• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.3 s.51
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• pp.576-587
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• 1995

Authors purposed to observe activities of occupational health nurses and it's related factors, and to suggest the way that induct better occupational health nurses' activities with questionaire to 87 occupational health nurses who individually work as health manager in the plant. The questionaire included type of plant and number of workers, general characteristics, work conditions, activities, etc. Major findings are as follows. 1. 82.8% of occupational health nurses were third decade. 93.1% graduated junior college or college. And 82.8% were not married. 2. General work conditions: 40.2% were belonged to safety-health section, 98.85% were mere clerks. 60.9% worked less than weekly 44 hours, and an annual salary of 50.6 % was between 10 million and 14 million won. 3. Work condition related to health manager work: there was separated health care room in 94.3%, working period as health manager(occupational health nurse) was less than 5 years in 70.1%, 49.4% had the out-of-health manager work. In 87.4%, occupational physician was appointed, only 6.9% of them were full time, 52.9% of them worked little in the plants. The problems related to workers' health were discussed with industrial nurses in 88.5%. 4. Attitude for their work: 88.5% were thought that their work is important for workers' health care, 57.5% satisfied to work as health manager. In 51.7%, motive to being industrial nurse were the appropriate aptitude. 5. Activities: General medical care in 100% were carried out, in 97.7% works related to general health examination, in 100% works related to special health examination were carried. But works related to use of protective apparatus were carried out in 20.8%. 6. Factors related to level of activities: In cases who solved the health related problems by themselves, the level of activites was significantly higher than in others. In cases there were full time occupational physician, the level of activities was significantly lower. 7. Occupational health nurse's needs: 100% wanted regular education, 89.7% wanted the qualifying examination. As the results, author suggests that the right of self-control is given to occupational health nurses and the work of occupational physician is clearly defined for the induction of the better activities of occupational health nurses.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.313-323
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• 1998

This study is to develop the model on the joint employment system of occupational health nurse practitioners for medium or small sized enterprises in Korea based on the comparison opinions between employers and occupational health nurses (OHN). The data were collected by questionnaires from Oct. to Nov. in 1997. The number of subjects was 210 OHNs and 176 employers, response rate was 47.1% for OHNs and 23.2% for employers. The SAS PC program was used for the descriptive statistics. The results were as follow: 1. More than three years career was preferred for qualification of OHN by employers and OHNs. OHNs preferred that all instruments and materials should be equipped in each industry, but employers preferred that they should be equipped by OHN. 2. For the limit number of industries and employees per one OHN, employers preferred average 2.25 industries and 307 employees, OHNs preferred average 3.0 industries and 448 employees. Both of them preferred two times visit per week for all day long. 3. OHNs wanted that the local office of Ministry of Labor could act as mediator, but employers preferred direct contact individually. For the average wage, employers preferred 887,000 won per month, but OHNs preferred 1,960,000 won per month. 4. OHNs preferred the Korean Association of Occupational Health Nurse as the recruit agency. Finally, employers and OHNs have the opinions that they can choose this system depending on the condition. There is in need of development of effective strategy for this new system such as manpower development, cost-benefit analysis, establishment of occupational health service standard, advertisement for employers, and government supported project.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2023

Background: The turnover rate of nurse aides in Taiwan is high. However, the predictors of turnover behavior in the newly employed are still unclear. Objective: To examine the predictors of turnover behavior in newly employed licensed nurse aides. Methods: A longitudinal study design was used and subjects were newly employed certified nurse aides from a nurse aid training association in Taiwan. A total of five questionnaire surveys were conducted. The questionnaire was mainly used to collect information on turnover behavior, personal socioeconomic background, workplace psychosocial hazards, worker health hazards, and musculoskeletal disorders. Results: A total of 300 participants were recruited in the study. Cox regression analysis results showed that short working experience (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.21, p < 0.01), work as non-home nurse aides (HR = 0.58, p = 0.01), low monthly salary (HR = 0.68, p < 0.01), high work mental load (HR = 1.01, p = 0.01), low workplace justice (HR = 0.97, p < 0.01), high workplace violence (HR = 1.60, p < 0.01), high burnout (HR = 1.01, p = 0.04), poor mental health (HR = 1.06, p = 0.04), and high total number of musculoskeletal disorder sites (HR = 1.08, p = 0.01) contribute to a higher risk of turnover. Conclusion: The results indicated that employment period, work as a home nurse aide, monthly salary, work mental load, workplace justice, workplace violence, work-related burnout, mental health, and total number of musculoskeletal disorder sites are predictors of turnover behavior in newly employed certified nurse aides.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.242-251
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• 2009

Purpose: To confirm the effect of tailored life style improvement program, provided by occupational health nurse for hypertensive workers on their blood pressure, self-efficacy, and life style changes in workplace. Method: The experimental and control group of thirty subjects each were randomly assigned for those who agreed to participate in the study among the pre-hypertensive workers. The tailored life style improvement program was provided to the experimental group and conducted once a week for 8 weeks. This program was composed of exercise and low salt diet to control high blood pressure and weight, and the measurement of carbon monoxide for non-smoking inducement. Result: In the experimental group, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased while self-efficacy increased after the program compared to the control group. Smoking and drinking habits of the experimental group were significantly decreased whereas exercise and nutritional habits were significantly improved compared to the control group. Conclusion: The tailored life style improvement program provided by occupational health nurses for the hypertensive workers was positively affected on their blood pressure, self-efficacy and life style changes in workplace.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.78-87
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of occupational health service(OHS) for the aged workers in small workplace. Method: A single group of pretest-posttest design was used. 608 aged workers of 253 small workplace who had one out of 4 risk factors were randomly selected. The OHS consisted of education, medical checkup, and counseling. Also information was provided by a visiting nurse 4-5 times every 4-5 weeks from March to November, 2009. The data were collected by interview, self report, and monitored by a nurse. Results: The OHS led to significant reduction of the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 6.46mmHg and 5.22mmHg, each respectively. The mean total cholesterol, glucose, and BMI were also reduced significantly by 6.35mg/dL, 5.91mg/dL, and 0.31kg/$m^2$. And stages of health behavioral change were moved from 1,2,3 stages to 4,5 stages significantly. Conclusion: The OHS showed an effective intervention to improve the aged workers' health in the small workplaces. Therefore, The OHS by visiting a nurse can be a good strategy to extend to small & medium-sized companies having no in-site health manager.

• KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSES
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.38-42
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• 2009

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.250-260
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the role experiences of occupational health nurse. The research question was "what are daily experiences in practice?" Methods: The data were collected through the focus-group interviews with nine occupational health nurses and analyzed by the grounded theory of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Results: The core category on occupational health nurse role experience was named as "struggling alone with the dual role". The causal conditions included 'unfamiliar area' and 'new work'. The contextual conditions included 'overload of work, 'tasks beyond OHN job' and 'disharmony with colleagues'. The intervening conditions were analyzed as supportive factors and discouraging factors. There were action/interaction strategies 'getting information about tasks', 'working as a professional', 'establishing a cooperative relationship', 'seeking help' by trying to regulate the phenomenon. Finally they succeed in 'establishing the identity' and 'feeling proud', but sometimes they could be 'suffering from low morale', or 'considering turnover'. Conclusion: Through these results, it can be explained that occupational health nurses have been exerting themselves to establish their role with various situation through the conflicted context. Based on the findings, we suggest developing the diverse continuing education programs to be tailored for OHN's needs and reinforcing the occupational health services under the legal and political support.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.205-221
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• 2007

Purpose: This research was to investigate the level of importance and performance of daily-activity and environment management related to workplace health promotion and knowledge and opinion of law and regulation related to workplace health promotion. Methods: The subjects were 218 occupational nurses all over the country. Questionnaires were made by the researcher. Data were collected from September 18 to October 20, 2006 and analyzed by SPSS WIN 12.0. Results: Prevention of accident and emergency treatment got the highest score in the awareness of importance. Regular check-up got the highest score in performance level. Providing and wearing of the personal protective equipments got the highest score both importance and performance level. In occupational nurses' knowledge about law and regulation, ratio of correct answer was 55 percentages that was low intellectual level. The mandatory employment of occupational health nurse or occupational nurse in 50 - 500 person workplaces got the highest score in revision opinion of law and regulations. Conclusion: Result of these studies will provide baseline data for selecting the order of priority according to awareness of importance of daily-activity, environmental management and law and regulation in the occupational health promotion and operating health promotion program.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2011

Purpose: This is a descriptive study that provides basic material to improve occupational health nurses' work conditions and industrial performance status. Methods: The 955 nurses who participated in the training program to understand the purpose of this study from January 2009 to December 2010 conducted by the Korean Association of Occupational Health Nurses agreed to be subjects for the study. The questionnaire included the general characteristics, work conditions and performance of occupational health management. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Occupational health management performance of the subjects averaged 3.11 points and detailed area by health management 3.64 points, environment management 2.91 points and occupational management 2.77 points. Health management performance of those factors affecting the duration of occupational health nurse (${\beta}$=.199), type of industry (${\beta}$=.126), average annual income (${\beta}$=-.277) to 11.4% (F=3.175, p<.001) were found to be a significant determinant. Conclusion: Occupational health nurses are the core workforce of occupational health through the prevention of occupational disease and industrial accidents. Findings of this study can be an important resource to increase appropriate occupational health nurses' work conditions and performance of occupational health management.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.144-155
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• 1997

In December 1990, Occupational Safety and Health Law was amended to reinforce employer's responsibilities on employees' health and safety. Among the amended law it was important to expand the role of an occupational health nurse to the role of an occupational health manager. An occupational health manager should take charge of coordinating periodic health examination and environmental hazard evaluation, providing primary care, monitoring employees' health status, giving the workplace walk-through, selecting safe protection equipment, providing health information, counseling and health education, independently. This position of occupational health nurse is equivalent to the role of doctors or occupational hygienists. In 1991, government made a master plan to prevent occupational disease and injury. Under the plan, Korea Industrial Nursing Association (KINA) was established in 1994 with the purpose of improving health services and upgrading career opportunities for members. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the transition of occupational health nursing education with the changes of law and policy in Korea between 1991 and 1996. In details, it was to analyze the rate of school providing occupational health nursing practice based lecture, lecture hours, lecture contents in undergraduate curriculum, program contents of graduate school, kinds of continuing education, etc. For this purpose, we conducted survey two times. In February 1991, baseline study was conducted with all nursing programs in Korea (19 BSN programs and 43 nursing departments of junior college). From April to May in 1996, the second survey was conducted with all nursing programs (38 BSN programs and 69 junior colleges). The first response rate was 66.1% and the second was 40.6%. Structured questionnaires were mailed to the deans or the community health nursing faculties. In the case of graduate school, telephone survey was conducted with 10 school of public health or environmental health area. Data from the yearbook of Industrial Safety Training Institute (ISTI), the history of Korea Industrial Health Association, and the journals of KINA were also included in the analysis. As the results, we found that there were remarkable improvement in undergraduate and graduate programs, obligatory as well as voluntary continuing education in terms of occupational health nursing expertise between 1991 and 1996. 1) The number of school providing occupational health nursing practice-based lecture was increased with the rate from 7.3% to 25.6%. The rate of school giving over 15 class-hours was increased from 33.3% to 46.6%. 2) Content areas were composed of introduction of occupational health, occupational epidemiology, industrial hygiene, occupational disease and injury, law and policy, health education, concept of occupational health nursing, role of occupational health nurse, occupational health nursing process, etc. Of content areas, occupational health nursing process was more emphasized with the increased rate from 43.9% to 88.4%. 3) In the case of graduate school, occupational health programs were increased from 4 to 10. One of them has developed occupational health nursing program as an independent course since 1991. 4) The law increased educational hours from 28 hours to 36 hours for introductory course at the time of appointment, and from 14 hours to 24 hours every 2 years for continuing education. Course contents were Occupational safety and health law, introduction of occupational health, health education methodology, planning and evaluation, periodic health exam, occupational disease care, primary care, emergency care, management, industrial environment evaluation, etc. In 1996, Korea Industrial Nursing Association has begun to provide continuing education after Industrial Safety Training Institute. 5) Various educational programs in voluntary base were developed such as monthly seminar, CE articles, annual academic symposium, etc. It was shown that changes of law and policy led rapid growth of occupational health nursing education in various levels. From this trend, it is expected that occupational health nurse expertise be continuously to be enhanced in Korea. Legal and political supports should proceed for the development of occupational health nursing in early stage.