• Physical Therapy Korea
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.91-97
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• 2012

The primary aim of this study was to compare responsiveness of self-report by worker and therapist-scored functional capacity instrument. Self-report and therapist-scored interval-level person measures and item difficulties were compared at admission and discharge. Therapist and worker ratings were collected on 230 clients from 27 rehabilitation sites using the newly developed Occupational Rehabilitation Data Base (ORDB) functional capacity instrument. ORDB comprises several subscales measuring relevant variables of "a return-to-work model" in work-related rehabilitation clinics. The functional capacity scale deals with 10 DOT job factors. The rating scale categories were 1-severely impaired, 2-moderately impaired, 3-mildly impaired, and 4-not impaired. Only data from clients with low back pain (n=98) with complete data (both admission and discharge scores) were used for the present study. Therapists and workers completed the functional capacity instrument at admission and discharge. Rasch analysis [1-parameter item response theory model (IRT)] was applied to calibrate item difficulty and person ability measure of therapist and workers ratings. Effect sizes for therapist and self-report ratings were slightly different, .69 and .30, respectively. Therapist and worker ratings were more consistent at discharge (r=.54) than at admission (r=.32). Workers have a tendency to be more severe in their ratings (show higher item difficulties) than therapists at admission and discharge. Therapists and workers report similar magnitudes of improvement following treatment program. These findings challenge the belief that injured workers may unreliable source for monitoring therapeutic outcomes. Self-report measures have the advantage of conserving therapist time for treatment (versus evaluation). While the therapist and self-report ratings are comparable at discharge, there is less consistency at admission. Comparable therapist-worker ratings may be achieved by controlling for rating severity using IRT methodologies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.13-20
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• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to propose a domestic occupational exposure limit(OEL) following a health hazard assessment, calculation of a non-carcinogenicity reference concentration worker($RfC_{worker}$) value, and examination of international agencies' exposure limits. It also recommends legal management within the Occupational Safety and Health Act for PHMG-Phosphate(CAS No. 89697-78-9), It is a humidifier disinfectant that generated many lung injuries. Methods: We have investigated the recommendation or guidelines of foreign OEL for PHMG-Phosphate and the actual state of legal management in Korea. To examine the procedures and methods for recommendation OEL. Toxicological hazard and health hazard classifications were examined and a non-carcinogenicity $RfC_{worker}$ value was calculated for PHMG-Phosphate. An OEL and the necessity of legal management were recommended as well. Results and Conclusions: The OEL for PHMG-Phosphate is recommended to be $0.01mg/m^3$. The recommended OEL is close to 10 times the RfCworker value of $0.000833mg/m^3$ calculated from the chemical dose-response hazard assessment, which is a 2017 study. The CMIT/MIT(3:1) mixture, which was a social issue as a humidifier disinfectant substance, was also exposed to the same ratio in March 2018, establish the OEL. It is recommended to establish OEL for PHMG-Phosphate to prevent worker health hazards and for chemical safety management.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.32.1-32.10
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• 2023

Background: Although many studies have been conducted on worker fatigue and sickness absence, the association between fatigue and sickness absence is unclear in Korean workers. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of worker fatigue on future sickness absence. Methods: The study was conducted on workers who received medical check-ups at a university hospital for two consecutive years (2014-2015). During check-ups in the first year, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was used to assess fatigue levels, and during check-ups in the second year, sickness absence was surveyed to determine whether they had been absent from work due to physical or mental illness during previous 12 months. The χ² test was used to analyze relationships between sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, fatigue levels, and sickness absence. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression analysis controlled for confounding factors. Results: A total of 12,250 workers were included in the study, and 396 (3.2%) workers experienced more than one day of sickness absence during the study period. Adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.64-4.28) in the moderate-fatigue group and 6.87 (95% CI: 4.93-9.57) in the high-fatigue group versus the low-fatigue group. For men in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.40 (95% CI: 2.58-4.48) and 8.94 (95% CI: 6.12-13.07), and for women in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 2.93 (95% CI: 1.68-5.10) and 3.71 (95% CI: 1.84-7.49), respectively. Conclusions: Worker fatigue is associated with sickness absence during the following 12 months, and this association appears to be stronger for men than women. These results support the notion that sickness absence can be reduced by evaluating and managing work-related fatigue.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bio-Environment Control Conference
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• 한국생물환경조절학회 2001년도 가을 학술발표논문집
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• pp.46-51
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• 2001

시설원예는 노동집약적이며 순자르기, 눈따기, 유인, 열매솔기, 수확 등 기계화하기 어려운 작업이 많다. 또 대부분의 작업체계에서 항상 운반작업이 이루어지고 있으며 시설 내 여러가지 작업단계 중 운반작업에 소모되는 노동력 비율이 매우 높다. 그리고 다량의 수확물을 바구니나 용기로 소량 운반하기 때문에 필연적으로 보행거리가 길어지고 규모의 확대에 따라 노동강도가 크게된다. (중략)

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.141-166
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the status of youth overeducation and to analyze the impact on the wage system, before and after the financial crisis. In this study, we adapt the following method; first, we investigate the year 1996 (before financial crisis) and year 2000 (after financial crisis) data from "the Survey Report on the Wage structure", based on the data from "the Occupational Dictionary" by occupation group. So we could evaluate the difference between the youth over-educational status, before and after financial crisis. Second, we analyze the reason why the difference occurs, with financial crisis dummy variable and other variables such as sex, occupation, industry. Third, we try to find the difference between the impact of the overeducation on the wage rate, before and after financial crisis. The main findings are as follows; first, the degree of overeducation in year 2000 is more than in year 1996. So the financial crisis plays the important role in deepening the degree of overeducation. Second, the wage rate of the overeducated worker is higher than that of the required-educated worker. Also, the both wage rates are increased after financial crisis. However, the difference of both wage rates' has declined over the financial crisis. Such a finding means that even though the both wage rates of the overeducated and the required-educated worker are increased, the wage rate of the required-educated worker has increased much more than that of overeducated worker, after the financial crisis.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.107-121
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• 1992

Moonlighting or second-jobs will increase shirking of the primary job. This paper analyzes the motives for moonlighting so that the means of reducing these motives could be explored. The traditional theory claims that a worker who cannot fully realize his work potential will look to moonlighting. In a two-period model, however, the following motives are more important. The precautionary savings motive : A worker has an incentive to save for fear of losing his job and his income in the second period. The worker could save more by working more during the first period, and this additional motive for working is the precautionary savings motive. The insurance motive : When a worker is unemployed, he cannot expand his moonlighting hours according to his needs since the moonlighting hour is upward rigid. Therefore, a worker has an incentive to secure additional moonlighting hours in the first period so that quick adjustment can be made during the unemployment in the second period. Two policy measures to remove those motives for moonlighting are recommended, for these measures will enhance the productivity in the primary job. First, a firm should guarantee that there will be no layoffs in a downturn in the economy and that the employment level is adjusted to the economic states by work sharing among workers. Second, as unemployment insurance benefits compensate a portion of the income in case of unemployment, it substitutes the motives for moonlighting. A generalization of this argument can be found in Ehrlich and Becker(1972) where self-insurance(moonlighting) and market insurance(in this case, unemployment insurance) serves as substitutes. The two policy measures in the above have a spill-over effect : A decrease of labor supply in the moonlighting market will ease job search, and therefore will help those who have their primary job in the moonlighting sector.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.229-236
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• 2023

Background: In workers with moderate to severe work-related traumatic brain injury (wrTBI), this study aimed to investigate the effect of the timing of rehabilitation therapy initiation on the length of hospital stay and the factors that can influence this timing. Methods: We used data obtained from the Republic of Korea's nationwide Workers' Compensation Insurance. In the Republic of Korea, between the years 2010 and 2019, a total of 26,324 workers filed a claim for compensation for moderate to severe wrTBI. Multiple regression modeling was performed to compare the length of hospital stay according to the timing of rehabilitation therapy initiation following wrTBI. According to the timing of the initiation of rehabilitation therapy following TBI, the proportions of healthcare institutions that provided medical care during each admission step were compared. Results: The length of hospital stay for workers who started rehabilitation therapy within 90 days was significantly shorter than that for workers who started rehabilitationment were first admitted to tertiary hospitals. Approximately 39% of patients who received delayed rehabilitation treatment were first admitted to general hospitals, and 28.5% were first admitted to primary hospitals. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the importance of early rehabilitation initiation and that the type of healthcare institution that the patient is first admitted to after wrTBI may influence the timing of rehabilitation initiation. The results of this study also emphasize the need to establish a Worker's Compensation Insuranceespecialized rehabilitation healthcare delivery system.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.26-58
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• 2003

This research first finds out the resources, activities, and effectiveness of quality management effort and the resulting customer satisfaction when the total quality management is lacking in most Korean medical agencies today. Then, it analyzes the relationship among the factors mentioned earlier. This paper utilizes actual data and presents a theoretical model which explains that the resources of quality management affect the activities and that the fruit of the quality management effort benefits the customers in the end. In addition, this study conducts a corroborative analysis through executing a survey, getting a descriptive statistical result on the subjects' characteristics and the research variables using SPSS 9.0 WIN PROGRAM, and the model is approved through analyzing its make-up using LISREL 8.12 WIN PROGRAM. The study's finding is the following: First, the management leadership affects the worker's, educational training, the quality of medical service, and the survey of customer satisfaction positively. However, it does not affect the quality of work positively. Second, the internal customer satisfaction affects the worker's participation, educational training, the quality of medical service, and the survey of customer satisfaction positively. Third, the quality of medical service and the survey of customer satisfaction affects the result of quality management positively, but the worker's participation, educational training, and the quality of work do not affect the result of quality management positively. Fourth, the management leadership does not appear to affect the result of quality management positively. Fifth, the internal quality management appears to affect the result of quality management positively. Sixth, the external customer satisfaction appears to affect the result of quality management positively. In conclusion, the findings in this study indicate that medical agencies need to utilize the active variables of quality management in order to successfully establish a total quality management.

• Health Policy and Management
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.34-55
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• 2002

In this study, the impact of organizational culture on the quality of social work services in hospitals were empirically analysed. A mailed questionnaire survey was conducted between February 19 and April 10, 2001. A sample of total 70 hospitals, including general hospitals with one social worker at least and single-department hospital with two social workers or more, were identified nationwide through the registry of Korean Association of Medical Social Workers and Korean Association of Hospitals. According to coping strategy and reacting pattern with the environmental changes, four types of organizational culture in each hospital, classified as group culture, developmental culture, hierarchial culture, and rational culture, were adopted for the independent variables. Three dimensional aspects of quality of social work service - structure, process, and outcome were selected as dependent variables in this study. Also the quality of social work service was distributed into provider-perceiving quality and consumer-perceiving quality The major findings were as following in summary; First, most social workers reported that the characteristic of culture in their hospitals are group culture the first, hierarchial culture the second, developmental culture the third, and rational culture finally in order of comparing the level of quality perceived between social worker's recognition. Second, service provider and consumer, The provider-perceiving quality showed less score than that of consumer, especially the lowest was the score of quality of outcome perceived by provider. Third, according to the types of organizational culture, there were significantly different levels of quality in total social work services, structure dimension and process dimension. The quality of outcome dimension did not show significant differences among the type of organizational culture. Finally, the most influential variables to the quality of social work service ice proved departmental form of social work unit, leader of social work unit, and developmental culture of hospital To assure quality services, accordingly, social work unit in hospital is required to be organized as a single unit, that means to be an independent department of which qualified social worker is supposed to control the unit. It is strongly recommended to develop leadership for the leaders of social work unit.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.18-31
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• 2016

Background: A job-specific Worker's Health Surveillance (WHS) for hospital physicians is a preventive occupational health strategy aiming at early detection of their diminished work-related health in order to improve or maintain physician's health and quality of care. This study addresses what steps should be taken to determine the content of a job-specific WHS for hospital physicians and outlines that content. Methods: Based on four questions, decision trees were developed for physical and psychological job demands and for biological, chemical, and physical exposures to decide whether or not to include work-related health effects related to occupational exposures or aspects of health reflecting insufficient job requirements. Information was gathered locally through self-reporting and systematic observations at the workplace and from evidence in international publications. Results: Information from the decision trees on the prevalence and impact of the health- or work-functioning effect led to inclusion of occupational exposures (e.g., biological agents, emotionally demanding situations), job requirements (e.g., sufficient vision, judging ability), or health effects (e.g., depressive symptoms, neck complaints). Additionally, following the Dutch guideline for occupational physicians and based on specific job demands, screening for cardiovascular diseases, work ability, drug use, and alcohol consumption was included. Targeted interventions were selected when a health or work functioning problem existed and were chosen based on evidence for effectiveness. Conclusion: The process of developing a job-specific WHS for hospital physicians was described and the content presented, which might serve as an example for other jobs. Before implementation, it must first be tested for feasibility and acceptability.