• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of workplace violence experienced by taxi drivers and identify the affected factors. Methods: Two hundred twelve taxi drivers were investigated for general characteristics and workplace violence was evaluated using K_WVSⓇ13. The data was collected from July to October 2020 through questionnaires. It was analyzed using t-test and ANOVA with SPSS WIN23.0. Results: Most of the taxi drivers were elderly and suffered from long hours of labor and low wages. After evaluating four sub-factors of workplace violence, 'psychological and sexual violence from customers', 'psychological and sexual violence from customers, supervisors, and coworkers' and 'physical assault from customers/supervisors/coworkers' were judged as risks. For 'psychological and sexual violence from customers, supervisors, and coworkers', the mean score by age was significantly higher for workers in their 70s or older and those with 30 years of experience compared to other age groups. In the case of 'psychological and sexual violence from customers', sales taxis were significantly higher than private taxis. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop a workplace violence prevention program suitable for the characteristics of taxi drivers in order to manage their physical and mental health. When establishing such a program, business type, age, and experience must be considered.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 1993

This paper describes the results of a systematic study to determine the characteristics of particle generated from various types of asbestos containing material(ACM) and manmade fiber material(MMFM) during operations of cutting and grinding in laboratory and workplace. Tests were conducted with a specially designed glove box which allowed complete sampling of the generated asbestos fibers. Specificially, air measurements were made during ACM and MMFM installation in building. All personal air samples collected were identified by polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis(SEM/EDXA). Also, the samples were counted by phase contrast microscope(PCM) in order to compare the results with the permissible exposure standard for workplace. Results indicate that the characterisitcs of fibers found in the roofing sheet, the ceiling and the wall insulation boards were identical to those of asbestos, while the characteristics of fibers found in the ceiling insulation board, the floor tile and the sprayed on insulation products in parking area were identical to those of asbestos, while the characteristics of fibers found in the ceiling insulation board, the floor tile and the sprayed on insulation products in parking area were identical to those of rock wool. The concentrations of airborne fibers from various building materials cut by a grinder for 5 minutes were in the ranges of 0.09 $\sim$ 1.71 fibers/cc(f/cc). The highest concentration(1.71f/cc) was found during grinding the wall insulation board which also contains rock wool. The airborne fiber concentrations generated by installing at workplace were ranged from 0.0009 to 0.029 f/cc. All asbestos fibers from the ceiling insulation board at workplace were less than 20$\mu$m in length and more than 20% of them had the average aspect ratio greater than 20. Therefore, for the purpose of decreasing asbestos and man-made fiber concentrations at the workplace, the ceiling and wall board should use strong binding material to increase the binding force with fiber. Also, the permissible exposure standard for workplace(2.0f/cc) in Korea should be constituted below the maximum avaiable concentration measured at glove box.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.479-490
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual condition of bullying in the workplace by dental hygienists and to determine whether workplace bullying affects job performance. Methods: Data were collected from 308 clinical dental hygienists working in dental medical institutions located in the whole country. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA were performed using SPSS 23.0 for analysis. Results: First, the main targets of bullying in the workplace were senior dental hygienists (53.6%) and dentists (24.7%). Second, the number of turnovers was a significant influence on bullying and job performance according to general characteristics. Finally, the 'improper work environment' among the subfactors of workplace bullying had a negative effect on 'job performance' (p<0.001). Conclusions: Based on the results of the study, we reviewed the actual condition of bullying in the workplace and whether bullying in the workplace affects job performance in the workforce problem of dental hygienists. In this regard, the importance of prevention of bullying in the workplace was discussed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.432-445
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship of the school organizational climate with perceived discrimination and the workplace violence among school health teachers. Methods: The research design was a cross-sectional study. The subjects of the study were 350 school health teachers with more than one year of teaching experience. Data were collected online using a questionnaire. Research variables are general characteristics, organizational climate, perceived discrimination, and workplace violence. The relationship between organizational climate and perceived discrimination and the relationship between organizational climate and workplace violence were analyzed using regression analysis. Results: The score for organizational climate of health teachers was 3.10 out of 5 points, the score for perceived discrimination was 2.85 out of 5 points, and the experience rate of workplace violence was 16.9%. School organizational climate was related to both workplace violence and perceived discrimination. The subcomponents of organizational climate affecting perceived discrimination of health teachers were interrelationship and the level of compensation. The subcomponents of organizational climate affecting workplace violence of health teachers were interrelationship and autonomy. Conclusion: The improvement of the school's organizational climate can reduce the level of workplace violence and discrimination against health teachers. It is important to establish an appropriate evaluation system for health teachers and to recognize the role and expertise of health teachers. In addition, it is necessary for school administraters to actively support health teahcers and to create an organizational climate where they can be friendly and communicative.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.117-129
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• 2017

Chronic disease rates have become more prevalent in the modern American workforce, which has negative implications for workplace productivity and healthcare costs. Offering workplace health interventions is recognized as an effective strategy to reduce chronic disease progression, absenteeism, and healthcare costs as well as improve population health. This review documents intervention and evaluation strategies used for health promotion programs delivered in workplaces. Using predetermined search terms in five online databases, we identified 1,131 published items from 1995 to 2014. Of these items, 27 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria; reporting data from completed United States-based workplace interventions that recruited at-risk employees based on their disease or disease-related risk factors. A content rubric was developed and used to catalogue these 27 published field studies. Selected workplace interventions targeted obesity (n = 13), cardiovascular diseases (n = 8), and diabetes (n = 6). Intervention strategies included instructional education/counseling (n = 20), workplace environmental change (n = 6), physical activity (n = 10), use of technology (n = 10), and incentives (n = 13). Self-reported data (n = 21), anthropometric measurements (n = 17), and laboratory tests (n = 14) were used most often in studies with outcome evaluation. This is the first literature review to focus on interventions for employees with elevated risk for chronic diseases. The review has the potential to inform future workplace health interventions by presenting strategies related to implementation and evaluation strategies in workplace settings. These strategies can help determine optimal worksite health programs based on the unique characteristics of work settings and the health risk factors of their employee populations.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.319-334
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the prevalence and perceptions of workplace violence against registered nurses (RNs) in hospitals. Methods: One thousand RNs replied to a nationwide survey from November 14 to December 22, 2022. They reported their general characteristics, prevalence of and their responses to different types of workplace violence from patients, family caregivers, physicians, and nurse peers, as well as their perceptions of workplace violence management systems. Results: A total of 71.1% of the RNs reported that they had experienced workplace violence in the last six months. The violence and sexual harassment experienced from patients and family caregivers were 57.3% and 19.1%, respectively. Furthermore, violence, sexual harassment, and workplace harassment from physicians were experienced by 24.6%, 4.0%, and 7.4%, respectively, of the RNs, and those from nurse peers by 21.4%, 3.1%, and 11.3%, respectively. The RNs stated that they often responded to workplace violence with passive and inactive behaviors, which were more serious toward physicians' workplace violence or sexual harassment from different perpetrators. Only 69.5% were aware of their hospital's workplace violence management systems, while only 14.7%~27.4%, according to the type of hospital (p=.471), perceived the systems as effective. Multiple important strategies were identified to prevent workplace violence. Conclusion: Critical suggestions are discussed for the prevention of workplace violence, including protecting the human rights of healthcare professionals, inter-organizational collaboration, and a culture of person-centered healthcare, and training nurse managers' competency in managing workplace violence.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.607-614
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• 2012

Purpose: This is a descriptive research that reports incidents of workplace violence among care helpers. Methods: The subjects were 181 care helpers from elderly care facilities and domiciliary elderly welfare centers in Daejeon. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from July to November 2011. Subjects were asked to report incidents of violence within the previous six months. Data analysis included one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Forty-seven percent of care helpers reported verbal violence, 16% reported being physically threatened, more than 21 % reported sustaining a physical injury with 2% reporting severe physical injuries. Further, 18.8% of the care givers reported being sexually harassed by client. There were differences in reported workplace violence based on service types, service hours and whether there were policies about workplace violence. Conclusion: To prevent workplace violence for carehelpers, it is necessary to make a policy for preventing violence and develop a violence prevention program to meet service characteristics of facility-based and domiciliary care helpers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.72-76
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• 2017

Background: Workplace victimization is considered a major social stressor with significant implications for the wellbeing of employees and organizations. The aim of this study was to examine the influences of employees' personality traits and organizational politics on workplace victimization among Ghanaian employees. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 631 employees selected from diverse occupations through convenience sampling. Data collection tools were standardized questionnaires that measured experiences of negative acts at work (victimization), the Big Five personality traits, and organizational politics. Results: The results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that among the personality traits neuroticism and conscientiousness had significant, albeit weak relationships with victimization. Organizational politics had a significant positive relationship with workplace victimization beyond employees' personality. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that compared with personal characteristics such as personality traits, work environment factors such as organizational politics have a stronger influence on the occurrence of workplace victimization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Urban Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.503-509
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• 2018

In this study, a Proton-Transfer Reaction-Time-of-Flight Mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS) was used for the continuous monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from semiconductor workplace such as photolithography (PHOTO), flat panel display (FPD), organic light emitting diode (OLED), etching (WET) process. The averaged VOCs mixing ratio in the such workplace, PHOTO was 6.5 ppm, FPH was 6.4 ppm, WET was 2.0 ppm and OLED was 1.3 ppm, respectively. The abundance of VOCs in the workplace were methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) with 2.8 ppm (69%) and acetaldehyde with 0.5 ppm (13.2%). Depending on the semiconductor process characteristics, various VOCs have been observed in the workplace. The VOCs mixing ratio are lower than the workplace regulation standard (TWA), it is necessary to continuously monitor and effectively manage these VOCs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2017

Background: Rates of overweight and obese Australians are high and continue to rise, putting a large proportion of the population at risk of chronic illness. Examining characteristics associated with preference for a work-based weight-loss program will enable employers to better target programs to increase enrolment and benefit employees' health and fitness for work. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at two Australian mining sites. The survey collected information on employee demographics, health characteristics, work characteristics, stages of behavior change, and preference for workplace assistance with reaching a healthy weight. Results: A total of 897 employees participated; 73.7% were male, and 68% had a body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Employees at risk of developing obesity-related chronic illnesses (based on high body mass index) were more likely to report preference for weight management assistance than lower risk employees. This indicates that, even in the absence of workplace promotion for weight management, some at risk employees want workplace assistance. Employees who were not aware of a need to change their current nutrition or physical activity behaviors were less likely to seek assistance. This indicates that practitioners need to communicate the negative effects of excess weight and promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to increase the likelihood of weight management. Conclusion: Weight management programs should provide information, motivation. and trouble-shooting assistance to meet the needs of at-risk mining employees, including those who are attempting to change and maintain behaviors to achieve a healthy weight and be suitably fit for work.