• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.227-237
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to implement a multiple bio-signal central monitoring system based on textile fabrics flexible platform which can obtain and monitor bio signals(heart rate, body temperature, electrocardiography, electromyogram) of workers in special working environments and additional situational information (3-axis acceleration, temperature, humidity, illumination, surrounding image). This system can prevent various accidents that may occur in the remote work environment and provide fast and efficient response by detecting workers' situations in real-time. For it, the textile fabrics flexible platform was made as innerwear or outerwear so that it does not interfere with workers' performance while collecting bio-signal and situational information, and obtained information is sent to the central monitoring system through wireless communication. The central monitoring system is based on wireless medical telemetry service of WMTS (Wireless Medical Telemetry Service); can monitor from 2 to 32 people simultaneously; and was designed so that it can be expanded. Also, in this study, to verify performance of the WMTS communication model, packet transmission rates were compared according to the distance.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.225-232
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• 2017

This study aimed to identify worker groups that are to accidents and to track the changes in their socioeconomic status there after. We analyzed the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) database(2001-2006) were recorded according to the participant's economic activity status at the beginning of follow-up, and economic activity status was. During the follow-up period, the unemployed group experienced more accidents that resulted in disability than the economically active group. Interestingly, the unemployed group also had the highest industrial accident rate. Among the employed, daily and unpaid family workers were more vulnerable to disabilities. After the accidents, the participants tended to become economically inactive or unemployed. Compared to other worker groups, the economically inactive, unemployed, and daily and unpaid family workers experienced higher rates of accidents and faced graver conditions as a result. Although they constitute a significantly large part of society, these vulnerable workers are not currently covered by any social security measures, such as accident surveillance, training, and accident insurance. Social policy should therefore be directed toward protecting these vulnerable worker groups.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.186-193
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of study was to estimate the hand hygiene (HH) compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a children's hospital. Methods: This study was conducted in a hospital which is a tertiary and educational children's hospital with 313 beds and 533 HCWs. Data were collected by direct observation methods from November 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. Results: A total of 2,999 opportunities for HH were observed, and the overall HH rate was 95.3%. HH rate of the registered nurse, physicians and transferer was 97.7%, 89.2%, and 72.1%, respectively (P<0.001). Among physicians, HH rate of the fellows, professors, residents and interns was 97.5%, 93.9%, 89.7%, and 80.9%, respectively (P<0.001). HH rate in the emergency room, operation room, outpatient department (OPD), and the intensive care unit (ICU) was 97.2%, 97.2%, 95.4%, and 92.5%, respectively (P<0.001). Hand rubbing was the most frequently used (81.1%), and hand washing was frequently used in the case of 'after body fluids exposure risk' (37.7%) and 'after touching patient surroundings' (28.5%). HH methods were not statistically different from each departments (P =0.083), however, they were significantly different according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 5 Moments (P<0.001). Distributions in WHO 5 Moments by the job titles were significantly different (P<0.001). The odds ratio of physicians, ICU and OPD was 0.353 (95% CI, 0.241-0.519), 0.291 (95% CI, 0.174-0.487), and 0.484 (95% CI, 0.281-0.834), respectively. Conclusions: Compliance of HH was different by the job titles and departments. Effective custom-tailored HH programs for each job title and department need to be developed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.520-529
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• 2019

This study is intended to provide basic data for health management of firefighters in the future by empirically looking into health hazard factors of firefighters in Busan City. It was revealed that firstly, the danger of harmful chemicals in a fire was perceived the most by firefighters, who extinguish a fire in person on the scene of a fire, and it was followed by the danger of falling while putting out a fire. This study is intended to provide basic data for health management of firefighters in the future by empirically looking into health hazard factors of firefighters in Busan City. It was revealed that firstly, the danger of harmful chemicals in a fire was perceived the most by firefighters, who extinguish a fire in person on the scene of a fire, and it was followed by the danger of falling while putting out a fire. Moreover, the danger of shift work was perceived the most by paramedics. This corresponds to the existing studies arguing that shift work is harmful to health. Next, the overload of patient transport was recognized as the second biggest hazard factor. This demonstrates they are worried about various second accidents that may happen due to a lot of patient transport works. In addition, the possibility of causing a traffic accident was perceived as a hazard factor too, since they must drive ambulance cars quickly to transport patients. Lastly, rescue workers regarded these hazard factors to be most dangerous. This is associated with their occupational characteristics, because rescue workers are the closest to diverse risks including a fire.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.597-607
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• 2023

Purpose: The Ministry of Employment and Labor has been working hard to ensure the safety of workers due to heavy rain during natural disasters as the responsible ministry in charge of preventing industrial accidents and health problems for workers. Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor intends to analyze actual cases of responding to heavy rain disasters and suggest ways to improve the response system. Method: An emergency response system implemented to respond to heavy rain disasters with an internal expert group composed of those in charge of disaster work at headquarters, local government offices, and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and an external expert group composed of professors, consulting representatives, and disaster managers from other ministries. Contents on self-inspection by industry, workplace inspection, use of serious siren, safety management and restoration work guidance were reviewed. Result: First of all, it is necessary to check the regular contact system from time to time, and it is also necessary to prepare and distribute detailed self-checklists for each industry. In addition, it is necessary to check the implementation of self-inspection when inspecting workplaces, and it seems necessary to have measures to increase the readability of information notified through serious disaster sirens. In addition, since safety work is done in the form of a contract, it seems necessary to prepare specific safety guidelines. Conclusion: In order to protect the lives of workers due to seasonal harm and risk factors, unlike the passive coping methods of the past, abnormal weather should not be regarded as an unexpected situation, and it should be actively and preemptively responding beyond the conventional framework.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.319-326
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• 2023

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the workload of healthcare workers (HCWs), impacting their health. This study aimed to assess sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and identify factors associated with poor sleep among HCWs in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1000 frontline HCWs were recruited from various healthcare facilities in Vietnam between October 2021 and November 2021. Data were collected using a 3-part self-administered questionnaire, which covered demographics, sleep quality, and factors related to poor sleep. Poor sleep quality was defined as a total PSQI score of 5 or higher. Results: Participants' mean age was 33.20±6.81 years (range, 20.0-61.0), and 63.0% were women. The median work experience was 8.54±6.30 years. Approximately 6.3% had chronic comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. About 59.5% were directly responsible for patient care and treatment, while 7.1% worked in tracing and sampling. A total of 73.8% reported poor sleep quality. Multivariate logistic regression revealed significant associations between poor sleep quality and the presence of chronic comorbidities (odds ratio [OR], 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17 to 5.24), being a frontline HCW directly involved in patient care and treatment (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.16), increased working hours (OR, 1.84; 95% CI,1.37 to 2.48), and a higher frequency of encountering critically ill and dying patients (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.95). Conclusions: The high prevalence of poor sleep among HCWs in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to that in other countries. Working conditions should be adjusted to improve sleep quality among this population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2024

Objectives: The objective of this study was to characterize mental health issues among Vietnamese healthcare workers (HCWs) and to identify related factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 990 HCWs in 2021. Their mental health status was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Results: In total, 49.9%, 52.3%, and 29.8% of respondents were found to have depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The multivariable linear regression model revealed that factors associated with increased anxiety scores included depression scores (β, 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39 to 0.51) and stress scores (β, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.52). Factors associated with increased depression scores included being frontline HCWs (β, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.10 to 1.10), stress scores (β, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.56), and anxiety scores (β, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.47), while working experience was associated with reduced depression scores (β, -0.08; 95% CI, -0.16 to -0.01). Factors associated with increased stress scores included working experience (β, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.16), personal protective equipment interference with daily activities (β, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.07 to 1.00), depression scores (β, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.59), and anxiety scores (β, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.50), while age was associated with reduced stress scores (β, -0.12; 95% CI, -0.20 to -0.05). Conclusions: Specific interventions are necessary to enhance and promote the mental health of HCWs so they can successfully cope with the circumstances of the pandemic.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2014

PURPOSES : This study is to investigate the countermeasures against heavy snow on road in Seoul: Focusing on Seocho 1-dong. METHODS : Since 2000, three cases of the top 10 in the highest snow fall depth in a day occurred in 2001(234mm, 156mm) and 2010(258mm) and the possibility of heavy snow is getting higher. 10 days after heavy snow fall when the snow thaws, socio-economic damages occurred often. For example, the insufficient snow removing, difficulty in patients transfer, crash accidents, injuries from a fall, the increasing cost of snow removing etc. RESULTS : For the effective deploying snow removing equipment and workers, it is necessary to understand emergency snow removing spots. Seocho 1-dong was tested because it contains mountains, hill and urban areas as well as various buildings and road types exposures. CONCLUSIONS : Based on the domestic and international heavy snow researches, the elements for vulnerability were analyzed and vulnerable areas to snow fall were derived.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.237-249
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• 2011

The Chernobyl accident was a terrible catastrophe for humanity. Scientists are in concurrence about an increase of thyroid cancer incidence among children, but not among adults, because even areas less contaminated by radiation have also reported an increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer. In this case, the rise might be due to a screening effect. There is no convincing evidence that the incidence of leukemia and solid cancer has increased among the exposed populations, but it still remains a controversial issue. Additionally, apparent evidence of decreased fertility and increased hereditary effects have not been observed in the general population. WHO suggested 4,000 people could have died or may die in the future among emergency workers and residents of the most contaminated areas, while Greenpeace insists there will be 93,080 victims around the world. The radiation dose due to Chernobyl was mainly low, so if its health effects are to be found, more long-term and welldesigned research will be needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.325-333
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• 2004

Since 1995, One of the NGIS(National Geographic Information System) projects, the underground utilities project has been finished in 2003. The 19 cities in korea for this project will use underground utilities management system using underground utilities database focusing on water and sewage system. However, special expert, technical and experience problem in computer environment has not been had in working department for water and sewage management and maintenance for each local government. The management and maintenance of underground utilities database by manual method is getting lowered a data quality of underground utilities database because of the data omitting, error in writing and securing of the lasted database. Therefore, in this study, Application test for field workers using a mobile tool and environment analysis of wireless communication in Korea and application test of GPS receiver for mobile tools had been processed and made a mobile working environment. The efficient management and maintenance method for underground utilities database has been developed an off- line method for modification and update of database about general work which has a high working frequency because of the limitation of wireless communication environment Also, the emergency working has been applied for on-line method.