• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.32.1-32.10
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• 2023

Background: Although many studies have been conducted on worker fatigue and sickness absence, the association between fatigue and sickness absence is unclear in Korean workers. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of worker fatigue on future sickness absence. Methods: The study was conducted on workers who received medical check-ups at a university hospital for two consecutive years (2014-2015). During check-ups in the first year, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was used to assess fatigue levels, and during check-ups in the second year, sickness absence was surveyed to determine whether they had been absent from work due to physical or mental illness during previous 12 months. The χ² test was used to analyze relationships between sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, fatigue levels, and sickness absence. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression analysis controlled for confounding factors. Results: A total of 12,250 workers were included in the study, and 396 (3.2%) workers experienced more than one day of sickness absence during the study period. Adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.64-4.28) in the moderate-fatigue group and 6.87 (95% CI: 4.93-9.57) in the high-fatigue group versus the low-fatigue group. For men in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.40 (95% CI: 2.58-4.48) and 8.94 (95% CI: 6.12-13.07), and for women in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 2.93 (95% CI: 1.68-5.10) and 3.71 (95% CI: 1.84-7.49), respectively. Conclusions: Worker fatigue is associated with sickness absence during the following 12 months, and this association appears to be stronger for men than women. These results support the notion that sickness absence can be reduced by evaluating and managing work-related fatigue.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.216-226
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was to examine the influences of working conditions and health status on absence due to sickness in health and medical related workers. Methods: Data from the Third Korean Working Condition Survey was used. Study participants included 929 workers who have been working in the medical and healthcare fields. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, ${\chi}^2$ test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS 21.0 statistical program. Results: Absence due to sickness was found in 7.8% of health and medical related workers. Absence due to sickness differed significantly depending on monthly income, company size, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors, job control, physical health problems and subjective health status would be important factors affecting absence. Conclusion: This study provides evidences that predictors of absence due to sickness in workers of medical and healthcare fields are identified. Therefore, we need the active support for health care service promotion and prevention for predictors of absence due to sickness.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.128-133
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• 2015

Background: To investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and comorbid health problems, including depression/anxiety disorder, insomnia/sleep disorder, fatigue, and injury by accident, and to determine whether certain physical and psychological factors reduce comorbid health problems. Methods: In total, 29,711 employees were selected from respondents of the Third Korean Working Conditions Survey and categorized into two groups: Musculoskeletal Complaints or Musculoskeletal Sickness Absence. Four self-reported health indicators (overall fatigue, depression/anxiety, insomnia/sleep disorder, and injury by accident) were selected as outcomes, based on their high prevalence in Korea. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between comorbid health problems, musculoskeletal complaints, and sickness absence. Results: The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and musculoskeletal sickness absence due to muscular pain was 32.26% and 0.59%, respectively. Compared to the reference group, depression/anxiety disorder and overall fatigue were 5.2-6.1 times more prevalent in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group and insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were 7.6-11.0 times more prevalent in the Sickness Absence Group. When adjusted for individual and work-related physical factors, prevalence of all four comorbid health problems were slightly decreased in both groups. Conclusion: Increases in overall fatigue and depression/anxiety disorder were observed in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group, while increases in insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were observed in the Sickness Absence Group. For management of musculoskeletal complaints and sickness absence in the workplace, differences in health problems between employees with musculoskeletal complaints and those with sickness absence as well as the physical and psychological risk factors should be considered.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.35-39
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• 1980

The researcher intended to investigate the rate of absenteeism and other related statistics among the workers in a steel and iron industry with the criteria and the recommendation of the International Association on Occupational Health. With the well designed questionaire and interview, 1,882 workers were surveyed from July the 24th to the 28th, 1978. The results were as follows; The workers who experienced absence were 16.8% in July. The rate of frequency (spells) was 3.24, the duration was 4.65, the frequency (persons) was 345.20, and the lost time was 1.27. 41.0% among the absentee experienced sickness absences and the rates of sickness absence were as follow; the frequency (spells) nab 1.34, the duration was 2.29, the frequency (persons) was 101.06 and the lost time was 0.63, respectively. The main causes of sickness absence were general symptoms, such as fatigue (50.8%) and gastro-intestinal symptoms (13.8%). The frequency of sickness was highly correlated to the frequency of drinking, the amount of smoking, the physical work-load and the amount of drinking, which was analysed by the stepwize multiple regrssion analysis. The multiple R due to the above mentioned four variables was 0.320 and the R square was 10.3%.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.201-206
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• 2022

Background: The present objective was to verify whether burnout (emotional exhaustion [EE], depersonalization [DP] and low professional efficacy [PE]) is a risk factor for long-term sickness absence (LTSA; 30 consecutive days) from the teaching role. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study with two years of follow-up that investigated 509 elementary and high-school teachers. Burnout was identified by Maslach Burnout Inventory. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to adjust for possible confounders. Results: The incidence of LTSA was 9.4%. High EE levels were associated with LTSA in the crude analysis, but the association lost statistical significance after adjustments (for sex, age, perception of work-life balance, general self-rated health, chronic pain and depression). High DP levels were associated with this outcome, even after all adjustments (relative risk = 1.80; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-3.09). Low PE levels were not related to LTSA. Conclusion: The results reinforce the need to improve teachers' work conditions to reduce burnout, particularly DP, and its consequences.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2013

Purpose: This study aims to test the validity and criteria-related reliability of the Korean version of the Copenhagen Psyco-social Questionnaire version II (COPSOQ-K) assessing the psychosocial working environment. Methods: The COPSOQ-K was developed through forward-backward translation techniques, and revision based on feedback from focus groups. Survey data were collected from 311 office workers who worked in one workplace. An internal consistency reliability was estimated by Cronbach's ${\alpha}$. The impacts of the COPSOQ-K scales on job satisfaction, self-rated health, stress, sleeping troubles, burnout, and sickness absence were analyzed with multiple regression model or multiple logistic regression model, adjusted age and gender using SAS version 9.3. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the COPSOQ-K scales and Korean job stress and its subdomain were identified. Results: Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ of COPSOQ-K scales was adequate or good (0.66~0.87). The major COPSOQ-K scales predict job satisfaction, self-rated health, stress, sleeping troubles burnout, and sickness absence. The major COPSOQ-K scales were correlated with Korean job stress and its subdomain. Conclusion: The COPSOQ-K scales have satisfactory reliability and criteria-related validity. The COPSOQ-K scales will be useful for the future studies and practices associated with psychosocial working environment.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing the well-being of middle-aged non-shift female workers using health-determinant models. Methods: This study analyzed data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), involving 5,449 participants. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the relationships between various factors and well-being. Results: The analysis identified key factors affecting well-being in middle-aged female non-shift workers, including supervisor support, presenteeism, satisfaction with the working environment, autonomy in working hours, support from coworkers, workplace discrimination, occupation, work-life balance, sleep problems, workplace size, weekly work hours, and sickness absence. This study confirms that the well-being of middle-aged non-shift female workers is influenced by factors at the individual, social, and community levels as well as by conditions related to love. Conclusion: To enhance the well-being of middle-aged female non-shift workers, it is essential to reinforce positive factors such as support from coworkers and superiors. Additionally, addressing and mitigating negatively influencing factors such as workplace discrimination and sleep problems is crucial in promoting well-being. By implementing measures to improve these aspects, organizations and policymakers can contribute to a healthier and more supportive work environment for middle-aged, non-shift female workers.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.279-286
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• 1991

Much of the working population in developing countries are engaged in shift work now and the number of shift workers is not expected to decrease in the future mostly because the need for continuity of production is increasing. Therefore, the possible effects of shift work on health are of particular interest, and in fact, there have been many epidemiological studies on shift work since the first world war. However, no studies on health effects of shift work have been reported in Korea, and the existing studies in western world have arrived at quite different conclusions mainly because the conditions of work other than shift work, such as age and selection of workers, work environment, and labor conditions also influence the health of workers. This study was firstly carried out in Korea to investigate the health risks related to shift work with 2,093 female workers randomly selected from three major manufacturing industries in proportion to total number of female workers in those industries. Differences of work conditions other than shift work in this study were adjusted by multivariate analysis. Ma findings obtained from this study are as follows : 1. There were significant differences between shift and day workers in the distribution of age, type of industry, condition of noise and dust, regularity of mealtime, working position, and working duration. Shift workers tended to be younger, to have shorter working duration, to have more irregular mealtime, to work in standing position, and to work under more noisy and dusty environment than day workers. 2. Univariate analysis showed that shift work increased the Todai Health Index (THI) scores of digestive tract, respiratory tract, and mental instability symptom categories. Shift work also increased days of sickness absence and number of industrial accident per 100 workers per month. 3. Multivariate analysis that adjusted the differences of demographic, occupational and non-occupational health-related working conditions showed that digestive tract symptom and mental instability symptom scores were significantly higher in shift workers than those in day workers. Based on these study results, it is concluded that the shift work has significant effects on some psychophysiological conditions of the workers and the effects are also influenced by several other personal and working conditions.