• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.208-212
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• 2016

Background: Outdoor workers are at risk of high ultraviolet radiation exposure, and may have difficulty using sun protection. The objectives were to determine the prevalence of sun protection behaviors in a sample of outdoor construction workers, and to assess which factors predict better sun protection practices. Methods: Participants were recruited via construction unions. Workers answered a questionnaire on demographics, skin cancer risk, sun protection behaviors, and job. Sun protection behavior scores (from questions on sunscreen use, sleeved shirt, hat, shade seeking, sunglasses) were calculated by converting Likert-scale answers to scores from 0 to 4, and taking the mean (separately for work and leisure). Determinants of sun protection behavior scores were examined for work and leisure using generalized linear models. Results: Seventy-seven workers had complete questionnaire data (participation 98%). Sun protection behaviors used most often were hats (79% often/always) and sleeved shirts (82% often/always); least prevalent were shade-seeking (8% often/always) and sunscreen (29% often/always). For both work and leisure scores, the strongest predictor was skin type, with fairer-skinned individuals having higher sun protection behavior scores. Workers had higher scores at work than on weekends. Workplaces that required hats and sleeved shirts for safety purposes had higher protection behavior scores. Conclusion: This high-participation rate cohort helps characterize sun protection behaviors among outdoor workers. Workers practiced better sun protection at work than on weekends, suggesting that workplace policies supportive of sun protection could be useful for skin cancer prevention in the construction industry.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.43-52
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• 2014

Because information on biological agents in the workplace is lacking, biological hazard analyses at the workplace to securely recognize the harmful factors with biological basis are desperately needed. This review concentrates on literatures published after 2010 that attempted to detect biological hazards to humans, especially workers, and the efforts to protect them against these factors. It is important to improve the current understanding of the health hazards caused by biological factors at the workplace. In addition, this review briefly describes these factors and provides some examples of their adverse health effects. It also reviews risk assessments, protection with personal protective equipment, prevention with training of workers, regulations, as well as vaccinations.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.103-108
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• 2014

Following the emergency work in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, more attention was paid for the radiation protection of workers working under severe accident condition. The protection procedure for the emergency workers, including the on-site emergency center, the seismic isolated building and the reestablishment of the radiation protection framework were analyzed to investigate drawbacks and deficiencies which led to adverse effects on the emergency planning and on emergency workers' health and comfort. Those drawbacks were identified and studied, and then suggestions were made to enhance the emergency working condition to avoid any future problems during severe accident emergency work and management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.133-135
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• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in movement restrictions being instituted globally and the cessation of work at many workplaces. However, during this period, essential services such as healthcare, law enforcement, and critical production and supply chain operations have been required to continue to function. In Singapore, measures were put in place to protect the workers from infection at the workplace, as well as to preserve the operational capability of the essential service in a COVID-19 pandemic environment. This paper critically analyses the measures that were implemented and discusses the extension to broader general industry.

• 한국산학기술학회논문지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.1253-1263
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• 2015

본 연구의 목적은 의료기관 근로자들의 환자 개인정보 보호에 대한 인식을 평가하는 도구를 개발하고, 개발된 도구의 타당도와 신뢰도를 검증하고자 하였다. 도구의 개발 및 검증과정은 도구의 개념틀 구성, 기초 문항 작성, 내용타당도 검증, 예비조사를 거쳐 최종문항을 추출하였다. 내용타당도는 3명의 보건의료전문가의 검증을 받았고, 구성타당도는 문항분석, 탐색적 요인분석과 확인적 요인분석을 실시하였다. 도구의 신뢰도는 Cronbach's alpha 로 검증하였다. 간호사, 병원 행정직원, 여러 보건의료 종사자들로 구성된 의료기관 근로자 279명을 대상으로 설문조사를 시행하였다. 확인적 요인분석 결과 4요인 모델의 적합도가 높아 구성타당도가 검증되었으며, 4요인 13문항으로 구성된 본 도구의 신뢰도 Cronbach's alpha는 .83이었다. 결론적으로, 본 도구는 의료기관 근로자의 개인정보보호 인식을 측정하기에 타당도와 신뢰도가 검증된 도구인 것으로 나타났다.

• 한국학교ㆍ지역보건교육학회지
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.69-77
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• 2007

Background & Objectives: International radiation protection committee recognized the importance of radiation protection from medical practices because the exposure to the radiation in medical practice is higher than any other exposure. The factors on knowledge, attitude and practice of radiation safety of the medical workers engaged in radiation were analyzed in order to improve radiation safety technology. Method: Questionnaires were used for 1200 radiation workers in medical institution from July 23 through September 4 and collected for analysis. Results: Different level of safety measures were practiced by age, marital status, career, and medical facility. The difference was statistically significant. Higher levels of safety measures were practiced in the age group of 50s and married persons. The workers who have more than 20 years experience have higher level of safety measures. The workers of health centers have higher level of safety measures to compare with other workers. The factors which give more concerns on safety practice were self efficacy, practice and knowledge in order. Conclusion: Safety conscious operators should get additional education program to maintain higher level of safety. The operators who do not have much safety concern should be intensive training program for self efficacy and safety.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.102-107
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• 2022

South Korea will soon be a super-aged society, as more than 20.6% of its population will be 65 years and older by 2025. As of 2022, 17.5% of the total population in South Korea is 65 years and older, which exceeds the set threshold for an aged society, where more than 14% of the population is 65 years and older. The proportion of older subway construction workers has increased. Aging workers and their work stress negatively impact their workability. A previous study demonstrated that the stress index measured using the uBioMacpa measurement device (Macpa stress index) had a significant correlation with work stress in South Korea. The device tests vascular health and measures stress levels via Macpa signal analysis. In this study, the pulse waves of subway construction workers were measured using uBioMacpa to identify their stress levels. The stress levels were analyzed by age, years of service, job position, employment type, and work type. Herein, these statistics could not be easily represented by a normal distribution; therefore, the Kruskal-Wallis test, a nonparametric statistical method, was used for the analysis of data. The results showed that age, job position, employment type, and working type affected the Macpa stress index and the stress levels of workers increased with age. In terms of job position, technical engineers were more stressed than other workers because of their poor working environment. In terms of employment type, daily-wage workers were more stressed than other workers. In terms of working type, tunneling, waterproofing, and construction scored the highest Macpa stress indexes without any significant difference, whereas earthworks scored the lowest. Based on the analysis of Macpa stress index, safety and health management plans were proposed to reduce the stress levels of workers. Moreover, a manual for efficient stress management must be developed for subway construction workers.

• 보건의료산업학회지
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.159-174
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• 2015

Objectives : A survey was conducted to investigate oral health belief and education awareness of oral health of workers in the workplace and to obtain the basic data necessary to promote their oral health and design an oral health education program. Methods : This study conducted a self-administered survey. Results : The following conclusion was made. For oral health beliefs based on the type of work that the workers did, workers in production and technical services had more benefits than those in other fields(security, guard, etc.), and workers on night duty had more oral health hygiene problems than that of regular day-time workers. The longer the period of service was, the more sensitive and serious the workers were and the less beneficial the work was; workers working for eight hours or less had higher levels of importance than those working for ten hours. They were well aware of the need for oral health education but were less aware of the need for an oral health room. Conclusions : It is necessary to emphasize oral health beliefs when developing an oral health education program that promotes oral health for workers in the workplace. If an oral health education program attempts to reflect the concerns of workers in the workplace and provides preferred contents and methods on oral health education, the program is expected to promote the active and positive participation of the workers.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.71-79
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• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the status of maternity protection in the industries for the development of educational database used by occupational health nurses (OHNs). Method: 100 OHNs were purposively sampled and they were charged in the occupational health manager of their own industries. Data were collected by the postal mail, the response rate was 53.0%, and analysis rate was 43.0%. Result: The results were as follows; 1. Most of subjects responded there was the institutionalization of a special holiday for woman workers (97.7%) and 90 days maternity leave (95.4%). Otherwise, the numbers of industry were smaller in the case of providing the breast-feeding time, temporary rest from office for child raring, restriction of hazard job, night job, and over time. The application rates were lower than the rate of institutionalization of all maternity protection items. 2. There were significant differences in institutionalization of maternity protection by the activity of the trade union. And the numbers of the industry applying the maternity protection were significantly different by the area and the types of industry. 3. Most OHNs responded 17 subjects were needed to the maternity protection education for women workers. Conclusion: It would be needed to develop the maternity protection education database in base of the status of maternity protection in the industries and the need of maternity protection education. The role of OHNs for maternity protection was expected to activate.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.261-262
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• 2022

Globally, it is estimated that the number of people living outside of their country of origin reached 281 million in 2020. The primary drive of those migrants when migrating voluntarily is work to increase their income and provide for their families left behind in their home countries. Those who migrate immediately seek means of income to sustain themselves through a perilous process as currently evidenced in the war in Ukraine and not too long ago in Syria and Venezuela. Unfortunately, migrant workers are globally known to predominantly be working in "4-D jobs"- dirty, dangerous, and difficult and discriminatory; the fourth D was recently added to acknowledge the discriminatory aspect and other social determinants of health migrant workers face in their host country while exposed to precarious work. Consequently, migrant workers are at considerable risk of work-related illnesses and injury but their health needs are critically overlooked in research and policy. Recognizing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment", we cannot consider any human life - thus, the life of migrant workers - as dispensable through a structural discriminatory process that undervalues their occupational safety and health, livelihood and the contribution these workers bring to their host countries. This was seen during the preparation for the upcoming world cup in Qatar where migrant workers were exposed to a multiplicity of serious hazards including deadly heat hazards.