• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.258-266
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• 2017

Background: Welders are exposed to many known and suspected carcinogens. An excess lung cancer risk among welders is well established, but whether this is attributable to welding fumes is unclear. Excess risks of other cancers have been suggested, but not established. We investigated welding cancer risks in the population-based Canadian Census Health and Environmental Cohort. Methods: Among 1.1 million male workers, 12,845 welders were identified using Standard Occupational Classification codes and followed through retrospective linkage of 1991 Canadian Long Form Census and Canadian Cancer Registry (1992-2010) records. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models based on estimated risks of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and nasal, brain, stomach, kidney, and bladder cancers, and ocular melanoma. Lung cancer histological subtypes and risks by industry group and for occasional welders were examined. Some analyses restricted comparisons to blue-collar workers to minimize effects of potential confounders. Results: Among welders, elevated risks were observed for lung cancer [HR: 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.31], mesothelioma (HR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.01-3.18), bladder cancer (HR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.15-1.70), and kidney cancer (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.01-1.67). When restricted to blue-collar workers, lung cancer and mesothelioma risks were attenuated, while bladder and kidney cancer risks increased. Conclusion: Excess risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma may be partly attributable to factors including smoking and asbestos. Welding-specific exposures may increase bladder and kidney cancer risks, and particular sources of exposure should be investigated. Studies that are able to disentangle welding effects from smoking and asbestos exposure are needed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.415-420
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• 2022

Background: Healthcare workers perform an emotionally exhausting daily work activity, making them prone to occupational hazards, namely psychosocial ones. This study aims to assess the impact of psychosocial risk factors on healthcare workers' mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed between May and June of 2021 with 479 healthcare workers from Portuguese hospitals. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale was used to assess mental health, and psychosocial risks were assessed through the Health and Work Survey - INSAT. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the psychosocial risk factors related to anxiety, depression, and stress. Subsequently, a multiple linear regression was performed to identify the models that better explained psychosocial risk factors' relationship with anxiety, depression, and stress. Results: Data showed a strong exposure to psychosocial risks. Work pace and intensity, work relationships, and emotional demands stood out with higher global average percentages for yes answers to "exposure and discomfort." The analysis of the b values and p-values from the multiple linear regression shows that some cross-sectional psychosocial risks are predictors of anxiety and stress dimensions, and other psychosocial risks differ in the two mental health dimensions. However, it is important to highlight that healthcare workers still showed great joy and pleasure in performing their work activities. Conclusion: Support network development in the work environment is needed to prevent healthcare workers' emotional stress and promote their psychological well-being. Therefore, new research is essential to understand the psychosocial risks that affect healthcare workers and assess the less visible effects of work-health relationships.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.431-442
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• 2020

Background: Psychosocial risks are increasingly a type of risk analyzed in organizations beyond chemical, physical, and biological risks. To this type of risk, a greater attention has been given following the update of ISO 9001: 2015, more precisely the requirement 7.1.4 for the process operation environment. The update of this normative reference was intended to approximate OHSAS 18001: 2007 reference updated in 2018 with the publication of ISO 45001. Thus, the organizations are increasingly committed to achieving and demonstrating good occupational health and safety performance. Methods: The aim of this study was to characterize the psychosocial risks in a cryopreservation laboratory and to develop a predictive model for psychosocial risk management. The methodology followed to collect the information was the inquiry by questionnaire that was applied to a sample comprising 200 employees. Results: The results show that most of the respondents are aware of the psychosocial risks, identifying interpersonal relationships and emotional feelings as the main factors that lead to this type of risks. Furthermore, terms such as lack of resources, working hours, lab equipment, stress, and precariousness show strong correlation with psychosocial risks. The model presented in this study, based on artificial neural networks, exhibited good performance in the prediction of the psychosocial risks. Conclusion: This work presents the development of an intelligent system that allows identifying the weaknesses of the organization and contributing to the enhancement of the psychosocial risks management.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to survey the college students' perception of cancer risks, cancer related health behavior, and perception of cancer occurrence possibility before and after age 40. Methods: The subjects were 771 college students who were conveniently selected from two colleges in the Gyeonggi Province. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0. Results: The mean score of cancer risk perception was 3.8. The highest score item was 'smoking may cause cancer'. The mean score of cancer related health behavior was 3.0. The highest score item was 'take bath or shower'. Student felt that possibility of developing cancer before age 40 was 20.1% and that after age 40 was 36.2%. The perception of cancer risks was significantly different between male and female, and the health behavior was significantly different between age groups. There were weak relationships between the perception of cancer risks and cancer related health behavior. Conclusion: College students' perception of cancer risks was mostly good, but their behavior to reduce the risks did not match the degree of perception. Students recognized that after age 40 has a higher risk of developing cancer, therefore, intervention on behavioral modification to reduce cancer risks would be beneficial.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.245-247
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• 2019

Occupational risks are often underestimated in midwifery. It is not commonly known that occupational risks were originally described by the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) at the beginning of the 18th century. Our aim was to describe occupational risks in midwifery from Ramazzini to modern times. The original text by Bernardino Ramazzini was analyzed. A review of modern scientific articles on occupational risks in midwifery was conducted. Ramazzini identified two major occupational risks in midwifery: infections and awkward postures. Modern literature seems to agree with his considerations, focusing on infection, use of universal protection and personal protective equipment, and musculoskeletal problems. Modern studies also evidenced posttraumatic stress disorder that was probably postulated by Ramazzini himself. The poor number of articles in literature on midwives' occupational risks shows a lack of interest toward this issue. Prevention should therefore be emphasized in this field, so high-quality studies on occupational risks in midwifery are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the offspring and to examine the mediating role of antepartum health risk on the intergenerational transmission of maternal ACEs. Methods: The participants consisted of 461 mother-child dyads. Mothers completed the ACEs questionnaire and Diagnostic Predictive Scales. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the risk of ADHD symptoms in the offspring of mothers with ACEs and the mediating effect of antepartum health risks by path analysis. Results: In all, 35.4% (n=163) had at least one maternal ACE, and 11.1% (n=51) had three or more. Compared to the non-ADHD symptom group, the group of offspring with ADHD symptoms showed a significant association with maternal ACE score (p<0.001) and antepartum health risks (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis further showed a significant association between the sum of maternal ACEs [odds ratio (OR)=1.264, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 1.060-1.516, p=0.009], antepartum health risks (OR=1.236, 95% CI=1.036-1.475, p=0.019), and ADHD symptoms in the offspring. In the mediation model in which the mother's ACE score affected the offspring's ADHD symptoms, partial mediation through antepartum health risks was found to be significant (B=0.041, 95% CI=0.011-0.124). Conclusion: Maternal ACEs are significantly related to the incidence of ADHD symptoms in the offspring and antepartum health risks exert an indirect effect. These findings suggest that maternal ACEs have a negative impact on the offspring's brain development through intergenerational transmission, resulting in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.509-520
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated whether a mobile health (mHealth) application can instigate healthy behavioral changes and improvements in metabolic disorders in individuals with metabolic abnormalities. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were divided into an mHealth intervention group (IG), which used a mobile app for 24 weeks, and a conventional IG. All mobile apps featured activity monitors, with blood pressure and glucose monitors, and body-composition measuring devices. The two groups were compared after 24 weeks in terms of health-behavior practice rate and changes in the proportion of people with health risks, and health behaviors performed by the IG that contributed to reductions in more than one health risk factor were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Preference for low-sodium diet, reading nutritional facts, having breakfast, and performing moderate physical activity significantly increased in the mHealth IG. Furthermore, the mHealth IG showed a significant increase of eight items in the mini-dietary assessment; particularly, the items "I eat at least two types of vegetables of various colors at every meal" and "I consume dairies, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, every day." The proportion of people with health risks, with the exception of fasting glucose, significantly decreased in the mHealth IG, while only the proportion of people with at-risk triglycerides and waist circumference of females significantly decreased in the control group. Finally, compared to those who did not show improvements of health risks, those who showed improvements of health risks in the mHealth IG had an odds ratio of 1.61 for moderate to vigorous physical activity, 1.65 for "I do not add more salt or soy sauce in my food," and 1.77 for "I remove fat in my meat before eating." CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the additional use of a community-based mHealth service through a mobile application is effective for improving health behaviors and lowering metabolic risks in Koreans.

• Journal of health informatics and statistics
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.318-328
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• 2018

Objectives: People are living longer, but often with diseases or chronic conditions. As a consequence, interest in resolving insurance blind spots is growing. This study provides substandard risk-relevant statistics to help substandard risks who are likely to fall in insurance blind spots obtain insurance coverage, such as the reimbursement of medical costs, as well as to stimulate insurance product development. Methods: This study uses National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) cohort data to determine the relevant statistics. The incidence rates of severe diseases are derived and compared against standard risks to establish a set of relative risk factors. These incidence rates of standard and substandard risks are then compared. Results: Currently, an individual's cancer history is used in the underwriting process for simplified issue insurance. However, underwriting focusing on hospitalization and procedures related to serious illnesses could lower premiums for substandard risks. Moreover, the statistical results could be used to expand the coverage of health insurance products. Conclusions: This study's relative risk factors can be used to derive simplified issue premium rates for substandard risks. They can also be used to implement discount and loading schemes for medical reimbursement insurance and help insurance companies implement proactive risk management.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.45-70
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• 2009

Outbreaks of health risks such as the Influenza A virus (H1N1) are continuing, which highlights the immediacy of risk control strategies to reduce public's fear and protect the safety of the society. Evidence suggests that success for risk management is basically dependent on the public's willingness to adopt health behaviors recommended by experts, and the behavioral intention relies on their risk perception. Understanding of how individuals think of and feel about health risks is thereby important. This article aims to provide insights for future study on health-risk perception. The main streams and recent developments of theorizing and research on health risk perception are reviewed. The issues, such as (1) health risk perception is an important component for shaping relevant health policies as it reflects public trust of the institutions managing health risks, (2) despite this significance, however, few attempts have been made to address the meaning of 'perceiving health risks' in health services research, are shed light on. On the basis on the critical discussion of the contributions and the limitations of the literature, this article finishes with a few of research agendas by three levels of analysis in risk perception research.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.432-452
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• 2020

This study explored the representation of risks from the controversial Lynas rare earth refining as a risk event by five Malaysian online mainstream and alternative newspapers using qualitative content analysis. The aim is to uncover the role of the news media in the social amplification and attenuation of risks within the literature evidence as those roles are still uncertain. Content analysis is used to explore the online newspapers' roles guided by the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF). The representations typified environmental, financial, health, occupational, property, radioactive, and technological risks and established connections between four risk types (environmental, financial, radioactive, and health risks). Radioactive risk was repeatedly associated with other risks, suggesting that the volume and information flow focused on radioactive risk as a key ingredient for amplification. This connection shows that the nature of the relationship between risks is multidimensional, contradicting the unidirectional type found in previous studies. Alternative online newspapers amplified and attenuated more risks, thus, providing more diverse coverage than mainstream sources. Consequently, this study provides evidence that risk representation from rare earth refining in a digital news environment is multidimensional and intensified or weakened in a multi-layered pattern. The stakeholders are engaged in a contestation by positioning their narratives to oppose or support their interests, which are amplified or attenuated by the online newspapers as social amplification stations.