• Title/Summary/Keyword: Current State of Occupational Health

Search Result 36, Processing Time 0.03 seconds

The Current State and Quality Assessment of Nursing Intervention Study in Occupational Health Nursing of Korea (국내 산업장 간호중재 연구의 현황과 질 평가)

  • Hwang, Youn Sun;Cho, Eunyoung
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
    • /
    • v.28 no.1
    • /
    • pp.21-35
    • /
    • 2019
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose directions for the development of Occupational Health Nursing Intervention by identifying the current status and quality of Occupational Health Nursing Intervention Research in domestic industries. Methods: Between 2000 and August of 2018, total of 1,181 Occupational Health Nursing related published references were searched using 4 domestic databases, and of the total, 29 final theses that suited the requirements were analysed In this research, the quality assessment of literature that were selected as suitable was conducted using a tool for assessing the biasing risk of non-randomized studies, RoBANS(Risk of Biasing Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Study). Results: For all research, nonequivalent control group pre-posttest design was the most used as quasi-experimental designs. The effectiveness of intervention was found both in terms of physical and psychological aspects, and the result of the risk of biasing assessment showed a high risk levels in both "confounding variables" and "detection bias". Conclusion: Occupational Health Nursing Intervention have been steadily making improvements in terms of both quality and quantity, and as for more effective intervention developments that improves the physical and mental health of the workers, supplementation in strict research design and in ethical aspects deems necessary.

Health Promotion at Work: A Comparison of Policy and Practice Across Europe

  • Verra, Sanne E.;Benzerga, Amel;Jiao, Boshen;Ruggeri, Kai
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.10 no.1
    • /
    • pp.21-29
    • /
    • 2019
  • Background: Promoting healthy lifestyles at work should complement workplace safety programs. This study systematically investigates current states of occupational health and safety (OHS) policy as well as practice in the European Union (EU). Methods: OHS policies of EU member states were categorized as either prevention or health promotion provisions using a manifest content analysis. Policy rankings were then created for each prevention and promotion. Rankings compared eight indicators from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks-2 data on prevention and promotion practices for each member state using Chi-square and probit regression analyses. Results: Overall, 73.1% of EU establishments take preventive measures against direct physical harm, and about 35.4% take measures to prevent psychosocial risks. Merely 29.5% have measures to promote health. Weak and inconsistent links between OHS policy and practice indicators were identified. Conclusion: National OHS policies evidently concentrate on prevention while compliance with health and safety practices is relatively low. Psychosocial risks are often addressed in national policy but not implemented by institutions. Current risk assessment methods are outdated and often lack psychosocial indicators. Health promotion at work is rare in policy and practice, and its interpretation remains preventive. Member states need to adopt policies that actively improve health and well-being at the workplace.

Current State of Occupational Health in Small-Scale-Enterprises of Korea (50인 미만 소규모사업장의 보건관리 실태)

  • Yun, Soon-Nyung;Kim, Young-Im;Jung, Hye-Sun;Kim, Soon-Lae;Yoo, Kyung-Hae;Song, Young-Sook;Kim, Hwa-Joong
    • Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
    • /
    • v.11 no.1
    • /
    • pp.90-104
    • /
    • 2000
  • This study was carried out to investigate the current state of occupational health management and characteristics of employees working in small-scale-enterprises (SSE) employing less than 50 workers. Samples were chosen among the two thousands employees working in 838 factories where located in Youngdungpo-Ku, Seoul, Korea. The study results were as followed: 1. Most factories investigated in the study were manufactures (68.6%) which were established in 5 to 10 years ago (29.2%), employing less than 5 workers (72.9%) and registered in accident compensation insurance (23.0%). 2. Health screening was undertaken in 24.9% workplaces for periodic health examination and in 1.5% for special health examination. Environmental monitoring was done in 3.3% factories. Very few factories displayed Material Substance Data Sheet (MSDS) in 3.1% among the total factories. 3. Workplaces usually had their own toilets in 75.9% and washing basin in 58.6% as types of sociowelfare facilities. 4. Employees responded in the study were mostly in the range of age from 30 to 39 in 34.7%. male in 84.8%. the married in 70.3%. manual workers in 42.0%. mostly working regularly 51 hours per a week in 48.2% and earned 710.000 Won to 1.000.000 Won per month in 35.0%. Medical utilization for employees were covered by factories sponsored medical insurance in 12.7% and by provincial sponsored medical insurance in 83.4%. 5. Two point six percents of employees were suffered by diseases. The health complaints indicated were mainly digestive problems in 46.7% and hypertension in 24.4%. 6. Employees wore personal protective equipments for work such as gloves in 48.1%. safety shoes in 30.5%. ear plug in 5.5% and mask in 6.9%. Based on the results of study, we recommend that various types of occupational health management should be developed according to workplace working condition of each factory. In addition to the development of occupational health strategies. we think that it is more important to monitor and to allocate how effectively they operate each other on the basis of longitudinal continuity. Besides, we would like to insist that these all management effort should be focused on prevention of disease and occupational health education of employees.

  • PDF

A study on the criteria and supply status of information for managing carcinogens in domestic and foreign (국내외 발암성물질의 관리기준과 정보제공 현황에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Kwon Seob;Lee, Jong Han;Lee, Hye Jin
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
    • /
    • v.21 no.1
    • /
    • pp.40-48
    • /
    • 2011
  • This study was intended to resolve problems caused by different classification criteria and management methods of carcinogenicity, which have made industrial safety & health institutions and business employers difficult to execute projects or to carry out occupational safety and health related works, and have affected how civic groups perceive carcinogens. The content of this study contained the comparison of management and categorization standards for carcinogens between Korea and other countries as well as the current carcinogenicity-related information supply status of each professional institution. Furthermore, this research examined the current state of supplying information on carcinogenicity among major institutional information supply according to the categorization standard for carcinogens by UN GHS, Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea(KMoEL), and GHS MSDS provided by Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency(KOSHA). Now, professional agency provide 927 kinds of IARC, 237 kinds of NTP, 351 kinds of ACGIH and 1,006 kinds of EU ECHA information on carcinogenic agents. KMoEL provides carcinogenicity-related information of 58 chemical agents in accordance with the category of carcinogens guided by ACGIH. KOSHA offers 13,232 kinds of GHS MSDS information including 2,484 carcinogenic substances. Therefore, carcinogenicity-related information of chemical substances, which are not available on the existing GHS MSDS DB, should be updated for the future reference.

Implementation of Smoke-free Legislation in Malaysia: Are Adolescents Protected from Respiratory Health Effects?

  • Zulkifli, Aziemah;Abidin, Najihah Zainol;Abidin, Emilia Zainal;Hashim, Zailina;Rahman, Anita Abd;Rasdi, Irniza;Syed Ismail, Sharifah Norkhadijah;Semple, Sean
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.15 no.12
    • /
    • pp.4815-4821
    • /
    • 2014
  • Background: This study aimed to examine the relationship between respiratory health of Malaysian adolescents with secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and smoke-free legislation (SFL) implementation. Materials and Methods: A total of 898 students from 21 schools across comprehensive- and partial-SFL states were recruited. SHS exposures and respiratory symptoms were assessed via questionnaire. Prenatal and postnatal SHS exposure information was obtained from parental-completed questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was: 11.9% ever wheeze, 5.6% current wheeze, 22.3% exercise-induced wheeze, 12.4% nocturnal cough, and 13.1% self-reported asthma. SHS exposure was most frequently reported in restaurants. Hierarchical logistic regression indicates living in a comprehensive-SFL state was not associated with a lower risk of reporting asthma symptoms. SHS exposure in public transport was linked to increased risk for wheeze (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 16.6; 95%confidence interval (CI), 2.69-101.7) and current wheezing (AOR 24.6; 95%CI, 3.53-171.8). Conclusions: Adolescents continue to be exposed to SHS in a range of public venues in both comprehensive- and partial-SFL states. Respiratory symptoms are common among those reporting SHS exposure on public transportation. Non-compliance with SFL appears to be frequent in many venues across Malaysia and enforcement should be given priority in order to reduce exposure.

Process Evaluation of a Mobile Weight Loss Intervention for Truck Drivers

  • Wipfli, Brad;Hanson, Ginger;Anger, Kent;Elliot, Diane L.;Bodner, Todd;Stevens, Victor;Olson, Ryan
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.10 no.1
    • /
    • pp.95-102
    • /
    • 2019
  • Background: In a cluster-randomized trial, the Safety and Health Involvement For Truck drivers intervention produced statistically significant and medically meaningful weight loss at 6 months (-3.31 kg between-group difference). The current manuscript evaluates the relative impact of intervention components on study outcomes among participants in the intervention condition who reported for a post-intervention health assessment (n = 134) to encourage the adoption of effective tactics and inform future replications, tailoring, and enhancements. Methods: The Safety and Health Involvement For Truck drivers intervention was implemented in a Web-based computer and smartphone-accessible format and included a group weight loss competition and body weight and behavioral self-monitoring with feedback, computer-based training, and motivational interviewing. Indices were calculated to reflect engagement patterns for these components, and generalized linear models quantified predictive relationships between participation in intervention components and outcomes. Results: Participants who completed the full program-defined dose of the intervention had significantly greater weight loss than those who did not. Behavioral self-monitoring, computer-based training, and health coaching were significant predictors of dietary changes, whereas behavioral and body weight self-monitoring was the only significant predictor of changes in physical activity. Behavioral and body weight self-monitoring was the strongest predictor of weight loss. Conclusion: Web-based self-monitoring of body weight and health behaviors was a particularly impactful tactic in our mobile health intervention. Findings advance the science of behavior change in mobile health intervention delivery and inform the development of health programs for dispersed populations.

Associations of Depressive Symptoms and Brachial Artery Reactivity among Police Officers

  • Violanti, John M.;Charles, Luenda E.;Gu, Ja K.;Burchfiel, Cecil M.;Andrew, Michael E.;Joseph, Parveen N.;Dorn, Joan M.
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.4 no.1
    • /
    • pp.27-36
    • /
    • 2013
  • Objectives: Mental health has been shown to be linked with certain underlying physiological mechanisms. The objective of this cross sectional study was to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms and brachial artery reactivity (BAR) in an understudied population: police officers. Methods: Participants were 351 police officers who were clinically examined in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Police Stress (BCOPS) study. BAR was performed using standard B-Mode ultrasound procedures. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Mean values of the difference between the baseline and maximum diameters of the brachial artery were determined across three categories of CES-D score using the analysis of variance and the analysis of covariance. p-values for linear trends were obtained from linear regression models. Results: The mean age (${\pm}$ standard deviation) of all officers was $40.9{\pm}7.2$ years. Women had a slightly higher mean CES-D score than men ($8.9{\pm}8.9$ vs. $7.4{\pm}6.4$) and a slightly higher percentage increase of BAR than men (6.90 vs. 5.26%). Smoking status significantly modified the associations between depressive symptoms and BAR. Among current smokers, mean absolute values of BAR significantly decreased as depressive symptoms increased after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, hypertension, and diabetes; the multivariate-adjusted p-values were 0.033 (absolute) and 0.040 (%). Associations between depressive symptoms and BAR were not statistically significant among former smokers or never smokers. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were inversely associated with BAR among police officers who were current smokers and together may be considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease among police officers. Further prospective research is warranted.

A Study on the Improvement Plan of Electrostatic Safety Management Level through Injury Analysis (재해분석을 통한 정전기 안전관리 수준 향상 방안 연구)

  • Choi, Sang-won;Jeong, Seong-Choon;Park, Jae Suk;Yang, Jeong Yeol;Byeon, Junghwan
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
    • /
    • v.34 no.5
    • /
    • pp.37-45
    • /
    • 2019
  • The characteristic of fire and explosion related to electrostatic discharge is that it is difficult to reproduce the electrostatic charge and discharge phenomenon in addition to the large human and material damage. Therefore, in order to prevent accidents and disasters related to electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas, it is important to manage the level of electrostatic in a safe manner from the perspective of system between industrial facilities and human bodies. Rule 325 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, "Prevention of Fire / Explosion due to Electrostatic", requires the use of grounding, conductive materials, humidification and electrification in order to prevent the risk of disaster caused by static explosion and electrostatic in the production process. In order to comply with these measures, related technologies, standards and systems are needed from the viewpoint of preventive measures related to electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas, but in Korea, it is still insufficient. Therefore, technical, institutional and managerial measures are needed as a precautionary measure to improve the level of ESD safety in fire and explosion hazard areas and prevent electrostatic related injury. In Korea, we analyzed the current status and characteristics of electrostatic related disaster by using the statistics of industrial accident and fire statistics of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. We also analyzed the current status and characteristics of electrostatic related disasters in Japan using JNIOSH accidents and disasters investigation cases and JNIOSH fire accident data of Japan Fire Bureau. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the current status of electrostatic related accidents and disasters in Korea and Japan in order to improve the safety management of electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas. In order to prevent accidents and disasters in the industrial field, The technical, institutional, and managerial measures to manage the level of electrostatic in a safe state were derived from the system point of view.

A review on the industrial hygiene status of China (중국의 산업위생 실태에 관한 고찰)

  • Wen, Yong;Lee, Ju Yul
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
    • /
    • v.7 no.1
    • /
    • pp.153-165
    • /
    • 1997
  • This study investigated the current industrial hygiene status of China, a socialistic country, to explore the future direction of industrial hygiene of in Korea. In China, the industrial hygiene is called as labor hygiene, which includes industrial health and industrial hygiene. The main goal of labor hygiene is to protect the health of laborers, promote the productivity and ensure the development of industry and agriculture. Started since the foundation of People's Republic of China in 1949, the labor hygiene developed with the occupational disease science which belongs to clinical medicine, has grown today as an independent science. The labor hygiene has made a rapid progress, especially for the last 20 years. The scope of industrial hygiene was expanded from the prevention and treatment of silicosis to pneumoconiosis and o.ther occupational poisoning caused toxic substances. In addition, not only the prevention of industrial toxication but also the prevention of hazards of phisical causes were included in the scope of industrial hygiene. Based on activation of health centers, the organization for the prevention & treatment of occupational diseases was established at the city, county and state. The industrial hygiene monitoring is being carried out through clear division and partition system.

  • PDF

Analysis of Voltage, Current and Temperature Signals for Poor Connections at Electrical Connector (커넥터에서 접촉불량 발생시의 전압, 전류 및 온도 신호 특성 분석)

  • Kim, Sang-Chul;Kim, Doo Hyun;Kang, Shin Uk
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
    • /
    • v.29 no.2
    • /
    • pp.12-17
    • /
    • 2014
  • This paper is aimed to analyze the characteristics of simultaneous voltage, current and temperature signals for poor connection on electrical connector. In order to attain this purpose, detected were the current and voltage signals on electric wire with series arc, named arc signals, and also monitored were the changes of RMS, instantaneous value of waveform in time domain and temperature value with video. Two states are made normal state over $5kgf{\cdot}cm$ and poor connections state below $0.5kgf{\cdot}cm$ by screw gage. In the voltage signal case, the voltage drop was increased with which the current was increased. In the current signal case, poor connections at the time interval 1~4A all showed "shoulder", as distinct difference from the normal state shown waveform pattern. In the temperature signal case, poor connections are twice at 1A and five times at 4A in the normal state. The temperature continues insulation of electrical wiring and connector can be carbonized. The results of this study will be effectively used in developing the preventive devices and system for electric fire by poor connections.