. This edition of the book has been updated to include new materials, topics, and references. We have retained a few of the previous case studies and illustrations, and introduced several new ones. There are new chapters on audit and evidence-based practice and on occupational cancer. We trust that this edition addresses many of the recommendations that were provided by readers of the previous edition. We have again asked international experts to author many of the chapters. Some of the authors are from Asia, and others from the US, UK, the Middle East and Australia. All the authors will have either clinical or academic experience in occupational medicine practice. The book will be of interest to medical practitioners, especially those in primary care and doctors intending to pursue a career in occupational medicine. It would also be relevant for non-medical health and safety professionals wanting to know more about health effects resulting from occupational exposures. Other groups who may find this edition useful as a ready reference are medical students, occupational health nurses, or clinical specialists in fields such as dermatology, respiratory medicine or toxicology. The book is targeted at all those who are interested in the interaction between work and health, and how occupational diseases and work-related disorders may present. Contents:Clinical Occupational Medicine:Work and Health (David Koh and Aw Tar Ching)Diagnosis and Management of Occupational Diseases (Aw Tar Ching, David Koh and John P Thompson)Respiratory Disorders (David Fishwick and Chris Barber)Skin Disorders (David Koh and Goh Chee Leok)Mental Health Disorders (Ken Addley and Robert Kerr)Musculoskeletal Disorders (Keith Palmer, Jane Frølund Thomsen and Sigurd Mikkelsen)Auditory Disorders (Ailin Razali and Krishna Gopal Rampal)Hematological Disorders (Ng Wee Tong and Mark Newson-Smith)Neurological Disorders (Ian Brown and Arjune Sen)Occupational Infections (Rayhan Hashmey and Aw Tar Ching)Renal Disorders (Huw Rees, Doris T Chan and Steve Riley)Cardiovascular Disorders (Mikhail S Dzeshka, Eduard Shantsila and Gregory Y H Lip)Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Disorders (Ian Brown and Jane Collier)Eye Injuries and Other Disorders (Laurence Lim Shen and Wong Tien Yin)Metabolic Disorders (Tng Eng Loon and Lee See Muah)Reproductive Disorders (Lim John Wah and David Koh)Occupational Cancers (Lin Fritschi and Alison Reid)Special Issues in Occupational Medicine:Ethics in Occupational Medicine (David Koh and Lee See Muah)Occupational Medicine Practice and the Law (Lee See Muah and David Koh)Audit and Evidence-Based Occupational Medicine Practice (Yue-liang Leon Guo)Health Screening and Periodic Medical Examinations (Aw Tar Ching and David Koh)Aviation Medicine (Brian See and Gan Wee Hoe)Diving Medicine (Gregory Chan Chung Tsing)Remote Health Care (John Nelson Norman)Medical Disasters Planning and Response (Halim Mohamed and Abu Hasan Samad)Communication in Occupational Medicine (Max Lum)Cultural Aspects of Occupational Medicine Practice (Adul Bandhukul)Workers' Compensation Schemes (Paul Cullinan)Rehabilitation and Return to Work (Nerys Williams)Prevention of Occupational Diseases (David Koh and Aw Tar Ching) Readership: Serves as a useful guide for all those who are interested in occupational medical practice. These include medical students at various levels, occupational health nurses, general practitioners, researchers or colleagues and professionals in occupational and public health and safety — in other words, for all who have committed themselves to do the best practice for the health of working people.