Papers by Valerie O'Keeffe
CRC Press eBooks, Nov 17, 2022
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Journal of Creativity
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Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries
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Frontiers in Psychology
The future of work is forcing the world to adjust to a new paradigm of working. New skills will b... more The future of work is forcing the world to adjust to a new paradigm of working. New skills will be required to create and adopt new technology and working methods. Additionally, cognitive skills, particularly creative problem-solving, will be highly sought after. The future of work paradigm has threatened many occupations but bolstered others such as engineering. Engineers must keep up to date with the technological and cognitive demands brought on by the future of work. Using an exploratory mixed-methods approach, our study sought to make sense of how engineers understand and use creative problem solving. We found significant associations between engineers’ implicit knowledge of creativity, exemplified creative problem solving, and the perceived value of creativity. We considered that the work environment is a potential facilitator of creative problem-solving. We used an innovative exceptional cases analysis and found that the highest functioning engineers in terms of knowledge, sk...
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The journal of occupational health and safety : Australia and New Zealand, 2001
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Safety Science
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Australian Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Engineering, 2019
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Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2015
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Safety Science, 2011
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Policy and Practice in Health and Safety
Abstract The regulation of psychosocial hazards and risks, for the protection of psychological he... more Abstract The regulation of psychosocial hazards and risks, for the protection of psychological health, is a highly debated issue within work health and safety (WHS). Increasing work-related psychological illness and injury, alongside growing academic evidence and community awareness, has fuelled the need to better prevent and regulate psychosocial hazards and risks. Research must clarify challenges and improvements to policy and practice from stakeholder perspectives. We conduct a qualitative interview-based investigation with 25 informed participants on the effectiveness of Australian WHS policies for psychosocial risk regulation. Participants are active in diverse roles including policy development, program implementation, industry advice, and psychosocial risk inspection. Inductive analysis revealed divergent viewpoints that are categorized into three broad themes: (1) scant specificity in the current regulatory WHS policy framework, (2) compliance complexities and (3) the role of regulators in action. Tension points also emerged between these themes and subthemes, including: (a) how psychosocial risks should be addressed in legislation, (b) how to establish compliance, and (c) the role of the regulator in evaluating compliance, and facilitating education and better practice. Future research must continue to disseminate knowledge from WHS informants to guide better practice. Also, researchers should investigate organizational barriers that hinder WHS psychosocial risk regulation.
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Increasing Occupational Health and Safety in Workplaces
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Background: Nursing work is often fast-paced, where achieving safe practice requires applying jud... more Background: Nursing work is often fast-paced, where achieving safe practice requires applying judgement to minimise risks, while accomplishing work goals. Safety information is designed to guide safe practice, providing the foundation for decisions required quickly. Consequently, the work health and safety management system (WHSMS) is regarded as a key source of safety information for nurses. Nurses also use clinical information to determine safe practice. Yet, there has been little empirical research into how safety-related information is accessed and applied in the nursing environment. Aims: This paper aims to describe how nurses use safety information to inform their manual handling practices. Method: This qualitative research interviews twenty-seven nurses in two small private hospitals. We consider their interactions with safety information in relation to manual handling. Healthy and safe practice is mediated through interactions with colleagues, building on nursing experiences...
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Nursing is often hazardous work. Promoting safety and care requires nurses to apply knowledge, sk... more Nursing is often hazardous work. Promoting safety and care requires nurses to apply knowledge, skill and creativity in patient encounters. Nurses' risk exposures are well documented, with research on student nurses' safety more limited. We studied final-year nursing students' risk perceptions using questionnaire-based vignettes involving four patient presentations on patient aggression, manipulating patient and resource risk factors. We found student nurses were most likely to ask for help and wait when managing high-risk patient aggression scenarios. Student nurses placed most importance on their own safety and patient condition in making decisions. Resource risk significantly interacted with gender, with male nurses more likely to seek help when risks were high. There is need to improve student nurse training on managing patient aggression by promoting creative approaches to problem solving and critical thinking using simulation techniques to enhance situation awarenes...
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The Asia Pacific Centre for Work Health and Safety and the Research Centre for Languages and Cult... more The Asia Pacific Centre for Work Health and Safety and the Research Centre for Languages and Cultures at the University of South Australia in conjunction with Helping Hand are pleased to announce the launch of the report: Communicating work health and safety in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity in aged care, funded by SafeWork SA. The report responds to unprecedented changes in the Australian aged care sector. The population is aging, traditional sources of care such as the extended family are less readily available, and there is a shortage of skilled personnel in the labour market. Combined with the changing demographics of the Australian workforce in general, there has been a significant increase in the cultural and linguistic diversity among staff and residents. The report is based on an extensive study of communication in aged care in this context of cultural and linguistic diversity within the aged care sector, and provides recommendations on how workers, employe...
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Safety Science, 2016
Abstract Australia’s aged population is growing, creating pressures on staffing in aged care serv... more Abstract Australia’s aged population is growing, creating pressures on staffing in aged care services. Increasingly, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workers are filling the workforce void. Due to language and cultural differences, and being new workers, CALD workers may experience difficulties in communication, increasing their risk of work-related injury and illness. However, our understanding of how CALD workers navigate health and safety as a work practice is limited. This study sought to reveal how CALD workers understand and communicate regarding their health and safety at work, and to identify mechanisms by which communication could be enhanced to benefit safety. We observed work practices over 57 shifts, examined documentation, and interviewed 51 workers and 22 residents in residential aged care. Field notes and interview data were transcribed, inductively coded and thematically analyzed to reveal themes related to communicating about work health and safety (WHS). The findings reveal that health and safety is a relational practice reliant on interactions between participants at the person–task–organization interface. Cultural identity also significantly affected CALD workers’ participation in health and safety communication. Particular attention needs to be given to overcoming reticence which limits effective communication between workers during daily work. Cultural as well as linguistic differences impact on the communication and participation of CALD workers in health and safety at work. Reticence and different practices for showing respect may impede CALD workers active participation. Solutions involve attention to training, job and management systems design with a focus on participation and inter-cultural awareness.
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Papers by Valerie O'Keeffe