Institute for Social Marketing, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 Nov 19;21(12):1673-1679. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty226.
Although many workers are protected from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS), home health and community care workers enter domestic settings where SHS is commonly present. Little is known about the extent of SHS exposure among this occupational group.
A rapid review to examine the literature on home health and community care workers' exposure to SHS at work and identify research gaps. Systematic searches combining terms for SHS exposure (eg, "tobacco smoke pollution") with terms for home health and care workers, patients and settings (eg, "home health nursing") were run in CINAHL and Medline (with no date or language limitations). Web site and backward-forward citation searches identified further papers for narrative review.
Twenty relevant publications covering seventeen studies considered home health or community care workers' exposure to SHS either solely or as part of an assessment of other workplace hazards. Eight studies provided data on either the proportion of home care workers exposed to SHS or the frequency of exposure to SHS. No studies provided quantification of SHS concentrations experienced by this group of workers.
Exposure to SHS is likely to be common for workers who enter private homes to provide care. There is a need for research to understand the number of workers exposed to SHS, and the frequency, duration, and intensity of the exposure. Guidance should be developed to balance the rights and responsibilities of those requiring care alongside the need to prevent the harmful effects of SHS to workers providing care in domestic settings.
Very little is known about home health and community care workers' exposure to SHS. There is a need for research to quantify how many workers are exposed, how often and for how long exposure occurs, and the concentrations of SHS experienced. In many countries, home health care workers may be one of the largest working groups that experience exposure to SHS as part of their employment. The public health community needs to engage in a debate about how home health care workers can be best protected from SHS.
尽管许多工人受到保护，免受二手烟草烟雾（SHS）的暴露，但家庭保健和社区护理人员进入普遍存在 SHS 的家庭环境。关于这个职业群体接触 SHS 的程度，我们知之甚少。
进行快速审查，以检查有关家庭保健和社区护理人员在工作中接触 SHS 的文献，并确定研究空白。在 CINAHL 和 Medline 中进行了系统搜索，将 SHS 暴露（例如“烟草烟雾污染”）的术语与家庭保健和护理人员、患者和环境（例如“家庭保健护理”）的术语结合起来，没有时间或语言限制。网站和回溯引文搜索确定了进一步的论文进行叙述性综述。
有二十篇相关出版物涵盖了十七项研究，这些研究仅考虑了家庭保健或社区护理人员接触 SHS 的情况，或者将其作为评估其他工作场所危害的一部分。八项研究提供了有关接触 SHS 的家庭保健工人比例或接触 SHS 频率的数据。没有研究提供该组工人接触的 SHS 浓度的定量数据。
进入私人家庭提供护理的工人接触 SHS 的情况可能很普遍。需要研究来了解有多少工人接触 SHS，以及接触的频率、持续时间和强度。应制定指导方针，以平衡需要护理的人的权利和责任，以及在家庭环境中防止 SHS 对提供护理的工人造成有害影响的需要。
关于家庭保健和社区护理人员接触 SHS 的情况，我们知之甚少。需要研究来量化有多少工人接触 SHS、接触频率、接触时间和接触浓度。在许多国家，家庭保健工人可能是接触 SHS 的最大工作群体之一，这是他们就业的一部分。公共卫生界需要就如何最好地保护家庭保健工人免受 SHS 暴露展开辩论。
