• 제목/요약/키워드: Health risks

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Tobacco-Related Chronic Illnesses: A Public Health Concern for Jamaica

  • Crawford, Tazhmoye V.;McGrowder, Donovan A.;Barnett, Jasper D.;McGaw, Barbara A.;McKenzie, Irving F.;James, Leslie G.
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • 제13권9호
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    • pp.4733-4738
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    • 2012
  • Background: Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases. The objectives of the study were to determine the percentage of annual income used to purchase tobacco-related products and treat tobacco-related illnesses, and assess the characteristics of smokers and their awareness of the health-related risks of smoking. Method: Stratified and snowball sampling methods were used to obtain information (via a 17-item, close-ended questionnaire) from 85 adult respondents (49 males and 36 females). The instrument comprised of demographic characteristics, smoking behavioural/lifestyle, health, and micro socio-economics. Results: There were no significant differences between individuals who were affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (14.1%) and cardiovascular disease (18.8%). It was found that respondents spend 30-39% of their annual income on tobacco-related products. Forty percent (40.0%) and 41.7% of respondents with lung cancer and COPD respectively spend more than 50% of their annual income to treat these diseases. The majority (80%) of those who continues to consume tobacco-related products were uncertain as to why they were doing it. Not all the smokers were aware of the dangers of tobacco consumption despite their level of education. Conclusion: The majority of the respondents who had tobacco-related illnesses such as lung cancer and COPD spend a significant amount of their income on their health care. Not all the smokers were aware of the dangers of tobacco consumption despite their level of education. This suggests the need for increase public awareness where both smokers and non smokers are being fully or adequately informed about the dangers or health risks of tobacco consumption.

Infection Risks Faced by Public Health Laboratory Services Teams When Handling Specimens Associated With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

  • Wong, Chun-Kwan;Tsang, Dominic N.C.;Chan, Rickjason C.W.;Lam, Edman T.K.;Jong, Kwok-Kwan
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • 제11권3호
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    • pp.372-377
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    • 2020
  • Infection risks of handling specimens associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by public health laboratory services teams were assessed to scrutinize the potential hazards arising from the work procedures. Through risk assessments of all work sequences, laboratory equipment, and workplace environments, no aerosol-generating procedures could be identified except the procedures (mixing and transfer steps) inside biological safety cabinets. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks, protective gowns, face shields/safety goggles, and disposable gloves, together with pertinent safety training, was provided for laboratory work. Proper disinfection and good hand hygiene practices could minimize the probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection at work. All residual risk levels of the potential hazards identified were within the acceptable level. Contamination by gloved hands was considered as a major exposure route for SARS-CoV-2 when compared with eye protection equipment. Competence in proper donning and doffing of PPE accompanied by hand washing techniques was of utmost importance for infection control.

비시장재에 대한 WTP와 WTA 격차에 대한 실증분석 : 실험시장접근법을 이용한 음용수 건강위험을 사례로 (Empirical Analysis on the Disparity between Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept for Drinking Water Risks : Using Experimental Market Method)

  • 엄영숙
    • 자원ㆍ환경경제연구
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    • 제17권3호
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    • pp.135-166
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    • 2008
  • 비시장재의 변화에 의한 후생변화 측정치로서 쓰이는 지불의사(WTP)와 수용의사(WTA) 개념은 경제이론적으로는 소득효과가 크지 않다면 서로 크게 다르지 않을 것이라고 예측되고 있다. 그러나 실증분석결과들은 WTA 측정치가 WTP의 측정치보다 훨씬 큰 것으로 관찰되고 있다. 본 연구는 우리나라에서는 처음으로 실험시장접근법을 사용하여 비시장재의 하나인 먹는 물에 잔류가능성이 있는 유해물질(비소, 납, 트리할로메탄 중의 하나)로부터의 건강위험변화에 대한 WTP와 WTA를 측정하고 이 두 측정치에 차이가 존재하는지 실증적으로 분석하였다. 대학생들 15명씩의 참가자들을 대상으로 총 여섯 번의 실험시장을 개설하였다. 시장거래경험의 유무에 따른 차이를 검증하고자 사적 시장재인 캔디바 실험경매도 도입하였고, 반복경험에 따른 학습효과를 관찰하기 위하여 20번의 실험경매를 시도하였고, 정보제공효과를 관찰하기 위하여 10번째 경매 후에 객관적 건강위험에 관한 확률정보를 제공하였다. 시장재 비시장재의 구분없이 첫 번째 실험경매에서는 WTA가 통계적으로 유의하게 WTP를 초과하였다. 실험경매가 진행됨에 따라 사적 시장재는 WTA와 WTP의 차이가 사라지고 시장평균가격에 수렴하였다. 그러나 비시장재인 건강위험변화에 대한 결과는 혼재되어 있었다. 건강위험이 가장 큰 비소에 대해서는 건강위험 감소에 대한 WTP가 건강위험 증가에 대한 WTA보다 통계적으로 유의하게 적었다. 반면에 건강위험이 상대적으로 적은 납과 트리할로메탄에 대해서는 WTP와 WTA의 평균이 같다는 귀무가설을 기각할 수 없었다. 실험참가자들은 실험경매 중간에 제공된 건강위험정보에 대해 합리적으로 반응하였고, 실험경매가 진행됨에 따라 경험획득에 의한 학습효과도 긍정적이었다. WTP는 실험 초반에 학습효과가 주로 관찰된 반면에 WTA 측정치는 실험경매 후반에 학습효과가 관찰되었다.

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Health Inequalities Among Korean Employees

  • Choi, Eunsuk
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • 제8권4호
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    • pp.371-377
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    • 2017
  • Background: Social status might be a determinant of occupational health inequalities. This study analyzed the effects of social status on both work environments and health outcomes. Methods: The study sample consisted of 27,598 wage employees aged 15 years and older from among the Korean Working Condition Survey participants in 2011. Work environments included atypical work, physical risks, ergonomic risks, work demands, work autonomy, social supports, and job rewards. Health outcomes comprised general health, health and safety at risk because of work, the World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index, work-related musculoskeletal disease, and work-related injury. Multivariable logistic-regression models were used to identify the associations between social status and work environments and health outcomes. Results: Employees in the demographically vulnerable group had lower occupational status compared with their counterparts. Low social status was largely related to adverse work environments. Especially, precarious employment and manual labor occupation were associated with both adverse work environments and poor health outcomes. Conclusion: Precarious and manual workers should take precedence in occupational health equity policies and interventions. Their cumulative vulnerability, which is connected to demographics, occupational status, adverse work environments, or poor health outcomes, can be improved through a multilevel approach such as labor market, organizations, and individual goals.

지하수 중 자연방사성물질의 위해성 관리에 대한 고찰 (International Trends in Risk Management of Groundwater Radionuclides)

  • 신동천;김예신;문지영;박화성;김진용;박선구
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • 제17권4호
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    • pp.273-284
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    • 2002
  • At present, the health risks associated with the natural radionuclides of ground water have become a concern as potential social problems. However, there are no regulatory actions or control strategies for such risks. Therefore, we have investigated and discussed the risks and associated management strategies for radionuclides in other countries. US EPA has proposed MCL (300 pCi/L) and AMCL (4,000 pCi/L) for radon, and 30 ppb for uranium, 15 pCi/L for gross-alpha and 5 pCi/L for radium as final MCLs. Also, Canada, WHO and European countries have their inherent management levels. Finally, we suggested several criteria for setting guidelines in our countries including exposure related criteria such as geological distribution, occurrence, exposure probability distribution, exposure population and multimedia exposure assessment, acceptable risk, and cost -benefit analysis. The national-scale exposure and risk assessment, and economic analysis should be conducted for producing and aggregating the representative information on these criteria.

Risk Ranking for Tunnelling Construction Projects in Malaysia

  • Ghazali, F.E. Mohamed;Wong, H.C.
    • Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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    • 제4권1호
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    • pp.29-36
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    • 2014
  • Tunnelling has become a preferred method of construction for road and highway projects in countries with a lot of hilly slope geological conditions such as found in Malaysia. However the construction works of a tunnelling project are usually complicated and costly, which consequently impose great risks to the parties involved. This paper identifies the key significant risks and sub-risks for tunnelling construction projects in Malaysia through a case study. Interview has been used as the solitary means to determine the significant risks from contractor's eleven key project personnel who were directly involved in the tunnelling construction such as consultant, construction manager and tunnel engineers. The importance of the risks identified is then prioritised and ranked via the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)'s pairwise comparison approach to determine their criticality towards a successful delivery of project. As a result, three key risks have been identified as significant for the tunnelling case study project, namely health and safety, cost overrun in construction and time overrun in construction. Two sub-risks each of the latter categories, which are cost underestimation and unforeseen events (cost overrun in construction) as well as plant and machinery failure and delay in material delivery (time overrun in construction), have occupied the top five overall risk ranking.

Knowledge and Experiences of Risks among Pupils in Vocational Education

  • Andersson, Ing-Marie;Gunnarsson, Kristina;Rosen, Gunnar;Aberg, Marie Mostrom
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • 제5권3호
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    • pp.140-146
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    • 2014
  • Background: Young male and female workers are over-represented in statistics concerning negative outcomes of poor work environment and risky work. Young workers often have low awareness of risk, a lack of safety training, and inadequate introduction to the work. The aim of this study was to identify the knowledge and experiences of pupils of vocational schools concerning potential work environment risks in their future work. Methods: The study design was a dual one, and included a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The study group consisted of 239 pupils from 10 upper secondary schools, who were graduating pupils in four vocational programs: the Industrial Technology Programme, the Restaurant Management and Food Programme, the Transport Programme, and the Handicraft Programme (in which students specialize in wood products). The upper secondary schools were located in the central region of Sweden. Results: The pupils had limited knowledge that employers must, by law, conduct risk analyses and prevent risks. Many felt that they themselves are mainly responsible for performing their tasks safely. Pupils in all programs mentioned acute risk as the greatest risk at work. The theoretical education about safety at work was provided in the $1^{st}$ year of the 3-year vocational programs. Conclusion: A systematic approach to pupils' training in work environment, which is a basis for a safe and healthy workplace, is lacking. The study findings indicate that pupils are offered knowledge far from that intended by laws and by state-of-the-art occupational health risk research.

소방공무원의 현장 활동 위험도 인식 (Recognition of scene activity risks among the firefighters)

  • 김종서;성동원;현성민;갈원모;이동호;박종태
    • 대한안전경영과학회지
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    • 제15권4호
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    • pp.105-111
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    • 2013
  • This study aimed to identify the recognition of fire risks on their field operations among firefighters and contribute to setting up safety measures accordingly. A self-administered questionnaire were used to evaluate their recognition of job risks. About 93.4% of respondents answered they have exposed to job risks and 73.4% answered that they had high safety awareness. Our study showed that the lower service years and ranks the fire officers had, the lower relevance in statistics their awareness of the risk of the field operations and safety concerns had. The vulnerable group is those aged 20 to 39, with under 10 years of service, at a lower rank of senior fire sergeant. The study suggests coming up with the measures to motivate the officers to perform safe operations by improving their safety awareness.

산업보건 위험성평가 기법의 현장 적용에 관한 연구 (A Study on the Field Application of Occupational Health Risk Assessment Method)

  • 정종득;유재흥;김윤희;정기효
    • 대한안전경영과학회지
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    • 제26권2호
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    • pp.79-86
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    • 2024
  • Scientific exploration of how occupational health risks relate with occupational illnesses are essential for mitigating health-related issues in industries. This study analyzed the risk scores obtained by occupational health risk assessments at 3,172 manufacturing companies and examined their effects on occupational illness. Statistical analyses revealed that companies with an occupational health manager (scored 89.1 out of 100) had significantly higher activity scores of health management compared to those without (78.2). However, companies with a history of occupational illness (79.1) or those classified as high-risk industries (85.2) had significantly lower activity scores than their counterparts (81.7, 87.3). In addition, regression analyses using factor analysis showed that latent risk factors such as cardiovascular disease/job stress, health management, and musculoskeletal problem significantly influenced the risk of occupational illness. The activity factors such as health management, work environment management, and regulatory complaisance significant impacted the reduction of occupational illness. The findings of this study can be used to improve the occupational health risk assessment method and utilized in effectively managing occupational risks in industries.