• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.156-165
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare working condition and health status between parcel delivery workers (PDW) and food delivery workers (FDW) and to examine the factors influencing their health status. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. Results: The proportion of PDW who carryied/moved heavy loads and experienced high job stress and lack of rest time was significantly higher than that of FDW. However, more FDW than their counterparts worked atypical hours. The differences in fatigue and well-being between PDW and FDW were not statistically significant. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed low temperature, tobacco smoke, standing for long periods, and job stress were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being of FDW. Among PDW, noise, tobacco smoke, sitting for long periods, quantitative demands, hiding emotions, support from colleagues, job stress, no recovery period, and night work were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being. Conclusion: The findings of this study may be useful in developing nursing interventions for disease protection health promotion of delivery workers.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.41.1-41.11
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• 2023

Background: Shift work has been reported to have several harmful effects on the human body. However, a small number of studies have evaluated the association between shift work and adverse effects on the thyroid. In our longitudinal study, we examined the causal association between shift work and the risk of hypothyroidism. Methods: A Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study was conducted on 112,648 men without thyroid disease at baseline who were followed up at least once between 2012 and 2019. Shift work status and shift schedule types were categorized using standardized questionnaires. Hypothyroidism was defined using the reference ranges of serum thyroid-stimulating hormones and free thyroxine levels. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident hypothyroidism were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses with the daytime work group as the reference. Results: During the 501,237 person-years of follow-up, there were 6,306 incident cases of hypothyroidism (incidence density, 1.26 per 100 person-years). The multivariable-adjusted HR of incident hypothyroidism for the shift work total group that included all shifts compared with the daytime work group was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.15-1.40). For the fixed evening, fixed night, rotating shift, and other shift workers, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CI) were 1.11 (0.76-1.61), 2.18 (1.20-3.93), 1.39 (1.23-1.56), and 1.00 (0.82-1.22), respectively. In subgroup analyses by age, the association between shift work and hypothyroidism was more pronounced in younger participants (< 40 years; HR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.16-1.47). Conclusions: Our large-scale cohort study showed an association between shift work and the incidence of hypothyroidism, especially in younger workers with night shifts.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.32-38
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• 2023

Job stress factors are factors that induce biological, psychological, and behavioral responses in individuals when they encounter mental and physical stimuli in the workplace. According to occupational safety and health standards, employers are responsible for the health consequences of job stress when workers engage in activities that result in high levels of physical fatigue and mental stress. Such activities include long working hours, shift work (including night shifts), driving vehicles, and operating precision machinery. Therefore, precautionary measures should be implemented. Following the COVID-19 epidemic, the logistics industry in Korea has experienced rapid growth owing to the shift from offline to online platforms facilitated by advanced digital infrastructure. Consequently, this study conducted a survey to analyze job stress factors among delivery workers. The survey utilized a Korean job stress factor assessment tool comprising 43 items and analyzed job stress factors considering the work characteristics of the courier business field obtained from responses provided by 421 courier workers nationwide. The survey analysis revealed that the physical environment, job demands, and job autonomy exhibited higher stress indices among Korean workers. Furthermore, the younger the age, the higher the stress on job demands, whereas the higher the age, the higher the stress on relationship conflict, job instability, and workplace culture. In addition, daytime delivery work was associated with higher stress levels in job demands and job instability compared with nighttime delivery work. These findings can serve as foundational data for reducing and preventing job stress among courier workers, whose workload has increased owing to the growth of the logistics industry.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.187-198
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• 1996

The industrial use of MMMF(man-made mineral fibers), has been increasing, particularly since the banning of most asbestos products. Fibrous minerals can cause health abnormalities currently associated with occupational exposure to glass fiber. This study was conducted to evaluate health risks of glass fiber manufactory workers within the country. We examined questionaries, physical examination including auscultation, chest x-ray, pulmonary function test for 488 male workers, to go through their dermal itching symptoms and respiratory evaluation. we had the results as follows. 1. In 45% of the workers itching had been expressed at their entrance. At that time we was investigating, 18.5% had itching, and most of them complained it when they fall asleep and night. The Sequent itching site is waist and groin, upper and lower extremity in order, and it had been expressed mainly during summer and winter. 2. As the results of ventilatory functions test, 6.0% were obstructive type, 1.0% were restrictive type. So, glass fiber exposures should be controlled or elimination by protective devices in the workplace. 3. The means of FVC, $FEV_1,\;FEV_1%$ were in normal range. As the comparison of ventilatory functions by age groups, MMF was decreased significantly for the group, 50 years old and more than other groups. And the comparison by the serving periods at glass fiber producing factory, MMF was decreased for the workers had worked for $11\sim15$ years. Therefore, MMF be more sensitive index in the evaluation of ventilatory impairments caused by glass fiber workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.151-157
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• 2024

Background: Replacement drivers represent a significant portion of platform labor in the Republic of Korea, often facing night shifts and the demands of emotional labor. Research on replacement drivers is limited due to their widespread nature. This study examined the levels of presenteeism and absenteeism among replacement drivers in comparison to those of paid male workers in the Republic of Korea. Methods: This study collected data for replacement drivers and used data from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey for paid male workers over the age of 20 years. Propensity score matching was performed to balance the differences between paid workers and replacement drivers. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for presenteeism and absenteeism by replacement drivers. Stratified analysis was conducted for age groups, educational levels, income levels, and working hours. The analysis was adjusted for variables including age, education, income, working hours, working days per week, and working duration. Results: Among the 1,417 participants, the prevalence of presenteeism and absenteeism among replacement drivers was 53.6% (n = 210) and 51.3% (n = 201), respectively. The association of presenteeism and absenteeism (adjusted OR [95% CI] = 8.42 [6.36-11.16] and 20.80 [95% CI = 14.60-29.62], respectively) with replacement drivers being significant, with a prominent association among the young age group, high educational, and medium income levels. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that replacement drivers were more significantly associated with presenteeism and absenteeism than paid workers. Further studies are necessary to establish a strategy to decrease the risk factors among replacement drivers.

• 보건교육건강증진학회지
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.107-120
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• 2002

There has been a rapid industrial progress in Korea since 1962 by the success of 5-year economic development plan, and the number of industrial work has also made a rapid increase. Consequently, the management of the occupational health for the purpose of promoting the health of industrial workers and improving the working environment is badly needed in these days. Health services on industrial noisy environment have been provided only for noise-induced hearing loss management until now. But gradually, modem diseases and death have come to be related to the stress and mental health, therefore noise-induced mental disorder, like a stress became very important. Thus, this study has been carried out to analyze the relationship between workers' stress symptoms and the perceived working environment and the perceived working conditions. This study included 786 industrial workers selected from II factories in Buchun. The results were as follows: 1. For demographic characteristics, most of the workers were males(75.7%), the 20～29 years old were 33.8% and those who graduated from high school were 56.1%. The workers whose monthly income ranged from 700,000 to 1,500,000 won were 37.9% and who has a religion were 49.0%. 2. For occupational characteristics, workers who had worked 5～10 years in the factories were 35.8%. Those who felt much for them workload were 42.7% and who worked more than 8 hours a day were 73.7%. Those who were dissatisfied with their pay and job were 51.1 % and 31.2%. The workers who responded ventilation condition of their worksites were bad were 50.4% and the dissatisfied with working environment of their worksites were 43.8%. 3. For the noise exposure level in worksite, workers who were exposed to 70∼90㏈ were 37.4%, 90∼100㏈ were 25.2% and 50∼70㏈ were 18.8%. 4. Workers∼ stress symptoms were significantly related to marital status and their monthly income(P〈0.05). Workers who were single and had lower monthly income showed higher PSI(Psychiatric Symptom Index) scores than those who were married and had higher monthly income. Higher PSI scores were also significantly related to the night-work, workload, dissatisfaction with their job, and bad relationship with their bosses or co-workers. 5. The higher noise exposure level in worksite from 80㏈ was, the more severe stress symptoms including PSI subparts were reported; Anxiety, Anger, Depression, and Cognitive disorder symptom(P〈0.001). 6. According to the results of stepwise multiple regression analysis, factors affecting workers' PSI scores were noise exposure level in worksite(R2=0.150), relationship with coworkers, amount of workload, monthly income and relationship with bosses orderly and the total R2 of this 6 factors was 29.7%.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제25권7호
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• pp.951-961
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• 2016

To prevent increasing instances of heat-related illnesses due to heat waves generated by climate change, a customized thermal environment index should be developed for outdoor workers. In this study, we conducted sensitivity analysis of the Masan harbor during a heat wave period (August 9th to 15th, 2013) using the MENEX model with metabolic rate and clothing-insulation data, in order to obtain realistic information about the thermal environment. This study shows that accurate input data are essential to gather information for thermophysiological indices (PST, DhR, and OhR). PST is sensitive to clothing insulation as a function of clothing. OhR is more sensitive to clothing insulation during the day and to the metabolic rate at night. From these results, it appears that when exposed to high-temperature thermal environments in summer, wearing highly insulated clothing and getting enough rest (to lower the metabolic rate) can aid in preventing heat-related illnesses. Moreover, in the case of high-intensity harbor work, quantification of allowed working time (OhR) during heat waves is significant for human health sciences.

• 대한간호학회지
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.87-96
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• 1971

This Study was undertaken to evaluate the present health status and fatigue of the workers in T. Industrial Company in Pusan in Jan. 1971. The results were based on a question are from 354 working girls. The results of this study are as follows: 1. The largest portion of the workers, 20.2% of the questioned employees, were observed to lie at age 20. 2. Regarding their formal education, 76.0% of them had completed middle school. while only 7. 1% had graduated from high school, . 3. 63.0% receive 7-8 hrs. of sleep a day while 18.4% receive S-6 hrs. of sleep a day. 4. 36.4% spend leisure time reading: while 15.5% spend it resting and thinking. 5. 53.8% of them live in the company′s dormitory and 31.6% live at home. 6. Time spent in travel to work: 32.8% spent 40-49 min., 23.6% spent 10-29 min. 7. The shift times were reported as: 44.1% wonting from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. and 33.9% working from 6. A.M. to 2. P.M. which is what they are doing now. 8. Regarding symptoms of fatigue: 1) Physical symptoms were: 48.3% complained of "feeling bean in the legs, ", and 39.3% complained of "general exhaustion. " 2) Psychological symptoms were: 37.6% said that "it is boring to talk"and 26.3% said" they had a desire to be alone". 3) Nitrogenic symptoms were 49.7% complained of "asthenopia"and 37.0% complained of"vertigo and "staggering legs". 9. When asked about the most fatiguing time during work, the following information was reported: 25.2% felt the first hour in the morning was most fatiguing while 22.9% felt the sixth hour in the evening, and 22.8% eelt the fifth hour at night was. 10. 38.4% complained of sleepiness at 3 A.M. and 35.0% at 4 A.M. during night work. 11. 38.1% found Sunday the most fatiguing work day and 20.% found Monday. 12. The results of the effects of their work on certain diseases: 51.1% showed those with anemia as most effected by work. 13. In their Response to the question, "do you eat breakfast\ulcorner"57.0%, the largest portion, answered, " none at all ": 36.3%, enough. 14. Regarding the accident rate relating to the length of time employed at the company 28.5% was the highest accident rate from 5year to 6 year. As a result of this study, it could be concluded that the employer should consider the following points: 1. employ according to the worker′s vocational aptitude. 2. adjust the shifts. 3. offer rest time and off days, and establish recreational facilities. In the end we can contribute to the promotion of the workers of the workers and to the prevention of accidents due to industrial fatigue.

• 보건교육건강증진학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.1-21
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• 1998

The industrial health education is the most fundamental and active area in the industrial health. It has become increasingly recognized as an important component of preventive occupational health programs and is an essential service for improvement of productivity and employee's health. Evaluating the worker's health status is a part of the occupational health promotion policy and is very important to know the efficiency of the occupational health service. In this point, the purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of the industrial health education on worker's health status. This study included a survey of 625 workers at 28 factories in Puchon area form August Z7 to September 30, 1996. The research was carried out through the analysis of the self-administered questionnaires and health examination records. The results were as follows: 1. For demographic characteristics, 66.5% of the respondents were male. The most prevalent age group was 30 - 39years group(30.4%). Those who graduated from high school were 43.5%. The workers whose monthly income ranged from 600,000 to 100,000 won were 40.3%. As for the marital status, 69.4% of the respondents were married. 2. For occupational characteristics, 37.9% of the workers had worked 2 to 5 years in the factories, 69.4% of the respondents worked at the assembly line and the staffs were 27.0%. T26.4% of the respondents worked at hazardous workplace and 71.8% of the workers worked 9 to 10 hours a day. Those who worked during the night were 56.0%. Those who felt much for them workload were 29.9% and were dissatisfied with their working environment and job were 33.6%, 19.1%. 3. The 39.4% of the respondents received the industrial health education and most of them received on the safety and only few on family health. 70.7% out of those who had industrial health education reported it helped their health management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.197-200
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• 2013

Background: A variety of sociodemographic factors, such as gender, age, household income, and educational level, influence individuals' likelihood of smoking.Work-related factors may also be linked to smoking behavior.We sought to investigate the relationship between smoking and work environment in South Korea. Methods: We analyzed data from the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to determine whether there was an association between smoking and occupation type (e.g., manual, nonmanual, or service work), night-shift work, and hours worked/week (e.g., <40, 40-48, 49-60, or >60 hours) for 4,685 workers. Regression models were adjusted for sociodemographic variables such as age, recent alcohol consumption, hours slept, educational level, and household income. Results: The prevalence of smoking was 50.1% in men and 7.2% in women. For women, manual workers had 2.34 times [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-5.36] greater odds of smoking compared with nonmanual workers, whereas service workers had 2.37 times greater odds (95% CI: 1.28-4.40). Furthermore, women who worked 49-60 hours had 2.21 times greater odds of smoking (95% CI: 1.10-3.75) as compared with women who worked 40-48 hours. Conclusion: Women who work long hours or who are employed in service or manual positions are more likely to smoke. These results indicate a need in South Korea to target these specific groups when creating nonsmoking policies.