• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2016

Smoking and harmful drinking dramatically increase health risks but little is known about their cooccurrence and factors that influence this co-habit, limiting development and implementation of appropriately targeted prevention interventions. This study was conducted among youth aged 10-24 years old in the Chi Linh Demographic - Epidemiological Surveillance System (CHILILAB DESS). The total numbers in the first, second and third rounds in 2006, 2009 and 2013 were 12,406, 10,211, and 7,654, respectively. A random-effects logit model controlling for both time-variant and time-invariant variables was applied to explore factors associated with current smoking, harmful drinking, and occurrence of smoking and harmful drinking together. We found dramatically increasing trends in current smoking, harmful drinking and co-occurrence among youth. Our results indicate similar health problems among youth in peri-urban areas in Vietnam. Demographic characteristics (older age, being male, being unmarried, and having informal work) appeared to be predictors for smoking and drinking behaviour. Besides, peer and family members had significant influence on smoking, whereas having a close-friend who was smoking was the most important variable. The results suggested that smoking and harmful drinking should not be solved with separate, stand-alone interventions but rather with integrated efforts.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.476-481
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• 2019

Background: Mystery shopping is a method in which a company monitors quality of service and employee conduct and compliance with regulations using an evaluator posing as a customer. It is a typical tool of customer-centered bureaucratic control insofar as it provides overall and standardized evaluation of intangible elements of customer service as well as physical elements of service environments. The purpose of this study is to examine how mystery shopping is related to the health status of service workers in South Korea. Methods: Data from semistructured interviews with 15 workers were collected from January to April 2019 to obtain information on service worker experiences with mystery shopping. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Results: Mystery shopping limits worker autonomy and stiffens the workplace environment by standardizing and monitoring labor processes for service workers. In addition, mystery shopping heightens work stress through increased labor intensity. Five mechanisms by which mystery shopping affects service worker health are identified and comprise (1) multifaceted and multilayered surveillance, (2) evaluator subjectivity and irrational requirements, (3) standardized rules combined with high pressure to achieve sales, (4) self-esteem degradation because of evaluator results, and (5) musculoskeletal disorders because of strict adherence to labor processes based on evaluator results. Conclusion: Mystery shopping as an evaluation method should be reconsidered not only in terms of health problems but also in terms of organizational efficiency and issues of human rights.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.216-221
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• 2014

Background: Mental health complaints are quite common in health care employees and can have adverse effects on work functioning. The aim of this study was to evaluate an e-mental health (EMH) approach to workers' health surveillance (WHS) for nurses and allied health professionals. Using the waiting-list group of a previous randomized controlled trial with high dropout and low compliance to the intervention, we studied the pre- and posteffects of the EMH approach in a larger group of participants. Methods: We applied a pretest-posttest study design. The WHS consisted of online screening on impaired work functioning and mental health followed by online automatically generated personalized feedback, online tailored advice, and access to self-help EMH interventions. The effects on work functioning, stress, and work-related fatigue after 3 months were analyzed using paired t tests and effect sizes. Results: One hundred and twenty-eight nurses and allied health professionals participated at pretest as well as posttest. Significant improvements were found on work functioning (p = 0.01) and work-related fatigue (p < 0.01). Work functioning had relevantly improved in 30% of participants. A small meaningful effect on stress was found (Cohen d = .23) in the participants who had logged onto an EMH intervention (20%, n = 26). Conclusion: The EMH approach to WHS improves the work functioning and mental health of nurses and allied health professionals. However, because we found small effects and participation in the offered EMH interventions was low, there is ample room for improvement.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.461-470
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• 2021

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of low physical activity (PA) in Peruvian adults and to identify associated factors. Methods: An analytical study was performed using data from the 2017-2018 Nutritional Food Surveillance by Life Stages survey. The outcome variable was low PA (yes or no), assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form. Prevalence ratios were estimated as a measure of association. Results: Among the 1045 persons included in the analysis, the age-standardized prevalence of low PA was 61.9%. The adjusted model showed that being female and migrating from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher probability of having low PA than males and individuals who had not migrated, while residing in rural highlands and jungle areas was associated with a reduced probability of having low PA compared to people residing in other geographic domains. Conclusions: Being a female and migration from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher likelihood of having low PA. Therefore, promotion and prevention strategies related to PA are required, especially in the female and migrant populations.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.37-38
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• 2004

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.138-175
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• 1994

The objectives of this study are (i) to review current situations and problems of the occupational health care system with emphasis on reforming the organizations and services, (ii) to find out a disirable occupational health system model based on integration of the occupational health system and the general health system, and finally, (iii) to suggest policy implications in occupational health services in the light of objectives of the newly emerging national health insurance reform in Korea. The major policy implications of this study are as follows: 1. In the long-run, within the occupational health system, preventive occupational health services such as employees' physical check-up, working environment examination, etc should financially be integrated with industrial accident compensation insurance. Currently separately paying expenses for each different category of services by the owner of an enterprise should be disbursed once through the payment of contributions of industrial accident compensation insurance. And then, it is necessary to strengthen and expand the role and function of industrial accident compensation insurance to cover preventive occupational health services. 2. The occupational health system should be integrated with general health system for its effective management. For the short-term policy, it is necessary to eliminate fiscal and access barrier between industrial accident compensation insurance and national health insurance by means of ex post facto settlement of accounts. The duplication of employees' physical check- ups between under the health insurance program and under the industrial health services must be coordinated in a manner either through mutual authorization by the two parties concerned or through merge into the health insurance. 3. The intent of current employees' physical check-up system focused on detection of occupational diseases, should be converted to an idea of medical surveillance system or biological moritoring system. The introduction of medical surveillance or biological monitoring system is a necessary condition to build a positive, effective and inexpensive occupational health care system.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.405-422
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• 2010

Occupational musculoskeletal disorders currently account for the largest proportion of the occupational illnesses in Korea. In this research, status of musculoskeletal disorders among the occupational illnesses was examined through workers' compensation claims data. Types and characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders were looked at other data set as well. The data sets included epidemiological investigation data reported by Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, and data collected from occupational disease surveillance reports and Korean occupational health-related scientific journals. Number of cases, incidence rate and insurance benefits for occupational musculoskeletal disorders in Korea are increasing every year. In addition, musculoskeletal disorders occurrence is shifted from large enterprises group to small-and-medium group, from manufacturing to service sector, and from production workers to office and professional workers. Although low back pain is still most common, its occurrence characteristics is gradually shifted from traumatic to cumulative while musculoskeletal disorders are somewhat seemingly moved from lumbar to upper limb body part. Musculoskeletal disorders were observed to be more diverse and prevalent in epidemiological investigations or surveillance data rather in workers' compensation claims data. Musculoskeletal disorders occurrence is related to demographic factors, occupational psychosocial factors, and ergonomic risk factors at workplace for which appropriate preventive measures needed to be made accordingly.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.276-283
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• 2012

Objectives: This study was conducted to survey the viewpoints on the material safety data sheets(MSDS) training for safety and health managers(SHMs) and workers. Subjects and Methods: A surveillance was made using a self-reported questionnaire for 78 SHMs and 122 workers to survey their viewpoints on the MSDS training. Survey results were analyzed using the SPSS program(Version 12.0 SPSS Inc., USA). Results: The result of the study shows that there are contrasts with the cognition of SHMs' and workers' on the education of MSDS and the program preference for education efficiency of MSDS. Workers were significantly more interested in the MSDS education than the SHMs did. Workers preferred the education program which is easily to be understood, to voluntarily participate on MSDS education, but SHMs did the quiz program. Also we found that the SHMs wanted to learn the education program via the expert(37.3%) rather than education resources(33.3%) which were served by government or relevant agency. In contrast, workers wanted the audio-visual education program, which is mainly consisted of accident cases (33.3%), rather than periodical education program(22.1%). Conclusions: This study showed that effectiveness of MSDS education was associated with the program served by company, and the education program for the voluntary participation of the workers should be made practical and attractive.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.397-404
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• 2020

Background: Most job exposure matrices (JEMs) have been developed for chemical and physical hazards in the United States (US). In addition, the overall validity of most JEMs of work organization hazards using self-reported data in the literature remains to be further tested due to several methodological weaknesses. Methods: This paper aims to review important methodological issues with regard to a JEM of work organization hazards using self-report data and to present a research protocol for developing a four-axis (job titles, hazards, sex, and time) JEM of major work organization hazards using the US General Social Survey-Quality of Work-Life (GSS-QWL) data (2002-2018; N = 7,100 workers). Results: Five methodological weaknesses in existing JEMs of work organization hazards using self-report data were identified: having only two axes (hazard and occupation), using psychometrically weak items and scales, including scales having little interoccupational variability, unresolved optimal minimum numbers of subjects per occupation, and low accessibility. The methodological weaknesses were successfully addressed in the proposed research protocol. Conclusion: The work organization JEM to be developed will significantly facilitate and strengthen occupational epidemiological studies on work organization hazards and major health outcomes, improve national and occupational surveillance of work organization hazards, and promote interventions for a healthy work environment in the US.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.436-446
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aims to explore the association between unemployment and depression in people from different age groups ranging from 18 to 65 years old. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design. We performed bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression on the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 12 states in the United States. Results: On a sample comprised of n=53,406 individuals, of whom 2,546 (7.8%) were identified as being depressed and 3,448 (10.6%) as unemployed, we found that individuals aged 61~65 years have a lower depression risk compared to those aged 18-25 after adjusting for other variables including employment status. However, people from 61~65 have higher increased risk of depression when unemployed compared to other age groups in all three models tested (3.95 times higher in unemployed people in model 1, and 2.81 times higher in model 2 and model 3). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that there may need to be more focus on older adults who are unemployed, with associated support services for their mental health. The results of our study indicate that although older adults are less likely to be unemployed, there are more likely to experience depression if they are unemployed (once other confounding factors are taken into account) than younger adults. Policies and interventions can be developed to address not only the physical difficulties but also the mental challenges with which older adults can be at risk facing in case of unemployment.