Tag Archives: diagnosed

Five nurses at Massachusetts Hospital working together in the same unit diagnosed with brain tumors

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An investigation is underway at a Boston area hospital involving five nurses who worked in the same department and developed brain tumors.

Mass General Brigham Newton Wellesley Hospital reported a total of 11 employees in the fifth floor obstetrics department have raised health concerns, with five of them being diagnosed with benign brain tumors. Two of these tumors are meningiomas, the most common and benign types of brain tumors.

“The investigation did not find any environmental risks associated with the development of brain tumors,” said hospital administrator Jonathan Sonis, in a statement alongside Associate Nurse Sandy Muse Jonathan Sonis.

The hospital conducted the investigation in collaboration with government health and safety officials, ruling out disposable masks, water supplies, nearby X-rays, and chemotherapy treatments as possible sources of the issue.

“Based on these findings, we can assure our staff and patients that there are no environmental risks within our facilities,” the administrator assured.

Exterior of Mass General Brigham Newton Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts.
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The Massachusetts Nurse Association, currently negotiating nurse compensation at the hospital, expressed their commitment to ongoing investigation.

The union highlighted nurses’ concerns about workplace health, leading to the discovery of individuals with tumors.

“The hospital’s environmental tests were not comprehensive, and they only spoke to a few nurses,” stated MNA spokesman Joe Markman. “The hospital cannot sweep this issue under the rug.”

The state agency and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are yet to provide conclusive information on the matter.

According to the American Cancer Society, a cancer cluster would involve an unusually high number of cancer cases within a specific area sharing common characteristics.

“Four out of ten people in the US develop cancer during their lifetime,” stated the association, emphasizing the frequency of cancer occurrences.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Over 140 Facebook moderators in Kenya diagnosed with severe PTSD from digital media duties

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Over 140 Facebook content moderators have been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being exposed to distressing social media content, including violent acts, suicides, child abuse, and terrorism.

Dr. Ian Kananya revealed that these moderators, based at a facility in Kenya contracted by social media companies, worked long hours and were diagnosed with PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) by the Head of Mental Health Services at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

A lawsuit filed against Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and the outsourcing company Samasource Kenya, which employed moderators from across Africa, brought to light the distressing experiences faced by these employees.

Images and videos depicting disturbing content caused some moderators to have physical and emotional reactions such as fainting, vomiting, screaming, and leaving their workstations.

The lawsuit sheds light on the toll that moderating such content takes on individuals in regions where social media usage is on the rise, often in impoverished areas.

Many of the moderators in question turned to substance abuse, experienced relationship breakdowns, and felt disconnected from their families, due to the nature of their work.

Facebook and other tech giants use content moderators to enforce community standards and train AI systems to do the same, outsourcing this work to countries like Kenya.

A medical report submitted to the court depicted a bleak working environment where moderators were constantly exposed to distressing images in a cold, brightly lit setting.

The majority of the affected moderators suffered from PTSD, GAD, or MDD, with severe symptoms affecting a significant portion of them, even after leaving their roles.

MetaSource and Samasource declined to comment on the allegations due to the ongoing litigation.

Foxglove, a nonprofit supporting the lawsuit, highlighted the lifelong impact that this work has had on the mental health of the moderators.

The lawsuit aims to hold the companies accountable for the traumatic experiences endured by the moderators in the course of their duties.

Content moderation tasks, though often overlooked, can have significant long-term effects on the mental health of those involved, as seen in this case.

Meta stresses the importance of supporting its content moderators through counseling, training, on-site support, and access to healthcare, while implementing measures to reduce exposure to graphic material.

Source: www.theguardian.com