• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.394-400
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• 2022

Background: Impacts of exposure are generally monitored and recorded after injuries or illness occur. Yet, absence of conventional after-the-effect impacts (i.e., lagging indicators), tend to focus on physical health and injuries, and fail to inform if workers are not exposed to safety and health hazards. In contrast to lagging indicators, leading indicators are proactive, preventive, and predictive indexes that offer insights how effective safety and health. The present study is to validate an extended Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) that consists of six leading indicators. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 13 organizations (response rate = 93.1%, 1,439 responses) in Taiwan. Cronbach α, multiple linear regression and canonical correlation were used to test the reliability of the extended Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) which consists of six leading indicators (safe climate, transformational leadership, organizational justice, organizational support, hazard prevention and control, and training). Criteria-related validation strategy was applied to examine relationships of six leading indicators with six criteria (perceived health, burnout, depression, job satisfaction, job performance, and life satisfaction). Results: The results showed that the Cronbach's α of six leading indicators ranged from 0.87 to 0.92. The canonical correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between the six leading indicators and criteria (1st canonical function: correlation = 0.647, square correlation = 0.419, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study validates the extended VPP framework that focuses on promoting safety and physical and mental health. Results further provides applications of the extended VPP framework to promote workers' safety and health.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.436-444
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to investigate the research trends related to work rehabilitation in the field of occupational therapy based on studies published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT). Thirty five articles in the AJOT from January, 2000, to June, 2016, were reviewed. Descriptive statistics were used to classify the articles according to their study methodology, evidence level, study subjects, and so on. When they were categorized according to the study methodology, eight studies (22.9%) were published as review or meta-analyses and 7 studies (20%) as qualitative and naturalistic inquiries. Group comparison/correlational and experimental outcome methods were used in 4 studies (11.4%). 3 studies (8.6%) were conducted using a case study/single-subject design or survey. 14 studies (40.0%) were evidence level V ones and 7 studies (33.3%) dealt with mental illness. When they were classified according to the study subjects, 25 studies (71.4%) were related to the work-rehabilitation process and 10 studies (28.6%) were related to the meaning and value of work. Through this study, we were able to determine the main research trends, study methodology, study participants, and evidence level related to vocational rehabilitation in the field of occupational therapy. Additionally, it is necessary to examine studies in the field of vocational rehabilitation, which have a high level of evidence and include various kinds of participants, as well as the process of vocational rehabilitation.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.5-62
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• 2018

Over the last 10 years, the fight against occupational diseases of semiconductor workers led by SHARPS(the Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry, NGO) has accomplished considerable achievements, especially in the legal and institutional aspects. First, the court and the government accepted the claims that 24 injured workers respectively filed, recognizing their 10 types of diseases as occupational illness. The court not only expanded the list of work places and diseases that it recognized, but also presented more progressive logic of recognition. The most remarkable achievement among them is the case ruled by the Supreme court in July, 2017. In terms of 'worker's right to know', which is the most important factor in preventing occupational diseases, there have been significant legislative bills, court rulings and government guidelines. The revised bill of the Industrial Safety and Health Act to strengthen workers' rights to know and to introduce the pre-review system on trade secret is currently under review by the National Assembly. The court recently ruled that the government should disclose its inspection results on safety and health management at semiconductor factories. The ministry of labor has drawn up internal guidelines to more actively open its safety and health data to public. This study looks over recent developments in such rulings, bills and guidelines and then, analyzes their implications, laying the groundwork for future actions for worker health in the electronic industry.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.396-407
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess insomnia and the quality of sleep, investigate the concordance between objective and self-report sleep patterns, and identify physiological, psychological, and situational factors influencing insomnia and sleep quality among firefighters. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 103 firefighters in Korea. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, and hierarchical logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: Insomnia was found in 66 (64.1 %) of the total subjects, and the average quality of sleep (PSQI) was 5.65 (SD=2.57). Total sleep time (401.00 minutes) and sleep latency (21.60 minutes) measured using self-reported scales were longer than the ones measured using objective measurements by approximately 48.70 and 17.10 minutes, respectively. Factors related to insomnia included the role as a paramedic (OR=4.28, 95% CI: 1.02~17.92), anxiety (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.01~1.24), and sedentary lifestyle (OR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.78~0.94), and factors related to sleep quality were physical illness status (OR=5.17, 95% CI: 1.53~17.51) and social support (OR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.78~0.95). Conclusion: The results show a high prevalence of insomnia, poor quality of sleep and the discrepancy between objective and subjective sleep patterns among firefighters. To promote sleep quality and health, early screening and treatment of anxiety and physical illness are required. It is necessary to conduct further studies examining the relationship between physical activity level and sleep.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.11-24
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• 2020

Objective : The Human Rights constitute one of the basic pillars of every work where persons are involved, such is the case of the occupational therapy field. Methods : In this study we investigate the human rights sensitivity and the advocacy activities of occupational therapists. The differences according to their characteristics, the relationship and the impact of the human rights sensitivity are examined and presented. Making use of online surveys 116 subjects participated in the study. Results : The measured average of human right sensitivity is 69.00 ± 17.67 point, being them distributed according to the following subcategories: to the perception of the situation corresponds 23.25±5.62 points, to the perception of the consequences 22.75±6.54 points and for the perception of the responsibility 23±6.54 points. In all the cases have been taken in account the equal rights, the right to education in disables, the right to pursue the happiness of the elderly, the right of the disables to have personal freedom, the privacy rights and the privacy rights for mental illness people. According to the working area the Human Right sensitiveness is higher in Seoul than in the Gyeongsang province meanwhile the advocacy activities is higher in Seoul and in Gyeonggi province than in Gyeongsang province. Depending of the type of service, general hospitals and rehabilitation/nursing hospitals showed higher human rights sensitivity than other service organizations According to the working field, occupational therapy group focused in elderly showed higher Human Right sensitivity than other fields. Professionals belonging groups of clinical experience from 3 to 5 years and from 6 to 10 years showed higher advocacy activities than professionals with more than 11 years of experience. A positive correlation was showed between the human rights sensitivity and the advocacy activities. For this situation, the human rights sensitiveness was divided in sub-categories in perception of the situation, perception of the consequences and perception of the responsibility. As showed by the result of multiple regression analyses the advocacy activities of human would grow up in accordance with the increase of the human rights sensitiveness of responsibility perception. Conclusion : Due to the actual lack of information, the collection and study of basic data is fundamental for the development of practical human rights educational programs and to emphasize the role of the defense of the human rights.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-151
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• 2015

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to investigate the degree of presenteeism, which lowers productivity when call center workers come to work with illness, and analyze the factors influencing it. Methods: A survey was conducted for three months from July to September, 2013 to collect data. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,500 workers at 30 call centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, of which were 1,274 returned and analyzed for the study. Results: The findings show that the call center workers scored 15.4 points out of the maximum 30 on presenteeism based on SPS-6. The study examined factors that affect the presenteeism of call center workers and identified inner emotional labor, depression, subjective health condition, age and turnover intention as those factors. Their presenteeism was low when they engaged in more inner emotional labor, and when they had a good subjective health condition. The presenteeism was high when they had a higher degree of depression, were young, and had a higher turnover intention. Conclusion: The findings call for a need to implement a mental health promotion program to resolve call center workers' depression at work, help them manage their emotional labor to lower their turnover intention, improve their subjective health conditions, and run a health management program to consider the uniqueness of the young age group in order to prevent their increasing presenteeism.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.269-278
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• 2022

Background: PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD) had a great impact on health care workers during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019, COVID-19). Better knowledge of the prevalence of PTSD and its risk factors is a major public health problem. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and important risk factors of PTSD among medical staff during the COVID-19. Methods: The databases were searched for studies published during the COVID-19, and a PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis) compliant systematic review (PROSPERO-CRD 42021278970) was carried out to identify articles from multiple databases reporting the prevalence of PTSD outcomes among medical staff. Proportion random effect analysis, I² statistic, quality assessment, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analysis were carried out. Results: A total of 28 cross-sectional studies and the PTSD results of doctors and nurses were summarized from 14 and 27 studies: the prevalences were 31% (95% CI [confidence interval, CI]: 21%-40%) and 38% (95% CI: 30%-45%) in doctors and nurses, respectively. The results also showed seven risks (p < 0.05): long working hours, isolation wards, COVID-19 symptoms, nurses, women, fear of infection, and pre-existing mental illness. Two factors were of borderline significance: higher professional titles and married. Conclusion: Health care workers have a higher prevalence of PTSD during COVID-19. Health departments should provide targeted preventive measures for medical staff away from PTSD.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.22 no.1 s.25
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• pp.29-44
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• 1989

A household survey was conducted to determine the utilization rate of medical facilities and to identify the factors related with the utilization in the South District of Taegu from July 3 to July 15, 1988. Study population included 1,723 family members of 431 households which were selected by one-stage simple cluster random sampling. Well trained medical college students interviewed mainly housewives with a structurized questionnaire. Morbidity rate of acute illness during the 2-week period was 101 per 1,000 persons and it was highest in the age group of 9 years below. The rate for chronic illness was 77 per 1,000 persons, increasing with age, low income and medicaid benefit. During the 2-week period, 689 of 1,000 persons utilized the medical facilities. Of the facilities, most number, 294, used hospital and clinic, and the order ran as pharmacy, health center, and herb medical clinic. The utilization rate was higher in the female, 70-year and older group, medicaid group, the lowest income class and self-employed group than other groups. The average number of visits among users of medical facilities during the 2-week period was 3.25. those who visited medical facilities most frequently were females, the 70-year and older group, the lowest income class and blue collar worker group. During one-year period, admission rate of 1,000 persons was 27.6 and that of female was 38.9, higher than that of male. the eldest group had the highest admission rate. Admission rate of medical insurance beneficiaries was twice or higher than non-beneficiaries. The higher the family monthly income, the more frequently they admitted. During one-year period, average admission days of the persons hospitalized were 22.5 days and males were hospitalized longer than females. The groups which were hospitalized longest were those between the ages of 40 and 49, medical insurance beneficiaries, the lowest income group and unemployed group. During one-year period, average admission days of 1,000 persons were 560 days and those of female were 661 days, more than those of male. The guoups which had the longest admission days were those above 70 years of age, the lowest income and unemployed groups. The medical insurance beneficiaries were three times or longer than non-beneficiaries. In logistic regression analysis of utilization of physician significant independent variables were the 9-year and younger group(+), the 70-year and older group(+), acute illness episode(+), chronic illness episode(+), medical insurance beneficiary(+) and white collar workers(-). Acute and chronic illness episode(+), and medical insurance for government employees and private school teacher(-) were significant variables in analysis of utilization of pharmacy. In multiple regression analysis of the number of physician visits, siginificant variables were acute illnes episode(+), chronic illness episode(+), industrial, occupational and regional medical insurance beneficiary(+), white collar workers(-). Acute and chronic illness episode(+), and medical insurance beneficiary(-) were significant variables in analysis of the number of pharmacy visits. In logistic regression analysis of admission event, significant independent variables were the 9-year and younger group(+), the 70-year and older group(+) , chronic illness episode(+), and medical insurance beneficiary(+).

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.267-275
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• 2005

Evidence on the relation of socioeconomic position (SEP) with health and illness is mounting in South Korea. Several unlinked studies and individually linked studies (longitudinal study) showed a graded inverse relationship between SEP and mortality among South Korean males and females. Based on the mortality relative ratios by occupational class reported in the published papers of South Korea and western countries, the magnitude of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality in South Korea seems to be similar to or even greater than that in western industrialized countries. A potential contribution of health related selection, health behaviors and psychosocial factors to explain this socioeconomic inequality in mortality was discussed. It was suggested that early life exposure measures would demonstrate a greater ability to explain socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality than the above pathway variables in South Korea. This is based on the cause-specific structure of mortality among the South Korean population who have a relatively greater proportion of stomach cancer, hemorrhagic stroke, liver cancer and liver disease, and tuberculosis, which share early life exposures as important elements of their etiology, than western countries. However, the relative contribution of early and later life socioeconomic conditions in producing socioeconomic inequality in health may differ according to the outcome, thus remains to be investigated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.265-274
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• 2021

Objectives: Given the importance of social determinants of health in promoting the health of slum residents, this study was conducted with the aim of identifying the main dimensions and components of these determinants. Methods: This scoping review study was conducted according to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). A comprehensive search was performed of PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles conducted from 2010 to the end of 2019. Studies were selected based on inclusion criteria, with a special focus on studies dealing with the social determinants of physical and mental health or illness. Results: Thirty-three articles were selected to extract information on the social determinants of health. After reviewing the articles, 7 main dimensions (housing, socioeconomic status of the family, nutrition, neighborhood characteristics, social support and social capital, occupational factors, and health behaviors) and 87 components were extracted as social determinants of health among slum dwellers. Conclusions: This framework could be used by planners, managers, and policy-makers when making decisions affecting the health of these settlements' residents due to the common characteristics of slums around the world, especially in developing countries.