• Title/Summary/Keyword: occupational health services

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Employment Factors Associated With Long Working Hours in France

  • Isabelle Niedhammer;Elodie Pineau;Sandrine Bertrais
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.483-487
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    • 2023
  • The objectives of the study were to explore the employment factors associated with long working hours, known as a risk factor for various health outcomes. The study relied on the national representative data of the 2013 French working conditions survey and a study sample of 23,378 full-time employees. Long working hours were defined by the threshold of 48 hours a week following the European Working Time Directive. The prevalence of long working hours was higher among men (13.5%) than among women (8.5%). Employees of the private sector, with permanent work contract, in small companies, and men in the services had a higher prevalence of exposure. This prevalence increased with educational and occupational levels. Our findings may help decision-makers to define preventive strategies. More research is needed to improve our knowledge of the employment factors associated with long working hours, as there may be strong differences between countries.

Experiences of School Health Teachers in Special Schools for Students with Disabilities (특수학교 보건교사의 돌봄 경험)

  • Kim, Inyoung;Seo, Minjeong
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.111-120
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: The gradual increase in the number of children with disabilities in Korea highlights the necessity for further research on the role of school health teachers in their care. This study explored the specific experiences of school health teachers in special schools through individual in-depth interviews. Methods: In this study, 11 school health teachers participated, and data were collected through individual in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. Results: The experiences of health teachers at special schools were classified into 5 themes and 13 subthemes. These included "concerns about working in special schools and attachment after working," "management of diverse diseases and ongoing, careful observation," "ambivalence regarding students with disabilities," "competences needed to care for students with disabilities," and "enhancing care education for students with disabilities: demanding institutional support." Conclusion: Effective student health management depends on open communication channels and the establishment of strong connections among health teachers, school personnel, and parents of impaired students. To enhance the quality of care for children with disabilities, specialized education programs to improve teachers' healthcare competency should be developed. Additionally, specific guidelines for the range of medical treatments provided by health instructors, should be devised.

Relationships between Psychosocial Work Environment and Health Outcomes among Nurses in Integrated Nursing Care Wards and General Wards (간호·간병통합서비스 병동과 일반병동 간호사의 심리사회적 업무환경과 건강결과와의 관련성)

  • Kwon, Jaeyoung;Cho, Sung-Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.129-139
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    • 2024
  • Purpose: This study aimed to examine the differences in nurses' psychosocial work environment (PWE) in integrated nursing care wards (IWs) with higher nurse staffing and general wards (GWs) with lower staffing, and to analyze the effect of PWE on their health outcomes. Methods: Data were collected from 151 nurses in IWs and 156 nurses in GWs at a tertiary hospital in Seoul in 2023. The Korean version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III was used to measure PWE and health outcomes. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of PWE on health outcomes. Results: The most negative aspects of the nurses' work environment were found in the work demand domain. IW nurses (vs. GW nurses) reported lower work demand, better work organization and job contents, and a more positive work-individual interface. Nurse health outcomes were also better in the IWs. Lower work demand and better work-individual interfaces were positively associated with improved health outcomes, while ward type (IW vs. GW) was not significantly related to health outcomes. Conclusion: Reducing work demand by expanding integrated nursing care services nationwide and improving nurse staffing in GWs is crucial for improving health outcomes.

Supporting Those Who Provide Support: Work-Related Resources and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Victim Advocates

  • Benuto, Lorraine T.;Singer, Jonathan;Gonzalez, Francis;Newlands, Rory;Hooft, Sierra
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.336-340
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    • 2019
  • Background/Aims: Victim advocates are at risk of developing secondary traumatic stress (STS), which can result from witnessing or listening to accounts of traumatic events. This study investigated the relationship between victim status, years of experience, hours of direct contact with victims, and availability of workplace supports in the development of STS. Results: Of the 142 victim advocates, 134 were women. Regression analyses revealed that the only significant predictor of STS was the number of direct hours of victim services provided. Conclusion: The findings from this study found that women have high rates of STS and that more workplace support needs to be implemented.

Evaluation of the Possession of Measurement and Analytical Instruments in Domestic Work Environment Monitoring Service Providers (II) (국내 작업환경측정기관의 측정 및 분석장비 보유실태에 대한 고찰 (II))

  • Jang, Jae-Kil
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.182-192
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    • 2014
  • Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyze the current status of possession of measurement and analytical instruments at work environment monitoring organizations and their relationships with human resources, including the number of professional engineers and evaluation scores resulting from evaluation programs in 2012. Materials: Data for measurement and analytical instruments were gathered by inspectors who had been assigned by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency(KOSHA) and the Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL) during the evaluation program for 2012. Data for 11 monitoring instruments and nice pieces of analytical equipment were collected from 103 organizations. Additional data such as the type of service provides and the number of professional engineers employed were also recorded by the inspectors. Evaluation scores could be acquired from KOSHA. Results: Comprehensive Occupational Health Service Providers showed good operation quality, while University or Hospital Subsidiary and Work Environment Monitoring Organizations recorded relatively poor results. Evaluation scores correlated well with the possession of measurement instruments and human resources for each organization. High yields provided by professional engineers also showed statistically-associated contributions to evaluation scores and monitoring instrument possession. Compared with monitoring instruments, the amount of analytical equipment had little positive impact on organizations' competence. Conclusions: The evaluation results for domestic monitoring organizations revealed that human resources, possession of instruments, and the quality of employees were critical factors for operating the corporations. Each organization should give considerable effort to improving their ability to strengtheninternal quality, resulting in high-yield production for workers and employers by providing improved workplace monitoring services.

Survey of ADL of Industrial Accident Disabled and the Caregiver Satisfaction Degree (간병요양중인 산재환자의 일상생활수행능력 및 간병인에 대한 만족도)

  • Choi, Jeong Myung;Oh, Jin Joo;Kim, Chun Mi;Lee, Hyun Joo
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.5-13
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify Activities of Daily Living(ADL) of industrial accident disabled with a caregiver and to evaluate the degree of satisfaction with services according to kinds of caregiver, professional or non-professional. Method: Data was collected from 178 patients in three workers' accident medical corporations of H, A and D cities from July to August, 2006. Five inspectors interviewed with the disabled by visiting the hospital. Collected data was analyzed for the frequency, percentages, t-test, etc. Results: The average score of ADL which ranged from 1 to 7 was 3.6. The 51.5 percent of caregivers for industrial accident disabled were non-professional and the 48.5 percent of caregivers were professional. 50.9 percent of the reason for the family caregivers was because of economical one. The caregiver satisfaction degree was 3.7 out of 4. The satisfaction degree with the professional caregivers was significantly higher than that with non-professional family caregivers for their excellent knowledge and techniques. Conclusion: A nursing expenses for the industrial accident disabled was intended to provide appropriate nursing services for the patient and so, it should not be a kind of income. So, the system for caring services should be investigated and the qualification of caregivers should be classified according to the health condition of the patient or ADL.

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A Study on Health Behaviors by a Risk Level of Metabolic Syndrome among Petty Merchants in Traditional Markets (재래시장 영세상인의 대사증후군 위험도별 건강행위에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Hee-Gerl;Nam, Hye-Kyung;Yi, Yun-Jeong
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.328-336
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the health behaviors by a risk level of metabolic syndrome (MS) among petty merchants in traditional markets. Methods: The data were collected through questionnaires and physical examination on abdominal circumstance, triglyceride, HDL, blood pressure, and FBS of 177 subjects in S city, Korea. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$-test (or fisher's exact test) and ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 18.0 program. Results: The prevalence of MS was 15.8%, and risk group was 72.9%. The abdominal circumstance and triglyceride levels were higher in MS group than those of the risk group and normal group. The HDL and systolic blood pressure levels were also higher in MS group than those of the normal group. Conclusion: The prevalence of MS and risk groups was high among petty merchants in traditional markets. However, these merchants did not practice health behaviors nor take institutional health management benefit. Therefore, governmental level community based health management services are requested for them.

Activity-Based Costing and Management Applied to Occupational and Environmental Health (산업보건 및 환경분야에 대한 활동기준원가계산 및 관리의 응용)

  • Park, Doo Yong;Brandt, Michael T.;Levine, Steven P.;Paik, Nam Won
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.144-155
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    • 1996
  • During the 1990s the workplace has grown more complex and business competition has increased world-wide. All organizations, whether for-profit or non-profit have been forced to respond to market changes. More advanced information and technology, greater product diversity, shorter product life cycles, increased quality requirements, more regulation oversight, decreasing productivity, more competitors, and increasing overhead costs have motivated organizations to focus on ways to deliver products cheaper, better, and faster. Many organizations are searching for ways to reduce costs through downsizing, reengineering business processes, implementing quality management, outsourcing, and improving cost management. Support departments that provide services internal to an organization such as human resources, legal, and environmental, safety, and health (ES&H) are often the first organization targeted for cost reduction and cost control initiatives because these functions are part of a rapidly increasing overhead cost. Recently, ES&H functions are incresingly being integrated into the business of business to contribute value to organization beyond mere compliance with ES&H regulations. The discussions and development of the ISO compatible Environmental Management Standards or Occupational Safety and Health Management Standards is another impetus to integrate ES&H function into the business of business. Thus, ES&H professional need new skills to analyze the cost of their function and communicate the value of the products and services they provide. In recent years, the need for and the importance developing cost management and business skills by ES&H professionals have been emphasized in the literature. Communicating with decision makers in terms of cost and value to the organization, and by using business language and business arguments is the first step toward effectively integrating ES&H activities into the business of business. Activity-based costing (ABC) is a cost management method that measures the cost of a product or service based on the actual use of resources by activities, and based on the actual amount of activities used to produce a product or service. ABC is recommended as a tool for managers of ES&H organizations to determine the cost of developing and providing ES&H products within a for-profit firm or non-profit agency. This paper discusses the trend of integration of ES&H functions into the mainstream of business activities within an organization. The general principles of treditional cost accounting are presented as a bases for understandging why and how ABC will provide more accurate estimates of cost. The principles and concepts of ABS are presented as a tool for determining more accurately the true cost of ES&H products and services.

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Evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders risk of 119 emergency medical technicians during emergency medical services procedures in firefighter combat challenge (119 구급대원의 근골격계 질환 위험성 평가 - 소방기술경연대회 구급종목을 대상으로 -)

  • Son, Jeong-Won;Park, Jae-Bum
    • The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.59-71
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    • 2017
  • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the ergonomic risk factors of 119 emergency medical technicians (EMT) with musculoskeletal disorders, performing emergency medical services (EMS) procedures in a firefighter combat challenge. Methods: The evaluated EMT procedures were cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) & intubation, trauma patient assessment, and intravenous (IV) injection. Measurement of working posture was done during training. Results: In CPR & intubation, OWAS-score was 2 (mean 1.9, maximum 4), requiring correction action, while REBA-score was 11 (mean 7.28, maximum 11), requiring immediate improvement. In trauma patient assessment & IV injection, OWAS-score was 4 (mean 2.9, maximum 4), requiring immediate correction action, while the REBA score was 7 (mean 7.5, maximum 11), requiring improvement. Conclusion: Both OWAS score and REBA-score showed improvement of posture and high-risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Occupational health management in EMS procedures during combat challenge and effective injury prevention program in fire stations are warranted.