• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.325-331
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• 2023

Background: Heat stress is a harmful physical hazard in many occupational settings. However, consequences of occupational heat exposure among workers in a sugarcane factory in Ethiopia are not well characterized. This study aimed to assess the level of occupational heat exposure-related symptoms and contributing factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, five workstations were selected for temperature measurement. Heat stress levels were measured using a wet-bulb globe temperature index meter. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 1,524 participants. Heat-related symptoms were assessed using validated questionnaires. Results: The level of occupational heat exposure was 72.4% (95% CI: 70.2%-74.8%), while 71.6% (95% CI: 69.3%-74.9%) of participants experienced at least one symptom related to heat stress. The most common heat-related symptoms were swelling of hands and feet (78%), severe thirst (77.8%) and dry mouth (77.4%). The identified risk factors were a lack of reflective shields (AOR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.53, 3.17), not-enclosed extreme heat sources (AOR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.51), a lack of access to shade (AOR: 9.62, 95% CI: 6.20, 14.92), and inappropriate protective clothing provision (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.71). Conclusions: The burden of occupational heat exposure and heat-induced symptoms was high. Lack of reflective shields, the absence of enclosed extreme heat sources, a lack of access to shade, and inappropriate protective clothing provision were considerable attributes of heat stress. Therefore, the use of mechanical solutions to stop heat emissions at their sources and the key factors identified were areas for future intervention.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.467-475
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship andropause symptoms, stress, self-esteem and quality of life among middle-aged men. The data were collected from Jun to August 2017. The subjects were 40 to 60 year old males residing in Y city and 198 questionnaires were analyzed. A menopausal man's quality of life was significantly different according to final education, monthly income, exercise status, the scores of quality of life was negatively correlated with those of andropause symptoms and stress, but positively correlated with those of self-esteem. The result of adding six variables that have significantly different quality of life, factors influencing quality of life are self-esteem, stress, andropause symptoms, monthly income and analysis result, explaining 52.3% of the variance. Therefor, The results of this study through repeated research in the future, it will contribute to the development and application of a nursing arbitration program to improve the quality of life for men in menopause.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2016

This study has been conducted to determine the fatigue symptoms(MFS) and its convergence association with occupational stress(KOSS) among small scale manufacturing male workers. The self-administered questionnaires were given to 428 workers employed in 14 work places under 50 members of manufacturing industries during the period from September 1st to 15th, 2015. As a results, the level of fatigue symptoms(MFS) was positively correlated with occupational stress(KOSS). Hierarchial multiple regression analysis revealed that the factors of influence with explanatory powers of 34.1% on fatigue symptoms(MFS) included sex, BMI, subject health status, smoking, regular exercise, drinking coffee, visiting out-patient department, sense of satisfaction in job life, and occupational stress(KOSS). Above results suggested that the level of occupational stress(KOSS) is so convergence influenced by variable factors as well as sociodemographic characteristics, health related characteristics and job-related characteristics, to a greater extent, by occupational stress(KOSS).

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.46-55
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• 2022

Objectives Many studies have reported noticeable increases in the proportion of employees working either relatively short or relatively long hours. Such trends have been accompanied by an increasing concern that how much subjective mental well-being of employees would be influenced by their hours of work. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between work hours and clinically relevant depressive symptoms with demographic variables adjusted. Methods Participants were employees of a total of 56 private companies and local government organizations in Korea, aged 19 to 65 years. A self-report questionnaire that included items on working hour, job stress, levels of depression, and socio-demographic factors was administered to 15360 Korean employees, with 14477 valid responses. Hierarchical linear regression analyses, adjusted for sociodemographic factors, job related demographic factors, job stress, were used additionally to estimate the association between working hours and depressive scores. Results We found that working more than 40 hours per week correlated positively with the level of depressive symptoms after adjusting for demographic variables and the level of job stress. Furthermore, working 40 or fewer hours per week correlated negatively with the level of depressive symptoms. Being younger (β = -0.078, β = -0.099), being a female (β = 2.770, β = 1.268), and possessing a lower level of education (β = -0.315, β = -1.125) were significantly associated with higher level of depressive symptoms in all respondents. Conclusions Both of working excessively long or short hours is significantly associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Establishing proper office hours for employees is critical to improving the quality of working conditions and maintaining good mental health in the workplace.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2006

Objectives : Since prostitution is multitraumatic phenomena, it is known that most women in prostitution have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illness. In Korea, new anti-prostitution law launched in the year of 2004 imposes protecting prostituted victims at government-supported shelter. The objective of this study was to compare the mental symptoms, especially PTSD features of women who escaped from prostitution with those of control subjects. Methods : We assessed 113 ex-prostituted women who live in shelter for 8 months on the average and 65 normal control subjects. Demographic data, questionnaire for sleep, physical illness, smoking, alcohol and drug use, Stress Response Inventory, Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used. Results : Ex-prostituted women had significantly higher scores of DTS, IES-R, stress related responses, sleep problems, smoking problems, and alcohol problems than control group. Age and duration of sex trade of the subjects were significantly correlated with the severity or frequency of PTSD symptoms. The degree of smoking, alcohol drinking and sleep problems were also significantly correlated with the PTSD symptoms. Conclusion : These results suggested mental symptoms did not disappear even after women escaped from prostitution.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.629-640
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of job stress, fatigue symptoms and job satisfaction on turnover intention among dental hygienists. Overall, 516 dental hygienists who work in dental clinics were surveyed using a standardized self-administered questionnaire from April 1 to June 30, 2015. Mean turnover intention was compared to each independent variable tested by t-tests and ANOVA, correlation among turnover intention, job stress, fatigue symptoms and job satisfaction was calculated by Pearson's correlation coefficient, and covariance structure analysis was used to evaluate whether turnover intention was associated with job stress, fatigue symptoms and job satisfaction. Turnover intention was significantly higher among subjects with higher job stress and fatigue, as well as those with lower job satisfaction. Additionally, turnover intention was significantly positively correlated with job stress and fatigue symptoms, while turnover intention was negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Covariance structure analysis revealed job stress had a greater impact on turnover intention than fatigue and job satisfaction, high job stress and fatigue, the lower the job satisfaction showed that the effect of increasing the turnover intention. Overall, these results indicate that turnover intention of dental hygienists are more heavily influenced by job satisfaction and job stress than fatigue. Therefore, efforts are needed to reduce job stress and fatigue, as well as to improve job satisfaction to reduce the degree of turnover intention among dental hygienists.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1127-1148
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• 2018

Care-stress among the dementia caregivers has been an important issue. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the dementia elderly's symptoms on the primary caregivers'care -stress. In addition, the moderators, the expert support and the family support, were used to examine the moderating effects between the symptoms and the care-stress. The data was obtained at 10 day-care facilities and services in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Busan province in South Korea. A total of 191 participants were analyzed. They were the spouses or the adult children of the dementia elderly who were diagnosed with dementia within five years. This study was conducted in multiple regression analysis. The main findings are as follows. First of all, the symptoms that the dementia elderly show were significantly associated with the primary caregivers' care-stress. Also, the interactive variable with the expert support was statistically significant. However, it was not significant with the family support. This means that only the expert support from doctors, nurses or social workers decreased the caregivers' care-stress. The implications of this study are 1) the necessities of the education that covers the specific symptoms of the dementia patients', 2) the extension of the supportive policies for caregivers' care-stress, 3) the necessities of more allocation of the dementia specialists in the practical settings and cooperative systems among the dementia specialists in various fields, and 4) the enhancement of the family function among families who have a dementia elderly as a family member.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychological effects of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a newly emerged infectious disease, on doctors. Methods After the MERS outbreak was over, we conducted an online survey of doctors who worked at the hospitals in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed or who were directly involved in MERS diagnosis and treatment. The Patient Health Questionnaires-9 (PHQ-9) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) assessment methods were used to assess the severity of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms among the 64 doctors participating in the survey. Results The results of the survey indicate that 26.6% (n=17) of participants exhibited depressive symptoms and 7.8% (n=5) had post-traumatic stress symptoms. The doctors employed at hospitals with MERS cases had higher PHQ-9 and IES-R mean scores than those in doctors were not so employed. In contrast, there was no significant difference in those test scores between doctors who participated directly in MERS diagnosis and treatment and those doctors who did not. Conclusion The survey demonstrated that 28.1% (n=18) of doctors involved in MERS care suffered from depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms, even though the MERS infection was being controlled. Working at a hospital with MERS cases was the primary determinant of the adverse psychological outcomes among doctors ; however, direct participation in the diagnosis and care of MERS patients was not significantly related to such outcomes.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2015

Objective : Police officers are exposed to job-related traumatic events and have a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined the relationship between PTSD symptoms and dimensions of temperament and character in police officers. Method : Thirty-six police officers participating in a psychological support program were enrolled. All subjects were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and other self-reported symptoms scales. Results : Among all participants (age $40.8{\pm}10.2$, men 94.4%), the rate of 'post-traumatic stress symptoms group' was 47.2%. After controlling for confounding factors, lower self-directedness scores were significantly associated with higher PTSD symptoms (${\beta}=0.6$, p=0.03) in multiple regression analysis. Conclusion : Character traits, especially self-directedness, were associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms severity. These findings may provide useful information regarding personality factors related to PTSD in police officers.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.410-419
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• 2007

Purpose: This study is a descriptive survey to find out musculoskeletal symptoms in care workers working at medical welfare facilities for elders and factors affecting such symptoms. Methods: Data were collected from 115 care workers selected through convenient sampling from 6 medical welfare facilities in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do during the period from May 15th to May 19th. 2006. The Korean version of Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) were used. Result: Of the subjects, 81.7% complained of musculoskeletal symptoms in two or more parts of their body. The frequency of body parts with musculoskeletal symptoms was high in order of shoulder, leg/foot, waist, neck/hand/wrist/finger and arm/elbow. The average job insecurity instability in the age group of 50-59 was 9.19, the average degree of regular exercise was 59.68. and the average job demand in those diagnosed with musculoskeletal diseases was 47.06, and the average job demand in those wounded during exercise or by an accident was 47.78, and all these were statistically significant. The heavier physical load in their work was, the higher their complaint of musculoskeletal symptoms was. In the lower social support group, the degree of complaint on musculoskeletal symptoms was remarkably high. Conclusion: The physical load of their duty and social support worked as the factors affecting musculoskeletal symptoms in care workers.