International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health (nepjol.info)
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Risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing among Public Transport Drivers of Kochi, India
Get PDFIntroduction: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) appears to be a major occupational health concern among transport drivers as it increases the chance of road traffic crashes. The study aimed to determine the prevalent risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing in public transport drivers of Kochi, India.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed among 50 public transport drivers who satisfied the inclusion criteria and were categorized as high and low-risk groups using the STOP-BANG questionnaire. Physical examination recorded Neck circumference, waist-hip ratio, body mass index, blood pressure, and facial profile. Excessive daytime sleepiness was evaluated using the Epworth sleepiness scale. Mann Whitney and Chi-square tests were used to test for significance. Logistic regression was also done by including the significant variables.
Results: The high risk (n= 27) and low-risk groups (n=23) were identified. Among the high-risk group; age, body mass index, neck circumference, blood pressure, snoring and tiredness showed statistically significant results (p<0.05) when compared to the low-risk group. Excessive daytime sleepiness was present among 29.6% of high-risk subjects. Logistic regression confirmed that age (OR=1.176; p=0.001) and body mass index (OR=1.348; p=0.050) were independent predictors of developing a high risk of SDB.
Conclusion: mong public transport drivers in Kochi, India; older age and increased body mass index were significant contributing factors to developing sleep-disordered breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, is a major public health concern and a proven risk factor for vehicle crashes. Applicants for public transport driver\u27s licenses should be thoroughly examined for the risk of OSA/SDB. A standardized screening protocol for OSA risk assessment should be advisable for public transport drivers to ensure road safety
Heat Stress Vulnerability Among Small-Scale Factory Workers and Adaptive Strategies in Ahmedabad: a Cross Sectional Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Global warming is likely to affect certain groups such as workers in heat-producing industries. With limited research exploring such an important area, this study aimed to explore the heat stress vulnerability and adaptive strategies of indoor small-scale factory workers.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study and a mixed-method approach was used. The study setting was small-scale factory units. The quantitative component included environmental and biological monitoring from six units of steel rolling mills and foundry in the summer and winter seasons. The study was conducted during the period of November-2018 and May 2019. Heat stress was measured among workers using a portable Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) meter. The physiological parameters of workers were also measured. The qualitative component included in-depth interviews of workers and supervisors from eleven units.
Results: The maximum temperatures recorded at steel rolling mills and foundry crossed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) threshold (27.5℃) in summer as well as winter. The mean WBGT at the steel rolling mill recorded 31.5℃. The physiological measurements of workers also crossed the threshold level for heart rate and oral temperature in steel rolling and foundry units. The units had mechanisms to dissipate heat but lack a temperature monitoring mechanism inside the units. The workers wore lighter or fewer clothes as an adaptive measure but uncomfortable PPEs in foundry units were avoided.
Conclusion: Heat stress in small-scale industry units was found high and there is a high need to develop specific strategies for such vulnerably high heat-exposed groups
Gender-based violence against female sex workers in Nigeria: how helpful are grassroot interventions?
Get PDFIntroduction: Gender-based violence (GBV) against female sex workers (FSWs) increases their risk of unwanted pregnancies, abortion, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Hence, this study aims to assess the impacts of grassroots interventions on GBV against FSW in Benue State, Nigeria.
Methods: The study is a cross-sectional baseline-post-intervention survey using a randomized cluster sampling technique. It was carried out in six local governments of the State using structured questionnaires to collect data from the respondents. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0.
Results: This study comprised 446 FSWs with 223 from each baseline and intervention survey. The prevalence of GBV was 48.0% in the baseline and 59.2% in the intervention (P<0.001). The most common GBV were being beaten/battered/kicked (26.0%) in the baseline and 30.9% in the intervention (P>0.05). Paying partners (65.6%), the police (53.0%), and vigilantes (30.3%) were the top perpetrators of GBV in the post-intervention study, higher than 41.3%, 17.5%, and 3.9% in the baseline (P<0.001). Access to health care services after GBV was 43.0% in the baseline and 72.7% in the intervention (P<0.001). Only 24.2% of post-intervention respondents would keep cases of GBV to themselves instead of reporting them to appropriate authorities, compared to 53.3% in baseline (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The study recorded higher reports of GBV among the FSWs after the intervention than at the baseline, in which most cases of GBV were underreported. The increased ability to report cases among FSWs after intervention helped to improve the boldness of the victims in reporting the GBV
Chromium toxicity among leather industry workers in Kolkata-A pilot Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Chromium (Cr) exposure is known to cause various health issues such as cancer, dermatitis, respiratory problems, etc. The recent exposure of Cr can be determined by analysis of Cr either in blood/urine/plasma, Cr (III) ions cannot permeate through cell membranes of red blood cells (RBC) because their ionic radii are bigger as compared to Cr (VI), and hence Cr in RBC is an indicator for exposure to Cr (VI) ions. The purpose of this study was to investigate chromium exposure, hygienic habits and the occurrence of dermatological problems with leather industry workers in Kolkata.
Methods: A total of 68 leather industry workers with minimum work exposure of five years and aged between 18-60 years were recruited for this study. The study protocol included a questionnaire and analysis of Cr in blood and urine samples by GF-AAS.
Results: All values were under the Biological Exposure Index (BEI) of 25µg /L at the end of the shift of a five-day work week recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (AcGIH). 15.2% of subjects suffered from dermatological problems at least once in the last year during work in the leather industry.
Conclusion: It was found that leather industry workers were not using personal protective equipment and it must be promoted to them for occupational health and safety
Prevalence and Factors Associated with Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Nurses of a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal
Get PDFIntroduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the human musculoskeletal system which could lead to temporary or permanent impairments. The nature of nursing jobs makes nurses vulnerable to MSDs. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and potential risk factors associated with MSDs among nurses.
Methods: In between March to June 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 165 nurses using self-administered questionnaires. A standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used to measure MSDs. Pearson’s chi-square test and binary logistic regression at a 5% level of significance were performed to identify factors associated with upper extremities and spinal musculoskeletal disorders (UMSD) and lower extremities musculoskeletal disorders (LMSD). Variables associated with UMSD and LMSD in bivariate analysis were subjected to multiple logistic regression.
Results: The prevalence of UMSD and LMSD experienced by nurses was 86.1% (95% CI: 79.4%-90.9%) and 66.1% (95% CI: 58.9%-74.3%), respectively. Among several factors, working in same position for long periods (AOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 1.2-13.4), not receiving training in injury prevention programs (AOR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.0-9.2), not enough rest breaks during the day (AOR: 4.65, 95% CI: 1.3-15.9) and moderate to higher job stress (AOR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.2-10.8) were found to be significantly associated with UMSD. Not having enough rest breaks during the day (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.0-4.7) was significantly associated with LMSD.
Conclusion: Higher prevalence of MSDs among nurses is a serious concern that threatens individual health as well as the overall healthcare system. Sensitization and capacity enhancement programs on the issue could prevent MSDs among nurses
The Identification of Motorcyclist Safety Risk among University Students in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Get PDFIntroduction: Traffic accidents are cases of concern both nationally and internationally. Their impact ranges from injuries to death. In Indonesia, traffic accidents are dominated by students who use motorcycles. With this in mind, this study is focused on identifying the driving attitudes that are responsible for traffic accidents among university students.
Methods: The cross-sectional survey study was conducted from January 2023 to February 2023, located in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Data was gathered using simple random sampling on 97 students based on experiences while driving such as safety attitude, frequencies on motorcycle inspections, and driving attitude. The next step is a comparison between results based on student experiences and risk assessment by experts. The expert assessment used two personnel of Police Resort from Yogyakarta and Purworejo, Indonesia.
Results: Participants were divided into 81.4% men (N=79) and 18.6% women (N=18), with a mean age ± standard deviation of 21 ± 1.8 years. Awareness of safety attributes is demonstrated by the use of helmets by 92.78% of participants, and motorcycle inspections on rearview mirrors (85.57%), rims & tires (79.38%), and brakes (71.13%). In terms of road driving attitudes, students drive with fatigue (82.47%) and sick (61.86%), drive in bad weather (78.35%), and exceed the standard of speed (53.61%). The results of the risk assessment show that 7 variables have a high risk, namely helmet, inspection on the brake, driving in fatigued physical condition, driving in sick physical condition, using gadgets when driving, traffic sign violation, and overspeeding.
Conclusion: Based on these results, it show that students\u27 driving readiness is quite good with the attributes of vehicle safety and feasibility. This is shown by the use of helmets and break checks by students with the highest risk on the road. However, the need to be concerned is that the bad riding attitude includes physical health conditions, driving according to traffic safety standards, and paying attention to weather conditions. Improvements are needed especially by drivers to create safe and secure driving conditions
Nurses’ Workload and Quality of Life in General Hospitals: The Mediating Role of Resilience
Get PDFIntroduction: An increased nurse\u27s workload might break the balance between work and life, reducing nurses\u27 quality of life. This condition can lead to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Nurses with low resilience may develop psychological issues or mental illness. This study aims to determine the relationship between workload, resilience, and quality of life of nurses.
Methods: A cross-sectional study with proportionate stratified random sampling was implemented in nurses working at type B hospitals in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. A total of 265 nurses were enrolled in this study during September-October 2022. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), The Russel & Russel questionnaire, and the WHOQOL-Brief quality of life were used on this research instrument. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the effect of mediating resilience on the link between workload and quality of life in nurses.
Results: The study\u27s findings indicate that workload (X) and resilience (M) affect quality of life (Y) (53.1%). Nurses’ workload affects the quality of life via resilience (Path coefficient = -0.049, p = 0.041). It can be interpreted that nurses’ workload has a negative and substantial link with the quality of life due to resilience.
Conclusion: This study concludes that resilience mediates the relationship between nurses’ workload and quality of life
Effect of Long Extended Working Hours on the Occupational Health and Safety of Oil and Gas Workers in the Sultanate of Oman
Get PDFIntroduction: Oil and Gas workers are exposed to numerous hazards which impede their productivity; one such hazard these workers are exposed to is long or extended working hours. Hence, this paper examined the impacts of extended working hours on workers\u27 occupational health and safety at a selected oil and gas company in Oman. Consequently, the workers’ opinions on the impacts of extended working hours at the company were critically analyzed to draw potential inferences and proffer solutions to the problem in Oman. The study aimed to critically identify, assess, and highlight the occupational safety problems associated with extended working hours among workers at a selected oil and gas company in Oman.
Methods: A total of 128 respondents were randomly selected from the 140 employees and company managers through administered questionnaires. Data collection was done between January 25 and February 30, 2022. The questionnaire consisted of five items statements based on the four-agreement or Likert scale of measurement.
Results: A response rate of 91% was derived from the questionnaire administered for the study. Results from data analysis indicated that 73% of the respondents were male while 27% were female. Furthermore, the results indicated that extended working hours have substantial impacts on family life (s=54%), performance (s=68%), productivity, and health of the workers. Extended working hours potentially expose workers to various dangers which bring about numerous adverse effects (stress, fatigue, depression, and loss of concentration) on their occupational health and safety.
Conclusion: It is recommended that oil and gas companies establish occupational health and safety guidelines to limit the work times and duration (i.e., time spent at work) through shorter shifts, longer breaks, or extended leaves. Long working hours should be prohibited except on special occasions or unavoidable circumstances to safeguard the health and well-being of staff, which could ultimately enhance the productivity and output of the company
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of pesticide use among agricultural workers of Lamatar Village Development Committee, Lalitpur District: A cross-sectional study
No full textIntroduction: In this fast-developing world, food production has also been changing, making people suffer from various health issues because of pesticide poisoning. Unsafe methods in handling pesticides, especially in middle and low-income countries like Nepal are still practiced, although the deleterious health effects either go unnoticed or are missed or are diagnosed late. Few of the older less costly pesticides remain for years in soil and water although few of them have been banned they are still available in many developing countries. The study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding pesticide use among agricultural workers and farmers\u27 awareness of pesticide labels on pesticide bottles or packets.
Methods: A cross-sectional study among 74 conveniently selected agricultural workers, who used or ever-used pesticides within the last six months was conducted in Lamatar Village Development Committee, Lalitpur District from January 2022 to February 2022. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical College. The questionnaire was adapted from literature about personal protective equipment with some modifications according to the local context. Data was collected through a face-to-face interview.
Results: Among the total 74 respondents 49 (66.2%) were females and only 25 (33.8%) were males. Most of them had no formal education but could read and write. However, less than half 32 (43.2%) had adequate knowledge while the majority 49 (66.2%) had a negative attitude towards the use of pesticides. However, only 32 (43.2%) had good practice handling pesticides and its effect.
Conclusion: This study showed low knowledge regarding pesticides, their health effects, and poor practice however, a negative attitude towards the use of pesticides. But pesticide is still widely used because of the demand for more earnings. So, we would recommend that there is a need for time-to-time regular community-based training regarding how to safely handle pesticides and the availability of less harmful fertilizers products at retailers or consultancies
The impact of leadership on the psychosocial safety climate of organizations: A scoping review of the international literature
No full textGrowing evidence suggests that work-related psychological injuries are a concern worldwide. While previous efforts to address psychological injuries mainly focused on the individual level of analysis, psychosocial safety climate (PSC) theory emphasizes the analysis and prevention of psychological injuries at the organizational level. While there is abundant evidence of the impact of leadership on other climate constructs, scant attention has been paid to the impact of leadership on PSC. This study is a scoping review of the extant literature to determine the state of the discipline in relation to the impact of leadership on the psychosocial safety climate of organizations. Three databases were searched, supplemented by a pearling exercise and Google Scholar searches, which yielded 14 studies that met selection criteria. Our study shows that while much work has been done in relation to the behavior of managers and organizational infrastructure to yield high levels of PSC, there is a dearth of studies on the impact of specific leadership styles on the PSC of organizations. We recommend further studies of leadership, especially the impact of post-heroic leadership styles, on the psychosocial safety climate of workplaces