International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health (nepjol.info)
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The application of the Mahlangu case on the COIDA and other safety legislation: A legal analysis
Get PDFThe Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 139 of 1993 (hence COIDA) provides for the compensation of any disablement caused by an occupational injury or disease that an employee sustains or contracts in the course of employment. This inter alia includes the death of an employee that resulted from an occupational injury or disease. Until recently, domestic workers in South Africa have been excluded from COIDA. In Mahlangu and Another v Minister of Labor and Others the Constitutional Court considered the present-day exclusion of domestic workers in South Africa from social security benefits associated with occupational injuries and diseases, notwithstanding other workers benefitting from comparable social benefits. The article therefore presents an overview of how the judgement in the Mahlangu-case stands to impact on the lives of domestic workers involved in workplace incidents. In light of the judgement, the authors reviewed the current legal framework associated with workplace injury claims and considered how the judgment stands to develop the legal framework and contribute towards social benefits of domestic workers. The importance of the judgment must therefore be considered against the background that the judgment confirms and assess the rights of domestic workers whereby they too must be able claim compensation in terms of COIDA. The authors also provide further insight into the significance of the invalidity of section1 (xix) (v) of COIDA and why the exclusion of domestic workers in terms of COIDA cannot be justified. This paper will examine and analyze the impact and relationship of the Mahlangu-case on legislation
Workplace aggression in the healthcare sector: a scoping review to facilitate the development and evaluation of effective de-escalation training programs
Get PDFIntroduction: Workplace aggression is a challenge for preventive and occupational medicine and aggression management training is fundamental to any workplace violence prevention strategy. Despite the increasing interest that has been recently devoted to the importance of prevention of aggressive behaviors, international literature on the topic is huge but heterogeneous.
Methods: The authors tried to to analyze literature regarding this issue with the future goal of finalizing a de-escalation training course for healthcare workers, alongside a procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the course that takes into account evidence synthesis.
Results: Although in recent years several studies have proposed different theoretical models of escalation of aggression and de-escalation techniques, what emerged is that no model can possibly account for all the factors and mechanisms involved in human aggression which present high levels of unpredictability.
Conclusion: Authors argue that common programs, regarding the understanding of aggression and of de-escalation strategies, are effective in some way as has already been evidenced anecdotally through literature references, and that de-escalation courses should be useful and should repeated over time with the main aim of empathic communication through practice. Further, literature evidence suggests that simulation scenarios should be preferred to test the effectiveness of a course rather than a paper test or self-assessment quality of the course, but the limit of the artificiality of the scenarios should be overcome
Statistical Data Analysis in Emergency Management Elements of Indian State of Tamil Nadu Manufacturing Industries Utilising LPG
Get PDFIntroduction: Process safety is becoming more difficult as requirements increase. When balancing quality, volume, and safety on a budget, major accidents are unavoidable. The inability of organizations to absorb unwelcome and unanticipated disruptions is a major contributor to complacency and a decline in safety attitudes. The inability of industries to interpret standards impedes self-regulation.
Methods: A total of 50 emergency management element questionnaires were developed to evaluate the state of an industry. These questionnaires were categorized as first aid, personal protective equipment (PPE), communication systems used in plants, safety education and training, occupational hygiene and health, management systems on accident reporting, safety and health, analysis and investigation, and procedures and protocols. From 32 LPG industries in Tamil Nadu districts, information for all 50 questions was gathered and the statistical tool "Analysis ToolPak" in Excel 2010 was used to analyze the data.
Results: This study conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis of various aspects of industrial on-site emergency planning. The questionnaire\u27s reliability was determined using Cronbach\u27s alpha test. Utilizing descriptive statistics, t-tests for means, one-way ANOVA, and histograms, statistical evaluation was conducted. Encouragingly, all the results were favorable, providing compelling evidence that the LPG-utilizing industries in various regions of Tamil Nadu, India, are exceeding safety requirements.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings suggest that improved legal frameworks, laws, and implementation of EME in communication systems can greatly enhance the development of safety in plants, fire protection, and emergency health services. These measures can significantly reduce the occurrence of accidents and improve the response time to emergencies, ultimately saving lives and reducing property damage
Health Effects of Pesticides among Small Scale Farmers in an Urban Municipality of Nepal: A Descriptive Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Pesticides cause short-term as well as long-term health effects. Agriculture workers are at high risk of effect. So, this study aimed to identify the health effects of pesticides among small-scale farmers in the municipality of Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in all wards of Changunarayan Municipality, Bhaktapur, Nepal. Farmers of selected households who adopted agriculture as their main occupation were included in this study. The sample size for the study was 132. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to determine the farmer from each ward and simple random sampling was used to reach every respondent. Face-to-face interview technique and semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test was applied to measure an association between selected variables.
Results: All of the farmers used pesticides and about two-thirds 74(64.9%) experienced both immediate as well as delayed symptoms due to the use of pesticides. Majority of them showed general symptoms such as eye irritation 87(76.3%), difficulty in breathing 70(61.4%) and fatigue 55(48.2%). There was an association between the frequency of exposure and health effects due to pesticide use which was found to be statistically significant at a significance level with p-value 0.042.
Conclusion: Health effects such as skin rashes, effects on the eyes, and respiratory system were reported. The most prevalent effects were eye irritation, difficulty in breathing, and itching of the skin. Training on pesticide use and awareness should be conducted by municipalities to reduce the effects
Relationship between Supportive Supervision and Caring Behavior among Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction
Get PDFIntroduction: Healthcare workers are tasked with ensuring that patient needs are well taken care of and managed as it relates to specific health challenges. A significant way of ensuring the efficacy of treatment is through human interaction with a focus on caring behavior. There are few studies examining factors within the health sector and their impact on the caring behavior of healthcare workers. Accordingly, this study examined the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between supportive supervision and caring behavior among healthcare workers in the public sector.
Methods: A quantitative method of collecting data via the cross-sectional design was adopted. Simple and convenient sampling techniques were used in the study. Simple random sampling was adopted for selecting the public hospitals while convenience sampling was used for selecting the participating healthcare workers. Three standardized self-report instruments with good psychometric properties were used for collecting the data. A regression-based analysis (complemented with PROCESS Macro v4.2) was used for testing the hypotheses through the IBM SPSS v25.
Results: The participants consisted of 204 healthcare workers currently working in publicly owned hospitals in Delta State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 97(47.5%) males and 107(52.5%) females with mean age of 40.74years (SD= ±8.877). The results of the study provided support for the four hypotheses that were tested. Supportive supervision (b= .19, t = 3.10, p < .01) and job satisfaction (b= .11, t = 4.33, p < .001) positively and significantly predicted caring behaviour. Also, supportive supervision (b= .33, t = 2.19, p < .05) positively and significantly predicted job satisfaction while job satisfaction mediated the relationship between supportive supervision and caring behavior.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the importance of supportive supervision and job satisfaction in predicting the caring behavior of healthcare workers in Delta State, Nigeria. Consequently, it is recommended that policymakers, hospital administrators, and practitioners in the health sector put in place frameworks that will promote supportive supervision and job satisfaction
Riding to the Rescue: A Comprehensive Review of Health and Safety Measures in Ambulance Cars
Get PDFParamedics are registered health professionals in numerous countries. Whilst ambulance services must prioritize their patients, they also require personnel to be healthy to perform at their utmost to provide optimal patient care. Ambulance transport is associated with predictable and likely preventable occupant hazards. Ambulance services provide care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and shift work is known to be a risk factor for poor health. Working unsociable hours has detrimental consequences on the health and well-being of healthcare workers and can ultimately result in compromised patient care. Ambulance service utilization rates are high, with paramedics working in unpredictable environments, and undertaking complex clinical and manual handling tasks whilst caring for critically unwell patients; thus, there are several reasons postulated for poor health in this professional group. These include injuries, serious infections, high rates of musculoskeletal diseases, stress, and mental health problems. This review article aims to identify the occupational risks in an ambulance service, assess their impact on the health of employees, and explore control measures that can be implemented to reduce the risks and improve the safety of healthcare workers and patients
Practices of Personal Protective Measures against SARS-Cov-2 among Undergraduate Medical Students in South India
Get PDFIntroduction: The use of personal protective measures holds relevance despite mass immunization coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in the population. This is because vaccination only gives protection from severe COVID-19 and does not prevent the risk of infection. Medical students can be vital in training people in infection control practices. The study aimed to assess the practices of undergraduate medical students regarding personal protective measures against COVID-19.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among first to final-year students at a private medical college in Mangalore. Data were collected using a Microsoft form.
Results: The mean age of the 302 participants was 21.2±1.6 years. The majority of them were females [179 (59.3%)]. Face mask was worn by 295(97.7%) participants. Non-recommended types of face masks like using cloth masks [108 (36.6%)] and handkerchiefs [7 (2.4%)] were reported by participants. 35 (11.9%) of them wore the face mask incorrectly. Periodicity of replacement of disposable type masks was not done every day by 181(61.4%) participants. 142(48.1%) of them did not dispose of masks whenever they became moist on every occasion. Only 79 (26.8%) always practiced proper disposal of face masks. Hand sanitizer to disinfect hands was always used by 102 (33.8%) participants. Only 42 (13.9%) participants practiced correct practice of hygiene hand wash always. Only 58 (19.2%) participants had a good level of practice. Practice level was significantly poorer among males and first-year students.
Conclusion: Several gaps in preventive practices against COVID-19 were identified, particularly among males and first-year students. These issues need to be addressed among medical students in future training programs
“Vaai Ganam” - a screening program for early detection of oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer among truck drivers in Chennai – a cross-sectional survey
Get PDFIntroduction: Truck drivers, though forming an integral part of a vital trade link for the Indian population, lack basic life insurance and health care benefits offered by other organized sectors in Indian Industries. This paper aims to present the initial findings of the “VaaiGanam” program which proposes to identify tobacco use and the prevalence of Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) among truck drivers who are stationed or passing via Chennai and provide cessation services by behavioral therapy.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by a dental screening team who were involved in data collection and screening of the 747 truck drivers who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria between Jan to Oct 2022. After data collection, oral examinations were done and suspicious lesions were sought for expert opinion. A standard punch biopsy was taken from those lesions requiring confirmation.
Results: Among the 747 subjects who participated in this program, 704 (94.2%) were current users of various tobacco products, with 235 (31.4%) preferring smoking and the rest 469(62.8%) using smokeless tobacco products. Oral mucosal lesions were recorded in 49 (6.5%) of the study population, mostly among tobacco users. Punch/incisional biopsies were taken among 17 of the 49 subjects and oral dysplasia was histopathologically confirmed in 9 (mild epithelial dysplasia = 5; moderate epithelial dysplasia = 4) subjects.
Conclusion: Truck drivers with tobacco and substance abuse are at high risk of developing oral cancer and hence this study emphasizes the importance of periodic oral cancer screening programs for this vulnerable population to identify potentially malignant oral lesions at an early stage
Evaluation and implication of noise and vibration levels to the operators and proxy population around selected block molding industries in Ibadan, Nigeria
Get PDFIntroduction: Block-making industries owned by private individuals are cited in cities to utilize the existing market opportunity of supplying concrete blocks to developers. The study aimed to measure noise and vibration levels at selected block-molding industries and assess their health implications.
Methods: The study design involves twenty-five block molding industries randomly selected in the Ibadan metropolis. These industries voluntarily agreed to participate in the research, and measurements were done between January and May 2022. The noise and vibration levels were measured using a digital multi-function environmental meter, Model DT-8820, and a vibration meter, Model VM-6360, respectively.
Results: An overall mean noise level of 101.81 dB(A), 85.62 dB(A), 76.40 dB(A), 70.21 dB(A), 65.91 dB(A), and 63.61 dB(A) at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 m, respectively, away from the source to residential buildings were obtained. Results indicate that the noise level at 0 m and 10 m exceeded the occupational noise level standard. The results obtained for the vibration levels on the hand of the operators ranged from 42.2 ms-2 to 59.7 ms-2 and these exceeded the occupational vibration level standard. This may indicate that the operators of the block-moulding machine may be exposed to various adverse health detriments due to high noise and vibration levels at their workplace.
Conclusion: The study recommends using safety gadgets such as hearing protection and anti-vibration gloves for workers in these industries. Moreover, environmental education and awareness should be carried out, and residential structures should be situated at least 20 meters from the block industries
Health status of police personnel in a selected subdivision of Bengaluru District, Karnataka, India
Get PDFIntroduction: Police personnel perform untiring duties to maintain law and order. The objectives of this study were to assess the physical and mental health status of police personnel in a selected rural subdivision of Bengaluru District.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 142 police personnel in 7 police stations of the selected rural subdivision using a universal sampling technique. A structured interview schedule was used, which included socio-demographic details, occupational details, anthropometry, blood pressure and blood sugar measurements, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to screen for depression and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to identify stress.
Results: The mean age of the police personnel was 40.28±10.97 years. Most of the workforce were males (83%). About 68.3% of the studied group were obese. High random blood sugar and high blood pressure values were observed in 5.6% and 48.6% of the personnel who had no previous history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The prevalence of mild to severe depression was found to be 36% and that of high stress was 83.1%.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of increased blood pressure, obesity, depression and perceived stress warrants the need for routine screening and application of various levels of prevention. Health promotion and improved working conditions can improve their health status