• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.297-306
• /
• 2009

The purposes of this study were to investigate whether the program of health promotion and follow up feedback by periods could improve physical fitness related to work ability of the middle-aged and aged workers. Subjects were composed of two groups; workers aged below forty five and forty five and over who had measured their health-related physical fitness twice for 2 years (2006 & 2007) through the program of health promotion operated by Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency. Paired t-test was used to evaluate the difference between the first measurement and re-measurement of health-related fitness which was operated after six to twelve months from the first one. We used 0.05 level for statistical significance. The results of this study were as follows. All measurement items including body fat ratio(%), $VO_2max$, grip strength, sit-up, and trunk flexion were significantly improved in both groups. The improvement(%) of $VO_2max$, grip strength of workers of forty five and above was lower than those of workers of below forty five. Servicing the program of health promotion and follow up feedback by periods may help workers' improvement of health-related physical fitness related to work ability.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.30 no.4 s.59
• /
• pp.840-851
• /
• 1997

To perform voluntary occupational health program in worksites, regulational supports are necessary. The regulational supports include assessment of current occupational health program and appropriate incentives. The purpose of this study is to find out the requirements of voluntary occupational health program and conditions to be improved. Study population was industrial health managers of both industries with less than 300 workers and over 300 workers, and the member of labor union who is responsible for safety and health in worksite. Two different questionnaire were used to find out the requirements and conditions to be improved respectively, The results were; 1. The category which prevalence rate of occupational injuries and occupational disease should be lower than national average was most important in health managers employed in industries over 300 workers and followed by reporting system, education, worksite policy, work environment assessment, protective equipment, consequently. But those employed in industries less than 300 workers showed high importance in prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease, reporting system, worksite policy, work environment assessment, protective equipment, education, consequently 2. The members of labor union thought that worksite policy was most important and the next is education, reporting system, work environment assessment, protective equipment, prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease. 3. There were difference in importance of education and worksite policy according to the size of industries. Reporting system, prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease, and worksite policy had different importance between members of labor union and health managers. 4. In the results of quiestionnaire for conditions to be improved, the most important condition was top manager's willingness except personal protective equipments, and followed by financial support, legal support. The limitations of this study were the problems of representativeness of study population. but voluntary health program should be performed in worksites which have relatively good occupational health system. So, this selection bias could not disrupt our results.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.58-71
• /
• 2006

Purpose: This study was performed to identify workers' Job stress status and to analyse the influencing factors. Method: Data were collected from 456 workers with Korean Occupational Stress Questionnaire Short Form(KOSQ SF) and analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA. Results: Total job stress status of men was slightly lower than Korean workers' standard. In case of women, the score of total job stress was lower than Korean workers' standard. The most significant influencing factors to stressors were insufficient sleeping time and self cognitive bad health condition. Among seven domains of job stressors, job demand was affected by 8 characteristics. Conclusion: This study indicated that workers' job stress level were various by their characteristics except workplace size. The development of stress management programs by types of industry is required. On the base of the model program, planning of customized program for every company or employee is required. High job demand, insufficient job control, insufficient sleeping time, bad health condition are the key factors of workers' job stress in this study. The change of workers' health behavior with supportive environment is essential to stress management program. More researches for adding physical environment domain to KOSQ SF are expected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.313-321
• /
• 1996

Our laboratoy has been participated in Proficiency Analytical Testing (PAT) program which is operated by the Americal Industrial Hygiene Association in cooperation with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The program is designed to assist a laboratory improve its analytical performance by providing samples on a quarterly basis, evaluating the results, and providing reports on how well the laboratory performed. Evaluation of the results reported here covers five rounds of the PAT program (round 121~round 125). The way a laboratory is evaluated by PAT program is as follows: 1) There is no overall proficiency rating given to a laboratory. 2) A proficiency rating is given for each type of analyze (i.e., metals, silica, asbestos, solvents) that a laboratory analyzed. 3) Proficiency is rated acceptable ("A") if Z score lies between -3 and +3, and unacceptable if Z score is either higher than +3 ("H") or lower than -3 ("Lo"). Z score = (reported data - reference value) / standard deviation 4) For a laboratory to be rated proficient it must either have had no outliers over the most recent two rounds or of the samples actually analyzed over the past year (past four rounds), 75 % or more of the analyze sample results must be acceptable. According to the above rating criteria of PAT program, performance of metals including cadmium, lead, chromium and zinc, and asbestos sample analyses were rated acceptable ("A"). For silica analyses, all samples except one out of four samples in round 122 was rated high("H") were acceptable showing 95 % of ing 95 % of acceptance rate (19/20) throughout the rounds. Analyses of organic solvents were done on 52 samples in 9 types including methanol(MOH), 1,1,1-trichloroethane(MCM), tetrachloroethylene(PCE), trichloroethylene(TCE), benzene(BNZ), o-xylene(OXY), toluene(TOL), chloroform(CFM), 1,2-dichloroethane(DCE). All samples analyzed were rated acceptable except 2 samples that were rated high; one out of each four MCM and TCE samples in round 121, and one that was low out of four o-xylene analyses in round 122 indicating 94 % of acceptance rate(49/52) throughout the rounds. According to the laboratory rating criteria, our laboratory is rated proficient so far for all types of contaminants.

• KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSES
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.26-37
• /
• 2009

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.229-235
• /
• 2011

Objectives: In this study, we summarized the External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) for the biological monitoring of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals which started in 1995 and continued until a $31^{st}$ round robin in the spring of 2010. The program was performed twice per year until 2009, and this was changed to once a year since 2010. The objective of the program is to ensure the reliability of the data related to biological monitoring from analytical laboratories. Methods: One hundred and eighteen laboratories participated in the $31^{st}$ round robin. The program offers 5 items for inorganic analysis: lead in blood, cadmium in blood, manganese in blood, cadmium in urine, and mercury in urine. It also offers 10 items for organic analysis, including hippuric acid, methylhippuric acid, mandelic acid, phenylglyoxylic acid, N-methylformamide, N-methylacetamide, trichloroacetic acid, total trichloro-compounds, trans,trans-muconic acid, and 2,5-hexanedione in urine. Target values were determined by statistical analysis using consensus values. All the data, such as chromatograms and calibration curves, were reviewed by the committee. Results: The proficiency rate was below 70% prior to the first round robin and improved to over 90% for common items, such as PbB and HA, while those for other items still remained in the range of 60-90% and need to be improved up to 90%. Conclusion: The EQAS has taken a primary role in improving the reliability of analytical data. A total quality assurance scheme is suggested, including the validation of technical documentation for the whole analytical procedure.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.205-221
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This research was to investigate the level of importance and performance of daily-activity and environment management related to workplace health promotion and knowledge and opinion of law and regulation related to workplace health promotion. Methods: The subjects were 218 occupational nurses all over the country. Questionnaires were made by the researcher. Data were collected from September 18 to October 20, 2006 and analyzed by SPSS WIN 12.0. Results: Prevention of accident and emergency treatment got the highest score in the awareness of importance. Regular check-up got the highest score in performance level. Providing and wearing of the personal protective equipments got the highest score both importance and performance level. In occupational nurses' knowledge about law and regulation, ratio of correct answer was 55 percentages that was low intellectual level. The mandatory employment of occupational health nurse or occupational nurse in 50 - 500 person workplaces got the highest score in revision opinion of law and regulations. Conclusion: Result of these studies will provide baseline data for selecting the order of priority according to awareness of importance of daily-activity, environmental management and law and regulation in the occupational health promotion and operating health promotion program.

• KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSES
• /
• v.7 no.1 s.23
• /
• pp.18-21
• /
• 2000

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 2018

Background: Respiratory protection equipment (RPE) is the last resort to control exposure to workplace air pollutants. A comprehensive respiratory protection program (RPP) ensures that RPE is selected, used, and cared properly. Therefore, RPP must be well integrated into the occupational health and safety requirements. In this study, we evaluated the implementation of RPP in Iranian petrochemical industries to identify the required solutions to improve the current status of respiratory protection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 24 petrochemical industries in Iran. The survey instrument was a checklist extracted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration respiratory protection standard. An index, Respiratory Protection Program Index (RPPI), was developed and weighted by analytic hierarchy process to determine the compliance rate (CR) of provided respiratory protection measures with the RPP standard. Data analysis was performed using Excel 2010. Results: The most important element of RPP, according to experts, was respiratory hazard evaluation. The average value of RPPI in the petrochemical plants was $49{\pm}15%$. The highest and lowest of CR among RPP elements were RPE selection and medical evaluation, respectively. Conclusion: None of studied petrochemical industries implemented RPP completely. This can lead to employees' overexposure to hazardous workplace air contaminants. Increasing awareness of employees and employers through training is suggested by this study to improve such conditions.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.70-78
• /
• 2004

The increase of health care expenditure for Thai worker calls for the need of workplace health promotion. The purpose of this article is to describe the status of workplace health promotion in Thailand, emphasizing the roles of occupational health nurse. Secondary data analysis and extensive literature reviews were conducted. Results showed that Thailand is committed with implementing health promotion concepts in various settings including workplace. Several public organizations have developed national workplace health projects with different strategies and approaches. Role of occupational health nurses in workplace health promotion has gradually expanded. The new law specifying the functions of occupational health nurse in providing comprehensive health services is in the process. Occupational health nursing standard as related to workplace health promotion has been developed. A research based case study on workplace health promotion program is also presented to elaborate the proactive roles of occupational health nurse. Findings of this study suggest the transitional roles of Thai occupational health nurses in which training and technical supports from related organizations are in need.