• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.267-271
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• 2023

Background: The objective of this study is to identify the working conditions and health status of Vietnamese male migrant workers in Republic of Korea, in comparison to the Korean general population. Methods: We conducted our survey through the Migrant People Center, and we received completed questionnaires from 87 male Vietnamese migrant workers. The questionnaire employed was identical to those used in the Korean Working Conditions Survey and the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The collected data from the Vietnamese migrant workers was then compared with the Korean reference population using indirect age-standardization. Results: Vietnamese male workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of health problems including hearing problems (age-standardized prevalence ratio (aSPR) 13.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.07-20.4), skin problems (aSPR 13.49, 95% CI: 8.07-20.4), and low back pain (aSPR 8.40, 95% CI: 6.50-10.69). Elevated exposure to workplace hazards such as chemicals (aSPR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.51-3.51), organic solvents (aSPR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.44-3.28), handling of heavy objects (aSPR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.24-2.21), and high temperatures (aSPR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.46-2.57) was observed among them. Additionally, they faced a higher risk of no personal protective equipment (aSPR 2.53, 95% CI: 1.26-4.52) and a greater prevalence of unmet medical needs (aSPR 7.14, 95% CI: 4.74-10.32). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the elevated workplace hazards, health problems, and unmet medical needs among Vietnamese male workers compared to the Korean reference population. These findings underscores the urgency for enhanced scrutiny over working conditions and protective equipment provision, coupled with efforts to improve healthcare accessibility and worker education.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.539-547
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was performed to emphasize improvement of the perception of dental hygienists' environmental working conditions by analyzing various factors. Methods: Two hundred ninety-eight female dental hygienists working at 35 medical institutions in Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province participated. A self-recording type survey was done in October 2016. Results: Factors influencing the perception of infection control was length of career. Dental hygienists with more experience have a higher level of perception. Factors influencing the perception of working posture was the number of patients per day and career level. Dental hygienists seeing 50 or fewer patients per day and senior staff showed higher levels of this perception. Factors influencing the perception of noise in the working area were length of career and lunchtime break. The perception level was high in the group with longer careers and dental hygienists who rest at lunch time. Factors influencing chemical exposure during work were the number of patients per day and the type of institute. Dental hygienists working in dental clinics or dealing with more patients had lower levels of perception. Conclusions: The sociodemographic and working characteristics of dental hygienists influence the perception of dental hygienists' environmental working conditions.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discover the influence of the working conditions on women workers' occupational stress. Methods: Descriptive method is used to identify women's stress depending on their general working features and conditions by conducting a survey of them in women-dominated service industries. SPSS 18.0 program is used for data analysis and descriptive statistics is presented with standard deviation, frequency and percentage. ${\chi}^2$-test is used as an analysis tool. To figure out factors that influence their stress, logistic regression analysis is used for general features and working conditions as independent variables, and occupational stress as a dependent variable. Results: As a result, among the independent variables, employment status, weekly working hours, career, shiftwork, and work-family-balance are meaningful factors that influence their stress. Temporary workers' stress is 3.65 times higher (p<.001), and workers working over 48 hours a week have 1.97 times higher stress (p<.003). Workers with over 5 years' career are under 1.73 times higher stress (p<.046) and shift workers are under 3.51 times higher stress (p<.001). Work family balance results in 1.93 times higher stress (p<.009). Conclusion: It is necessary to seek how to prevent and manage women workers' stress considering features.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.287-301
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• 2022

Objectives: This study compared the characteristics of the work environment between agricultural and general workers and analyzed the effects of agricultural working characteristics on work-related health problems. Methods: The participants of this study were 2,347 agricultural workers and 48,042 general workers who were selected by applying standardized weights to the raw data of 50,538 respondents from the 6th Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). Variables applicable to both worker groups and related to exposure to hazardous risk factors in the working environment, working hours and intensity of work, health problems and work-related status, and satisfaction with the work environment were selected. Chi-square tests and independent sample t-tests were performed to evaluate the differences in the variables between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effects of work environment characteristics on work-related health problems. Results: Compared to general workers, agricultural workers were more exposed to hazardous environments, irregular work patterns such as working on Saturday/Sunday, and short repetitive tasks. They reported more work-related and general health problems, including back pain, upper extremity muscle pain, lower extremity muscle pain, and general fatigue. Agricultural workers showed lower satisfaction with their work environment than general workers. Factors affecting one or more work-related health problems included gender, working years, hazardous factors, irregular work pattern, working hours, and labor intensity. Conclusions: Our findings showed that agricultural workers were relatively more vulnerable to safety issues compared to other occupational groups. Therefore, it is necessary to establish standardized safety and health standards and strengthen systematic safety and health management policies and services for agriculture.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.523-531
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the relation between working conditions and occupational injuries among Korean employees. This study was based on the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey(KWCS) and a total of 36,292 data were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the relation of working conditions and occupational injuries after controlling for individual variables. After control of personal factors, perception of the threat to health or safety(OR=3.77, 95% CI=2.934-4.844), 49-59 working hours(OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.023-2.601), 60 hours or more per week(OR=2.66, 95% CI=1.683-4.197), and manual occupation type(OR=1.76, 95% CI=1.218-2.536) were associated with occupational injuries. Our results indicate that working conditions influence occupational injuries, and the focus should be on prevention and management strategies for occupational injuries to vulnerable workers.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.356-371
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the working conditions of home health nurses in hospital-based home health institutions nationwide. Methods: A secondary data analysis study was conducted based on the survey data on the working conditions of home health nurses, jointly conducted by the Korean Home Health Care Nurses Association and the Academic Society of Home Health Care Nurses in September 2020. Results: Of the home health nurses respondents, 82.4% worked in tertiary hospitals and general hospitals. Most of the working hours of home health nurses were 40 hours a week. Traffic accidents accounted for a significant proportion of accidents experienced by the home health nurse while performing their duties. Most of welfare and benefits systems applicable to home health institutions were in place. The time allocated to provision of home health nursing services was usually more than 30 minutes but less than 1 hour. The type of position of the individual in charge of home health care differed according to the type of medical institution. Conclusion: It is recommended that continuous investigation and analysis be conducted in order to establish a direction for improvement of home health nurses' working conditions, based on the related accumulated data.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

Background: Korean Working Conditions Surveys (KWCS), referencing European Working Conditions Surveys, have been conducted three times in order to survey working condition and develop work-related policies. However, we found three limitations for managing the collected KWCS data: (1) there was no computerized system for managing data; (2) statistical KWCS data were provided by limited one-way communication; and (3) the concept of a one-time provision of information was pursued. We suggest a web-based public service system that enables ordinary people to make greater use of the KWCS data, which can be managed constantly in the future. Methods: After considering data characteristics, we designed a database, which was able to have the result of all pairwise combinations with two extracted data to construct an analysis system. Using the data of the social network for each user, the tailored analysis system was developed. This system was developed with three methods: clustering and classification for building a social network, and an infographic method for improving readability through a friendly user interface. Results: We developed a database including one input entity consisting of the sociodemographic characteristics and one output entity consisting of working condition characteristics, such as working pattern and work satisfaction. A web-based public service system to provide tailored contents was completed. Conclusion: This study aimed to present a customized analysis system to use the KWCS data efficiently, provide a large amount of data in a form that can give users a better understanding, and lay the ground for helping researchers and policy makers understand the characteristics.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.36.1-36.12
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• 2022

Background: Many studies have been conducted to investigate the harmful effect of shift work on physical and mental health. Although, by definition, "working evening shift" is included in the scope of shift work, most related studies conducted thus far have focused on working night shifts, overtime work, or different types of shift work, with little research effort dedicated to "working evening shifts." Therefore, to fill this research gap, we investigated the effect of working evening shifts on workers' mental health. Methods: The participants of this study were 16,692 employees of the 50,205 that participated in the 5th wave of the Korean Working Conditions Survey. We performed χ² test and logistic regression analysis to analyze the effects of independent variables on health problems and calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In the logistic regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors, and work-related characteristics, employees who worked evening shifts showed higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to those that did not. In particular, the adjusted odds ratios of the group working evening shifts between one and nine times a month were the highest with 2.723 (95% CI: 2.014-3.682) for depression, 3.294 (95% CI: 2.547-4.259) for anxiety. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that working evening shifts has a negative effect on employees' mental health. This trend decreased with an increase in the monthly frequency of evening work.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2024

Background: The present study aimed to analyze several aspects of the working conditions and health status of platform workers in the Republic of Korea, such as ergonomic and emotional hazards. We also compared the health status of the platform workers with that of the general population. Methods: A total of 1,000 platform workers participated in this survey from August 7 to August 17, 2022. The participants included 400 designated drivers, 400 food-delivery drivers, and 200 housekeeping managers. A face-to-face survey with a structured questionnaire was conducted by researchers who had received specific instructions. The focus of the survey extended to the work environment, encompassing factors such as workplace violence, as well as physical, chemical, and ergonomic hazards. Health-related data for the previous year were also collected, covering a range of issues such as hearing problems, skin problems, musculoskeletal symptoms, headaches, injuries, mental health issues, and digestive problems. Subsequently, we compared the health symptom data of the responders with those of the general population in the Republic of Korea. Results: Platform workers, including designated drivers, food-delivery drivers, and housekeeping managers, existed in the blind spot of social insurance, facing frequent exposure to physical and chemical hazards, ergonomic risk factors, and direct or indirect violence. The prevalence of health problems, including musculoskeletal symptoms, general fatigue, and depressive symptoms, in each occupational group was statistically higher than that in the general population after standardization for age and gender. Conclusion: The results revealed unfavorable working environment and inferior occupational health of platform workers compared with those of the general population.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.361-375
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• 2018

This study recognizes the changes of the father's role and the importance of family mealtimes as well as examines the individual, family and social contexts surrounding the father's family mealtime. This study analyzed the trend of the father's family mealtime frequency and factors affecting them in order to explore the current conditions of their father's work and family balance through family mealtimes. Data from 492 fathers who have school aged children were collected through an online survey. The overall trend of the frequency of father's family meals showed an average of 2.4 breakfasts and an average of 3.2 dinners per week. The frequency of the father's family meals showed statistically significant differences according to the father's age, children's school age, dual income, weekly working hours, working flexibility, leaving on-time and the priority of work and family. The analysis of hierarchical linear regressions was conducted to determine factors affecting the frequency of father's family mealtime to show that the frequency of father's family mealtime was best explained by father's working conditions and perception variables. Working conditions such as working hours, leaving work on time, working flexibility were significant variables in regards to the father's family mealtime frequency. The father's perception towards parental efficacy, wife's support, and work-family priority were significant factors in regards to the father's family mealtime frequency. This study is meaningful in that it provides basic data on policy making for the compatibility of the father's work and family.