Archives Of Occupational Health
Volume:3 Issue: 4, Oct 2019

Utilization of self-protective equipment at the workplace of battery technicians could consequently protect the health of the artisans ‘and prevent lead-related occupational hazards. This study assessed the knowledge of lead poisoning hazards and the rate of utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) among battery technicians in Lagos, Nigeria.

This study was a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design. Multistage and systematic sampling technique was used to select N=384 adult battery technicians aged 18 years old and higher. The questionnaire was validated and the reliability established through pilot study. Data were collected and analyzed with chi-square and multiple logistic regressions statistical model using SPSS version 24.No missing N value and hypotheses were tested at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval.

Few participants, 9.9% had good knowledge of lead poisoning hazards, and it indicates a poor level. The rate of utilization of PPE at the workplaces was 18 % which is low. Chi-square analysis of the knowledge of lead poisoning hazard and PPE utilization for battery technicians in the organized and roadside settings were X2=0.1481, p=0.7003, and X²=3.2607, p=0.0709, respectively which isnot statistically significant.

Knowledge of lead poisoning hazard influenced the rate of utilization of PPE at the workplace of battery technicians. So, an effort to improve the use of PPE could be done through implementation of occupational safety policy, training and dissemination of information on the threat of lead poisoning for battery technicians to achieve positive behavioral change.

The sick-building syndrome (SBS) is an unhealthy condition of occupants of a building, caused by environmental factors such as small space, poor ventilation, and different pollutants in the building. Symptoms of SBS, including nervous, respiratory, dermal, and sensory problems, start by entering a building or slightly after that, and disappear with leaving the building.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of SBS in the employees of Shahid Beheshti hospital of Kashan.

In a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted, a sample of 279 randomly - selected employees of Kashan’s Shahid Beheshti hospital, were involved. The study was performed on four groups of doctor, nurse, servant and employee. To collect the data, a questionnaire was used. It consisted two parts: demographic data and questions of SBS questionnaire of World Health Organization. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS; and statistical tests such as t-test and Chi-square were performed.

The prevalence rate of SBS in general, women and men was estimated 50.81%, 55.3% and 44.7%, respectively. Symptoms of indisposition (47.32%), skin dryness (41.56%) and headaches (38.92%) had the highest frequency. In all job groups, headache and illness had the highest frequency. Studying SBS symptoms in different job groups showed that skin dryness and dry and sore throat in physicians were significantly less than those in the other groups (p<0.05).

The prevalence of SBS symptoms is relatively high in the studied population. Considering the significant relation between the environmental factors and the prevalence of SBS, improving the workplace conditions is recommended.

Neck disorder is a common complaint in computer users which affects the task performance and fatigue. Several studies confirmed the relation between neck discomfort and working with a computer. But focusing on the root risk factors inducing neck discomfort can be applied for taking preventive measures and improving workstation design. So, the main purpose of this study was the neck posture analysis in computer users and identifying the related risk factors.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed in 2018 on 169 administrative staff in one of the governmental hospitals in Qom. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to investigate neck discomfort and related risk factors. To determine the angle of the neck, photographic analysis method was used. Finally, SPSS software version 22 and appropriate statistical tests including the logistic regression model, two independent t-test, and chi-square test in contingency tables were used to determine the relationship between individual parameters and workstation with neck angles and neck pain.

The results showed that two factors of the height (p= 0.023) and the gender (p= 0.012) had a direct statistically significant association with neck disorder statistically. In addition, the anthropometric dimensions, monitor height from desk level was positively correlated with neck discomfort but sitting elbow to eye height was negatively correlated with neck discomfort (p<0.05). Odds Ratio analysis showed that moderate and severe monitor angle compared to neutral posture (monitor angle less than 10 °) can increase neck discomfort as 1.925 and 3.137, respectively.

Generally, it can be concluded that workstation design can affect taking a posture in computer users. So, establishing correct workstation criteria such as eye height, monitor height from desk level and sitting elbow to eye height dimensions are very important. However, determination of the proportion of each parameter effect is strongly recommended for other investigations. This can develop preventive measures for reducing neck awkward postures.

Today with industry growth, hazards are increasing. The most important parts of these industries are human resources and employees, that face with many various hazards. Therefore, in order to protect and increase the productivity these hazards must be identified and analyzed to be controlled.

The present study focused on hazard identification and risk assessment in spinning sector of a textile industry as one of the important and strategic industries by using HAZAN method.  For data gathering, different methods including HAZAN worksheet, risk detecting checklist, walking, talking, process plots and documents were used, and then risk assessment was carried out.

The finding represented 102 risks in the production line. Most of the risks were found in ring section (n=33), Flyer (n=26), Autoconer (n=18), Tightening (n=15) and Packing (n=10) respectively. 20.59% of these risks were 2nd rank (undesirable), 16.67% were 3rd rank (acceptable if controlled) and 62.74% were 4th rank (acceptable). In addition, high-risk jobs were feeding the empty bobbin during the shift and bobbin handling from the Autoconer unit. Also, analyses were performed based on the risk assessment method and statistical tests were not required.

The 4th rank risk was the largest group that’s acceptable. It is notable that 2nd risk rank should be turned into 3rd risk rank in reliable time. For 3rd risk rank making sure that existing control is in place is sufficient. For making a safe work environment and increasing productivity, minimizing risk by safety training and other measures are useful.

Behavioral-based safety interventions such as the safety training system and reward and punishment procedures were used in most industries in order to reduce unsafe behaviors.

In this applied study, unsafe behavior was evaluated by collecting data through observation, interviews, checklists and the Safety Behavior Sampling technique. After conducting safety training, as well as reward and punishment procedures for two consecutive months, unsafe behaviors were evaluated again. To determine the rate and diversity of the behaviors through a pilot study, a sample size of 1162 was determined to be observed. Moreover, to analyze the data and to specify the relationship between the variables, the ratio test, contingency tables, chi-square test and SPSS 22 statistical software package were used.

The results of the study showed that 22.8% of employees’ behaviors were unsafe before applying interventions, which got decreased to 17% after the intervention. There was also a significant relationship between the unsafe behaviors of the employees and their work experience (P-value was 0. 004), age (P-value was 0.023), work shift (P-value was 0.027), day of the week (P-value was 0. 007) and month of year (P-value was 0. 043).

The paper indicated that continuous implementation of safety training courses and continuous implementation of the reward and punishment system are necessary in order to reduce unsafe behaviors.

Asbestos fibers are one of the hazardous air pollutants in high-traffic areas of cities. This study was conducted during summer 2016 with the aim of determining the concentration and type of asbestos fibers in the air of high-traffic areas of Zahedan, Iran.

In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 4 high-traffic and 2 traffic-free areas of Zahedan were chosen. Ambient air samples were collected according to the NIOSH 7400 method, with a flow rate of 2 l/m and 4 hours per day. The asbestos fiber in the samples were analyzed with the use of Phase-Contrast optical Microscopy (PCM) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM).

The mean and standard deviation of asbestos contamination density in high-traffic areas were 0.0012 (0.0004) f/cc and 0.0012, respectively, which were higher than the threshold limit value (TLV). In traffic-free areas with mean and standard deviation of 0.0003 ± 0.0003 f/cc the asbestos concentration was lower than the allowed limits. To check the normality of data Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used (p< 0.05). The results of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there is a meaningful difference between the means of the two measured groups (p< 0.001). The types of asbestos fibers based on EDS spectrums and electron microscope images were actinolite, tremolite, and chrysotile.

The findings of the present study indicated that the concentration of asbestos fibers in the sampleswas higher than the WHO standards for ambient air (0.00005 PCM f/ml). The use of asbestos fibers in car brake and clutch, as well as in asbestos cement sheet and insulation in buildings are among the most important sources of air pollution in the city.

Welders are exposed to different chemical damaging factors such as fumes, gases and dusts caused by welding. Some studies have referred to a possible association between occupational exposure and engaging with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a set of factors such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure (hypertension), high blood sugar, high triglycerides and High-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels that are a fundamental risk factor for diabetes, cardiac disease and stroke. Hence, we accordingly decided to investigate the incidence of metabolic syndrome among welders in Rafsanjan.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study performed on 78 door and window welders in Rafsanjan in 2018. Data collection was carried out at two stages, first stage was based on a checklist containing demographic information and the second one included laboratory tests, and finally by recording data in SPSS software, quantitative data was reported as “mean ± standard deviation” and qualitative data was reported as “number (percent)”.

43 out of 78 welders were tested by anthropometric and blood tests, 29 (67.4%) had central obesity. Of these 29, 15 (51.7%) had at least two of four conditions, indicating their metabolic syndrome. After central obesity, the most common factors among these 43 patients respectively were hypertension (55.8%), high triglyceride (37.2%), and high fasting blood sugar (20.9%).

The findings of the present study revealed that about half of the studied welders had at least two metabolic syndrome indices. In future studies, implementation of partnership building strategies and increased collaboration incentives to achieve a larger sample size are recommended.

Undoubtedly, lack of good quality sleep is a major problem for students, affecting their educational success causing them academic failure. Therefore, this study is carried out aiming to determine sleep quality and its relation with educational status of Iran University of Medical Sciences students.

This study is a sectional-analytic one performed on dormitory and non-dormitory students of Iran University of Medical Sciences. The criteria of entering the study include being student for at least one yea r, non-affliction to special diseases and not using drugs and tobacco. People were selected in proportional stratified sampling method after determining the sample volume (400), and Petersburg sleep quality questionnaires were distributed among them. After completion of the questionnaires, their data were extracted and introduced into SPSS version 21. The data obtained via T statistical tests for which Pearson correlation was analyzed were independent.

The sleep quality mark was higher than 5 for majority of the students including the dormitory and non-dormitory ones; expressing weak sleep quality. Sleep quality was 7.36 for dormitory students and 7.97 for non-dormitory ones; expressing significant statistical difference (p=0.018). The results suggest that educational status of non-dormitory students (0.22) is better than the dormitory ones (-1.23), and the difference is statistically significant (p=0.000). moreover, the results suggest that there is no relation between good sleep quality and educational status of the students (p=0.232).

The study results suggest that sleep quality is not related to educational status. Considering that educational status is a complex matter and is affected by multiple factors including: intelligence, motivation and hard work, sleep quality plays less significant role regarding educational status.