The safety of an organization can be improved by investigating and correcting the many processes that shape performance at the __sharp end__. Errors do not occur of themselves, but arise within the... Show moreThe safety of an organization can be improved by investigating and correcting the many processes that shape performance at the __sharp end__. Errors do not occur of themselves, but arise within the context of the work environment. Where the environment is one that makes errors by individuals more likely, we can identify the underlying problems that will have been present in the system, often recognized but long tolerated. The factors that make errors more likely, can be characterized as Latent Risk Factors (LRFs). The prospective identification of LRFs can lead to removal of error-inducing conditions before they can contribute to patient injury. Identifying LRFs will improve patient safety by improving the conditions that set the working environment for the occurrence of errors. Interventions aimed at unfavorable LRFs may contribute to patient safety in the Operating Theatre. Staff from Operating Theatre and Intensive Care Unit is able to detect these shortcomings but differ in their scope of the present risks. Unfavorable LRFs can act as stressful triggers at the workplace. If staff cannot control such stress this may negatively affect their well-being. The key to a healthy workplace is to control the deficiencies in the structure of the working environment. Show less
Children with autism and intellectual disability form a particularly vulnerable group, as both disorders have a significant impact on the way and level of information processing and communication.... Show moreChildren with autism and intellectual disability form a particularly vulnerable group, as both disorders have a significant impact on the way and level of information processing and communication. However, children with autism and co-occurring intellectual disability are often excluded from research. Therefore, this study focused on problems in functions, forms, and content of communication by comparing children with autism and intellectual disability with children with intellectual disability only and typically developing children. The results showed that low-functioning children with autism, especially nonverbal children, have severe problems in the use of communicative functions (Chapter 3). In children with autism and intellectual disability receptive language is generally more impaired than expressive language. Joint attention and symbolic skills are strongly related to concurrent language skills (Chapter 4). Because of the limited symbol understanding in low-functioning children with autism, level of sense-making has to be taken into account before starting interventions (Chapter 5). Relative strengths in visual perception can be used to offer the best suitable intervention (Chapter 6). The results of our study emphasize that communicative interventions should have improvement and support of language comprehension as a key target, but also should target the motivation to communicate. Show less
