• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.421-436
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the dental treatment needs of workers depending on their shifts and working patterns. Methods: Only workers aged 15 or older according to the $6^{th}$ Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2015) were considered eligible. A total of 9,092 people who responded to health surveys and completed oral examinations and interviews were selected for the study. Statistical analysis was carried out by the complex samples general linear model. Results: As the daytime workers' age increased, the requirement for restorative treatment decreased. In contrast, the requirement for tooth extraction caused by dental caries and periodontal disease increased. As the evening shift workers' age increased, the requirement for restorative treatment decreased. In the case of shift workers, the requirement for restorative treatment was lowest in those aged 50-64 years and highest in those aged 30-49 years. In the case of smokers; the daytime workers required a higher amount of restorative treatment, pulpal treatment, and tooth extraction due to dental caries and periodontal disease; the night shift workers required a higher amount of restorative treatment; and the shift workers required a higher amount of tooth extraction caused by periodontal disease. The results of comparing the dental treatment needs depending on working patterns were: the need for restorative treatment was higher in night shift workers (0.377) than in shift workers (0.245); the requirement for pulpal and restorative treatment was higher in daytime workers (0.055) than in night shift workers (0.010); requirement for tooth extraction due to periodontal disease was higher in night shift workers (0.060) than in evening shift workers (0.012). Conclusions: There are differences in dental treatment needs depending on the workers' working patterns. Collective oral health care is needed at workplaces to promote the workers' oral health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2024

Objectives: The present paper aimed to examine whether an aging workforce is associated with an increase in work-related fatal injuries and to explore the underlying reasons for this potential increase. Material and methods: Aged workers were defined as those who were at least 55 years old. Work-related fatalities were assessed in aged and young workers who were registered with the workers' compensation system in 2021 in the Republic of Korea. Total waged workers, based on raw data from the Local Area Labor Force Survey in 2021, were used as the denominator to estimate the work-related fatality rates. Results: Most work-related fatalities in the aged workers occurred among individuals working in the "construction sector" (58.9%), those with "elementary occupations (unskilled workers)" (46.1%), and those with the employment status of "daily worker" (60.8%). The estimated incidence (0.973/10,000) of work-related fatalities among aged workers was about four times higher than that (0.239/10,000) among younger workers. "Falling," "collision," "struck by an object," and "trip and slip" were more frequent types of work-related fatalities among aged workers relative to young workers. The category of "buildings, structures, and surfaces" was a more frequent cause of work-related fatalities among aged workers than among young workers. Conclusions: Aged workers had a higher incidence of work-related fatalities than young workers. Frequent engagement in precarious employment and jobs, coupled with the greater physical vulnerability of aged workers, were likely causes of their higher level of work-related fatal injuries.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.526-532
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• 2020

Background: The high incidence of work-related diseases and injuries among day-laborers and workers with no legal contracts (informal workers) has received the attention of the Thai authorities. Workers' low occupational health literacy (OHL) has been reasoned as one contributing factor. Absence of a valid tool has prevented assessment of informal workers' OHL. The aim of this study was to create a valid and reliable Occupational Health Literacy Scale within the context of Thai working culture (TOHLS-IF). Methods: This study used the mixed method approach to develop TOHLS-IF. Questions were generated using in-depth interviews and an extensive review of the literature. Experts' assessment confirmed the content validity of TOHLS-IF. The scales of its psychometric properties were assessed in a sample of 400 informal workers using cluster random sampling. Results: The final version of the TOHLS-IF comprises 38 items within 4 dimensions: Ability to Gain Access, Understanding, Evaluation, and Use of occupational health and safety information. Factor analysis identified items explaining 50.22% of the total variance. The final confirmatory analysis confirmed the model estimates were satisfactory for the construct. TOHLS-IF demonstrated a high internal consistency and satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .98). Conclusion: The TOHLS-IF is a valid and reliable instrument to assess informal workers' OHL. The structural dimensions of this instrument are based on the concept of health literacy and Thai culture. Thai health professionals are encouraged to benefit from this instrument to assess their workers' OHL and apply findings as guidelines for effective occupational health and safety interventions.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.45-58
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• 1999

This study was conducted to compare the practice of health promoting behaviors between hospital workers and government officers. The subjects for this study were consisted of 344 hospital workers in four university hospitals and 340 government officers in four district offices in the Kyong-in area. Data were collected by using constructed questionnaires from January to February in 1997 and analyzed by Chi-square test, t-test. ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression. The results were as follows : 1. There was no significant difference between hospital workers and government officers in practice of health promoting behaviors as a whole. but among five domains of the health promoting behaviors, hospital workers was significantly higher than that of government officer in the domain of health responsibility, while they were significantly lower than those of government officer in the domain of exercise & nutrition and stress management. The mean score of health promoting behavior for hospital workers and government officer were 2.40, and 2.47, respectively. The health promoting behavior in relation to the characteristics of the hospital workers varied significantly according to sex and age. The domain of self-actualization ranked highest in health promoting behaviors of hospital workers, interpersonal support came next. stress management, health responsibility and exercise & nutrition followed them. While those of government officers. the domain of self-actualization ranked highest. interpersonal support came next, stress management, exercise & nutrition and health responsibility followed them. 2. There were no significant difference between hospital workers and government officers in the health perception with mean score of 3.32 and 3.34 respectively, in the self esteem with mean score of 2.82 and 2.84 respectively, in the self-efficacy with mean score of 70.50 and 72.35 respectively. in the internal health locus of control with mean score of 2.95 and 3.03, respectively, m the chance health locus of control with mean score of 2.10 and 2.13, respectively, m the powerful others health locus of control with mean score of 2.39 and 2.46, respectively. 3. The practice of health promoting behavior of hospital workers were strongly associated with self-esteem and self-efficacy, and self-esteem was strongly correlated with self-efficacy. And the practice of health promoting behavior of government officers were strongly associated with self-esteem, powerful others health locus of control and internal health locus of control. and self-esteem was strongly correlated with self-efficacy. 4. The combination of self-esteem, powerful others health locus of control. health perception. self-efficacy. internal health locus of control. age and marital status explained $45.7\%$ of variance of likelihood to engage in health promoting behavior of hospital workers. And the combination of self-esteem. powerful others health locus of control. health perception. self-efficacy. internal health locus of control. sex and marital status explained $48.2\%$ of variance of likelihood to engage in health promoting behavior of government officers.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.337-344
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• 2005

Objectives : Job insecurity, such as non-standard work, is reported to have an adverse impact on health, regardless of health behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between non-standard employment and health in Korea. Methods : We analyzed a representative weighted sample, which consisted of 2,112 men and 1,237 women, aged 15-64, from the 1998 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Non-standard employment included part-time permanent, short time temporary and daily workers. Self-reported health was used as a health indicator. Results : This study indicated that women were more likely to report poorer health than men with standard jobs. Of all employees, 20.3% were female manual workers. After adjusting for potential confounders, such as age, education, equivalent income, marital, social and self-reported economic status and health behavior factors, nonstandard employment was found to be significantly associated with poor health among female manual workers (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.79). No significant association was found in other working groups Conclusions : Among female manual workers, nonstandard employees reported significantly poorer health compared with standard workers. This result raises concern as there are increasing numbers of non-standard workers, particularly females.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.587-596
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine health consciousness and eating habits of workers at Deluxe hotels in Seoul and Gyonggi-do. To determine health levels, this study focused on quality of sleep, current state of health, smoking, drinking, regular exercise, dietary behavior patterns, dietary habits, and food intake patterns. Out of 228 subjects, 145 (63.6%) were males and 83 (36.4%) were females. Majority of workers (86.9%) graduated from university. A majority (57.0%) worked more than 10 years. Average health condition was 'little tired', whereas 18.4% of subjects were 'always tired'. Male percentages for smoking and drinking were higher than those for females. A total of 44.3% of workers ate twice a day. Regular physical activity was high, but regular exercise rate was slightly low. Male average eating speed was faster than that of females and had lower scores for desirable eating habits. Shift workers ate night meals more than non- shift workers. This study shows that workers at Deluxe hotels need to take better care of their health.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.8.1-8.11
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• 2022

Background: As self-employed workers are vulnerable to health problems, this study aimed to analyze mental health problems and sleep disturbances among self-employed workers compared with paid workers in Korea. Methods: A total of 34,750 workers (23,938 paid workers and 10,812 self-employed workers) were analyzed from the fifth Korean Working Condition Survey, which included 50,205 households collected by stratified sampling in 2017. To compare mental health problems and sleep disturbance among self-employed workers and paid workers, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: The odds ratio in self-employed workers compared with paid workers was 1.25 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-1.42) for anxiety, 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04-1.17) for overall fatigue, 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04-1.20) for difficulty falling asleep, 1.10 (95% CI: 1.02-1.18) for difficulty maintaining sleep and 1.24 (95% CI: 1.16-1.32) for extreme fatigue after waking up. Conclusions: Self-employed workers in Korea have a higher risk of self-reported mental health problems and sleep disturbances than paid workers. Further studies with a longitudinal design and structured evaluation are required to investigate the causal relationship between health problems and self-employment.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.13-26
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between resilience of migrant workers and their mental health for improving their quality of life and adaptation in Korean society. Methods: Data were collected from March 21 to May 7, 2011. The participants included 488 migrant workers who lived in Busan Metropolitan City or Gyoungnam province. Results: First, heavy working burdens and lack of rests, low wages, poor living environments, low economic status & deficiency of living necessities, hard physical labors, and conflicts with Korean workers had negative effects on mental health. Second, high perceived stress caused by usual 'living difficulties', high 'cutural shock', high feeling of 'social isolation', and high discomfort from 'lack of Korean language proficiency' gave negative effects on migrant worker's mental health. Third, the most important factor on the mental health was the 'cultural shock' among stressors. Even though many stressors existed among migrant workers, these negative effects on mental health were lessened by their high resilience level. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of migrant workers in Busan, Korea. To improve their mental health, social support including financial supports and educational programs that foster resilience needed.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.180-189
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• 2022

Background: Social support contributes directly and indirectly to maintaining physical, mental, and social well-being. The aim of the study was to identify the impact of social support on self-rated health among Korean industrial accident workers. Methods: This study used data from the panel study of workers' compensation insurance (PSWCI). The final subjects were 2,759 workers who responded to a 2018 to 2020 PSWCI. Social support was defined as social contact with friends, neighbors, family, and social participation activities like religious activity, social activity, and club activity. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate causal relationships between social support and self-rated health using a generalized estimating equation model. Results: Proportion of workers' good self-rated health steadily increased (2018: n=1,447, 63.2%; 2019: n=1,542, 66.2%; 2020: n=1,653, 67.3%). Higher levels of social contacts with friend (worse: reference; same: β=0.442) and higher levels of social activity (yes: reference; no: β=-0.173) were especially associated with good self-rated health. Conclusion: This study confirmed social support positively influenced self-rated health among the self-rated health of industrial injured workers. The results of this study suggested that recovery policies that the government served should include programs enhancing social support for improving health among industrial injured workers.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aims to identify general, workplace, and health-related characteristics of outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures, and to compare the risk of disease according to outdoor high temperature exposure. Methods: This secondary analysis study used the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (2017) to identify 4,915 outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures. Results: Outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures were mostly male, elderly, less educated, and daily contract workers. Most of them were engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and construction industries. About 40~50% of them complained of musculoskeletal pain and overall fatigue. The results showed that high temperature exposure increased the risk of illness (hearing problem, skin problem, backache, muscular pains in upper and lower limbs, headache/eyestrain, injuries, depression, and overall fatigue) among workers. Conclusion: High temperature exposure might increase the risk of illness among workers. The results of this study demonstrated that the outdoor workers should be protected from high temperatures.