Safety and Health at Work最新文献

{"title":"Potential Work-related Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 by Standard Occupational Grouping Based on Pre-lockdown Working Conditions in France","authors":"Narges Ghoroubi ,&nbsp;Emilie Counil ,&nbsp;Myriam Khlat","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to ascertain occupations potentially at greatest risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 based on pre-lockdown working conditions in France. We combined two French population-based surveys documenting workplace exposures to infectious agents, face-to-face contact with the public, and working with colleagues just before the pandemic. Then, for each 87-level standard French occupational grouping, we estimated the number and percentage of the French working population reporting these occupational exposure factors, by gender, using survey weights. As much as 40% (11 million) of all workers reported at least two exposure factors. Most of the workers concerned were in the healthcare sector. However, army/police officers, firefighters, hairdressers, teachers, cultural/sports professionals, and some manual workers were also exposed. Women were overrepresented in certain occupations with potentially higher risks of exposure such as home caregivers, childminders, and hairdressers. Our gender-stratified matrix can be used to assign prelockdown work-related exposures to cohorts implemented during the pandemic.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 488-491"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136159898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychosocial Work Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Influences on Mental Health Risk and Intention to Leave Among Public Health Workers: A Cross-sectional and Follow-up Study in Taiwan","authors":"Ming-Wei Lin ,&nbsp;Yi-Ting Wang ,&nbsp;Yawen Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>To examine the influences of psychosocial work conditions on mental health risk and intention to leave the public sector among workers of public health agencies in Taiwan.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We surveyed 492 public health workers in March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on job demands, job control, workplace justice, experiences of workplace violence and its type and origin, and mental health status (assessed by the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5) was obtained. Of them, 192 participated in a follow-up survey conducted in May 2023 that assessed mental health status, employment changes, and intention to leave.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In the initial survey, 32.93% of participants reported poor mental health status, defined by having a score of BSRS-5 ≧ 10, and 48.17% experienced some form of workplace violence over the past year. Notably, high psychosocial job demands (OR = 3.64, 95% CI = 1.93–6.87), low workplace justice (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.45–4.58), and workplace violence (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.51–3.77) were significantly associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Among those who participated in the follow-up survey, 22.40% had persistent poor mental health, and 30.73% considered leaving or have left the public sector. Longitudinal analyses indicated that job demands predicted persistent mental disorders and intention to leave the public sector, and the experience of workplace violence added additional mental health risks.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The public health workforce is crucial for effective and resilient public health systems. Our findings that public health workers were at high mental health risk and had a high intention to leave the job warrant attention and policy interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 438-444"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135706609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characteristics and Socio-Demographic Distribution of Precarious Employment Among Korean Wage Workers: A Proposition of Multidimensional Approach Using a Summative Score","authors":"Seong-Uk Baek ,&nbsp;Min-Seok Kim ,&nbsp;Myeong-Hun Lim ,&nbsp;Taeyeon Kim ,&nbsp;Jin-Ha Yoon ,&nbsp;Jong-Uk Won","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.07.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>There is a growing global interest in the issue of precarious employment. We aimed to analyze the characteristics and socio-demographic distribution of precarious employment using a summative score approach.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>To operationalize precarious employment, we utilized data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey and focused on three distinct dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and protections. By constructing a summative scale ranging from -16 to 2, with lower scores indicating higher precariousness, we measured employment precariousness among Korean wage workers. To compare employment precariousness according to survey participant characteristics, we employed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We analyzed a weighted number of 38,432 workers. The overall sample showed a median (Q1, Q3) summative scale score of -3 (-6, -1). The median summative score was lower for women compared to men (men: -2; women: -5; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001), as well as for young or older workers compared to middle-aged workers (young: -4; middle-aged: -2; older: -5; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). Similarly, workers with lower educational levels (middle school or below: -8; high school: -5; college or above: -2; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and non-white collar workers (blue collar: -5; service/sales worker: -6; white collar: -2; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) experienced higher levels of employment precariousness.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our findings indicate that certain vulnerable groups, such as women, young or older adults, workers with low educational attainment, and caregiving or low-skilled elementary workers, are disproportionately exposed to high employment precariousness. Active policy interventions are needed to improve the employment quality of vulnerable groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 476-482"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10770101/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42724077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Working Anytime and Anywhere -Even When Feeling Ill? A Cross-sectional Study on Presenteeism in Remote Work","authors":"Henrike Schmitz,&nbsp;Jana F. Bauer,&nbsp;Mathilde Niehaus","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Working despite feeling ill – presenteeism – is a widespread behavioral phenomenon. Previous research has shown that presenteeism is influenced by various work-related and personal factors. It's an illness behavior leading to a range of negative but also positive consequences. Due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, remote work has become the “new normal” for many employees. But so far, little is known about presenteeism in remote work. This study aims to investigate presenteeism in remote work by looking at the extent of remote presenteeism, differences to presenteeism in on-site work, and associated factors.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Germany with <em>N</em> = 233 participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, <em>t</em>-tests, and correlation analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The results reveal that presenteeism is prevalent in remote work <em>x̅</em> = 4.13 days (<em>Md</em> = 3; <em>D</em> = 2; <em>s</em> = 4.95). A low ability to detach from work (<em>r</em> = -.17; <em>p</em> = .005) and low supervisor support (<em>r</em> = -.14; <em>p</em> = .02) is associated with more remote presenteeism days. Remote working conditions seem to facilitate presenteeism.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study provides empirical insights into a subject area of great societal relevance. The results show that awareness should be raised for presenteeism in remote work. It should be regarded as a behavior that can be functional or dysfunctional, depending on the individual situation. Supervisor support and detachment should be fostered to help reduce dysfunctional presenteeism. Promotion of health literacy might help remote workers to decide on a health-oriented illness behavior. Further research is vital to analyze to what extent and under which circumstances presenteeism in remote work is (dys)functional and to derive clear recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 375-383"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135454953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Systematizing Information Use to Address Determinants of Health Worker Health in South Africa: A Cross-sectional Mixed Method Study","authors":"Muzimkhulu Zungu ,&nbsp;Annalee Yassi ,&nbsp;Jonathan Ramodike ,&nbsp;Kuku Voyi ,&nbsp;Karen Lockhart ,&nbsp;David Jones ,&nbsp;Spo Kgalamono ,&nbsp;Nkululeko Thunzi ,&nbsp;Jerry Spiegel","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Recognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems’ building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>There were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Given the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker’s rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 368-374"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136093214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Case-Control Study of Occupational Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the Republic of Korea","authors":"Min Young Park ,&nbsp;Hyoung-Ryoul Kim ,&nbsp;Jun-Pyo Myong ,&nbsp;Byung-Sik Cho ,&nbsp;Hee-Je Kim ,&nbsp;Mo-Yeol Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>We conducted a case-control study to identify high-risk occupations and exposure to occupational hazards for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>When patients with AML admitted to the Department of Hematology in the study hospital for the first time are referred to the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, data on occupation are collected by investigators to evaluate work-relatedness. Community-based controls were recruited through an online survey agency, and four controls per case were matched. Occupational information was estimated using structured questionnaires covering 27 specific occupations and 32 exposure agents. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed by pairing cases and controls.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In the analysis of the risk of AML according to occupational classification, a significant association was found in paint manufacturing or painting work (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.03–4.81) and aircrew (OR = 6.00, 95% CI: 1.00–35.91) in males, and in pesticide industry (OR = 6.89, 95% CI: 1.69–28.07) and cokes and steel industry (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.18–22.06) in ≥60 years old. Moreover, the risk of AML increased significantly as the cumulative exposure to thinners increased. In the analyses stratified by sex and age, the association between pesticide exposure and AML was significant in males (OR = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.10–9.77) and in ≥60 years old (OR = 6.22, 95% CI: 1.48–26.08).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This case-control study identified high-risk occupational groups in the Republic of Korea including paint manufacturers and painters, aircrew, and those who are occupationally exposed to pesticides or paint thinners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 451-456"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135455770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occupational Safety & Health Management and Corporate Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment","authors":"Zhen Chao Tan ,&nbsp;Chun Eng Tan ,&nbsp;Yuen Onn Choong","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Occupational safety &amp; health management (OSH) has garnered greater attention for its significance in promoting corporate sustainability for organizations in recent decades. The construction industry, in particular, is a major contributor to Malaysia's thirst for corporate sustainability in order to provide long-term support for the country. Thus, the main tenet of this study is to examine the mediating effect of employee affective commitment on the relationship between OSH and corporate sustainability.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A questionnaire was administered to 273 full-time employees of listed construction companies in Malaysia. Smart PLS software version 3 was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. Both the measurement model and the structural model were evaluated.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>According to the findings, OSH and its dimensions are positively related to employee affective commitment. Employee affective commitment, on the other hand, has been found to be significantly related to corporate sustainability and its dimensions: economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Apart from this, the prominent results reveal that employee affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between OSH and corporate sustainability and its dimensions: economic, social, and environmental sustainability.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This empirical finding adds to the existing literature in explaining how OSH and affective commitment led to corporate sustainability. Several implications are offered to various stakeholders, such as construction companies, policymakers, and relevant regulators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 415-424"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135708099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water-blocking Asphyxia of N95 Medical Respirator During Hot Environment Work Tasks With Whole-body Enclosed Anti-bioaerosol Suit","authors":"Jintuo Zhu ,&nbsp;Qijun Jiang ,&nbsp;Yuxuan Ye ,&nbsp;Xinjian He ,&nbsp;Jiang Shao ,&nbsp;Xinyu Li ,&nbsp;Xijie Zhao ,&nbsp;Huan Xu ,&nbsp;Qi Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>During hot environment work tasks with whole-body enclosed anti-bioaerosol suit, the combined effect of heavy sweating and exhaled hot humid air may cause the N95 medical respirator to saturate with water/sweat (i.e., water-blocking).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>32 young male subjects with different body mass indexes (BMI) in whole-body protection (N95 medical respirator + one-piece protective suit + head covering + protective face screen + gloves + shoe covers) were asked to simulate waste collecting from each isolated room in a seven-story building at 27-28°C, and the weight, inhalation resistance (<em>R</em>_<em>f</em>), and aerosol penetration of the respirator before worn and after water-blocking were analyzed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>All subjects reported water-blocking asphyxia of the N95 respirators within 36-67 min of the task. When water-blocking occurred, the <em>R</em>_<em>f</em> and 10-200 nm total aerosol penetration (<em>P</em>_<em>t</em>) of the respirators reached up to 1270-1810 Pa and 17.3-23.3%, respectively, which were 10 and 8 times of that before wearing. The most penetration particle size of the respirators increased from 49-65 nm before worn to 115-154 nm under water-blocking condition, and the corresponding maximum size-dependent aerosol penetration increased from 2.5-3.5% to 20-27%. With the increase of BMI, the water-blocking occurrence time firstly increased then reduced, while the <em>R</em>_<em>f</em>, <em>P</em>_<em>t</em><em>,</em> and absorbed water all increased significantly.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study reveals respirator water-blocking and its serious negative impacts on respiratory protection. When performing moderate-to-high-load tasks with whole-body protection in a hot environment, it is recommended that respirator be replaced with a new one at least every hour to avoid water-blocking asphyxia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 457-466"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136010206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationship Between Occupational Safety and Health Policy Principles, Organizational Action on Work-related Stress and the Psychosocial Work Environment in Italy","authors":"Stavroula Leka ,&nbsp;Luis Torres ,&nbsp;Aditya Jain ,&nbsp;Cristina Di Tecco ,&nbsp;Simone Russo ,&nbsp;Sergio Iavicoli","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>It is acknowledged that legislation acts as a motivator for organizational action on psychosocial risks. Our study aims to provide evidence on the relationship between key occupational safety and health (OSH) policy principles and organizational action on work-related stress, and, in turn, with reported employee job demands and resources and their experience of work-related stress. We focus on Italy where specific legislation and practices on work-related stress were introduced in 2008 which are underpinned by these key OSH policy principles.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Secondary analysis of the Italian samples from the employer ESENER-2 and employee 6th EWCS surveys was conducted, using path analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM) linking the two datasets.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We found a strong statistically significant relationship between OSH policy principles and organizational action on work-related stress (C.I. = .62-.78 <em>p</em> &lt; .001). The existence of an organizational action plan on work-related stress was found to be significantly associated with more reported job resources (C.I. = .02-.24, p &lt; .05) but these were not found to be significantly associated with less work-related stress. No significant association was found between having an organizational action plan for work-related stress and reported job demands. However, job demands were significantly related to reported work-related stress (C.I. = .27-.47, p &lt; .001).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Findings add support to the call for specific legislation on work-related psychosocial risks and highlight how an organizational OSH culture underpinned by key OSH principles, and awareness/competence development on psychosocial risk management can have a positive effect on organizational action. However, further support needs to be provided to organizations around developing primary prevention interventions at the organizational level with the aim of reducing job demands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 425-430"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134936393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors Influencing the Use of Control Measures to Reduce Occupational Exposure to Welding Fume in Australia: A Qualitative Study","authors":"Renee N. Carey ,&nbsp;Lin Fritschi ,&nbsp;Ha Nguyen ,&nbsp;Kamil Abdallah ,&nbsp;Timothy R. Driscoll","doi":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shaw.2023.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Exposure to welding fume is associated with adverse effects on worker health. The use of various control measures can reduce levels of exposure and the resulting health effects. However, little is known about the factors that may influence workers' use of control measures in the workplace and their perceived intervention needs. This study aimed to investigate workers' and other stakeholders' views on ways to improve the use of welding fume control measures in Australian workplaces.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a series of online focus group discussions and individual interviews with participants who have some occupational involvement in welding, whether as workers, employers or industry representatives, union representatives, or regulators. A semi-structured question guide was used, and all discussions and interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Five focus group discussions and five individual interviews were conducted with a total of 21 participants. Three major themes emerged. The first addressed the current awareness of welding fume harms and concern about exposure; the second focussed on the current use of control measures, and barriers and facilitators to their use; and the last centred around intervention needs and the contents of a potential effective intervention.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Improving the use of control measures to prevent exposure to welding fume requires knowledge around the barriers and facilitators of control, use, and the intervention needs of stakeholders. This study has provided such knowledge, which will facilitate the design and implementation of an intervention to reduce welding fume exposure and ultimately protect the health of workers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56149,"journal":{"name":"Safety and Health at Work","volume":"14 4","pages":"Pages 384-389"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10770092/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48815927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}