• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2017

This research examined if job stress mediates the relationship between physical environmental risk and safety behavior of employees. In addition, we investigated whether perceived control moderates the physical environmental risk-job stress link. In order to test our hypotheses, 1005 employees in various fields of firms were participated. Using structural equation modeling(SEM), we conducted moderated mediation model analysis that elaborately test the hypotheses. The results demonstrated that job stress mediated the physical environmental risk-safety behavior link. Furthermore, the relationship between physical environmental risk and job stress was moderated by perceived control.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.66-77
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• 2022

Objective: This study is a systematic review conducted to analyze the environmental factors that cause falls in the older adult. Design: Systematic review Methods: The study was conducted by searching the Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Korean studies Information Service System (KISS), and Data Base Periodical Information Academic (DBpia) databases for literature published in South Korea up to July 2020. A total of 12 studies were selected for analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The results of the analysis revealed that all the selected literature were surveys and the study subjects were 65 years of age and above. The sample size ranged from a minimum of 95 subjects to a maximum of 3,278. A total of eight tools were used to measure the environmental factors associated with falls. The prevalence and recurrence of falls increase with age and deterioration of health. Older adult individuals who experience falls encounter difficulties in recovering from impaired physical function and disability; moreover, in severe cases, falls may lead to death. Falls are largely associated with a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic (i.e., environmental) factors. The purpose of this study was to assess potential extrinsic risk factors for falls. Falls occur in indoor environments, such as washrooms, bathrooms and living rooms, and outdoor environments, including roads and stairways, depending on the season, time of day, and use of ambulatory aids. In such environments, falls are mainly caused by slipping and stuttering. Conclusions: Therefore, as the rate of fall is influenced by several factors, extrinsic factors should be improved by developing comprehensive accident prevention programs that address the improvement of environmental risk factors around places of residence to reduce risk factors among the older adult, who, especially, are at a high risk for falls.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors increasing fall risk in the residential environment risk and the perceived fall risk among the older adults who received home care services to provide information for developing a comprehensive falls intervention program. Methods: The subjects were 227 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and over who were taken care of by home-visiting nurses of the national health centers. The data were collected from July to August in 2012 using the Choi's residential environmental risk scale (2010) and the Hong's fall risk scale (2011). Results: Requires an assistive devices to walk, modified residential environment, health security, approval certificate of LTC, residential safety perception, residential environment risk, and perception of fall risk were statistically significant risk factors. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that room & kitchen, physical perception, medication & ADL perception, floor-related environmental perception, and daily living tool-related perception were statistically significant predictors of fall. Conclusion: The results showed that the residential environment and the perceived fall risk were associated with fall experiences among the elderly. It is necessary to develope multifactorial intervention programs considering both environmental and perceived risk factors as well as physical risk factors to reduce and prevent falls among the elderly.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.4 s.51
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• pp.259-271
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• 2005

Engineered nanoparticles exhibit a variety of unique and tunable chemical and physical properties. These unique properties make the nanoparticles central components and widespread potential applications in nanoindustry. However, the potential toxicities of nanoparticles have not been fully evaluated. Recently, the impacts of nanoparticles to human and environment became the emerging issue of toxicology. In this article, physicochemical properties and toxicities of carbon nanotube, fullerene, quantum dots, and other types of nanomaterials were reviewed and the strategy of risk assessment were suggested based on the frame of chemical assessment.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.157-167
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• 2003

Falls are a leading cause of injury, disability and death among people older than 65. Even without injury, falls cause a loss of confidence that results in reduced physical activity, increased dependency and social withdrawal. Fall prevention in the eldery people is a multifaced task that includes both the identification of risk factors and their modification strategies. Fall risk factors have been identified as both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic factors are those related to the physical and cognitive function of the person. Extrinsic factors are those which are included in the environmental hazards of everyday life. Combinations of interventions aimed at modifying both intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors can result in significant fall prevention in the geriatric population. This article selectively reviews the literature reporting exercise intervention to improve strength, balance and mobility.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.175-187
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the potential risk factors - children's factors, parental factors, and familial-environmental factors - with respect to overweight and obesity in Korean preschool children. Methods: This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design and involved 264 pairs of mothers and preschool children aged 3-5 years (121 boys, 143 girls) attending daycare centers in C city. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify significant risk factors for overweight and obesity in preschool children. Results: According to the multivariate logistic regression, family history of diabetes mellitus as children's factors, overweight or obesity of both parents as parental factors were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of overweight and obesity in preschool children. In addition, lack of community space for physical activity as familial-environmental factors was significantly associated with increased likelihood of overweight and obesity. Conclusions: Health care providers should concerned with the risk of overweight and obesity in children with high risk familial factors, such as family history of obesity and diabetes mellitus. Moreover, policies should be set in place to make sure communities include space that foster physical activity in young children.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Background: Like many other countries, falls and related injuries in older adults are great concerns in South Korea. In particular, falls are common in medical institutions, often causing the increase of the length of hospitalization. Objects: The purpose of this review was to help understand and address falls in hospitalized individuals in South Korea. Methods: The review was conducted on literature published in Korean from 2010 to 2022, searched in the Korea Citation Index and PubMed. Keywords used for the search were as follows: falls, fall risk, fall risk assessment, hospital, inpatient, intervention, Korea, and prevention. Results: A total of 54 articles were found and reviewed. The most common place of fall accidents was the inpatient room, where there were many cases of falls while walking. Loss of balance was the most common cause of falls, and many falls occurred in patients admitted to the internal medicine. Furthermore, a risk of falling increased with the type of medications taken. In terms of tools to assess patients' fall risk, the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) was commonly used. Patient-specific fall prevention activities were common to address falls, and they decreased the frequency of falls and the fear of falling. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the fall prevention activities included attitudes toward falls, education, environmental factors, patient safety culture, and self-efficacy in preventing falls. Conclusion: Our results should help understand and address falls and injuries in medical institutions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.501-516
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• 2014

Background: Our aim was to identify gaps and limitations in the current literature and to make recommendations for future research required to address these. Materials and Methods: We reviewed occupational exposures and related factors associated with the risk of prostate cancer between 2000 and 2012. These included chemical, ergonomic, physical or environmental, and psychosocial factors which have been reported by epidemiological studies across a range of industries. Results: The results are inconsistent from study to study and generally this is due to the reliance upon the retrospectivity of case-control studies and prevalence (ecological) studies. Exposure assessment bias is a recurring limitation of many of the studies in this review. Conclusions: We consider there is insufficient evidence to implicate prostate cancer risk for ergonomic, physical, environmental or psychosocial factors, but there is sufficient evidence to implicate toxic metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). More research is required to identify specific pesticides that may be associated with risk of prostate cancer.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.335-346
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• 2020

Background: Nursing service is a nonroutine work with an excessive physical load and diverse tasks. This study derived representative common tasks based on the frequently occurring tasks with a high physical load in the nursing workers' daily work and developed indicators to evaluate the work risk by reflecting the characteristics of nonroutine work. Methods: Common tasks were classified through the following stages: literature review, first focus group interview (FGI) with experts, first classification of common tasks, second FGI with hospital health managers, a survey of nursing service workers, and the final classification of common tasks for each task type. To develop an objective risk index for physical load assessment, we investigated the frequency and duration of the derived common tasks via survey. Results: Nursing common tasks were categorized into six task types and 56 subtasks. To evaluate the risks of various tasks in nonroutine works, three frequencies and three working time levels were defined by examining the task frequency and working hours. Exposure time was defined to reflect the characteristics of a nonroutine job. The final risk assessment was the product of the exposure time level and job intensity level. From this, four risk action levels were derived. Conclusion: This study has the advantage of solving the problem of focusing on some tasks in evaluating the physical load. It was meaningful in that a new risk assessment index based on exposure time was proposed based on the development of an evaluation scale for frequency and time by reflecting the characteristics of nonroutine work.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2023

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to occupational hazards and the metabolic syndrome. A secondary objective was to analyze the additive and multiplicative effects of exposure to risk factors. Methods: This retrospective cohort was based on 31,615 health examinees at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital in Republic of Korea from 2012-2021. Demographic and behavior-related risk factors were treated as confounding factors, whereas three physical factors, 19 organic solvents and aerosols, and 13 metals and dust were considered occupational risk factors. Time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios. Results: The risk of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in night shift workers (hazard ratio = 1.45: 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.54) and workers who were exposed to noise (1.15:1.07-1.24). Exposure to some other risk factors was also significantly associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. They were dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, trichloroethylene, xylene, styrene, toluene, dichloromethane, copper, antimony, lead, copper, iron, welding fume, and manganese. Among the 28 significant pairs, 19 exhibited both positive additive and multiplicative effects. Conclusions: Exposure to single or combined occupational risk factors may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Working conditions should be monitored and improved to reduce exposure to occupational hazards and prevent the development of the metabolic syndrome.