• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2020

Background: To gain a better understanding of nonfatal injuries in Alaska, underutilized data sources such as workers' compensation claims must be analyzed. The purpose of the current study was to utilize workers' compensation claims data to estimate the risk of nonfatal, work-related injuries among occupations in Alaska, characterize injury patterns, and prioritize future research. Methods: A dataset with information on all submitted claims during 2014-2015 was provided for analysis. Claims were manually reviewed and coded. For inclusion in this study, claims had to represent incidents that resulted in a nonfatal acute traumatic injury, occurred in Alaska during 2014-2015, and were approved for compensation. Results: Construction workers had the highest number of injuries (2,220), but a rate lower than the overall rate (34 per 1,000 construction workers, compared to 40 per 1,000 workers overall). Fire fighters had the highest rate of injuries on the job, with 162 injuries per 1,000 workers, followed by law enforcement officers with 121 injuries per 1,000 workers. The most common types of injuries across all occupations were sprains/strains/tears, contusions, and lacerations. Conclusion: The successful use of Alaska workers' compensation data demonstrates that the information provided in the claims dataset is meaningful for epidemiologic research. The predominance of sprains, strains, and tears among all occupations in Alaska indicates that ergonomic interventions to prevent overexertion are needed. These findings will be used to promote and guide future injury prevention research and interventions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2015

Frozen food processing workers work under a cold environment which can cause several adverse health effects.This study explored factors affecting workers' health in the frozen food industry in Thailand. Participants comprised 497 workers exposed to a cold working environment and 255 office workers who served as the controls. Data were collected by a survey on the work environment, and the interview of workers for abnormal symptoms. The exposed group had the following characteristics: 52.7% male, overall average age of 27 (SD 6.6) years old, attained elementary education (Grade 4 and Grade 6) (54.1%), married (48.9%), smokers (21.3%), alcohol consumption (31.0%), duration of work was between 1 and 5 years (65.2%), working 6 days a week (82.7%), 1-5 hours of overtime per week (33.8%), office workers (33.9%); work category: sizing (6.9%), peeling (28.3%) dissecting (22.2%), and in the warehouse (8.6%). The temperature in the work environment ranged from $17.2^{\circ}C$ to $19.2^{\circ}C$ in most sections, $-18.0^{\circ}C$ in the warehouse, and $25^{\circ}C$ in the office areas. Warehouse workers had more abnormal symptoms than controls including repeated pain in the musculoskeletal system (OR 11.9; 95% CI 6.12-23.45), disturbance throughout the body (OR 4.60; 95% CI 2.00-10.56), respiratory symptoms (OR 9.73; 95% CI 3.53-26.80), episodic finger symptoms (OR 13.51; 95% CI 5.17-35.33). The study results suggest that workers' health should be monitored especially with regard to back and muscle pain, respiratory symptoms, episodic finger symptoms, and cardiovascular symptoms. Health promotion campaigns such as antismoking and reduction of alcohol consumption should be established because smoking and alcohol consumption are contributing factors to the pathogenesis of Raynaud's phenomenon and peripheral vascular disorders such as hypertension and heart disease.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.3-20
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• 2019

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.514-524
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the reported experiences of health management among twenty elderly workers living in urban areas. Methods: Corbin and Strauss's grounded theory approach was used to capture the meaning of health management. Theoretical sampling technique was used in the interviews. Using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, data were collected and analyzed simultaneously. Results: The core category was 'pursuing health to take root in the workplace.' Four stages of the elderly workers' health management were identified as 'awareness of health changes', 'having the will to be healthy', 'utilization of health care resources', and 'reorganization of health habits.' However, when the elderly workers reported limited capacity to manage their health, then two new categories were described: 'awareness of health changes' and 'settlement with current health.' Conclusion: To the elderly workers the concept of working was equated with being healthy. Further, the participants reported having a future oriented view of health and sought health to extend their working lives. The specialized intervention of health management targeting elderly workers in the settlement stage of current health habits should be provided.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.67-79
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• 1993

This study was designed to identify the general health conditions and high risk factors of the male & female environmental workers. Thereby. the results of this study were to provide useful data as a contribution to knowledge for health protection and promotion. The data used for this study were environmental workers' physical examination cards; the male environmental workers were 52 persons. and the female environmental workers 52 persons. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation, and distinction analysis, using the SPSS program. The results of this study can be summarized as follows; 1. Thers was a significant statistical difference between the two groups as to height. eyesight. serum GPT, hematocrit. The variables having little difference between two groups were weight. systolic blood pressure. total cholesterol. creatinine. 2. The rate of revealed in significant health examination was extra-health discrimination rate $28.8\%$, significant result of illness rate $12.5\%$. injury-inflicting rate $7\%$. second-time urine test $5.7\%$. antigen positive 3.8%. hearing impairment $2.8\%$, urine protein positive $1.9\%$. and urine sugar positive $1.9%$. 3. The workers diagnosed as extra-health discrimination were 30 persons or $28.8\%$. There was a difference between two groups on the prevalence. In the male environmental workers. ten times live problems and six times pulmonary tuberculosis and three times circulatory problems were revealed the higher than thoes of the female environmental workers. 4. In the male environmental workers, the relationship between age and systolic blood pressure revealed a significant correlation (r=0.22. p<0.05). In the female environmental workers. there was a negative correlation between age and weight (r= 0.25, p<0.05). the relationship between age and total cholesterol correlated positively (r=0.30, p<'0.05). 5. In the male environmental workers, there was a negative correlation between working career and creatinine(r=-0. 22, p<0.05) In the female environmental workers, there was a positive correlation between working career and total cholesterol (r= 0.58, p<0.01). 6. There were significant differences on working career and creatinine accdording to the male and female environmental workers who had any problems through x-ray inspection. 7. There were significant differences on height. eyesight. serum GPT according to the male and female environmental workers who were diagnosed as extra-health discrimination. 8. The female environmental workers who were diagnosed as 'care' were positively correlated with weight (r= 0.26. p<0.05)' and systolic blood pressure (r= 0.30. p<0. 05). on the other hand. the left and right eyesight correlated nagatively(r=-0.15. r=-0.33. p<0.01). 9. The most influential variables on the male and female environmental workers' health condition were working career, height. and weight. And these three variables could help determine the two groups at the level of 81. 8 percentage.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.239-247
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• 2013

Objectives : The direction for qualitative improvement of our country's workers' by arranging data necessary for improving oral health program and system aiming to promote workers' oral health in the future is suggested in this study. Methods : The questionnaire by self-administrated method, which was selected by convenience sampling method, was carried out from October 4th to December 31th, 2011 targeting 424 workers from 6 working places in Jellabuk-do Province. Results : 1. It was indicated that workers' interest in oral health is higher than moderate and that workers are perceiving oral health as one of critical problems and thinking that the level of their oral health knowledge is low and oral health status is under moderate. 2. It was indicated that the rate of workplace oral screening is high, but the dissatisfaction ratio with workplace oral examination is high. Non-screening of medical treatment was indicated to be the highest after oral examination. 3. Factors of having influence upon the workplace oral examination included age, marital status, appearance, educational level, work-life term, and average monthly household income. Conclusions : It is judged to be likely important to make them have positive attitude toward oral health care through the accurate publicity of workplace oral examination and education on prevention of oral disease by reflecting workers' high interest in oral health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.261-262
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• 2022

Globally, it is estimated that the number of people living outside of their country of origin reached 281 million in 2020. The primary drive of those migrants when migrating voluntarily is work to increase their income and provide for their families left behind in their home countries. Those who migrate immediately seek means of income to sustain themselves through a perilous process as currently evidenced in the war in Ukraine and not too long ago in Syria and Venezuela. Unfortunately, migrant workers are globally known to predominantly be working in "4-D jobs"- dirty, dangerous, and difficult and discriminatory; the fourth D was recently added to acknowledge the discriminatory aspect and other social determinants of health migrant workers face in their host country while exposed to precarious work. Consequently, migrant workers are at considerable risk of work-related illnesses and injury but their health needs are critically overlooked in research and policy. Recognizing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment", we cannot consider any human life - thus, the life of migrant workers - as dispensable through a structural discriminatory process that undervalues their occupational safety and health, livelihood and the contribution these workers bring to their host countries. This was seen during the preparation for the upcoming world cup in Qatar where migrant workers were exposed to a multiplicity of serious hazards including deadly heat hazards.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2018

Background: Due to an increasing number of workers aged 50 years and above, the number of those employed is also on the rise, and those workers aged 50 and over has exceeded 50% of the total fatal occupational injuries. Therefore, it is necessary to implement the selection and concentration by identifying the characteristics of high-risk groups necessary for an effective prevention against and reduction of fatal occupational injuries. Methods: This study analyzed the characteristics of high-risk groups and the occupational injury fatality rate per 10,000 workers among the workers aged 50 and over through a multi-dimensional analysis by sex, employment status of workers, industry and occupation by targeting 4,079 persons who died in fatal occupational injuries from January 2007 to December 12. Results: The share of the workers aged 50 years and above is increasing every year in the total fatal occupational injuries occurrence, and the high-risk groups include 'male workers' by sex, 'daily workers' by worker's status, 'craft and related-trades workers' by occupation, and 'mining' by industry. Conclusion: The most frequent causal objects of fatal occupational injuries of the workers aged 50 years and above are found out to be 'installment and dismantlement of temporary equipment and material on work platforms including scaffold' in the construction industry and 'mobile crane, conveyor belt and fork lifts' in the manufacturing industry.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.229-237
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• 2011

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between sleep quality, fatigue, depression and health promoting behavior by shift-work patterns in university hospital nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted using a convenient sample. The self-administered questionnaires were given to 165 nurses (shift workers 91, non-shift workers 74) employed in two university hospital located in Seoul and Gyeunggi-do. Data were collected from February to March, 2010. Results: The shift workers showed significantly lower sleep quality and health promoting behavior, and higher fatigue than non-shift workers. There were significant correlations between fatigue, depression and health promoting behavior in shift workers. There were significant correlations between sleep quality, fatigue, depression and health promoting behavior in non-shift workers. In multiple linear regression analysis, after controlling for total work experiences, predictor of health promoting behavior in shift workers was only fatigue (${\beta}$=-.29, p<.001). Predictors of health promotion behavior in non-shift workers were depression (${\beta}$=-.37, p=.002) and fatigue (${\beta}$=-.27, p=.023). Conclusion: This study failed to provide a clear explanation why sleep quality does not have a comparable effect on health promotion behaviors of shift-workers as well as non-shift workers. However, future research is needed to determine the various risk factors influencing on health promotion behaviors by which shift-work pattern exacerbates fatigue.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.568-578
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• 2021

Purpose: TThis study seeks to understand the provisions of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Construction Technology Promotion Act and to propose measures to prevent serious industrial accidents by seeking to promote safety and health of workers through improvement of safety management at construction sites. Method: A survey was conducted on construction sites with more than 50 permanent workers (5 billion won in construction amount). The analysis of the data was conducted using the JAMOVI statistics program and based on objective data. Result: Multiple regression analysis was conducted to verify the hypothesis of this study, and the results of the analysis. The participation of workers in safety and health activities has the highest impact on the promotion of safety and health of workers. Conclusion: In order to promote safety and health of workers at construction sites, compliance with safety and health rules of workers is required and improvements should be made to allow workers to participate in safety and health activities.