• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.172-181
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• 2022

Objectives: In order to reduce the burden on employers and increase the reliability of measurement results, improvements to the provisions related to the work environment measurement reporting system, such as the current Occupational Safety and Health Act and its Enforcement Rules, are planned. This study aimed to suggest improvements for the work environment measurement reporting system through a survey and Delphi investigation. Method: This survey included workplaces (health managers), national institutions (the Ministry of Employment and Labor) that use the results of the work environment measurement reporting system for policy and supervision purposes, and work environment measurement institutions that enter the results were included. In addition to the survey, we tried to derive results through meetings with stakeholders and expert advisory meetings. Results: It is difficult to abolish or partially improve the reporting system under the Enforcement Regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act at this point because the opinions of workplaces, supervisory agencies, and measuring agencies differ in terms of its intended purpose and use. In the case of high-exposure harmful factors (over 50% on the basis of exposure) in the "comprehensive opinion" described in the work environment measurement results table, it is necessary to insert unit of work with exposed harmful factors, exposure factors, and current conditions in checklists or tables so that they can be reflected in government policies. In the case of workplaces that are feared to be highly exposed to substances subject to measurement, it seems desirable to improve them so that industrial health instructors registered with the Korea Safety and Health Agency or local labor offices can provide technical guidance. As an improvement plan to increase the reliability of data and the use of big data, it is necessary to improve the input method for processes and jobs. Conclusion: The laws and regulations of the work environment measurement reporting system are difficult to revise due to a lack of consensus among current stakeholders, but improvements can be achieved by improving the Ministry of Employment and Labor's notifications and other means. In addition, in order to effectively utilize the data from the K2B system, it is necessary to improve the input method for processes and jobs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 2018

Background: The objective of this study is to find temporal trends in the associations between cardiovascular disease and occupational risk factors in the context of the Canadian population. Methods: Population data were analyzed from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collected between 2001 and 2014 for trends over time between heart disease and various occupational risk factors: hours worked, physical exertion at work, and occupation type (management/arts/education, business/finance, sales/services, trades/transportations, and primary industry/processing). Results: We found no significant difference in the average number of hours worked/wk between individuals who report having heart disease in all years of data except in 2011 ($F_{1,96}=7.02$, p = 0.009) and 2012 ($F_{1,96}=8.86$, p = 0.004). We also found a significant difference in the degree of physical exertion at work in 2001 ($F_{1,79}=7.45$, p = 0.008). There were statistically significant results of occupation type on self-reported heart disease from 2003 to 2014. Conclusion: Canadian data from the CCHS do not exhibit a trend toward an association between heart disease and the number of hours worked/wk. There is an association between heart disease and physical exertion at work, but the trend is inconsistent. The data indicate a trend toward an association between heart disease and occupation type, but further analysis is required to determine which occupation type may be associated with heart disease.

• 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.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.365-369
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• 2021

Background: Law enforcement communications (i.e., 911 dispatch and call takers) is a challenging and stressful occupation. The purpose of this study is to identify the main stressors associated with employment in law enforcement communications, and to identify and provide context to how these stressors affect workers' health and wellbeing. Methods: This research study included focus groups with 23 call takers and 911 dispatchers employed by a large, urban law enforcement agency in 2018. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify trends. Results: Four themes of stressors emerged (i.e., the high stakes nature of some 911 calls for service, understaffing, supervisor-related stress, and recruiting practice). Two health-related themes emerged as being occupation-related: weight gain and poor sleep patterns/insufficient sleep). Specifically, participants reported negative eating habits resulting in weight gain and obesity, lack of sleep and irregular sleep schedules, and development of hypertension and/or diabetes since beginning their jobs. Conclusion: Law enforcement communications professionals experience a number of the same stressors facing law enforcement officers in patrol. These stressors, combined with the sedentary nature of the job, could result in long-term, chronic health problems.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.66-84
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• 2008

Objectives: This study aimed to. offer some fundamental evidences for the stroke management policy by investigating the trends of medical care utilization and regionalization in stroke inpatients. Methods: We used the National Health Insurance claims and registry data for stroke inpatients from 1998 to 2005. Among all stroke inpatient claims data, self-employed insured and their dependents were only included in this study. The classification of stroke was based on ICD-10(I60-I69) and its subtype was divided by hemorrhage(I60-I62) and infarction(I63-I64) type. To evaluate regionalization of medical care utilization, relevance index was calculated by regions. The regions were classified 8 large catchment areas and 163 self authorized areas. Results: The overall medical care utilization rate of stroke inpatient has been increased, especially infarction subtype. Among medical care institutions, the utilization of hospital has been the most rapidly increased. Although considered annual rate of interest, total medical cost of stroke inpatients has been increased, Totally, more than 84% of stroke inpatient were admitted to medical care institutions in their own large catchment area during 1998-2005. The relevance indices in their own large catchment area (self sufficiency rates) were more than 70% in most areas regardless of stroke subtype except Chungbuk catchment area. Self sufficiency rates of stroke inpatients among 163 self authorized areas in 1998 and 2005 were 84.2% and 83.1% in metropolitan, 46.7% and 45.5% in urban, and 19.5% and 22.6% in rural areas, respectively. Conclusion: Stroke management policy for improvement of distribution at the district level, especially in rural areas, may be helpful for reducing regional inequality in stroke.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to grasp foreign worker's industrial safety and health state, which find out the improvement to secure the basic safety net for foreign workers. We have investigated 2,050 workers through direct interviews during the period from April 12, 2010 to May 31, 2010. And the result of analysis, foreign worker's daily average working time is 10.6 hours(40.8% workers in total work 10~12 hours), the extent of exposure to harmful and dangerous working environment is 'the position which cause pain in neck, waist, hands, shoulders, legs'(69.3%), 'repetitive hands and arms movement'(66.1%). It showed 'experience of accident damage or disease related work'(27.3%), 'never apply for industrial accident compensation' is revealed high at 73%. As a result of completing a safety health education for a year, it showed 'never educated'(40.2%), 'the institute that foreign workers have used for help and advice is the foreign worker's support center'(61.9%) Thus, hiring foreign workers in the company are small in site, the environment is too harmful and dangerous. In addition, no safety and health managers, legally blind spot located in the health and safety, because it is an urgent meet for these measures to improve.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-444
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• 2023

Background: To examine the influences of psychosocial work conditions on mental health risk and intention to leave the public sector among workers of public health agencies in Taiwan. Methods: We surveyed 492 public health workers in March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on job demands, job control, workplace justice, experiences of workplace violence and its type and origin, and mental health status (assessed by the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5) was obtained. Of them, 192 participated in a follow-up survey conducted in May 2023 that assessed mental health status, employment changes, and intention to leave. Results: In the initial survey, 32.93% of participants reported poor mental health status, defined by having a score of BSRS-5 ≧ 10, and 48.17% experienced some form of workplace violence over the past year. Notably, high psychosocial job demands (OR = 3.64, 95% CI = 1.93-6.87), low workplace justice (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.45-4.58), and workplace violence (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.51-3.77) were significantly associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Among those who participated in the followup survey, 22.40% had persistent poor mental health, and 30.73% considered leaving or have left the public sector. Longitudinal analyses indicated that job demands predicted persistent mental disorders and intention to leave the public sector, and the experience of workplace violence added additional mental health risks. Conclusion: The public health workforce is crucial for effective and resilient public health systems. Our findings that public health workers were at high mental health risk and had a high intention to leave the job warrant attention and policy interventions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Background: As the impact of climate change intensifies, exposure to heat stress will grow, leading to a loss of work capacity for vulnerable occupations and affecting individual labor decisions. This study estimates the future work capacity under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 scenario and discusses its regional impacts on the occupational structure in the Republic of Korea. Methods: The data utilized for this study constitute the local wet bulb globe temperature from the Korea Meteorological Administration and information from the Korean Working Condition Survey from the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of Korea. Using these data, we classify the occupations vulnerable to heat stress and estimate future changes in work capacity at the local scale, considering the occupational structure. We then identify the spatial cluster of diminishing work capacity using exploratory spatial data analysis. Results: Our findings indicate that 52 occupations are at risk of heat stress, including machine operators and elementary laborers working in the construction, welding, metal, and mining industries. Moreover, spatial clusters with diminished work capacity appear in southwest Korea. Conclusion: Although previous studies investigated the work capacity associated with heat stress in terms of climatic impact, this study quantifies the local impacts due to the global risk of climate change. The results suggest the need for mainstreaming an adaptation policy related to work capacity in regional development strategies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.171-174
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• 2016

Effective and sustainable prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WR-MSDs) remains a challenge for preventers and policy makers. Coordination of stakeholders involved in the prevention of WR-MSDs is a key factor that requires greater reflection on common knowledge and shared representation of workers' activities among stakeholders. Information on workers' strategies and operational leeway should be the core of common representations, because it places workers at the center of the "work situation system" considered by the intervention models. Participatory ergonomics permitting debates among stakeholders about workers' activity and strategies to cope with the work constraints in practice could help them to share representations of the "work situation system" and cooperate. Sharing representation therefore represents a useful tool for prevention, and preventers should provide sufficient space and time for dialogue and discussion of workers' activities among stakeholders during the conception, implementation, and management of integrated prevention programs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.447-453
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• 2007

Although the New National Health Promotion Plan 2010 target to reduce health inequalities, whether the program will be effective for reducing the health inequalities in Korea remains quite unclear. More and more developed countries have been started to concentrate on comprehensive policies for reducing health inequalities. The health policies of the UK, Netherlands, and Sweden are the most wellknown. I propose that a comprehensive blueprint for tackling health inequalities in Korea should be made and that it must contain five domains: a target, structure and process, life-course approach, area-based approach, and reorganization of health care resources. The target should be based on determinants of health and more attention should be paid to socioeconmic factors. The structure and process require changes from the national health care policy based on medical services to the national health policy that involves the establishment of a Social Deputy?Prime Minister and the strengthening multidisciplinary action. A life-course approach especially focused on the early childhood years. Area-based approach such as the establishment of healthy communities, healthy schools, or healthy work-places which are focused on deprived areas or places is also required. Finally, health care resources should be a greater investment on public resources and strengthening primary care to reduce health inequalities. The policy or intervention studies for tackling health inequalities should be implemented much more in Korea. In addition, it is essential to have political will to encoruage policy action.