• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2016

Objective : The aim of this study was to investigate the status of infection for infectious diseases and infection control in occupational therapy. Methods : This study was implemented through the survey composed of the status of infection for infectious disease and the infection control and awareness of the infection control. The duration of survey was a month, June, 2016. 111 occupational therapists in 23 room of occupational therapy completed a survey. Results : 34.8% of occupational therapy room experienced the infectious diseases. This study showed the occupational therapists have high performance in almost items of infection control. But the occupational therapist showed the low performance in the items including 'Washing hands over than 15 seconds', 'Washing hands before and after wearing gloves', 'Wearing mask during treatment', 'Throwing away mask after using' and 'Washing your uniform separate from other cloths'. Almost occupational therapists think infection control is important and the education for infection control is needed in occupational therapy. But most of the education is implemented in only medical institution. Conclusion : To improve performance in infection control, individual effort of occupational therapists and institutional strategies are needed. This study will use as basic data for the education about infection control aimed at the occupational therapists.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.445-450
• /
• 2023

Background: The impact of COVID-19 infection on workers' work function persists even after the acute phase of the infection. We studied this phenomenon in Japanese workers. Methods: We conducted a one-year prospective cohort study online, starting with a baseline survey in December 2020. We tracked workers without baseline work functioning impairment and incorporated data from 14,421 eligible individuals into the analysis. We estimated the incidence rate ratio for new onset of work functioning impairment due to COVID-19 infection during follow-up, using mixed-effects Poisson regression analysis with robust variance. Results: Participants reporting infection between January and December 2021 showed a significantly higher incidence of new work functioning impairment (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 2.18, 95% confidence interval: 1.75-2.71, p < 0.001). The formality of the recuperation environment correlated with a higher risk of work functioning deterioration in infected individuals (p for trend <0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19-infected workers may continue to experience work difficulties due to persistent, post-acute infection symptoms. Companies and society must urgently provide rehabilitation and social support for people with persistent symptoms, recognizing that COVID-19 is not just a transient acute infection.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.95-107
• /
• 2019

Objective : The aim of this study was to investigate the infection management awareness and infection prevention management status of students who participated in occupational therapy and clinical practice. Methods : The study was carried out from June 27th to August 4th, 2017, to survey the awareness and practice of infection control in 11 practice institutes among 193 students who had experience in 8 universities. Results : A total of 93.3 % of the respondents said that they needed education about infectious diseases, but 53.3 % of them did not receive infection prevention education at school or in clinical trial institutes. Hygienic practices for infection prevention and infection control practices related to handwashing were high, but the use of protective equipment was poor in the observation of swallowing disorder treatment. It is also important to educate students who have been trained in infection control. However, infection prevention training at universities and training centers is insufficient suggesting the importance of future infection education. Conclusion : Infection control education to prevent infection is necessary not only for clinicians but also for students participating in on-the-job training. Effective efforts are also needed in universities and clinical practice institutes so that infectious disease prevention education can be implemented. This study provides basic data for infection control education in universities and practice educational institute that perform clinical training and occupational therapy.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.172-179
• /
• 2018

Background: Insufficient training in infection control and occupational health among healthcare workers (HCWs) in countries with high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) burdens requires attention. We examined the effectiveness of a 1-year Certificate Program in Occupational Health and Infection Control conducted in Free State Province, South Africa in an international partnership to empower HCWs to become change agents to promote workplace-based HIV and TB prevention. Methods: Questionnaires assessing reactions to the program and Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, and Practices were collected pre-, mid-, and postprogram. Individual interviews, group project evaluations, and participant observation were also conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Qualitative data were thematically coded and analyzed using the Kirkpatrick framework. Results: Participants recruited (n = 32) were mostly female (81%) and nurses (56%). Pre-to-post-program mean scores improved in knowledge (+12%, p = 0.002) and skills/practices (+14%, p = 0.002). Preprogram attitude scores were high but did not change. Participants felt empowered and demonstrated attitudinal improvements regarding HIV, TB, infection control, and occupational health. Successful projects were indeed implemented. However, participants encountered considerable difficulties in trying to sustain improvement, due largely to lack of pre-existing knowledge and experience, combined with inadequate staffing and insufficient management support. Conclusion: Training is essential to strengthen HCWs' occupational health and infection control knowledge, attitudes, skills, and practices, and workplace-based training programs such as this can yield impressive results. However, the considerable mentorship resources required for such programs and the substantial infrastructural supports needed for implementation and sustainability of improvements in settings without pre-existing experience in such endeavors should not be underestimated.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.50 no.5
• /
• pp.658-670
• /
• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the predictors of blood and body fluid exposure (BBFE) in multifaceted individual (sleep disturbance and fatigue), occupational (occupational stress), and organizational (hospital safety climate) factors, as well as infection prevention behavior. We also aimed to test the mediating effect of infection prevention behavior in relation to multifaceted factors and the frequency of BBFE. Methods: This study was based on a secondary data analysis, using data of 246 nurses from the Shift Work Nurses' Health and Turnover study. Based on the characteristics of zero-inflated and over-dispersed count data of frequencies of BBFE, the data were analyzed to calculate zero-inflated negative binomial regression within a generalized linear model and to test the mediating effect using SPSS 25.0, Stata 14.1, and PROCESS macro. Results: We found that the frequency of BBFE increased in subjects with disturbed sleep (IRR = 1.87, p = .049), and the probability of non-BBFE increased in subjects showing higher infection prevention behavior (IRR = 15.05, p = .006) and a hospital safety climate (IRR = 28.46, p = .018). We also found that infection prevention behavior had mediating effects on the occupational stress-BBFE and hospital safety climate-BBFE relationships. Conclusion: Sleep disturbance is an important risk factor related to frequency of BBFE, whereas preventive factors are infection prevention behavior and hospital safety climate. We suggest individual and systemic efforts to improve sleep, occupational stress, and hospital safety climate to prevent BBFE occurrence.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.233-242
• /
• 2021

Background: The importance of infection with COVID-19 is being emphasized in dentistry with high risks such as aerosols. The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge and practice of infection control, stress and coping, and turnover of dental hygienists. Methods: Questionnaire was conducted knowledge and practice of infection control, occupational stress and coping, turnover. Survey data was investigated about 149 dental hygienists from February to March 2021 Data were analyzed t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation using statistical programs of PASW Statistics ver. 21.0. Results: Regarding occupational stress, relationship conflict was higher in the group with less than 2 years of experience (p<0.05). Job anxiety, organizational system, inadequate compensation, and workplace culture were highly surveyed in the 3 to 5 year of experience. The group with more than 6 years of experience had the highest perception of lack of job autonomy (p<0.05). The group with higher knowledge of infection control had lower mean inappropriate rewards and stress (p<0.05). The group with high infection control performance had a lower average in items such as job instability, organizational system, inadequate compensation, workplace culture, and stress. And problem-focused coping ability was found to be high (p<0.05). Infection control knowledge and performance were positively correlated (r=0.251, p<0.01), infection control practice and stress were negatively correlated (r=-0.264, p<0.01), and stress and emotional coping were positively correlated (r=0.367, p<0.01). Stress was positively correlated with turnover rate (r=0.549, p<0.01). Conclusion: Infection control training was required to reduce occupational stress. Occupational stress was highly correlated with turnover, a holistic and systemic organizational operation and improvement of the quality of medical care were required to reduce stress.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.241-243
• /
• 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 poses an occupational health risk to health-care workers. Several thousand health-care workers have already been infected, mainly in China. Preventing intra-hospital transmission of the communicable disease is therefore a priority. Based on the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, the strategies and measures to protect health-care workers in an acute tertiary hospital are described along the domains of work task, technologies and tools, work environmental factors, and organizational conditions. The principle of zero occupational infection remains an achievable goal that all health-care systems need to strive for in the face of a potential pandemic.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.10-18
• /
• 2020

Background: The elevated risk of occupational infection such as tuberculosis among health workers in many countries raises the question of whether the quality of occupational health and safety (OHS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) can be improved by auditing. The objectives of this study were to measure (1) audited compliance of primary health-care facilities in South Africa with national standards for OHS and IPC, (2) change in compliance at reaudit three years after baseline, and (3) the inter-rater reliability of the audit. Methods: The study analyzed audits of 60 primary health-care facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Baseline external audits in the time period 2011-2012 were compared with follow-up internal audits in 2014-2015. Audits at 25 facilities that had both internal and external audits conducted in 2014/2015 were used to measure reliability. Results: At baseline, 25% of 60 facilities were "noncompliant" (audit score<50%), 48% "conditionally compliant" (score >50 < 80%), and only 27% "compliant" (score >80%). Overall, there was no significant improvement in compliance three years after baseline. Percentage agreement on specific items between internal and external audits ranged from 28% to 92% and kappa from -0.8 to 0.41 (poor to moderate). Conclusion: Low baseline compliance with OHS-IPC measures and lack of improvement over three years reflect the difficulties of quality improvement in these domains. Low inter-rater reliability of the audit instrument undermines the audit process. Evidence-based investment of effort is required if repeat auditing is to contribute to occupational risk reduction for health workers.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.91-103
• /
• 2022

This study surveyed 101 occupational therapists who were performing occupational therapy before and after the COVID-19 outbreak to compare their perceptions and performance of hand washing, use of personal protective equipment, and infection control of surrounding environment. Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal wallis H test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Pearson's correlation coefficient were used analyzed. As a result, it was confirmed that they received better infection control education after the outbreak compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19, and their experience with infectious diseases was lower. In addition, it was found that the perception and performance of infection control in hand washing, personal protective equipment, and surrounding environment cleaning were improved after the outbreak compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19. However, to this day, hand washing for more than 40 seconds in running water recommended by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cleaning the treatment room, and disinfection of treatment tools are still in need of improvement. Through this study, infection control education should be repeated regularly to minimize the occurrence of infectious diseases, and It will be a basic data that can be used in infection control education and follow-up studies for occupational therapists in the future.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.192-201
• /
• 2020

Purpose: This study aims to conduct an integrated literature review of infection control studies conducted by nursing care workers in long-term care facilities in Korea. Methods: Through the domestic search engines RISS and KISS, seven articles were selected by searching for theses and academic journals published in Korea from 2008 to January 2020. Results: In total, six research studies and one intervention study out of seven studies were analyzed. Measurement tools for examining the knowledge and performance of infection-related care workers consisted of skin infection, aspiration pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and hand hygiene. Factors affecting nursing care workers' infection management performance were infection management knowledge, education level, health status, and importance awareness. Conclusion: This study showed it is necessary to develop a tool that can accurately measure nursing care workers' infection management knowledge and performance. In addition, it is necessary to develop an intervention program for nursing care workers' infection control.