Archives Of Occupational Health
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Jul 2022

During Covid-19 pandemic, nurses are one of the most important job groups who experience high levels of stress. This study aims to compare occupational stress and resilience among nurses working in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards.

In this cross-sectional study, 130 nurses participated. To determine the occupational stress and resilience, Osipow Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) questionnaire and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were used as collecting data tools, respectively.

The total stress score (176.63±15.86 versus 164.47±13.21, p= 0.02) was significantly higher, while the mean score of resilience was significantly lower (65.61±2.75 versus 78.76±2.61, p<0.001) in nurses working in COVID-19 wards, compared with the nurses in other wards. After adjusting for confounders, there were statistically significant associations between occupational stress and control subscale of resilience and between resilience and hospital wards (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards).

The present study's findings indicated that nurses working in COVID-19 wards have higher stress and lower resilience than nurses in other wards.

COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected provision of healthcare services in all the fields including physical therapy. Telerehabilitation refers specifically to clinical rehabilitation services with the focus of evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment. Being a technologically evolving country, physical therapists of India are unfamiliar with the context and concept of telerehabilitation at large. This study intends to explore awareness, attitudes, and beliefs of Gujarati physical therapists regarding telerehabilitation and utilization of telerehabilitation services among them.

An Internet based cross-sectional study was conducted on 389 physical therapists across Gujarat. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean, percentages and standard deviation.

Participants (n=145 males, n=244 females) were aged 31.66 ± 8.2. 332 (85.4%) of the participants were aware of telerehabilitation. This is while only 116 (29.82%) were using it for service provision. 288 participants (74.03%) reported that the Internet connectivity was a major barrier regarding their acceptance in telerehabilitation on a regular basis. However, about 246 (63.24%) reported that it was difficult for patients to understand and adjust with telerehabilitation services.129 (33.16%) of the physical therapists were not interested in telerehabilitation when compared to conventional physical therapy.

A large proportion of Gujarati physical therapists are aware of telerehabilitation services. Positive attitude belief about telerehabilitation services were reported. Due to various reasons, utilization of telerehabilitation based services by physical therapists was fairly low.

Different factors in the workplace may create potential health risks for workers. Noise is one of these factors and it is considered as a concern through the world. The aim of this study is to provide information on the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among cement factory workers.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 283 workers were randomly selected from different production units in a cement factory. Equivalent Sound Level (Leq) was measured by using a Casella CEL-320 ‎ dosimeter and Sound Pressure Level (SPL) was measured by using a TES-1358 sound level meter (SLM) (sn: 090717269), with high accuracy. Audiometric tests were conducted by using an AVA C88 audiometer. Hearing Threshold Levels (HTLs) were calculated at different frequencies for both ears. Collected data were analyzed by using SPSS.16 software and statistical tests.

About 55 percent of the participants suffered from some levels of hearing-loss at the frequency range of 4- 8 KHZ. There was a significant difference between the mean HTLs ‎ of left and right ear at most frequencies. The highest mean of sound pressure level (SPL) was measured in crusher unit and the lowest mean occurred in bag-filling unit.

Occupational exposure to noise has the potential to cause hearing loss in cement factory workers. Therefore, it is necessary to perform effective measures to prevent the prevalence of hearing loss in units with high exposure risks.

Background :

 Industrial noise affects the health of workers and can disrupt the daily communication of workers. The aim of this study is to evaluate occupational exposure and investigate the hearing loss of workers in the two sections of cement mill and material mill of a cement factory in north of Iran.

This was a descriptive study conducted on 52 persons in 2020. At first, the sound measurement was performed with the Casella CEL 450 device in A-weighting network at workers' workplaces based on area-based method. Then, by referring to the medical records and demographic information, the amount of hearing loss in the frequencies of 250-8000 Hz was evaluated. Finally, the results were analyzed using SPSS software version 19.

Independent samples T-test showed that the average sound pressure level in the cement mill section (85.50 dBA) is higher than the material mill section (74.38 dBA) (P-value = 0.01). The highest rate of hearing loss was observed at frequencies of 4000 and 8000 Hz. The hearing loss rate was 10 decibels for both ears in the material mill section. No significant difference was observed in the amount of hearing loss in the right and left ears of employees.

Noise pollution and hearing loss is common among employees of cement industry. To prevent hearing loss, it is necessary to evaluate and monitor the noise pressure level. Furthermore, engineering measures in the field, using personal protective equipment, as well as adequate training of employees should be conducted.

Fire safety is one of the most important issues in high-rise buildings. The purpose of this study is to assess maximum possible loss in the fire in Central Insurance Building of Islamic Republic of Iran using the layer of protection analysis (LOPA) method.

In 2017, this analytical study was conducted on the 21-floor building of the Central Insurance in Iran. To identify the hazard sources and assess the maximum possible loss, the authors used the preliminary hazard list (PHL) and layer of protection analysis (LOPA) respectively. In addition, the analysis of the study data was performed based on the 10×10 risk assessment matrix.

The results of the PHL showed that 26 hazardous conditions and four major sources including structural engineering, fire alarm systems and fire extinguishers, design and maintenance of building safety, and behavioral habits were identified as main hazards of fire in the studied building. The application of the LOPA method showed that highest risk level was associated with the fire caused by the exhaust heat from the engine room (RL=48) and the emergency power generator diesel (RL=40), respectively.

The findings of this study indicated that calculating the maximum possible loss in the fire of high-rise buildings can help to increase the safety factor. Moreover, the use of the two methods, PHL and LOPA, can be useful in these types of risk assessments.

Work-related musculoskeletal pain is generally caused by poor physical conditions and repetitive movement. The aim of this research was to Research the effect of the of 8-weeks of Kinesio Tape and exercise on maximum key pinch endurance and pain reduction in the assembly workers.

This study was done on 40 female workers employed in the assembly part of an electrical industry. The subjects were disported into three groups: exercise-taping, exercise and control, and performed an 8-week rehabilitation plan twice a week. To assess the upper limb disability and key pinch endurance before and after the intervention, the DASH questionnaire (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) and pinch gauge were used, respectively. Data were evaluated with SPSS 20 and one-way ANOVA, Chi-Square and paired t-test tests. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The reliability and validity of dynamometer are proved for measuring grip strength and are described as standard for measuring grip power. In this study, pinch gauge (SH 5005 SAEHAN Hydraulic Pinch Gauge, South Korea (was used to measure pinch strength. Studies show that pinch gauge has high calibration accuracy and precision.

The results of this study demonstrated a decrease in upper limb disability in the two groups of exercise and taping-exercise compared to the control group (P <0.05). Chi-square test showed a statistically significant difference between the history of hand pain in the three Groups (p<0.05) but between the other variables no significant difference was found between the three groups (P>0.05). Also paired t-test showed that the two hand's key pinch endurance was significantly increased in the two intervention groups compared to the control group.

using a Kinesio Tape can be effective in reducing pain and physical damage in hands. In other hand, doing sport exercise, lead to the increase in the maximum key pinch endurance and decrease in the upper limb disability.Therefore, can be done at least 2 or 3 exercise sessions per week during working hours.

The hazard and operability study (HAZOP) method is a risk assessment method based on engineering systems used for qualitative analysis or quantitative evaluation. It is mainly used to discover potential hazards and operational difficulties in the design and qualitative stages of chemical systems. The study aims to apply the HAZOP method in process and safety operations at gas depressurization station.

This descriptive study was performed at CGS station. The station was divided into four principal nodes including: filter, heater, regulator, and odorize part. Required information for HAZOP worksheets were gathered by operational procedures, daily reports and interviews with engineers and operators working at the station. To determine the severity of consequences and probability of occurrence of scenarios that were predicted based on the risk matrix, the amount of risk was specified and the necessary suggestions were made in this regard.

According to this study, the operational indicators in the pressure reducing station process included pressure, flow, level and temperature. 22 main deviations and 50 causes of failures were identified. 5 deviations (23%) were in the low risk range (green area) and 17 (77%) were in the medium risk range (yellow area).

  Causes and effects of deviations in operational parameters at four nodes in gas depressurization station were identified by HAZOP. Preventive actions were emphasized, such as consistent inspection of pipelines, preventive and timely maintenance and preparing a well-scheduled plan for inspecting the equipment in terms of corrosion, inspection, and design revision.

In addition to detrimental effects on economy and people, safety consequences could negatively affect the efficiency and productivity of construction projects. This study aims to analyze the factors affecting safety consequences in construction projects.

This was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 in a large construction project (a sewage treatment plant) in Tehran. The 250 people working in this construction project participated in this study. Data for this study were collected based on a safety parameter assessment checklist. Independent variables in this study were age and work experience, education, daily working hours, harmful physical and ergonomic factors, and unsafe practices. Analytical variables included Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) and Safe-T score. A multiple linear regression model and SPSS version 22.0 were used for data analysis.

Age and working experience of the participants were 35.8± 9.8 and 3.4± 1.7, respectively, and nearly half of them had high school diploma (47.6%). AFR for two consecutive years of 2019 and 2020, were 5.16 and 4.43 accidents, respectively. Safe-T-Score was calculated as – 0.011. The results of regression analysis revealed a significant relation (p<0.05) between Safe-T-score and working experience, daily working hours, unsafe practices, noise and thermal stress exposure, carrying and moving loads, and safety risk factors variables.

Results of this study indicated that although safety performance at the studied construction site was relatively favorable, several variables had an impact on the safety consequences of the project. Hence, the safety consequences of construction projects might benefit from the results of this study.