• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.447-453
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• 2018

Background: Patient safety and accurate implementation of medication orders are among the essential requirements of par nursing profession. In this regard, it is necessary to determine and prevent factors influencing medications errors. Although many studies have investigated this issue, the effects of psychosocial factors have not been examined thoroughly. Methods: The present study aimed at investigating the impact of psychosocial factors on nurses' medication errors by evaluating the balance between effort and reward. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in public hospitals of Tehran in 2015. The population of this work consisted of 379 nurses. A multisection questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: In this research, 29% of participating nurses reported medication errors in 2015. Most frequent errors were related to wrong dosage, drug, and patient. There were significant relationships between medications errors and the stress of imbalance between effort and reward (p < 0.02) and job commitment and stress (p < 0.027). Conclusion: It seems that several factors play a role in the occurrence of medication errors, and psychosocial factors play a crucial and major role in this regard. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate these factors in more detail and take them into account in the hospital management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.408-414
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to determine and define the elements of an Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) diagnostic tool to assist an organization in systematically assessing its level of implementation of an FRMS. Methods: A modified Delphi process was used involving 16 participants with expertise in sleep science, chronobiology, and fatigue risk management within occupational settings. The study was undertaken in two stages 1) review of elements and definitions; 2) review of statements for each element. Each stage involved an iterative process, and a consensus rule of ≥ 60% was applied to arrive at a final list of elements, definitions, and statements. Results: Stage 1: a review of elements (n = 12) and definitions resulted in a final list of 14 elements and definitions with a consensus of ≥ 60% achieved after 2 Delphi rounds. Stage 2: a review of statements (n = 131) resulted in a final list of 119 statements with a consensus of ≥ 60% achieved after 2 Delphi rounds. Conclusion: The final FRMS diagnostic tool will enable an organization to systematically assess the level of implementation of their current FRMS and identify gaps and opportunities to reduce risk.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1053-1065
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate radiation safety education, knowledge and practice of dental hygienists in using handheld portable intraoral X-ray equipment and to suggest the need for radiation safety education in using handheld portable intraoral X-ray equipment. Methods: We surveyed 223 dental hygienists from July, 2017 to August in the dental clinics of Daejeon, Seoul and Gyeonggi area. Results: Radiation safety educational experience was higher in a year's career (72.9%), than 3 years experience (32.5%) (p<0.05). 82.7% of dental clinic workers took university education for radiation safety education while 55.6% of dental hospital workers took company training (p<0.05). More than 70% of the subjects did not have experience of radiation safety education about using portable intraoral X-ray. Radiation safety knowledge was highest in a year's career (p<0.05). The cumulative dose, radiation sensitivity, and lead defense knowledge were high in all subjects, but knowledge related to scattering radiation and scattering radiation sources was low. Practice of portable intraoral X-ray safety was significantly lower than knowledge. Conclusions: Knowledge of portable intraoral radiography safety is available, but performance is poor. Even with the small amount of radiation exposure, the risk is perceivable. There is a need to actively utilize the provided radiation protection products. In order to do this, efforts should be made to improve knowledge and performance of radiation safety through not only college education but also postemployment training.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.296-307
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• 2018

Background: Safety culture, acting as the oil necessary in an efficient safety management system, has its own weaknesses in the current conceptualization and utilization in practice. As a new approach, resilience safety culture (RSC) has been proposed to reduce these weaknesses and improve safety culture; however, it requires a valid and reliable instrument to be measured. This study aimed at evaluating the reliability and validity of such an instrument in measuring the RSC in sociotechnical systems. Methods: The researchers designed an instrument based on resilience engineering principles and safety culture as the first instrument to measure the RSC. The RSC instrument was distributed among 354 staff members from 12 units of an anonymous petrochemical plant through hand delivery. Content validity, confirmatory, and exploratory factor analysis were used to examine the construct validity, and Cronbach alpha and test-retest were employed to examine the reliability of the instrument. Results: The results of the content validity index and content validity ratio were calculated as 0.97 and 0.83, respectively. The explanatory factor analysis showed 14 factors with 68.29% total variance and 0.88 Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index. The results were also confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis (relative Chi-square = 2453.49, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.04). The reliability of the RSC instrument, as measured by internal consistency, was found to be satisfactory (Cronbach ${\alpha}=0.94$). The results of test-retest reliability was r = 0.85, p < 0.001. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that the measure shows acceptable validity and reliability.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.269-278
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• 2022

Background: PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD) had a great impact on health care workers during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019, COVID-19). Better knowledge of the prevalence of PTSD and its risk factors is a major public health problem. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and important risk factors of PTSD among medical staff during the COVID-19. Methods: The databases were searched for studies published during the COVID-19, and a PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis) compliant systematic review (PROSPERO-CRD 42021278970) was carried out to identify articles from multiple databases reporting the prevalence of PTSD outcomes among medical staff. Proportion random effect analysis, I² statistic, quality assessment, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analysis were carried out. Results: A total of 28 cross-sectional studies and the PTSD results of doctors and nurses were summarized from 14 and 27 studies: the prevalences were 31% (95% CI [confidence interval, CI]: 21%-40%) and 38% (95% CI: 30%-45%) in doctors and nurses, respectively. The results also showed seven risks (p < 0.05): long working hours, isolation wards, COVID-19 symptoms, nurses, women, fear of infection, and pre-existing mental illness. Two factors were of borderline significance: higher professional titles and married. Conclusion: Health care workers have a higher prevalence of PTSD during COVID-19. Health departments should provide targeted preventive measures for medical staff away from PTSD.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.499-509
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• 2023

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-related adverse events (AEs) that eventually lead to medical disputes or claims on medical professional liability. Methods: Medical disputes for ERCP/EUS-related AEs filed in the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency between April 2012 and August 2020 were evaluated using corresponding medical records. AEs were categorized into three sections: procedure-related, sedation-related, and safety-related AEs. Results: Among a total of 34 cases, procedure-related AEs were 26 (76.5%; 12 duodenal perforations, 7 post-ERCP pancreatitis, 5 bleedings, 2 perforations combined with post-ERCP pancreatitis); sedation-related AEs were 5 (14.7%; 4 cardiac arrests, 1 desaturation), and safety-related AEs were 3 (8.8%; 1 follow-up loss for stent removal, 1 asphyxia, 1 fall). Regarding clinical outcomes, 20 (58.8%) were fatal and eventually succumbed to AEs. For the types of medical institutions, 21 cases (61.8%) occurred at tertiary or academic hospitals, and 13 (38.2%) occurred at community hospitals. Conclusions: The ERCP/EUS-related AEs filed in Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency showed distinct features: duodenal perforation was the most frequent AE, and clinical outcomes were fatal, resulting in at least more than permanent physical impairment.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.57-72
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• 2021

Purpose: At present, there are a variety of serious patient safety incidents related to problems in health information technology (HIT), specifically involving electronic medical records (EMRs). This emphasizes the need for an enhanced electronic medical record system (EMRS). As such, this study analyzed both the nature of and potential to prevent incidents associated with HIT/EMRS based on data from the Korea Patient Safety Reporting and Learning System (KOPS). Methods: This study analyzed patient safety incidents submitted to KOPS between August 2016 and December 2019. HIT keywords were used to extract HIT/EMRS incidents. Each case was reviewed to confirm whether the contributing factors were related to HIT/EMRS (HIT/EMRS-related incidents) and if the incident could have been prevented (HIT/EMRS-preventable incidents). The selected reports were summarized for general clarity (e.g., incident type, and degree of harm). Results: Of the 25,515 obtained reports, 2,664 incidents (10.4%) were HIT-related, while 2,525 (9.9%) were EMRS-related. HIT/EMRS-related incidents were the third largest type of incident followed by 'fall' and 'medication incidents.' More than 80% of HIT/EMRS-related incidents were medication-related, accounting for approximately one-third of the total number of medication incidents. Approximately 10% of HIT/EMRS-related incidents resulted in patient harm, with more than 94% of these deemed as preventable; further, sentinel events were wholly preventable. Conclusion: This study provides basic data for improving EMR use/safety standards based on real-world patient safety incidents. Such improvements entail the establishment of long-term plans, research, and incident analysis, thus ensuring a safe healthcare environment for patients and healthcare providers.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.651-660
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• 2016

Due to recent population aging, the number of check-up for senior citizens has increased steadily. According to this trend, the market size of dental X-ray equipment and the number of approval and review for these devices have simultaneously increased. The technical document of medical device is required for approval and review for medical device, and medical device companies needs to have work comprehension and expertise, as the document needs to include the overall contents such as performances, test criteria, etc.. Yet, since most of domestic manufacturers or importers of medical devices are small businesses, it is difficult for them to recruit professional manpower for approval of medical devices, and submission of inaccurate technical documents has increased. These problems lead to delay of the approval process and to difficulties in quick entering into the market. Especially, the Ministry of Food and Drug safety (MFDS) standards of a dental extra-oral X-ray equipment, a dental intra-oral X-ray equipment, an arm-type computed tomography, and a portable X-ray system have been recently enacted or not. this guideline of dental X-ray equipment adjusting revised standards was developed to help relative companies and reviewers. For this study, first, the methods to write technical document have been reviewed with revised international and domestic regulations and system. Second, the domestic and foreign market status of each item has been surveyed and analyzed. Third, the contents of technical documents already approved by MFDS have been analyzed to select the correct example, test items, criteria, and methods. Finally, the guideline has been developed based on international and domestic regulation, through close review of a consultative body composed of academic, industrial, research institute and government experts.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.142-148
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• 2013

Background: To elucidate the relationship between seven occupational dermatoses (ODs) and 20 types of work in Greece. Methods: This was a prevalence epidemiologic study of certain ODs among 4,000 workers employed in 20 types of enterprise, in 104 companies, in 2006-2012, using data from company medical records, questionnaires, occupational medical, and special examinations. The ${\chi}^2$ test was applied to reveal statistically significant relationships between types of enterprises and occurrence of ODs. Results: A high percentage (39.9%) of employees included in the study population suffered from ODs. The highest prevalence rates were noted among hairdressers (of contact dermatitis: 30%), cooks (of contact dermatitis: 29.5%), bitumen workers (of acne: 23.5%), car industry workers (of mechanical injury: 15%), construction workers (of contact urticaria: 29.5%), industrial cleaning workers (of chemical burns: 13%), and farmers (of malignant tumors: 5.5%).We observed several statistical significant correlations between ODs (acute and chronic contact dermatitis, urticaria, mechanical injury, acne, burns, skin cancer) and certain types of enterprises. There was no statistically significant correlation between gender and prevalence of ODs, except for dermatoses caused by mechanical injuries afflicting mainly men [${\chi}^2(1)=13.40$, p < 0.001] and for chronic contact dermatitis [${\chi}^2(1)=5.53$, p=0.019] afflicting mainly women. Conclusion: Prevalence of ODs is high in Greece, contrary to all official reports by the Greek National Institute of Health. There is a need to introduce a nationwide voluntary surveillance system for reporting ODs and to enhance skin protection measures at work.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.87-104
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• 2004

This study selected the fifth and sixth graders of elementary school in Jeollanamdo who can express their opinions of safety consciousness and understand the items of questionnaire as the population. It selected 10 elementary schools under the supervision of Jeonnam Board of Education and sampled 700 students randomly from 2-3 classes in the 5th and the 6th grade. One preliminary survey was conducted to revise and complement the contents and forms of questionnaire with 70 students of a school from Apr. 1 to 6, 2004 and this study was conducted from Apr. 10 to 30, 2004. Data of this study were collected by explaining the purport of study to subjects after obtaining approval of principal and teacher of the school and distributing questionnaires. Total 700 questionnaires were distributed and 681 were collected (97%) and 602 were used for final analysis except 79 lacking responses. The results of this study are as follows. According to demographical characteristics of subjects, 'male' students were 302(50.%) and 'female' students were 300(49.8%) by sex and 'the 5th graders' were 285(47.3%) and 'the 6th graders' were 317(52.7%) in grade distribution. Residents at 'apartment house' were 406(67.4%) in residence type, 'going to school by foot' was 477 students(79.2%), 'high school graduates' were 297(49.3%) in fathers' education, 'high school graduates' were 366 (60.8%) in mothers' education, 'professional and office workers' were 231(38.4%) in fathers' job, 'full-time workers' were 283(47.0%) in mothers' job, and the number of siblings was one except myself in 343 students(57.0%). Respondents on the level of class showing 'good' were 340(56.5%) and those on the degree of adaptation to school life showing 'active' were 349(58.0%). On the characteristics related to safety education, 360(59.8%) responded it was 'very necessary', on the frequency of safety education at school for last one year, 339(56.3%) responded they had 'once or twice', on the frequency of safety education by parents, 279(46.3%) responded they 'often' had it, on the level of safety practice by parents, 347(57.6%) responded they practiced it 'frequently', on the source of knowledge of safety, 223(37.0%) responded they got it from 'parents, siblings and relatives', on the degree of recognizing the need of safety education textbooks, 295(38.5%) responded 'it was needed', on the recognition of necessity of teacher for safety education, 271(45.0%) answered it was very necessary', and on the recognition of qualification of teacher for safety education, 370(61.5%) answered it was 'paramedic'. The mean score of safety consciousness of subjects was 2.72 (SD. 21) of full score 3, having high score over mean score. According to each area, the area showing the highest safety consciousness was safety of fire(2.83), followed by home safety(2.76) and first-aid treatment(2.76), traffic safety(2.71), play and leisure safety(2.66) and school safety(2.56). Items showing statistical differences in the degree of safety consciousness according to demographical characteristics were sex(t=-3.11, p=.002), education(t=2.33, p=.021) and number of siblings(F=3.729, p=.011). In the difference of safety consciousness between both sexes, 'female' students(2.75) showed higher safety consciousness than 'male' students (2.69), and the former also showed higher safety consciousness than the latter in all six areas of school safety, play and leisure safety, traffic safety, fire safety, home safety and first-aid treatment, and there were statistical differences in the areas of play and leisure safety, traffic safety, fire safety and first-aid treatment. According to the differences of safety consciousness by grade, 'the fifth graders'(2.74) showed higher safety consciousness than 'the sixth graders'(2.70) and the former also showed higher safety consciousness than the latter in all six areas of school safety, play and leisure safety, traffic safety, fire safety, home safety and first-aid treatment, and there were statistical differences in the areas of fire safety and home safety. In the safety consciousness by the number of siblings, 'single son or daughter' (2.78) was highest and their safety consciousness was also highest in all six areas of school safety, play and leisure safety, traffic safety, fire safety, home safety and first-aid treatment, and there were statistical differences in the areas of school safety, fire safety and home safety, There were statistically remarkable differences in degree of adaptation to school life (F=15.349, p=.000) and perceived schooling level(F=9.552, p=.000). According to the degree of safety consciousness related to characteristics of safety education, there were statistical differences at the degree of recognizing the need of safety education(F=9.797, p=.000), degree of safety education at school(F=2.595, p=.006), degree of safety education by parents(F=12.709, p=.000), degree of practicing safety by parents(F=17.579, p=.000), source of knowledge of safety education (F=2,715, p=.044), necessity of safety education textbooks(F=3.972, p=.008), need of safety teacher(F=4.137, p=.006) and qualification standard of safety teacher(F=3.016, p=.029).