• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.418-424
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• 2020

Background: According to the previous studies, the work-related accident rate decreased in Korea after the introduction of occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), but there were several disasters in Korea such as subway worker's death at Guui station in 2016 and the Taean thermal power plant accident in 2018, which escalated the social demand for safety. In 2018, OHSMS became an international standard, as ISO45001 was announced. Methods: A survey was conducted to research the implementation status of OHSMS and changes in people's perception, and the results were compared with those of a past survey. Results: Enhanced social demand and various stakeholders' (not only buyer) needs, and social responsibility are perceived as the motivation for the introduction of OHSMS rather than legal compliance or customer demand. In the questionnaire about problems with the implementation of OHSMS, the factors with higher response rate in 2018 than 2004 were "excessive cost" and "complicated documentation management." In the questionnaire about how to promote OHSMS in organizations, most people answered "reduction of workers' compensation insurance rate" in 2004, but most people answered "exemption from health and safety supervision" in 2018. Conclusion: For the effective implementation of ISO45001, emphasis is placed on social demand, training to recognize health and safety as a part of management, and the reduction of certification and consulting costs to promote the introduction of OHSMS. Incentives such as insurance premium cuts and exemptions from health and safety supervision are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.158-165
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• 2014

The statistics of occupational injuries and illnesses is one of the most important indicators of worker's safety and health in the field of occupational safety and health. The conventional statistics was produced without consideration of gender difference. This study was planned to investigate the difference of occupational injuries and illnesses by gender because that recently female workers was increased through the change of industrial structure such as from manufacturing dominated to service dominated structure. Statistics of occupational injuries and illnesses collected by workmen's compensation insurance system that have no information about gender composition of population. Economically active population survey was used to calculated the rate of occupational injuries and illnesses by gender. The distribution of estimated rate of occupational injuries and illnesses by industry, occupation and the type of accident were different between male and female employees, but those by the size of enterprise, age of the injured, the duration of the first recuperation, and job tenure were similar between male and female employees. This study has shown that gender sensitive approach may be applied to policy of occupational safety and health because that gender neutral perspective may not discover the fact of gender specific problems.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.258-268
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• 2017

The purpose of this research was to examine the factors affecting motivation for change of injured workers. Data from 305 injured workers were anlayzed using hierarchical regression Factors associated with injured workers' motivation for change were: multiple psychological security, acceptability of injury, and independence at personal level, family support at family level, and perceptive severity of injury, job, and return to job.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2022

Background; In the event of an industrial accident, the appropriate choice of hospital is important for worker health and prognosis. This study investigates whether the choice of hospital by the employer in the case of industrial accidents affects the prognosis of injured employees. Methods; Data from the 2018 Panel Study of Workers' Compensation Insurance in Korea were used in an unmatched case-controlled study. The exposure variable is "hospital selection by an employer," and the outcome variable is 'worker's disability." Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by modified Poisson regression and adjusted for age, gender, underlying disease, injury severity, and workplace size and stratified by industrial classification. The group at increased risk was analyzed and stratified by age, gender, and area. Results; In the construction industry, hospital selection by the employer was significantly associated with increased risk of disability (adjusted OR 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.20-1.32) and severe disability (adjusted OR 1.38; 95% CI; 1.08-1.76) among the injured. Female and younger workers not living in the Seoul capital area were more at risk of disability and severe disability than those living in the Seoul capital area. Conclusions; Hospital selection by employers affects the prognosis of workers injured in an industrial accident. For protecting workers' health and safety, workplace emergency medical systems should be improved, and the selection of appropriate hospitals to supply treatment should be reviewed.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.17.1-17.10
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to investigate the decline in quality of life (QOL) by examining changes in the employment status of workers who had completed medical treatment after an industrial accident. Methods: This study utilized the Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance cohort (published in October 2020) containing a sample survey of 3,294 occupationally injured workers who completed medical care in 2017. We divided this population into four groups according to changes in working status. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized for evaluating QOL decline by adjusting for the basic characteristics and working environment at the time of accident. Subgroup analysis evaluated whether QOL decline differed according to disability grade and industry group. Results: The QOL decline in the "maintained employment," "employed to unemployed," "remained unemployed," and "unemployed to employed" groups were 15.3%, 28.1%, 20.2%, and 11.9%, respectively. The "maintained employment" group provided a reference. As a result of adjusting for the socioeconomic status and working environment, the odds ratios (ORs) of QOL decline for the "employed to unemployed" group and the "remained unemployed" group were 2.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-3.01) and 1.47 (95% CI, 1.13-1.90), respectively. The "unemployed to employed" group had a non-significant OR of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.54-1.07). Conclusions: This study revealed that continuous unemployment or unstable employment negatively affected industrially injured workers' QOL. Policy researchers and relevant ministries should further develop and improve "return to work" programs that could maintain decent employment avenues within the workers' compensation system.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.131-142
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• 2017

Objectives : This study aimed to examine to relevance of socioeconomic class recognition and subjective health status of injured workers. Methods : We used data collected over 3years by the Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance(PSWCI; 2015). Data was analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression using SPSS ver. 22.0 to verify the relevance between the socioeconomic class recognition and general characteristics of injured workers. Results : First, the income groups of first class, second class and third class were analyzed as being of lower socioeconomic class status, and the income group four class and five class was analyzed as being the middle-ower the socioeconomic class status. Second, the better the subjective health status, higher the perception of socioeconomic class status, as analyzed by Model 1 using only the parameters of socioeconomic status recognition and Model 2 and Model 3 using income class and general characteristics. Conclusions : Health and industrial accident policies are needed to improve awareness of socioeconomic class status of injured workers.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.193-212
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• 2017

This study is purposed to explain the characteristics of injured workers' labor market situation and to analyze the factors influencing labor market transition of those workers. Using the Worker's Compensation Insurance Panel Data ver.1~3 which was surveyed by the Korean Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service in 2013-2015, this study analyzed 1,668 injured worker cases. The study shows that workers who have experience job retention at least once are 36.8% of all, 51.5% of them have experienced re-employment, and 36.9% have done unemployment. One result of the longitudinal analysis is that socio-demographic factors including gender, age, education years, convalescence period, ability on job performance, company size, term of service, temporary employment, daily-workers status before job accident and job training were associated with return to pre-injury job. The other result is that statistically significant factors affecting the probability to be the unemployed are gender, age, levels of disability, convalescence, ability on job performance, term of service before job accident, job rehabilitation service utilization. These findings indicate that we need to develop efficient intervention programs for supporting return-to-work and labor market transition of injured workers.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2016

For workers, industrial accidents exert a bad effect on the productivity, quality of life, and depress the morale. This study aimed to examine the overall influence on job performance of employees who returned to work after industrial accidents. This was a cross-sectional study using the data of 2013 and 2014 Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance (PSWCI), and we performed logistic-regression analysis to analyze an affinity between general characteristics and job performance as independent variable and outcome variable, respectively. As a result, the major factor depressed the job performance were the 1 - 7 degree of disabilities and injuries with convalescence period for 6 to 9month or more than 12 months. In other words, this study shown that job performance was decreased as higher degree of disability and longer convalescence period. Job performance is the factor to identify indirectly worker's successful return to work, and it is important in follow-up of workers who returned to work after industrial accidents. Stable job performance of an industrial disaster victim is the key factor to maintain worker's comfortable and qualitative life as well as increase of productive capacity.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.465-471
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• 2010

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have been the most common health problem covered by worker's accident compensation insurance for several years in Korea. Korean government has strengthened related regulations since 2003. People looked forward to decreasing the incidence and prevalence of WMSDs. At first, the expectation could be realized. However, we were bumped against to limit at present. The authors think it is due to the negligence of psychosocial factors for WMSDs. Many researchers reported that the various psychosocial factors were associated with WMSDs or symptoms. Job demand, social support, job satisfaction and decision latitude are the major risk factors in job stress aspect. Work pressure, lack of rest, qualified workload, workload variability and monotonous job are the significant risk factors in work context of work organization. Employment flexibility, downsizing, lean production, contingent work and pay for by the piece are also the risk factors in an organizational context. Furthermore, these risk factors are associated with each other across different dimensions of work organization. Suggestive possible pathways between these risks and WMSDs have been taken note of increasing muscle strain or ergonomic stress and of a cognitive aspect. The authors suggest these risk factors could explain the limitation of the regulation system for WMSDs. In conclusion, the strategy to manage psychosocial factors is the one of the essential approach to prevent WMSDs.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.1
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• pp.23-52
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• 2016

This study aims to reveal the meaning and essence of male immigrant workers' life who underwent industrial accidents through specific experiences. This study is based on the Van Manen(1990)'s lived experience phenomenological method, which actively describes the experiences about the industrial accidents in the perspective of male immigrant worker. The in-depth interviews were carried out with the thirteen male immigrant workers participants who underwent the industrial accidents. Through the interview, 121 meaning units and 38 disclosed themes were constructed. The following is the summarized results as 9 essential themes: < the oppression of the Industrial accident compensation insurance's hospitals to the aliens >, < being treated like the surplus man who lost the labor force >, < the class rank below despite undergoing the industrial accidents >, < survival having resistance sentiments >, < living at the anonymous lands as the Homo sacer >, < the stratified strategies between the immigrant workers >, < the origins as the bodiless shadow >, < struggling to escape the present conditions >, < present circumstances tied by the past experiences without hope >, researcher sought the essential meaning structure about the four Life-world Existentials (Body, The other, Space and Time) of constructing human's live-world. Based on the study results, some suggestions were made to restore the male immigrant workers' damaged quality of their lives who experienced industrial accidents and to contribute the social integration in view of the social welfare.