• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.121-140
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• 2006

Objectives: Safety is a primary health promotion issue in worksite because injury induces multi-fold loss of the human and economic resources to profit organization. The purposes of this study were to describe worksite health and safety education and management status in Korean manufacturing companies. Methods: The original population size of Korean manufacturing industry in 2004 was 74,398 and 2,960 factories were selected by the multiple stratified sampling method for this study. The health and safety manager or representatives of the selected 2,960 companies successfully finished in the face-to-face interview survey about company's general characteristics, health and safety management style, health and safety education hours conducted by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Results: The manufacturing companies in Seoul and Kyunggi areas, small size, and clothes and press industries were related to low health and safety management and education status. The companies which assigned at least one safety manager were 70.5% and which had a health and safety room within the company were only 9.3%. The companies which took the health and safety education for their regular blue-collar employees more than the legal education hours were under 56.1% and the percentage of the companies which took their health and safety education for newcomers less than the legal limits was lower than any other types of health and safety education in workplace. The significant strong workplace health and safety management variables in predicting employee health and safety education were psycho-social variables such as the company own health and safety regulation and the workplace health and safety management committee organization. rather than physical variables such as health manager employment, safety manager employment. Conclusions: Systematic and legal approaches are effective to encourage workplace health and safety education, specifically, through sustaining health and safety managers and building the company-wide health and safety management system. Furthermore, theses approaches should primarily focus on the small companies of which sizes were under 50.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2021

Background: Employment standards (ES) include having a regular payday, regular breaks, the right to paid sick or vacation time, and paid wages. Inadequate ES contribute to the labour market vulnerability of workers; however, they are not typically considered to be risk factors for workplace injury. In a sample of Canadian workers, we examine the risk of injury associated with inadequate ES, independent of, and combined with inadequate workplace protections from workplace hazards. Methods: Data from 2,803 adults working 15 hours or more/week in workplaces with at least five employees were analysed. We explored associations between exposure to workplace hazards with inadequate protections [termed occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability] and inadequate ES on workplace injury (physical or mental injury; injury requiring time off). Additive interaction models were used to examine the independent and combined effects of these exposures. Results: Occupational health and safety vulnerability and inadequate ES were independently associated with increased injury outcomes. Adjusted models showed an additive relationship for all injury outcomes between OHS vulnerability and inadequate ES. Statistically significant superadditive relationships were observed for physical injury risk with policy and procedure vulnerability plus inadequate ES [synergy index (S) 1.50, 95% CI: 1.13-2.00] and for overall OHS vulnerability plus inadequate ES (S 1.53, 95% CI: 1.16-2.02), suggesting a combined effect greater than independent effects. Conclusion: Occupational health and safety vulnerability and inadequate ES are independently associated with workplace injury. For certain injury outcomes, the combined effect of OHS vulnerability and inadequate ES is greater than the independent effects of each individual exposure.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.129-138
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• 2014

As S. Korea is becoming an "aged society", workers in the country would be exposed to higher risk of workplace injuries due to their reducing work abilities as they are getting old. To identify the relationship between the work ability and the incident rate of workplace injuries, the work ability index (WAI) scores were surveyed from 409 workers occupied in different manufacturing industries reside on north GyoengBuk area. The workplace injury statistics in the year of 2010 for the corresponding industries were analyzed and summarized with the WAI scores by age groups, years of service, and sizes of business. The results showed the WAI scores of the workers occupied in the higher risk of workplace injury was lower than that of the workers of the lower risk. It means the lower the WAI score, the higher the chance of being injured during the task. It is concluded that appropriate correlation exists between the WAI scores of workers and the incident rate of workplace injury. It is recommended to administrate individual work abilities of aged workers in order to keep low rate of workplace injuries in upcoming aged and highly aged society.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.250-259
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• 2011

Objectives: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global public health concern, affecting 5.3 million US individuals annually. An estimated 1 in 3 women globally are abused by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and the effects carry over into the workplace. This article examines employers' perceptions of IPV in the workplace, targeting supervisors of Latina employees. Methods: Fourteen employers and supervisors of small service-sector companies in Oregon were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interpretive description was used to identify themes. These qualitative interviews preceded and helped to formulate a larger workplace intervention study. Results: The following themes were found and are detailed: (1) factors associated with recognizing IPV in the workplace, (2) effects of IPV on the work environment and (3) supervisors' responses to IPV-active vs. passive involvement. Also, supervisors' suggestions for addressing IPV in the workplace are summarized. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the need for more IPV-related resources in the workplace to be available to supervisors as well as survivors and their coworkers. The needs of supervisors and workplaces vary by site, demonstrating the need for tailored interventions, and culturally appropriate workplace interventions are needed for Latinas and other racially and ethnically diverse populations.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.47-53
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• 2023

In the inspection of workplace hazards/risk factors by specialized institutions dedicated to safety management, inspection reports vary based on the inspectors, who lack the authority to enforce improvement of workplace hazards/risk factors. Thus, improvement and accident rates remain steady without decreasing. This study performed a regression analysis on the relationship between improvement and accident rates of categorized inspection items by classifying hazards/risk factors from inspection reports submitted by a specialized safety management institution in Chungbuk after inspecting 10 food and beverage manufacturers over the past three years. The hazards/risk factors were classified into five categories: mechanical, electrical, chemical, human, and environmental. The regression analysis revealed that the improvement rate of hazards/risk factors inspected by the specialized safety management institution influenced accident rates. To enhance improvement rates based on these findings, this study prioritized the correction of the five most frequently cited inspection items with the lowest improvement rates in each area. Based on these inspection items, this study suggested a checklist for use in workplace safety inspections of food manufacturers. This proposed checklist is expected to reduce accident rates in food manufacturing facilities. Currently, guidance and inspection of workplaces are mainly focused on accident rates rather than correcting hazards/risks. Thus, accident rates remain unchanged as workplace risks are inadequately improved according to the unique characteristics of each workplace. When conducting workplace guidance and inspection, policy measures and inspection methods are warranted to increase the improvement rate of hazards/risks.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2001

Bacterial reverse mutation assays were performed for 20 workplace chemicals in Korea, which were selected among workplace chemicals under the Korea Industrial Safety and Health Act (KISHA) with the occupational exposure levels (OELs). The assays were carried out by using the pre-incubation method ($37 ^{\circ}C$, 20 min) with and without metabolic activation using Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537 and E. coli WP2uvrA. The chemicals were tested at 5 concentrations both in the preliminary and the second assays. Despite the cell toxicities, there were no chemical-induced mutagenicities with or without metabolic activation in any of 20 chemicals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.14-37
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• 2014

Objectives: Since information on biological factors in the workplace are currently lacking, I wanted to create a handbook of these factors that would be viewable at a glance as a means to more effectively prevent occupationally-infected diseases. Proper information on biological hazards in the workplace allowing the appropriate recognition of the harmful factors is desperately needed. Methods and Results: In this study, I intended to create a high-utility handbook of biologically hazardous agents in the workplace. To ensure its effectiveness, information and references about biologically hazardous agents in the workplace were analyzed and classified and pathogen safety data sheets(PSDS) sourced from the Public Health Agency of Canada were included. I intended to make it accessible from the point of view of workers and their employers. A more effective classification system of occupational infectious diseases is presented, and biologically hazardous agents were classified according to occupations, industries, infectious diseases, and so on. The handbook consists of 60 major kinds of biologically infectious occupational factors that are expected to be generated in workplaces in Korea, and are focused on practical utility. The pathogen safety data sheets(PSDS) of 192 species were also included. To allow more effective management, domestic and foreign laws and regulations are presented. Conclusions: This case report presents general information on the history and contents of the handbook and PSDS, it will also be useful in workplaces if download from the homepage of OSHRI, KOSHA(oshri.kosha.or.kr/bridge?menuID=901).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2014

Risk assessment system which is the point of occupational safety and health management system is recognized to be effective to prevent industrial accident and occupational disease internationally. Ministry of Employment and Labor developed guidance on risk assessment at workplace recently. This guidance presents standard model on risk assessment at workplace. However, enterprises may be confronted with many questions in the process of introducing and operating risk assessment. For risk assessment to be implemented properly and effectively at workplace, there are various questions that need to be considered in advance, including giving shape to standard on risk evaluation and clarifying the implementation system at workplace in advance. Also for risk assessment to be revitalized at workplace, several policy matters need to be settled. First, an administrative agency should present the implementation method of risk assessment more concretely. Secondly, it is necessary for an administrative agency to develop and spread various detailed manual, models and good practices related to risk assessment. Thirdly, a government agency need to apply an incentive & disadvantage policy actively to risk assessment.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2013

OSHMS(Occupational Safety and Health Management System) is able to define as a typical convergence of all kinds of activities and elements that support maintaining safety at workplace and protecting employee's health. In particular, fundamental function of OSHMS is preventing diverse hazards at workplace through high level of regulation compliance. Furthermore, insuring safety in workplace, protecting employee's health and increasing effectiveness in manufacture are OSHMS's additional functions. Based on the division of manufacture in 2009 Survey on Current Status of Occupational Health & Safety data, the study analyses certain relation between OSHMS and level of regulation compliance. The main finding is that most activities and elements which formed by OSHMS are being affected by regulation clauses.