• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.224-231
• /
• 2018

Background: Organizations are pursing complex and diverse aims to generate higher profits. Many workers experience high work intensity such as workload and work pressure in this organizational environment. Especially, psychological burden is a commonly used term in workplace of Republic of Korea. This study focused on defining the psychological burden from the perspective of occupational safety and health and tried to develop a scale for psychological burden. Methods: The 48 preliminary questionnaire items for psychological burden were prepared by a focus group interview with 16 workers through the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II and Mindful Awareness Attention Scale. The preliminary items were surveyed with 572 workers, and exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis were conducted for a new scale. Results: As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, five factors were extracted: organizational activity, human error, safety and health workload, work attitude, and negative self-management. These factors had significant correlations and reliability, and the stability of the model for validity was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Conclusion: The developed scale for psychological burden can measure workers' psychological burden in relation to safety and health. Despite some limitations, this study has applicability in the workplace, given the relatively small-sized questionnaire.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.41-53
• /
• 2022

Objective : The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the vocational rehabilitation evaluation tool for the mentally disabled. Methods : For literature search, the Pubmed database was used, and for the analysis, the development year, evaluation method, number of items, scale, and evaluation items were analyzed. In the analysis method, each evaluation item was divided into four categories: function, internal factor, environment, and mental symptom, and the evaluation elements of each evaluation tool were identified. Results : When searching Pubmed through search terms, 161 documents were retrieved. According to the selection method, Griffiths Work Behavior Scale (GWBS), Occupational Functioning Scale (OFS), Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), Work Ability Index (WAI), Work Behavior Inventory (WBI), Work Environment Impact Scale (WEIS), and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) were screened. The evaluation items of all evaluation tools included job-related functional evaluation. According to the purpose of each evaluation tool, internal factors, environment, and mental symptoms were measured. Conclusion : Occupational skills are skills in which various functions such as physical, cognitive, social skills, and coping skills act in a complex way. Therefore, it is necessary to include the four factors analyzed in this study: function, internal factors, environment, and psychiatric symptoms.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.203-209
• /
• 2014

Background: Coal mining is of significant economic importance to the Australian economy. Despite this fact, the related workforce is subjected to a number of psychosocial risks and musculoskeletal injury, and various psychological disorders are common among this population group. Because only limited research has been conducted in this population group, we sought to examine the relationship between physical (pain) and psychological (distress) factors, as well as the effects of various demographic, lifestyle, and fatigue indicators on this relationship. Methods: Coal miners (N = 231) participated in a survey of musculoskeletal pain and distress on-site during their work shifts. Participants also provided demographic information (job type, age, experience in the industry, and body mass index) and responded to questions about exercise and sleep quality (on-and off-shift) as well as physical and mental tiredness after work. Results: A total of 177 workers (80.5%) reported experiencing pain in at least one region of their body. The majority of the sample population (61.9%) was classified as having low-level distress, 28.4% had scores indicating mild to moderate distress, and 9.6% had scores indicating high levels of distress. Both number of pain regions and job type (being an operator) significantly predicted distress. Higher distress score was also associated with greater absenteeism in workers who reported lower back pain. In addition, perceived sleep quality during work periods partially mediated the relationship between pain and distress. Conclusion: The study findings support the existence of widespread musculoskeletal pain among the coal-mining workforce, and this pain is associated with increased psychological distress. Operators (truck drivers) and workers reporting poor sleep quality during work periods are most likely to report increased distress, which highlights the importance of supporting the mining workforce for sustained productivity.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2005.10a
• /
• pp.409-416
• /
• 2005

This paper presents the possible effects and restrictions that may arise in the field of industrial construction due to compliance with relevant construction codes and regulations, as well as the ways they can be favorably handled in the design of industrial buildings. Designs should be based primarily on human design factors, while considering the human as the centre of the work environment. Design parameters should be described as a function of both the physical and psychosocial attributes of a person as well as the technical and economical aspects on the design of industrial construction. This paper is an examination of the connection that exists between design law (codes and regulations) and industrial construction. The relevant construction laws and regulations are described, including standards and codes of practice that designing and supervising engineers are obliged to observe. Possible solutions and consequences of development in the production, constructional, and ergonomic field of design are also discussed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.14-22
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to assess the factors that influence the health of workers, especially nurses, and to propose methods for health management. Methods: A total of 246 nurses were surveyed to ascertain the health status score, Sasang constitution diagnosis, health-related life and job factors, psychosocial stress, and job stress. Depending on their health status score, the subjects were categorized into unhealthy, intermediate, or healthy groups, and each factor was compared with the stress score of the groups. Further, each Sasang constitution factor was also compared with the stress scores. Results: Analysis based on the health status scores indicated that the patients in the intermediate group were older and had longer tenure than those in the unhealthy or healthy groups. The healthy group had higher number of married individuals, and they were subjectively assessed as healthy. Patients in this group were more satisfied with their work than those in the unhealthy group. Analysis of the Sasang constitution showed that a lower percentage of individuals with a Soeumin constitution were married, and most considered themselves to be unhealthy during the subjective health assessment. Conclusions: The findings of this survey revealed that in order to maintain health, efforts should be made to improve the work environment, achieve health confidence, and practice health behavior while considering one's own body, mental state, and constitution.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.68 no.3
• /
• pp.125-139
• /
• 2010

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) frequently complain of dyspnea on exertion and reduced exercise capacity, which has been attributed to an increase in the work of breathing and in impaired of gas exchange. Although COPD primarily affects the pulmonary system, patients with COPD exhibit significant systemic manifestations of disease progression. These manifestations include weight loss, nutritional abnormalities, skeletal muscle dysfunction (SMD), cardiovascular problems, and psychosocial complications. It has been documented that SMD significantly contributes to a reduced exercise capacity in patients with COPD. Ventilatory and limb muscle in these patients show structural and functional alteration, which are influenced by several factors, including physical inactivity, hypoxia, smoking, aging, corticosteroid, malnutrition, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway activation. This article summarizes briefly the evidence and the clinical consequences of SMD in patients with COPD. In addition, it reviews contributing factors and therapeutic strategies.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.52-60
• /
• 2009

The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between fear-avoidance beliefs and functional status in individuals suffering from low back pain, and to identify factors that influence on fear-avoidance beliefs, functional status and pain. A cross-sectional study included 214 individuals with low back pain. Each of subjects completed a fear-avoidance beliefs questionnaire (FABQ) which divided into two subscales, FABQ for physical activity (FABQ-PA) and FABQ for work(FABQ-W), Oswestry disability index (ODI) and numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). Individuals with radiating pain were significantly higher in FABQ-PA, FABQ-total, and ODI scores than with no radiation pain (p<.05). Individuals who had received surgery were significantly higher in FABQ-PA, FABQ-total, ODI and NPRS scores when compared with individuals who had not received it (p<.05). And individuals with taking medication were significantly higher in all variables (FABQ-PA, FABQ-W, FABQ-total ODI and NPRS) than individuals not taking medication (p<.05). In correlation analysis. age appeared to be significantly correlated with FABQ-PA, FABQ-total and ODI scores (p<.05), and all variables was significantly correlated with each other (p<.01). These findings indicate that individuals suffering from low back pain have psychosocial problems such as fear-avoidance beliefs as well as functional status and pain. Fear-avoidance beliefs may contribute to aggravate physical symptoms, and therefore it should be carefully considered for the management of individuals with low back pain.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.39
• /
• pp.238-265
• /
• 1999

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of depression in housewives and to analyze the effects of psychosocial factors on the depression. Especially the focus was on the differences in the degree of depression and the influencing factors on depression between those in early adulthood and those in middle adulthood The subjects consisted of 130 early adulthood housewives and 142 middled adulthood housewives. They asked to complete several self-report measures that were used to assess the variables of interest. The result indicated that the depression in housewives were serious enough to arouse social workers' attention. The average housewives were suffered from mild depression, and 17.1% of the housewives were in need of professional treatment. There was no significant difference in the degree of depression between the early adulthood housewives and the middle adulthood housewives. There were, however, differences in the factors which explain and predict the depression between these two groups. The results of step-wise multiple regression analysis indicated that the factors which predict the depression for the early adulthood housewives were self-esteem, conflict with the spouse, experience of painful events, age, and conflict with the children. On the other hand, the factors which predict the depression for the middle adulthood housewives were self-esteem, conflict with the spouse, job, and income. Implications of the findings for social work interventions were discussed.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.93-99
• /
• 2023

Background: Effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and overcommitment at work have been associated poorer mental health. However, nonlinear and nonadditive effects have not been investigated previously. Methods: The association between effort, reward, and overcommitment with odds of poorer mental health was examined among a sample of 68 formal United States waste workers (87% male). Traditional, logistic regression and Bayesian Kernel machine regression (BKMR) modeling was conducted. Models controlled for age, education level, race, gender, union status, and physical health status. Results: The traditional, logistic regression found only overcommitment was significantly associated with poorer mental health (IQR increase: OR = 6.7; 95% CI: 1.7 to 25.5) when controlling for effort and reward (or ERI alone). Results from the BKMR showed that a simultaneous IQR increase in higher effort, lower reward, and higher overcommitment was associated with 6.6 (95% CI: 1.7 to 33.4) times significantly higher odds of poorer mental health. An IQR increase in overcommitment was associated with 5.6 (95% CI: 1.6 to 24.9) times significantly higher odds of poorer mental health when controlling for effort and reward. Higher effort and lower reward at work may not always be associated with poorer mental health but rather they may have an inverse, U-shaped relationship with mental health. No interaction between effort, reward, or overcommitment was observed. Conclusion: When taking into the consideration the relationship between effort, reward, and overcommitment, overcommitment may be most indicative of poorer mental health. Organizations should assess their workers' perceptions of overcommitment to target potential areas of improvement to enhance mental health outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.196-201
• /
• 2016

An effective strategy for obesity intervention should include demographic, health-related, and work-related factors that are most relevant to the target population. Factors most strongly associated with obesity may differ for groups of individuals across industries or age categories. The purpose of this study was to provide current knowledge about the possible association between psychosocial job stress and immune parameters in blood. We assessed obesity-related parameters as well as the natural killer cell activity (NKCA) in female workers. There was a significant difference in the obesity-related blood parameters, i.e. fasting blood sugar level, according to age (p<0.05). Moreover, it showed a significant difference in NK cell activity between the obese and non-obese factor groups (p<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that NKCA was closely correlated with obesity related factors. In the future, it would have to study the biological changes which increase the activity of the immune factors to the immunological response.