Occupational medicine and health affairs最新文献

{"title":"Clinical Health Personnel Perception and Feedback on Occupational Health and Safety Management Practices in the South West Region, Cameroon","authors":"T. TinyamiErick, Y. Cho, J. Choi","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000228","url":null,"abstract":"Background: This study aims at determining the perception and degree of satisfaction of health personnel involve in clinical practices with respect to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management practices, and assess the level of responses with selected OHS dimensions. \u0000Methods: A cross sectional study was randomly performed using a validated self-administered questionnaire among health personnel involve with clinical hospital based practices. \u0000Results: A total of 152 personnel took part in the study. Female (118, 77.6%) respondents were more represented in the study than men (34, 22.4%) with Mean (SD) age of 35.7 ± 8.64 years. Training and competence was perceived highest with (Mean SD, 4.14 ± 0.58) and safety goals perceived the least with (Mean SD, 2.31 ± 1.06). The study showed there was no significant effect for neither duration of service nor job position ( 0.05 and the nurses with Mean (SD) 2.60 ± 0.41, p>0.05). Correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between OHS dimensions and safety satisfaction and feedback. \u0000Conclusion: Generally, health personnel perceived OHS dimension very low. In this study it is evident that health facilities need to step up OHS practices as well as an inclusive and committed management and supervisory skills, based on the significant correlation between some OHS dimensions and safety satisfaction and feedback among the personnel.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"10 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76787698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Limitations of the Pesticide Management Regulation in Korea","authors":"Sangjun Choi","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000227","url":null,"abstract":"Overall amount of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) pesticide sales were reported as 826,688 tons of active ingredients over the period 2000-2010 [1]. In particular, nearly all EU transition countries such as Estonia, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Hungary, showed a strong growth in pesticide purchases over the 2000s, compared to the 1990s. In terms of average pesticide use per unit arable and permanent crop area, Korea ranked as the second largest user of pesticides (12.5 kg/ha) among OECD countries in 2003 [2]. So, in the aspect of safety and health, pesticide is one of the most important chemicals that should be carefully controlled in Korea. For use of pesticide, the main challenge is to reduce the risks to human health and ecosystems, while increasing the level of crop productivity. Since 1985, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have published the guidelines regarding pesticide management to provide guidance to governments that seek to review, update or design national pesticide legislation [3]. According to this guideline, almost every country has some type of legislation covering pesticides, but many of existing laws have weaknesses. For example, they may not sufficiently reflect the requirements of international agreements or regional initiatives to harmonize requirements, or they may not be adequately connected to new national legislation on environmental protection, chemicals management, or other relevant areas. In this article, limitations of the current pesticide management regulation to protect the health of users from pesticides were discussed based on the previous pesticide studies in Korea.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"229 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88987770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Violence and Aggression in Operating Room","authors":"M. Malliarou, Konstantinia Karathanasi, P. Sarafis, P. Prezerakos, J. Koutelekos","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000226","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Operating room (OR) is a high-tense working environment from one hand but it is also a place where team work is needed and expected to be done. Good working relationships in operating room field are necessary in order safety and high quality of healthcare to be the standard of everyday practice. Verbal abuse is a common phenomenon that takes place between healthcare professionals and more often between physicians and nurses. \u0000Aim of the study: To determine the problem of verbal abuse in Greek Operating Rooms and to investigate its causative factors. \u0000Methodology: The study was conducted as a descriptive correlational design. The research population was composed of the nurses working in ORs of hospitals in Greece. 65 OR Registered nurses answered the questionnaire which was sent to them in electronic way (link). \u0000Results: The mean age of the nurses was 41.4 ± 6.83 years .OR nurses who participated in the research have been working for a mean period of 12.7 ± 7.82 years. The most of the nurses (92.4%) stated that they have been experienced verbal abuse in the workplace. The participants in 56.9% said they have taken some kind of formal training in communication skills. 1/3 of the sample (35.4%) who took part in this study were victims of verbal violence more than once a year and also roughly the same percentage (27.7%) believes that nurses confronted with verbal violence more than once weekly. The relationship between abuser and victim as a large percentage of 23.1% specify was a \"physician\". OR nurses experience frequent and severe levels of verbal abuse. \u0000Conclusion: This study’s findings indicated that the most common emotional reactions toward verbal abuse reported by OR nurses was anger followed by disgust, sadness and shock. It is imperative that OR nurses obtain special training in the recognition, management and development of strategies to deal with verbal abuse.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"11 1","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76231336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Making Economic Social Decisions for Improving Occupational Health A Predictive Cost-Benefit Analysis","authors":"Mahmoud Rezagholi, A. Bantekas","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000225","url":null,"abstract":"The few studies attempting to estimate costs of work-related disorders suffer from poor applied methodologies. Further, as the costs are often limited to the company, decisions about investment in improving the work environment are made at the company level. However, economic decisions on changing work environments and improving occupational health need to be made at the societal level. In an economic social decision, all direct and indirect costs imposed on society by work-related disorders are considered, regardless of who pays which cost. This study introduces and demonstrates a methodology appropriate for economic decisions at the societal level for preventing work-related disorders and promoting occupational health in the workplace. The methodology uses the concept of human capital in assessing productivity loss associated with the disorders. The empirical results show that Swedish society could have gained up to 442 855 537 SEK by preventing work-related disorders at the Swedish company Sandvik Materials Technology during 2014, 87% of which would have been captured by the company.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"19 1","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73603748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Situational Analysis of Occupational Health Issues of Restaurant and Dhaba Workers","authors":"R. Tiwari","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000224","url":null,"abstract":"The wide-scale urbanization has affected every aspect of life. The dietary habits and pattern has also changed. To meet the ever-increasing demand for new cuisines, the catering industry in India is becoming more prominent day by day. In India, many restaurants are usually operated individually particularly the road side dhabas. The present study was conducted with the aim of mapping the hazards posed by dhabas workers, to observe the current workplace condition of roadside small sized dhaba and to understand the occupational health and safety provisions for these workers. To map the health hazards to these workers detailed literature survey was done. This was followed by walk through survey of dhabas to directly observe the health and safety issues at workplace and lastly communication with owners and workers was carried out regarding occupational health and safety provisions. \u0000The first strategy revealed that these workers are at risk of developing morbid conditions like respiratory, dermatological, musculoskeletal, infections and injuries. The walk through survey suggested that the workers are mainly exposed to hazards like heat produced by stoves and tandoor, road side dust and smoke through vehicles plying on highways and poor illumination at the workplace. \u0000Questionnaire survey of 50 subjects suggested that only 14% considered that their occupation poses health hazards while only 16% mentioned that they have provision for health care at their workplace. Majority (70%) of the workers were resorting to traditional methods in case of illness while only 30% said that they use a piece of cloth to prevent inhalation of smoke near stoves. Thus to conclude this study suggests that the dhaba workers are at risk of several occupational hazards which is further increased by the poor working conditions and lack of awareness about the protective measures.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"35 1","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79943277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The prevalence and associated factors of occupational injury among workers in Arba Minch textile factory, Southern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study","authors":"G. Gebremichael, A. Kumie, D. Ajema","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000222","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Occupational accidents and work-related diseases cause over 2.3 million deaths annually; nearly 860,000 people are injured every day globally. There are limited studies that specifically determine the magnitude and associated factors of occupational injury in textile workers done in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of occupational injury in Arba Minch Textile Factory workers. \u0000Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study design was implemented from March 3 to March 20, 2015 among selected 433 Arba Minch Textile Factory workers. An Amharic version pre-tested questionnaire and observation checklist were used to collect the data using trained six data collectors and two supervisors. Data was entered into Epi Info version 7 templates, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS Version 21 software. Bivariate logistic regression was used to explore the relation between the dependent and independent variables using crude odds ratio with 95% C.I. Finally, to determine the independent factors associated with occupational injury, multivariate logistic regression model with hierarchical entry of variables was done. Variables with P-value <0.05 in the final model were considered statistically significant. \u0000Results: The one year prevalence of occupational injury was 31.4%. Lower monthly salary was associated with higher odds of injury among the socio-demographic factors [AOR (95%C.I): 3.5(1.7, 7.2)]. Work environment related factors like extra hour duty, health and safety training and workplace supervision had significant association after adjusting all factors [AOR (95%C.I): 2.5 (1.2, 5.4), 0.4 (0.17, 0.97), and 0.36 (0.17, 0.75) respectively]. Among the behavioral factors, Personal Protective Equipment use and job stress showed association with injury significantly. \u0000Conclusion: The significant prevalence and associated factors of occupational injury in the factory workers should alert the factory, governmental and non-governmental organizations working on Occupational Health and Safety.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"2 1","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81118959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First Aid Facilities in Workplaces in Brunei Darussalam for 2013-2014","authors":"K. N. Win, Hjh Sri Suriyati Shamsiana Binti Haji Bujang","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000221","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: First aid is a well-established way to improve the management of medical emergencies. It is commonly used to minimize consequences resulting from injuries or illnesses until care from a nurse or doctor is available. The provision of first aid is especially important in workplaces where adult spend a quarter of their lives. The main aim and objective of this study is to determine the availability and condition of first aid facilities in workplaces in Brunei Darussalam for 2013-2014. \u0000Methods: Occupational Health Division, Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam conducted routine periodic inspection at various workplaces using a checklist. Information on first aid facilities was gathered from the checklist collected during the visits for the year 2013-2014. The information collected includes demographic profile of the study sample (type of industries and type of services), availability of first aid box, first aid room and first aider. \u0000Results: A total of 125 inspection visits were done for the year 2013-2014. The majority of these workplaces visited are of private service, 93 (74.4%). In addition to that, out of 125 workplaces, 46 (36.8%) of the first aid boxes are in satisfactory conditions, 25 (20.0%) provide first aid room and 21 (16.8%) has sufficient first aiders. \u0000Conclusions: The first aid facilities in workplaces in Brunei Darussalam are mostly of unsatisfactory conditions especially those in private services and the first aid system needs improvement. As a recommendation, awareness of the importance of an effective first aid system is needed amongst employers and employees.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"126 1","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88169891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self-reported health effects among short and long-term pesticide Sprayersin Arusha, Northern Tanzania: a cross sectional study","authors":"W. B. Manyilizu, R. Mdegela, R. Kazwala, M. Müller, J. Lyche, E. Skjerve","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000223","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The aim of the present study was to assess whether long-term exposure to pesticides is associated with adverse health effects in professional pesticide sprayers. \u0000Methods: The study was conducted in Lake Eyasi Basin and Ngarenanyuki in Arusha region, during the dry season in September-October 2013. In a cross-sectional study, 97 short-term exposed men with at most three months as professional sprayers were compared with 60 long-term exposed men with experience of at least five years as professional sprayers. The study participants were aged 18-30 years, drawn from the same source population and interviewed using semi structured questionnaire. The questions focused on spraying procedures and on present and recurrent medical history including presence of selected six known pesticide induced health conditions. \u0000Results: Organophosphates, carbamates, dithiocarbamates and pyrethroids were the most applied insecticides but also organochlorine fungicides and endosulfan were frequently applied. The majority of the sprayers reported unsafe pesticide use. Mean pesticide uses in litres, spray frequency per crop and per week were 637, and 1.3 respectively for about 270 days a year. Respiratory disease symptoms were the most frequently reported (46/157; 29.3%) followed by skin (27/157; 17.2%), and sight (24/157; 15.3%). When adjusted for age and other predictors, long-term exposed sprayers had significantly higher self-reported occurrences of peripheral neuropathy (OR=7.7, CI95%: 1.045-56.728, p=0.045) and respiratory disorders (OR=0.2, CI95%: 0.067-0.501, p=0.001) compared with short-term exposed. Furthermore, 10 sprayers, all long-term exposed reported poor libido and erection problems. \u0000Conclusions: These findings document lack of safety knowledge, safe pesticide management and the implementation of protective measures as well as suggesting that long-term exposure to pesticides increase the risk of experience disease conditions compared to short-term exposure.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83819847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Calcifying Tendonitis of the Shoulder: Risk Factors and Effectiveness ofPhysical Therapy","authors":"M. E. Fernández-Cuadros, O. Pérez-Moro, J. Nieto-Blasco, V. Rivera-García, Adela Olazar-Pardeiro, J. Mirón-Canelo","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000220","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study is to determine the different risk factors associated with Calcifying tendonitis (CT), to characterize it epidemiological-clinical-radiological, in a number of cases, and to assess the effect of physical therapy in improving mobility and decreasing pain. A prospective experimental intervention to a series of 50 patients (40 experimental group and 10 control group) diagnosed of CT referred to the Rehabilitation Department of the University Welfare Complex of Salamanca was performed, during October 2011 to February 2013. In the initial assessment the demographics, personal history, predisposing factors and type of calcification (formative/resorptive), were collected. The evaluation of the shoulder Range of Movement (initial ROM) was performed. Pain was valued according to visual analog scale (initial VAS). The intervention consisted in prescribing Kinesiotherapy (KT) (if restricted mobility) or various electrotherapy modalities (US ultrasound, TENS, Microwave MW, Shortwave SW, Interferential IF) (if pain). In the final evaluation mobility (final ROM) and pain (final VAS) was re-evaluated, in addition to the global patient satisfaction. CT is more common in women (n=36; 72%) than in men (n=14; 28%) (p=0.00). The CT occurs in middle age/working life (53.96 years, SD=±11.99). The most common occupation were housekeeper and assistant. They presented forced postures, repetitive movements and cargo handling. CT prevailed in right shoulders (n=33; 66%), in the SE tendon (n=46; 92%) and all patients had radiological, ultrasound (n=24; 48%) and MRI (n=8; 16%) evaluation. Most patients had formative (n=38; 76%) rather than resorptive calcifications (n=12; 24%) (p=0.00). The average number of rehabilitation sessions was 28.6 ± 12.9 days. VAS diminished from 5.96 to 3.26 points after kinesiotherapy/electrotherapy treatment. KT treatment recovers ROM significantly (p<0.05). Resorptive calcifications had more chronic pain. The treatment group decreased VAS significantly (p=0.00) from 5.47 to 2.28 points, while the control group diminished VAS not significantly from 6.92 to 5.75 (p=0.06). The significant risk factors for developing CT are female, Caucasian, middle-age/working-life, with repetitive manual movements or forced positions, right SE tendon, formative calcification. Kinesiotherapy improves mobility and electrotherapy reduces pain significantly in the experimental group","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"80 1","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90292557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Self Employed Sewing Machine Operators in Maiduguri, Nigeria","authors":"S. Maduagwu, G. Sokunbi, Bwala Mp, Akanbi Oa, Jajere Am, Jaiyeola Oa, Bc Maduagwu, A. Ojiakor","doi":"10.4172/2329-6879.1000219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000219","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Globally, studies on prevalence of WMSDs focused mainly on populations in organized industrial sectors and professions. Purpose: This study was therefore designed to determine the prevalence of WMSDs, risk factors and coping strategies for this disorder among self-employed sewing machine operators in Maiduguri, Nigeria. \u0000Method: Close-ended structured questionnaire, drafted and modified from the short version of the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for investigating work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in working populations was used for the study. Copies of this questionnaire were administered on willing and volunteer self-employed sewing machine operators in Maiduguri using a non-probability sampling of convenience technique. \u0000Results: Two hundred and nineteen copies of the questionnaire out of 247 administered were duly completed and retrieved. Ninety five out of the 219 respondents reported WMSDs, giving a prevalence of 43.4%. Mean and age range in years of the respondents were 30.03 ± 11.99 and 11-72 respectively. Majority (81.2%) of the respondents was in the age range of 11-40 years and males accounted for 63.9%. Weak significant association (p<0.05; p=0.042) in prevalence of WMSDs existed among the age groups. Lower back (41.7%) and neck (34.7%) were the most affected body parts. \u0000Conclusion: Majority of the respondents suffering from WMSDs were able to identify correctly the risk factors of this condition. This implies that this population may easily adjust to proper ergonomic measures if introduced to them.","PeriodicalId":19397,"journal":{"name":"Occupational medicine and health affairs","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81276958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}