Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

The emergence of diseases due to drug resistance, genetic mutations, and transmission has made the future of infectious diseases complicated and vague. Currently, the prevalence of coronavirus, with high infectivity and significant lethality, has made infection control among nurses and patient one of the main goals of the World Health Organization [1]. At present, the prevention and control of Covid-19 are in a critical period, so that the use of intelligent health care systems to control infection and maintain human resources, such as nurses, is an undeniable necessity, which should be considered by health policymakers and governments. This can be done by integrating intelligent health with traditional technologies in nursing and health care systems. Nursing robots are an example of such intelligent technologies able to upgrade the traditional systems to those novels, capable of responding to increased demand during biological crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic [2, 3]. Many hospitals across the world have turned to robots to remove the viruses and bacteria in patient rooms and wards, tirelessly and continuously providing services such as environmental sterilization using ultraviolet and disinfectant solutions according to health standards [4]. The use of nursing robots can be useful in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and affect the current and future life of the nursing system. These robots can be used to perform repetitive, tedious, and dangerous activities, such as delivering food to the patient, measuring vital signs, disinfecting the environments, collecting hazardous waste, tracking patients and carriers, and monitoring the quarantined environments, that expose nurses to the Covid-19 [5]. In Italy, the robots equipped with monitors with audio-visual communication with patients were used to measure their important parameters, such as blood pressure and saturated oxygen [6]. Also, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab sampling and monitored changes in patientschr('39') blood parameters can be performed by nursing robots [5].  These robots can significantly reduce the transmission of infection and physical and mental fatigue among nurses and staff, improving and accelerating the treatment process and reducing the use of personal protective equipment and environmental disinfectants [4]. Nursing robots have been used in the health care system of some countries, including Japan, to solve the challenges in elderly health. Their use has solved the ergonomic problems of nurses, including moving people and bearing their weight. Further, application of these robots in patient education and enduring long shifts in dangerous and special health centers such as the ICU are another their advantages that lead to preserving the human capital and presenting significant economic benefit to the Japanese government [7]. Managing patientschr('39') respiratory, caring for patients under mechanical ventilation and full monitoring and recording vital systems are one of the most important tasks of nurses in the Covid-19 period. Robots can be used independently to read and record patientschr('39') vital signs, such as measuring blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and blood-soluble gases, leading to reduced infection risk of Covid-19 among health care workers. The skill of preparing, setting, and working with ICU equipment is another task that can be done by automated robots. Further, biometric health care tasks, such as heart rate (electrocardiography), electroencephalography, and muscle bio signals (electromyography), are performed by nursing robots in some countries [4]. The most common hospital wastes during the Covid-19 crisis are plastic masks, gloves, and protective clothing, use of which are inevitable. Consumption of this personal protective equipment, such as an estimated monthly 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves worldwide, leads to widespread environmental pollution. This hazard threatens public health because the waste carries the Covid-19 virus, which survives on plastic for up to 3 days and has far-reaching effects on ecosystems and organisms [8]. In addition to robotschr('39') direct benefits for health systems, it can help to maintain the environmental health for present and future generations. Lack of spiritual and friendly communication with patients and the provision of services to patients not conscious is among the current limitations of robots, showing the high and key role of the nursing staff. Robots cannot replace nurses but can be their assistants in the difficult days of dealing with crises, such as Covid-19; also, they can help policymakers and government planners respond to such crises by attending high-risk locations and engaging in risky activities [9]. Currently, the fatigue and shortage of specialized human resources, on the one hand, and the increasing number of infected patients, on the other hand, have disrupted the admission of other patients in many hospitals, resulting in irreparable damage to patients and their families. In such cases, by reducing the quality of services, other problems, including endangering patientschr('39') safety and increasing the length of hospital stay, also appear [10]. Although providing robots imposes costs on governments, their useful and diverse applications in crises, as well as their durability as a part of essential medical equipment, justify their presence in health care systems [7]. Since nurses are a major part of the workforce in the health care system and play a major role in providing direct services to patients, using robots can be useful for the health care system by compensating for nurses and reducing the leave rate [11]. Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge that provides an opportunity to identify new solutions to overcome such biological crises. The outbreak of this challenging and deadly epidemic has shown that focusing on hospital smartening is not a luxury and unnecessary thinking, but futurism and investment in maintaining the health of the community and associated professionals.

Accidents and injuries are one of the most important causes of disability and death in developing countries. This study was conducted to determine the incidence rate and epidemiological characteristics of accidents in the Khomein city.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was done by national program of accidents and injuries registry data in the Khomein city (n=986(. To calculate the annually Incidence Rate (IR) and age-standardized incidence rate (ASR), the world standard population was used. Chi-square and independent t-test were used to examine the relationship or difference between variables.

The mean age of the injured cases was 33.5±18.2 year. The annually Incidence Rate (IR) of accidents and injuries was 941.2 cases per 100,000, while the age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) were estimated 919 per 100,000 people. The sex ratio (male to female) in all accidents was 2.45. The most incidents occurred in both sexes were reported car accidents (32.55%), motorcycle accidents (31.8%), pedestrian accidents (16.5%) and poisoning (6.18%), respectively. Significant difference was observed between gender and type of incidents. Suicide attempts in the female group were 6.5 times higher than the male group.

The incidence rate of traffic crashes in the city of Khomein is several times higher than provincial and national levels. Therefore, should be In addition to the optimizing the roads and removing the Accident-prone spots. The high occurrence of poisonings and suicide attempt in the womenchr('39')s group is warning danger for the authorities to take preventive policies and applying cultural mechanisms to reduce this ratio.

It has been well documented that resilience is a protective factor against the abuse of a variety of drugs. To date, this factor has not been examined regarding waterpipe smoking. This study aims to investigate the predictive role of resilience in tobacco use among students of the University of Medical Sciences.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among a consecutive sample of college students (n = 820) at Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2019. To this end, the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14) was used. The students entered the study using convenience sampling. Self-administered questionnaires were completed anonymously and confidentially in the classroom. Besides, multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between waterpipe smoking and resilience. In addition, SPSS version 24 was used for statistical analysis.

The mean (SD) age of the participants was 22.2 (3.0) years. A total of 776 subjects were enrolled into the study, with 47.3% of whom having been female. Most of the students were single (84.4%). The prevalence of waterpipe use in the past 30 days was 33.4%. The initiation age of waterpipe smoking in 75.1% of the students was ≤ 18. Low resilience was (OR=7.10, CI: 4.75-10.62, p < 0.001) the strongest predictor of waterpipe smoking among students.

Given the importance of resilience in the field of tobacco use, this study suggests that resilience-building programs be included in university curricula especially at the time of university enrollment.

Organizational cynicism is one of the important behavioral issues affecting employee performance, thereby reducing organizational efficiency. This study aims to design and evaluate a model for antecedents and consequences of organizational cynicism in employees of an industrial company in Iran.

In this applied descriptive-correlational study, the statistical population included all employees of Maron Company in Ahvaz in 2019. A sample of 210 employees of the company was selected through random sampling. The instruments used in the study included questionnaires of Dean et al.chr('39')s Organizational Cynicism, Niehoff and Moormanchr('39')s Perceived Organizational Justice, Rhoades and Eisenbergerchr('39')s Perceived Organizational Support, Judge et al.chr('39')s Core Self-Evaluations, Kauffman et al.chr('39')s Job Satisfaction, Organ et al.chr('39')s Citizenship Behavior, as well as Bennett and Robinsonchr('39')s Workplace Deviance. The proposed model was investigated through structural making use of SPSS-23 and AMOS-23 software.

Results showed that the proposed model fit the data well. In addition, according to the results, among all direct paths, only the perceived organizational path coefficient of organizational cynicism was not significant.  The findings showed that organizational cynicism had a meditating role between perceived organizational justice and core self-evaluations with job satisfaction, citizenship behavior, and workplace deviance (p = 0.000). In addition, role of organizational cynicism was not significant in the mediating paths of perceived organizational support for organizational citizenship behavior, perceived organizational support for job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support for anti-production behaviors.

The findings showed that organizational cynicism had a meditating role in perceived organizational justice, core self-evaluations, job satisfaction, citizenship behavior, and workplace deviance.

The sawmill or lumber mill industry is mainly known as important small-scale industries in India, where thousands of sawmillers suffered from musculoskeletal pain and other health-related problems. The primary aim of the current study is to find out the subjective assessment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and occupational related health disorders among sawmill workers in India.

The current descriptive study was direct on 135 sawmillers and 130 control subjects from different region of the Hooghly district, in India. To this end, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was administered to estimate the subjective discomfort feeling and Handgrip Strength were also measured to estimate the power of the hand muscle among the sawmillers and compare with control groups. Posture adopted frequently during working of the sawmillers were also analyzed by the Ovako Working Analysis System (OWAS).

The data indicated that the sawmill workers complained of discomfort (pain) felt maximum in low back part of the body (91%) followed by hands (80%), shoulders (76%), knees (64%), and the upper back (58%). This study indicated that the sawmillers had less handgrip strength than the control subjects due to performing more hand intensive jobs.

The results of current study indicate that the sawmill workers suffered from MSD due to working in a stooped, squatting posture for a long duration, which adversely affected their health.

Occupational burnout has numerous psychological consequences affecting social capital. Similarly, social capital is one of the most important factors affecting occupational burnout. Thus, the present study is conducted to investigate the relationship between social capital with occupational stress and burnout among the staff of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

In this descriptive-correlational study done in 2016, 156 subjects were selected based on the inclusion criteria through a random sampling method. For data collection, the researchers applied Vilanova and Chosachr('39')s Social Capital Questionnaire, Occupational Stress Questionnaire (provided by HSE), and Occupational Burnout Questionnaire (Maslach, 1981). The data were analyzed using Pearsonchr('39')s Correlation Coefficient and Regression Test.

The study indicated that, there was no link between social capital with occupational stress and burnout by demographic characteristics except experience. The results indicated that social capital had a significant negative association (0.01) with occupational stress and burnout. Moreover, a significant negative association (0.01) was observed between the aspects of social capital and occupational burnout.

The results showed that social capital had a significant and negative association with occupational stress and burnout; occupational stress and burnout can predict the social capital of staff.

Musculoskeletal diseases are often studied in people with hard occupations, such as in factory workers, but they are less often studied in people with intellectual occupations. Accordingly, this study aims to examine musculoskeletal diseases and their relationship with quality of life among faculty members of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS) to design corrective exercise and decrease disorders.  

This descriptive study was conducted in 2019, in which 71 out of 179 faculty members of RUMS participated. Also, the participantschr('39') level of physical and mental health was assessed using the standard SF-36 questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

The results of the study showed that lordosis and forward head angle were the most prevalent disorders observed in %94 and %97 of the participants, respectively. However, the subjects had negligible spinal and pelvic tilts as well. The Pearsonchr('39')s correlation results showed a significant positive correlation between abnormalities of shoulder tilt, forward head angle, and lordosis. It was also found that with an increase in kyphosis, shoulder, and spine disorders, the participants’ level of physical and mental health decreased.

Our results showed that although the work done by the faculty members was very physical in nature, the rate of some musculoskeletal diseases, such as lordosis and forward head angle, was high among them. Therefore, it seems necessary to do necessary planning, such as designing exercise as well as modifying movement patterns, to prevent and to reduce these disorders.

University administrators play a key role in providing educational services to students and faculty members. This study aims to explain occupational stress (OS) in university administrators based on health-related quality of life (QoL) using a PLS approach.

The statistical population of this correlational study included all 70 managers in the field of education at Islamic Azad University of Tabriz in 2020. Based on Krejcie and Morganchr('39')s sampling table, 60 people were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using the revised OS questionnaire of the United Kingdom Health Safety Executive (2004) and the World Health Organizationchr('39')s QoL (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. The questionnaire of QoL included dimensions of mental health, physical health, social health, environmental health, and general health. OS questionnaire is not categorized into components. Composite reliability was 0.96 for the OS questionnaire and 0.93 for the QoL questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modelling was employed with SPSS and PLS software.

The results showed a significant negative association between QoL and its dimensions, including general health, physical health, mental health, environmental health, and social health with OS (P < 0.01). In addition, OS could be predicted only based on the dimensions of physical health (P ₌ 0.02) and environmental health (P ₌ 0.01).

Paying attention to QoL in university administrators could reduce their OS and promote positive working consequences at the university.

Job Satisfaction can lead to better performance and a reduction in occupational accidents, thereby increasing organizational productivity. This study aims to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and occupational accidents in the operating staff of a cement industry.

This descriptive study was conducted at Lamerd Cement Factory in the Fars Province. All employees at that factory were considered the target population of the study (n = 53). The census method was used in this study to assess the incidence rate and to complete the job satisfaction questionnaire. Besides, data analysis was performed using the independent samples t-test and the one-way ANOVA in SPSS 24.

The average job satisfaction is correlated with the number of accidents (p = 0.003), which shows people with more than once accident have less job satisfaction. Besides, the number of trainings has a direct correlation with the average job satisfaction (P = 0.016), and married people are more satisfied than single ones.

Occupational hazard evaluations have a direct effect on the level of job satisfaction. Due to the direct relationship between training and the increase in job satisfaction, providing relevant trainings is emphasized.