{"title":"Impact of SARS-CoV-2 AstraZeneca vaccine on safety and blood elements of Egyptian healthcare workers","authors":"TaghreedS Meshref, DinaA Hamad, MaiM Aly, DaliaT Kamal, MariamR Elkhayat, ShimaaA Elghazally","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_275_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_275_22","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Many coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines were approved worldwide. Their safety was the primary concern. In Egypt, Oxford–AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine was the first approved vaccine initially for healthcare workers (HCWs). Objective: We aim to determine adverse events and hematological abnormalities following the COVID-19 AZ vaccine and estimate the infection rate of the candidates by COVID-19 between the first and second doses of vaccination. Methods: Within 8–10 days of receiving their initial dose of the AZ vaccine, 909 HCWs were assessed for adverse events as part of a prospective longitudinal study. Complete blood counts (CBCs) were evaluated before and one month after vaccination. Results: 37.2% of the candidates experienced side effects following vaccination. Pain at the injection site was the most common (25.4%) and more frequent in participants between 20 and 40 years (27.9%). The mean total leukocyte count (TLC), absolute leukocyte count (ALC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and absolute monocyte count (AMC) increased one month following vaccination (P < 0. 001). Sixty-six vaccinated HCWs were infected with COVID-19 between the two vaccine doses. 82% were infected after 14 days of the first dose, while 18% were infected before 14 days (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Most of the vaccinated personnel did not experience any side effects after the first dose of the vaccine. Furthermore, the most common complaints were pain at the injection site, fatigue, fever, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, and chills. Infected people with COVID-19 after the first dose had significantly more severe disease if they were infected before 14 days than those who got infected later on.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136005545","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}
Jansun Bukovetz, Mihail Kochubovski, Shaban Memeti, Gordana Ristovska
{"title":"Preventive measures and hygiene habits of apple producers in the Prespa region","authors":"Jansun Bukovetz, Mihail Kochubovski, Shaban Memeti, Gordana Ristovska","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_47_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_47_22","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries, both for the employees in that sector and for their families and the environment. The use of personal protective preventive measures and the maintenance of good hygienic practices are the basis for healthy production and healthy workers. The safety and hygiene of food products should be present during all stages of production. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by apple growers during agricultural procedures as well as the hygiene habits of agricultural workers. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted including 101 farmers from the Prespa region in the Republic of North Macedonia by using a questionnaire with 34 questions. The questions were formulated in order to give us an insight into the protective preventive measures undertaken at work by apple producers and their hygiene. Results: The study included 101 apple growers from the Prespa region. Wearing a completely tidy special PPE when using pesticides was registered in 78.2% of farmers, and when lawn mowing in 42.5%. 16% of the surveyed farmers during agricultural activities did not always wash their hands after going to the toilet, and almost 30% of them did not use soap when washing their hands. Conclusion: There is inadequate hygiene practice/personal hygiene during agricultural activities. In addition, the proper use of PPE is not at a satisfactory level and poses a risk to the health of apple growers.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008054","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":"Survival analysis for cohort of Bhopal gas disaster victims during 1985-2015","authors":"Dharma Raj, Sushil Singh, Yogesh Sabde, Madhanraj Kalyanasundaram, RajnarayanRamshankar Tiwari","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_190_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_190_22","url":null,"abstract":"Context: After the gas tragedy on the night of December 2/3, 1984, at Bhopal, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) started following up on four population cohorts with different levels of post-disaster mortality from December 3–6, 1984. Aims: The present study was undertaken to estimate the survival time of the cohort, and investigate the risk of mortality based on exposure, gender, and median age. Settings and Design: Survival analysis is generally used to evaluate factors associated with the time to an event of failure or death among any covered population. Methods and Materials: To know the cause of death and mortality rate, a retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on the outcomes of 92,320 individuals with an exposed and non-exposed group from 1985 to 2015 in Bhopal, India. Statistical Analysis Used: Basic survival analysis method, Kaplan–Meier method, and Cox proportional hazard regression model were used to analyze the mortality risk. Results: During the past 30 years, the survivability was 87.25%, and the mortality rate was 7.2% for the cohort population of Bhopal gas survivors. Cox regression analysis showed that exposed, males, and individuals above 21 years (at the time of the disaster) were at higher risk of mortality from 1985 to 2015. Conclusions: During the initial two phases, the mortality was higher in the exposed group, but over time, their survival turned out to be the same in both groups.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008056","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":"Bagassosis- An infrequent type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis: A case report","authors":"Apoorva Ravi, KeertivardhanD Kulkarni, V Pranavi","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_144_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_144_22","url":null,"abstract":"Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an umbrella term for a spectrum of disorders caused by the inhalation of organic dust or low molecular weight chemicals. Bagassosis, a rare form of HP, is an allergic reaction caused by inhalation of bagasse dust, which is used in manufacturing several products. Very few cases of bagassosis have been reported in India, owing to the growing industrialization adapting organized sectors for preventing occupational health disorders. Nevertheless, a small population is being exposed to bagasse dust, shadowed by inadequate protective equipment, leading to the occurrence of this occupational disease. Here, we report a case of bagassosis in a 25-year-old male, brick-kiln worker, who presented with respiratory complaints. He underwent a transbronchial lung biopsy that aided in confirmation of the disease, but developed pneumothorax as a complication, which was managed with an Intercostal drain. He was started on corticosteroids, following which his symptoms improved significantly.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008470","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":"A Comparative Study of Work Stress among Working Females Getting Paid and Working Women Unpaid (Housewives) During Pregnancy.","authors":"Hepzibah S David, Rajnarayan R Tiwari","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_179_22","DOIUrl":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_179_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The potential impact of employment on pregnancy is an important issue as several occupational factors have been reported to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes through increased work stress. The current study was undertaken among pregnant women to understand the difference in pregnancy-related stress among pregnant working women getting paid (WWP) and working women unpaid (WWU) (housewives) and to assess workplace stress among working WWP.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 426 study participants which included 213 participants in each group were recruited from a tertiary care hospital in Chennai. All the study participants were interviewed using an A-Z scale to understand pregnancy-related stress while WWP were also interviewed using Workplace Stress Questionnaire (WSQ).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>It was observed that the mean score of WWP was significantly higher than the mean scores of WWU (t = 94.63; df = 1, <i>P</i> = 0.000). Those WWP who were working for >8 h daily had higher scores as compared to those working for ≤8 h.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study shows that the WWP had work stress in addition to background pregnancy-related stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10257241/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9673656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessment of risk of musculoskeletal discomforts in physiotherapists treating neurological patients: A pilot study.","authors":"Manthan H Purohit, Megha S Sheth","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_164_22","DOIUrl":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_164_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are conditions that are caused and/or aggravated by work. The most important reason behind work-related musculoskeletal disorder is abnormal and/or stressful position of joints while working. Physiotherapists are very much prone to develop work-related musculoskeletal disorders, especially while treating neurologically challenged patients. Postural assessment is a key to identify a person at risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Proper assessment of some of the areas like neck, spine, upper and lower extremities is the key to get risk factor analysis. REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) is a tool which can be used on field to quantify areas of the body which are more likely to develop work-related musculoskeletal disorders.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To find out risk of MSDs among physiotherapists treating neurologically challenged patients.</p><p><strong>Study setting and design: </strong>At neuro-paediatric department of SBB College of Physiotherapy, an observational pilot study was conducted.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Photographs of the participants were captured with their consent through smart phone camera during treatment of different patients both adult and paediatric. Selected postures were analysed and quantified based on the REBA sheet.</p><p><strong>Statistical analysis: </strong>Descriptive analysis was done based on areas at higher risk for MSDs according to REBA sheet.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>More than 50% of participants were at moderate to high risk of developing MSDs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Physiotherapists working with neurological patients were found to be at high to medium risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. There is a need to assess MSD risk in detail in all physiotherapists.</p>","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10257236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9975348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of job rotation concept for nursing staff with special reference to private based hospital, Vadodara","authors":"Subhasish Chatterjee, Aesha Shah, Rahul Sharma, Medha Wadhwa","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_354_21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_354_21","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Employees are placed in various job rotations between two or more tasks or vocations at regular intervals to ensure that they are exposed to all elements of the company. Job rotation is a methodical approach that permits employees to avoid boredom while also allowing them to develop and grow. Both management and personnel objectives are met with this strategy. It aids in the identification of employee potential and abilities. Through job rotation, employees are exposed to all aspects of the company. Employee abilities and competencies are evaluated ahead of time to ensure that the employee is deployed in the best possible position. However, it does permit the pursuit of personal interests while gaining practical knowledge in a variety of industries or processes. The present study was undertaken with an aim to assess the effect of job rotation on the nursing staff in a private hospital of Vadodara. Methodology: The study was cross-sectional in nature where the perception of the nursing staff was gathered through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the perception of the staff on a five point likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The sample size of the study was 126. Mann Whitney Test and Kruskal Wallis test was used to assess the effect of job rotation with respect to gender and age, years of experience respectively. The statistical analysis was undertaken at 95% confidence level with statistical significance at a p value of less than 0.05. Results: The results depicted that there was no difference in the perception towards effect of job rotation with respect to gender and age group. However, with respect to job rotation not interrupting the employees’ work life and no effect on personal life, there was statistical significant difference with respect to the years of experience of the nursing staff as the p value was less than 0.05. Conclusion: Job rotation, in their opinion, causes frequent interruptions in both the job and personal life of those who participate in it. The nurses working in the hospital came up with appropriate job rotation ideas that took into consideration their age and years of experience. It appears that most of the criteria indicate that the nursing staff members were satisfied with their job rotation, which lends support to the findings of the study.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008217","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":"Pesticide use and health effects among Nepalese farmers: A cross-sectional study in Tokha municipality","authors":"Rajesh Karki, Kanchan Dangol","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_75_23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_75_23","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Pesticides are essential for agricultural development, but their increased use in developing countries like Nepal poses health risks to farmers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in wards 1, 2, and 3 of the Tokha Municipality in Kathmandu District to identify the health effects of pesticides and associated factors among farmers. The study included 333 respondents who were interviewed between April 26 and June 04, 2022. Results: The majority of farmers (36.6%) were aged between 40 and 49 years, with a median (IQR) age of 45.0 (38.0 to 51.0) years. All farmers reported using pesticides, with 100% usage in vegetables. Most respondents (73%) reported experiencing health effects: headache (69.5%), skin irritation (42.8%), and burning eyes (31.3%) were the most common symptoms. Only 8% sought medical care. Additionally, 94.6% of respondents had not received training on integrated pest management, and none of them reported using a complete set of personal protective equipment. The study found that older age groups, females, those who were unable to read and write, and those of the Hindu religion, as well as respondents with longer pesticide use, more frequent spraying, and not detecting wind direction, had significantly higher odds of self-reported health problems (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings show that all farmers in the study were using pesticides, and the majority had reported health effects. Therefore, we recommend that farmers receive training on integrated pest management, use a complete set of personal protective equipment, and promptly seek medical care if they experience health issues.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008467","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":"Early doffing among frontline healthcare workers working in the COVID areas in resource-limited settings: Lessons learned and interventions taken","authors":"Richa Aggarwal, Ridhima Bhatia, Banupriya Ravichandrane, Karthiga Rajendrakumar, Aasim Ahmed, Debasis Sahoo, KapilDev Soni, Puneet Khanna, Anjan Trikha","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_46_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_46_22","url":null,"abstract":"Background: In the fight against the pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) has played a vital role. However, working with PPE has its own difficulties and problems. The aim of this study was to find out the reasons of early doffing, that is, in doffing in emergency situations before the shift among healthcare workers (HCWs) working in PPE in the COVID areas in resource-limited settings. Methods: This cross-sectional, survey-based study was carried out on healthcare workers involved in direct care of patients with COVID-19 in tertiary care COVID center, India. The questionnaire was sent as a Google form through email and social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. The data was reported as the mean ± SD for continuous variables and as the percentage for categorical variables. Findings: Among 252 healthcare workers who participated in the survey, 145 (57.5%) participants doffed early on 300 occasions. Out of these 145, 50% doffed early only once and rest doffed early multiple times. The most common reason of early doffing was found to be breach in PPE (15.33%) followed by fogging (14%) and headache (12%), and most commonly, breach was in mask or coverall/gown (32.6% each). Conclusion: Although PPE decreases the risk of infection, it is challenging for HCWs to work in PPE leading to instances of early doffing. The most common reason for early doffing in our study was the breach in PPE and the most common component of breach was found to be mask and coverall/gown. Therefore, we suggest that the proper sizes of the PPE should be made available and proper training in donning should be imparted to HCWs working in PPE.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136005550","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}
Parimalam Paramasivam, Amaravathi Thirumoorthi, Surya Ravi
{"title":"Factor analysis of low back pain among women in sea food processing","authors":"Parimalam Paramasivam, Amaravathi Thirumoorthi, Surya Ravi","doi":"10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_237_21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_237_21","url":null,"abstract":"Women in sea food processing units were involved in pre processing, grading, cleaning, freezing and packaging and they adopted static and awkward posture which results in low back pain. The aim of the present study is to analyze the factors that contribute to low back pain among women workers. A total of 244 women workers participated in the study. Socio economic background and frequency of musculoskeletal discomforts were studied. Descriptive statistics, chi square analysis and factor analysis were carried out to identify the factors contributing to low back pain. Women were involved in peeling (48.8%), setting (26.6%) and grading (24.6%) activity. Factor analysis indicated that work environment contributed to 33%, personal factors contributed to19%, work organization contributed to 16% and socio economic factors contributed to 11% for the low back pain. Worker education and periodical health surveillance will help to minimize the risk of low back pain among the women in industrial settings.","PeriodicalId":43585,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136008218","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}