• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.64-70
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• 2018

Objectives: In most countries around the world, sex work is an illegal activity. Female sex workers (FSWs) in Iran hide their identities, and they are known to be a hard-to-reach population. Despite free access to HIV testing, fewer than half of FSWs receive HIV testing. The purpose of this study was to characterize the reasons for which FSWs do not seek testing at drop-in centers (DICs) and voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) centers in Iran. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in 2016. The participants were 24 FSWs who received services at VCT centers and DICs for vulnerable females in the north of Iran and 9 males who were the clients of FSWs. In this study, we made use of purposive sampling and carried out a thematic analysis. Results: We found 4 major and 6 minor themes. The major themes were: fear of being infected (with HIV), stigma, indifference, and knowledge. Conclusions: Despite the significant efforts made by the government of Iran to establish and expand DICs for vulnerable females, the number of FSWs receiving services at these centers has not been very considerable. Consequently, by introducing and implementing training programs for peer groups, it may be possible to take steps toward establishing strategic programs for the control and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.25-29
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• 2018

Background: The understanding of the relationship between risk perception, knowledge, and protective behaviors could play a major role in occupational risk control and management. Research exploring how workers perceive, recognize, and react to risks in different occupational settings is scarce in Thailand. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of noise-related risk perceptions and knowledge to the use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) among sawmill workers in Thailand. Methods: Sawmill workers (n = 540) from four factories in Trang, Southern Thailand, participated in a questionnaire interview from December 2015 to January 2016. Descriptive statistics and linear regression models were used to explore the risk factors related to HPD use. Path diagram analysis was demonstrated and used to evaluate associations. Results: Risk perception was significantly correlated with HPD use (p < 0.01), HPD training (p = 0.01), and the number of years of work experience (p = 0.03). Sawmill workers were likely to use HPDs based on their risk perception and HPD training. However, HPD training was inversely correlated with age and the number of years of work experience. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of risk perceptions and knowledge, and these factors should be emphasized in the design and implementation of any personal safety intervention program for sawmill workers.

• 한국보건간호학회지
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.131-142
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to grasp the relationship between the amount of physical activities at work perceived by workers and their health promotion behaviors. To achieve such a purpose. this survey was conducted on 476 Workers who work for 3 food product work-sites located in Keong-in area by means of questionnaire from June 15 to July 14 . 1998. Collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS/WlN. The significant results were obtained as follows. 1. The average scores of the amount of physical activities at work and health promotion behavior were 3.18 and 2.84 respectively; the former was slightly higher than moderate score 2.5 and the latter was almost the same as it. It can be interpreted that workers perceive their physical activities at work are heavier than their daily activities, which seems to make their health promotion behaviors still inactivated. 2. The amount of physical activities at work, it was were greater revealed that the more activities workers do after work. the more they walk and the more exercises they do. It implies that the voluntary practice of good health habit at leisure can be greatly contributed to the activation of more productive activity at work. 3. The amount of health promotion behaviors was larger as workers do more physical activities at work and have lower PIBW(Percent Ideal Body Weight). It means that the voluntary practice of good health habit is closely related to the degree of obesity and their positive attitude toward their work. Average PIBW was 106.71; most of the workers are distributed within the standard range in their weight. So we can presume that most of them are not seriously conscious of weight maintenance in their daily lives. Therefore it is desirable that health promotion program for workers should be developed toward connecting their physical activities at work with those in their daily lives much more. Physical activities, health promotion behaviors

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.119-126
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• 2021

Background: During the period 2001 to 2016, the maximum temperatures in Thailand rose from 38-41℃ to 42-44℃. The current occupational heat exposure standard of Thailand issued in 2006 is based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) defined for three workload levels without a work-rest regimen. This study examined whether the present standard still protects most workers. Methods: The sample comprised 168 heat acclimatized workers (90 in construction sites, 78 in foundries). Heart rate and auditory canal temperature were recorded continuously for 2 hours. Workplace WBGT, relative humidity, and wind velocity were monitored, and the participants' workloads were estimated. Heat-related symptoms and signs were collected by a questionnaire. Results: Only 55% of the participants worked in workplaces complying with the heat standard. Of them, 79% had auditory canal temperature ≤ 38.5℃, compared with only 58% in noncompliant workplaces. 18% and 43% of the workers in compliant and noncompliant workplaces, respectively, had symptoms from heat stress, the trend being similar across all workload levels. An increase of one degree (C) in WBGT was associated with a 1.85-fold increase (95% confidence interval: 1.44-2.48) in odds for having symptoms. Conclusion: Compliance with the current occupational heat standard protects 4/5 of the workers, whereas noncompliance reduces this proportion to one half. The reasons for noncompliance include the gaps and ambiguities in the law. The law should specify work/rest schedules; outdoor work should be identified as an occupational heat hazard; and the staff should include occupational personnel to manage heat stress in establishments involving heat exposure.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.236-244
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• 2020

Objectives: Although the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" has been lauded as effective in preventing hospital-associated infections, little is known about healthcare workers (HCWs)' hand hygiene behavior. In this study, we sought to assess knowledge and attitudes towards the concepts in this initiative, as well as associated factors, among Vietnamese HCWs at a general hospital. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to HCWs at a central Vietnamese general hospital in 2015. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with HCWs' knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene. Results: Of 120 respondents, 65.8% and 67.5% demonstrated appropriate knowledge and a positive attitude, respectively, regarding all 5 hand hygiene moments. Logistic regression indicated better knowledge of hand hygiene in workers who were over 30 years old, who were direct HCWs (rather than managers), who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received their clinical information from training. Those who worked in infectious and tropical disease wards, who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received information from training were more likely to have a positive attitude towards hand hygiene than their counterparts. Conclusions: Although many Vietnamese HCWs displayed moderate knowledge and positive attitudes towards the WHO hand hygiene guidelines, a key gap remained. Regular education and training programs are needed to increase knowledge and to improve attitudes and practices towards hand hygiene. Furthermore, a combination of multimodal strategies and locally-adapted interventions is needed for sustainable hand hygiene adherence.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.491-499
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• 2020

Background: Assembly lines work is frequently associated to work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. The related disability and absenteeism make it important to implement efficient health surveillance systems. The main objective of this study was to identify self-reported variables that can determine work-related upper limb musculoskeletal symptoms-discomfort/pain-during a 6-month follow-up. Methods: This was a prospective study with a 6-month follow-up period, performed in an assembly line. Upper limb musculoskeletal discomfort/pain was assessed through the presence of self-reported symptoms. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate which self-reported variables were associated to upper limb symptoms after 6 months at the present and to upper limbs symptoms in the past month. Results: Of the 200 workers at baseline, 145 replied to the survey after 6 months. For both outcomes, "having upper limb symptoms during the previous 6 months" and "education" were possible predictors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that having previous upper limb symptoms was related to its maintenance after 6 months, sustaining it as a specific determinant. It can be a hypothesis that this population had mainly workers with chronic symptoms, although our results give only limited support to self-reported indicators as determinants for upper limb symptoms. Nevertheless, the development of an efficient health surveillance system for high demanding jobs should implicate self-reported indicators, but also clinical and work conditions assessment should be accounted on the future.

• 대한지역사회영양학회지
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.83-94
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• 1999

This study was carried out to investigate the general characteristics of public health nutritionists, the current status of nutrition services operation, the recognition about nutrition services of public health center related man power, the job satisfaction and self-assessment and the need for a retraining course of public health nutritionists. The subjects were 58 public health nutritionists who responded to the questionnaire distributed at the annual retraining program in 1998. The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1) 46.5% of the nutritionists were 26-30 years old, 62.1% were 4 year university graduates 74.1% were food and nutrition majors and 51.7% were daily workers. 2) Among the public health center-related manpower, the recognition about nutrition services was the highest for the manager of family health section, followed by the head of public health centers, and then the general nurse in public health centers. 3) The ranking of the reasons for job satisfaction of the public health nutritionists was, relationship with colleagues(3.84), inhabitants response after nutrition counselling(3.53), specialized value realization/conviction about duty(3.35), contents of the work(3.10), value achievement(3.08), self achievement/development(3.00), self discretion(2.92), participation in policy decisions(2.90), work load(2.75), chance of retraining and acquisition of new information(2.73), working environment(2.69), supervisio $n^port by superiors(2.67), salary(2.38), supply of necessary education material, technique(2.37), and budget security(2.22). 4) The satisfaction of the inhabitant's responses after nutrition counseling was the highest among the 4 year university graduates(p<0.05), the satisfaction of the specialized value realization/conviction about duty was the highest among the nutritionists 26-30 years old(p<0.05). Food and nutrition majors(p<0.05) and those having worked less than 3-5years at public health centers also showed much satisfaction(p<0.05). Satisfaction with the salary was the lowest among the food and nutrition majors(p<0.01) and daily workers(p<0.001). The satisfaction with the participation in policy decisions was the lowest among the daily workers(p<0.01). 5) The ranking for the level of self-assessment were, nutrition and dietetic practice(2.92), communication(2.80), management(2.77), public health science and practice(2.66)(p<0.01). The general characteristics such as the level of education, major, employment condition, current public health center's tenure, and charge experience of the nutrition guidance work were not significantly related to self-assessment except the management part(p<0.05). The higher the satisfaction of specialized value realization/conviction about the duty, the better the total score on the self-assessment(p<0.05)..

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한예방의학회 1996년도 제48차 추계 학술대회 연제집
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• pp.265-266
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• 1996

• 한국보건간호학회지
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.138-162
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• 1997

This study was conducted to, develop the social workers role participating health and welfare services production of health centers The sharp increase rate on the elderly population in Korea lead the social issues as that health and social services are not developed enough to cope with the increase on the elderly's hearth care needs. The priority in the elderly's care service development should be put on public sectors. so that could prevent financial catastrophy of the elderly's care. The pulbic sector was concerned with health center services : as health center in Korea provide :mainly medical-oriented services. this study focused on to combine the existing health center's services into social services. The study method was based on needs survey with 322 patients aged over than 55 in rural area. "The needs survey include general health and disease care needs and daily life caring needs. The latter was applied with ADL and IADL with modificiation for the use of Korea environment. The findings were as follows : Social workers should be able to care diseases of muscular and skeletal. circulatory, digestive and general chronic disease in social service needs. aspect. Mostly the chronic pateints quit their care services because of shortage of finanical support$(18.3\%)$ and transportation problem$(19.5\%)$, but still prefer to be cured and cared from general hospitals. and at least clinic and health centers in community. The univisible dramatic effect. of health. care services also should be concerned and cared by xocial workers. The ADL and! IADL shown the most needs on transportation needs and problems caused by weaken legs. Mostly daily activities were supported by family members $(53.3\%\;spousers\;and\;35.0\%\;children)$, and the most demands were shown on helps for transportation visiting hospitals$(37\%)$ and getting similar care services for health care needs $(31.2\%)$ and daily hygeieal needs$(11.2\%)$ Social workers' role should include health care participation with social and health promotion approach as well as socio-economic supports: during health care receiving. Social workers also should provide social services for the elderly's daily needs solving for these are not in available family supporters.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.109-113
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• 2019

Background: In both developed and developing countries, noise is regarded as the most common occupational hazard in various industries. The present study aimed to examine the effect of sound pressure level (SPL) on serum cortisol concentration in three different times during the night shift. Methods: This case-control study was conducted among 75 workers of an industrial and mining firm in 2017. The participants were assigned to one of the three groups (one control and two case groups), with an equal number of workers (25 participants) in each group. Following the ISO 9612 standard, dosimetry was adopted to evaluate equivalent SPL using a TES-1345 dosimeter. The influence of SPL on serum cortisol concentration was measured during the night shift. The serum cortisol concentration was measured using a radioimmunoassay (RIA) test in the laboratory. Repeated measure analysis of variance and linear mixed models were used with ${\alpha}=0.05$. Results: The results indicated a downward trend in the serum cortisol concentration of the three groups during the night shift. Both SPL and exposure time significantly affected cortisol concentration (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001). Conversely, age and body mass index had no significant influence on cortisol concentration (p = 0.360, p = 0.62). Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, increasing SPL will lead to enhancement of serum cortisol concentration. Given that cortisol concentration varies while workers are exposed to different SPLs, this hormone can be used as a biomarker to study the effect of noise-induced stress.