• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.384-388
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• 2019

The horse stable hand workers are one of the most important occupations in horse-racing industry. However, suicide problem of the horse stable hand workers in Korea has raised the necessity of new study on how these workers experience mental health problems such as occupational stress and depression in organizational situation. Therefore, this study investigated the occupational stress and depression level of the horse stable hand workers and identified the structural relationship in the horse-racing industry through a detailed interview. A total of 207 horse stable hand workers participated in this study, and occupational stress and depression level were surveyed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) and Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The results of this study showed that the occupational stress level of horse stable hand workers was higher than the median of Korean population. The significant difference in occupational stress among the detail job grade was also identified. In addition, 34% of the horse stable hand workers showed high risk of depression, and job demand, organizational system, and inappropriate compensation as the subfactors of occupational stress were showed to mainly affect depression. Although there are some limitations according to the field survey, this study also has significant meaning in that it identifies the relationship between the occupational characteristics of the horse stable hand workers and the mental health. It will be necessary to study the diverse organizational situation and individual mental health for new occupations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.146-155
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the association between job stress and mental health among male and female workers in a large electric manufacture company. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 3,228 employees who participated in annual medical check-up working in a large electric manufacture company in Gyeonggi Province. Medical check-up and self-administrated questionnaire were performed at the same time. Korean Occupational Stress Scale Short Form (KOSS-SF) and Psychosocial Wellbeing Index Short Form (PWI-SF) were applied to assess occupational stress and mental health. Hierarchical multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression were performed to estimate the association between job stress and mental health. Results: The proportion of high risk of mental health was 17.1% in male, and 46.9% in women. Job stress had a greater effect on mental health than other general and work characteristics. All subscales of job stress were revealed to affect mental health. Bad occupational climate and lack of reward are the strongest risk factors in mental health of male and female respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that job stress could affect mental health among large electronic manufacture workers.

• 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.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.84-93
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• 2019

Objective : The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between occupational stress and depression, as it is seen to be corresponding with the work characteristics of local government officials. Methods : The data of 671 local government officials who participated in this study from July to December 2015 as a part of an occupational stress management program, were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Likewise, the participants completed questionnaires, including a short form of the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) the results of which were evaluated and reviewed. Results : The study noted that the subscales of occupational stress related to depression were varied, according to the work characteristics of the participants, after adjusting for age and job grade. It was found that the participant's variables of job insecurity, lack of reward, organizational system and occupational climate were significantly related to the development of a depressed mood in the participant in a general sense. Notably, the factor of interpersonal conflict was significantly related to depressed mood among the general administrative group; meanwhile, lack of reward in the welfare group and insufficient job control in the technical group were significantly associated with the likelihood of developing a depressed mood in participants reviewed. In the operation and maintenance of facilities group, job insecurity was significantly related with depressed mood, whereas job demand was related more with the incidence of depression in the field work group. Conclusion : This study revealed that the influence of occupational stress on depression varied according to the occupational characteristics experienced by the participants in the work environment. These findings may be used to enhance the occupational stress management program for local government officials according to their work characteristics, to bring awareness to this issue.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.53-65
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• 2023

Objective : This study aimed to identify the experiences and practices of occupational therapists in mental health and provide interventions for improving body function in individuals with mental illness. Methods : Data were collected from mental health therapists between November 7 and November 14, 2022. A survey was distributed via email and 46 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Results : The majority were female (58.7%), aged 20-30 years (84.8%), working in mental health centers (41.3%), and undergoing mental health occupational therapy training (91.3%). They had 1-3 years of mental health experience (65.2%) and were commonly involved in programs (71.1%), case management (62.2%), and administration (57.8%). Interventions for physical functioning were common (73.9%), including group interventions (41.2%), such as stretching, aerobic exercise, and walk training, and individual interventions (38.1%), such as walking, stretching, and aerobic exercise. Conclusion : Occupational therapists play a crucial role in enabling individuals with mental illness to engage in daily life activities. However, relevant studies in this field are lacking. This study emphasizes the importance of mental health occupational therapy and the need for evidence-based services for physical function improvement interventions to provide more effective treatments for mental illnesses.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.379-386
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• 2022

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are at high risk for adverse mental health outcomes during disease outbreaks. To support the development of evidence-informed mitigation strategies, we conducted a scoping review to identify the extent of research pertaining to EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks and summarized key factors associated with mental health outcomes. We systematically searched three databases for articles containing keywords within three concepts: EMS personnel, disease outbreaks, and mental health. We screened and retained original peer-reviewed articles that discussed, in English, EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks. Where inferential statistics were reported, the associations between individual and work-related factors and mental health outcomes were synthesized. Twenty-five articles were eligible for data extraction. Our findings suggest that many of the contributing factors for adverse mental health outcomes are related to inadequacies in fulfilling EMS personnel's basic safety and informational needs. In preparation for future disease outbreaks, resources should be prioritized toward ensuring adequate provisions of personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control training. This scoping review serves as a launching pad for further research and intervention development.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.8.1-8.11
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• 2022

Background: As self-employed workers are vulnerable to health problems, this study aimed to analyze mental health problems and sleep disturbances among self-employed workers compared with paid workers in Korea. Methods: A total of 34,750 workers (23,938 paid workers and 10,812 self-employed workers) were analyzed from the fifth Korean Working Condition Survey, which included 50,205 households collected by stratified sampling in 2017. To compare mental health problems and sleep disturbance among self-employed workers and paid workers, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: The odds ratio in self-employed workers compared with paid workers was 1.25 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-1.42) for anxiety, 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04-1.17) for overall fatigue, 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04-1.20) for difficulty falling asleep, 1.10 (95% CI: 1.02-1.18) for difficulty maintaining sleep and 1.24 (95% CI: 1.16-1.32) for extreme fatigue after waking up. Conclusions: Self-employed workers in Korea have a higher risk of self-reported mental health problems and sleep disturbances than paid workers. Further studies with a longitudinal design and structured evaluation are required to investigate the causal relationship between health problems and self-employment.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.295-304
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• 2015

Background: While attention has been paid to physical risks in the work environment and the promotion of individual employee health, mental health protection and promotion have received much less focus. Psychosocial risk management has not yet been fully incorporated in such efforts. This paper presents good practices in promoting mental health in the workplace in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidance by identifying barriers, opportunities, and the way forward in this area. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 experts who were selected on the basis of their knowledge and expertise in relation to good practice identified tools. Interviewees were asked to evaluate the approaches on the basis of the WHO model for healthy workplaces. Results: The examples of good practice for Workplace Mental Health Promotion (WMHP) are in line with the principles and the five keys of the WHO model. They support the third objective of the WHO comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020 for multisectoral implementation of WMHP strategies. Examples of good practice include the engagement of all stakeholders and representatives, science-driven practice, dissemination of good practice, continual improvement, and evaluation. Actions to inform policies/legislation, promote education on psychosocial risks, and provide better evidence were suggested for higher WMHP success. Conclusion: The study identified commonalities in good practice approaches in different countries and stressed the importance of a strong policy and enforcement framework as well as organizational responsibility for WMHP. For progress to be achieved in this area, a holistic and multidisciplinary approach was unanimously suggested as a way to successful implementation.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.141-155
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• 1999

For the purpose of disclosing the mental health status as well as its stress factors of female workers in industry, a questionaire survey was carried out on 283 female workers, namely. 134 of a service industry(department store) in seoul and 149 of a manufacturing industry(food) in Kyunggi-do district from 24 to 29 January, 1994. The result were as follows : 1. The mean scores of poor mental health indicator showed no significant difference between service industry and manufacturing industry, while the mean scores of good mental health indicator showed a significant difference between those two industries. 2. The mean scores of work stress as social stress factors showed a significant difference between service industry and manufacturing industry. However, no significant difference was observed between the mean scores of personal stress factor between those two industries. 3. In general, the work stress factor was more significantly contributed by marital status, while the social stress as well as the personal stress factor were contributed more by monthly income. 4. The major contributing factor to the poor mental health was the personal stress factor in general, followed by the work stress factor. However, the weight of these two stress factors was reversed according to the type of industries.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.121-129
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of encounters with customer violence on the mental health of customer service workers, and to verify the moderating effect of coworker support. Methods: Workers who indicated that they engaged directly with individuals other than coworkers for more than 25% of their working hours, such as customers, passengers, students, and patients, were the focus of the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey in 2020. A total of 13,682 people were chosen as the final research subjects, responses from dishonest respondents who had picked "don't know/no answer" or indicated "reject" to pertinent topics such mental health level, were discarded. After adjusting for socio-demographic and vocational characteristics that influence mental health in customer service workers, a hierarchical regression analysis was executed, which incorporated input on customer violence experiences, coworker support, and interaction terms on a step-by-step basis. Results: It transpired that interactions with customer violence had a negative impact on workers' mental health. Additionally, it was shown that workers' mental health status as coworker support increased. Conclusion: This study's limitations include differences in the period the questions were posed, and limitations in interpretation to all workers. And it is difficult to determine the relationship between the frequency of customer violence, occupational characteristics and mental health. Despite its limitations, this study makes an important contribution toward fostering an environment where coworkers can continue to help one another.