نشریه بهداشت کار و ارتقای سلامت
سال چهارم شماره 1 (پیاپی 12، بهار 1399)

Workers' accident-proneness is considered as an inherent and coherent feature in incidence of occupational accidents. Therefore, recognizing its determinants could be effective in preventing such accidents. This study aimed to investigate the effect of work locus of control and general health on accident-proneness with the regard to the mediating role of effort-reward imbalance.

This analytical and cross-sectional research was conducted in 2018 using structural equation modeling (SEM) with partial least square approach. In total, 225 employees with a history of occupational accidents in  Esfahan Steel Company were selected. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-23 and SMARTPLS3.

The obtained results indicated that the measurement and structural models were fitted. In addition, results demonstrated that all assumptions of the research were significant with the exception of the general health effect on accident proneness. 

The results of this study showed that by controlling the work environment stressors, such as balancing effort-reward, could reduce the  accident- proneness. In addition, by checking the general health and work locus of control  to prevent the occupational accidents in the sieving process, people with internal control should be selected for stressful occupations.

Since occupational diseases are costly and have a direct impact on workers’ health, their identification and investigation are necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the results of periodic occupational examinations and their effective factors over the last four years in Steel Industry of Kashan City.

This longitudinal study was conducted in a steel company in 2018. In order to investigate the changes, the results of periodic occupational examinations in this company were reviewed from 2014 to 2018. Blood pressure, blood glucose, audiometry, optometry, spirometry, and liver enzymes were evaluated. The results of medical records were analyzed by SPSS software version 21.

The mean age, work experience, and body mass index of participants were 19.19 years, 9.45 years, and 27.58, respectively. The results showed that the most common disease was hearing loss. High levels of glucose and high cholesterol increased dramatically over the studied period. A significant difference was observed between AST and ALT in 2014 (P <0.05).

The results showed that some diseases were more prevalent among the staff due to the lack of attention to occupational health controls, the nature of work, and lack of proper control of occupational stress. Moreover, the results of this study can be used to improve the working conditions and choose the appropriate control measures for occupational diseases.

One of the major factors that affect the employees' health and productivity in industries is the air quality of work environments. One of these pollutants is ammonia gas, which is very important from an economic and environmental points of view. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of using acidic water compound on the removal efficiency of air ammonia in a spray tower.

In this study, airflow was provided by variable ventilation and water pressure through a class electropump. The rate of ammonia removal from the air stream was investigated by a spray tower with changes in water pressure, inlet gas density, and number of nozzles. For this purpose, at different inlet densities, different liquid pressures and different nozzles with water washing liquid with 0.01 mM sulfuric acid were used as the washing liquid.

Increased number of nozzles from one to three had a significant effect on ammonia removal (P-Value = 0.021). Increase of the inlet ammonia gas density from 24.1 to 68 parts per million significantly reduced the efficiency (P-Value = 0.058). Increase of the spray pressure from 9 bar to 12 bar also significantly increased the removal of ammonia gas from the spray tower outlet (P-Value = 0.052).

Increased number of nozzles, increased spray pressure, and decreased density of the ammonia gas inlet gas will increase removal efficiency.

The occupational burnout affects the individuals' physical and mental health and is observed in many occupations as a final outcome  among nurses. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between nurses' work shift and burnout in Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz City.

This descriptive- analytical study was conducted over all personnel (280 persons) of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz. The study participants were selected from personnel with at least one year of continuous shift work experience in both shifts as well as day shift groups in 2019.

The prevalence of occupational burnout was 14.3% (40 persons) in the morning shifts and 85.7% (240 persons) in the group who worked in both shifts. Regarding the occupational burnout components, the prevalence rates of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment were 60.7% (n = 170), 78.6% (n =220), and 46.4% (n = 130), respectively.  Shift work had a significant with emotional exhaustion (P <0.01) and depersonalization
(P <0.01).

Considering different levels of occupational burnout in nurses, managers of the health system are suggested to analyze the nurses' needs in order to increase the facilities, study the supply and distribution of human resources in the medical departments, and provide the minimum job security for personnel and nurses.

Improvement of productivity is one of the most important aims of organizations. Employees and managers play a central role in enhancing the organization's productivity. Therefore, it is important to consider the effective factors on improving it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of work conscience in the relationship between employees' spiritual intelligence and productivity.

The research design was cross-sectional and correlational. The participants included 248 employees of the Yazd Education Organization (8 managers, 60 deputies, and 180 employees) selected by proportional stratified sampling method. Data were collected using Spiritual Intelligence Questionnaire (King, 2008), Work Conscience Questionnaire (Barrick & Mount, 1991), and Productivity Questionnaire (Hersey & Goldsmith, 1983). Data analysis was performed using correlation method based on the structural equation modeling approach using AMOS software version 24.

The analysis showed that the model has a suitable fit to data. The  direct effect of spiritual intelligence on work conscience (0.58) and the direct effect of work conscience on productivity (0.51) were positive and significant. However, the direct effect of spiritual intelligence on productivity was not significant; so, it was omitted from the model. Moreover, the result of bootstrap test indicated a significant and indirect effect of spiritual intelligence on productivity by mediating the role of work conscience.

It can be concluded that managers of organizations can increase their working conscience by enhancing the spiritual intelligence of their employees and achieve more productivity.

Studies in the field of industrial accidents show that human errors have the most important and main role in the occurrence of accidents. According to the literature, 60 to 90% of accidents occur due to the human errors and mistakes. Therefore, in this study, human errors among overhead cranes' operators working in steel industry were identified and analyzed by Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART).

 This cross-sectional study examined the operators of overhead cranes in a steel industry in Khuzestan for 5 months. In this study, the tasks of the operators of 18 cabin control overhead cranes were analyzed by HTA method. Later, using the HEART method, the probability of human error for each task was calculated quantitatively.

The results showed that the most important contributors to human error in both types of cabin and pendant overhead cranes included failure to understand the risk, the operators' inadequate physical and mental conditions, and disruption of the normal sleep cycle.

Based on the results, it can be concluded that the HEART method was successful in ranking tasks due to the magnitude probability of errors. In order to reduce human error, the authorities are recommended to improve the employees' performance, prevent error caused by human factors, control strategies such as proper working guidelines, improve the quality of staff training, emphasize compliance with rules and regulations, plan regular work shifts, and develop programs to reduce the stress probability of error.

Considering application of multiple electrical equipment, numerous occupational accidents occur in hospitals each year. Electrical accidents are severe and impose high costs on the individuals and organizations. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of electrical systems in one of the oldest hospitals under supervision of Baqiyatallah University using energy trace and barrier analysis method (ETBA).

 All wall plugs, switches, stationary and portable equipment, and stationary and portable electrical panel were evaluated in terms of earthing and appearance. This was done using a simple voltmeter and a 100-watt bulb. All equipment and electrical panel were examined for the presence of Residual Current Device. The ETBA worksheets were completed for each equipment and workstation. The existing barriers were identified and initial risk reduction numbers were calculated. Barriers and solutions were suggested for the equipment or workstation that was at higher risk. Controlled risk was calculated by considering new barriers.

The ETBA worksheets were completed for 71 devices and workstations. The initial and controlled risk was calculated. Surveys revealed that all sections of the main building and the departmental structures did not have a good status regarding the earth condition. Risk assessment of the equipment and stations by ETBA method indicated that 97% of the equipment were not at an acceptable level of risk, 52% were at the unacceptable risk level, 45% were at undesirable risk level, and only 3% were at the acceptable risk.

The results of this study can be used to prioritize resource allocation to eliminate hospital defects and reduce the risk of accidents up to an acceptable level.

Renewable energies, such as wind and solar energy have attracted the attention of scientific, research, and industrial communities due to its fewer threats to the environment and human health. The purpose of this study was to identify and assess the safety and health risks of the Sun Air research institute of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) technique was used to identify and assess the risks of all Sun Air Research Institute of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad units in the second half of 2019. The HSE management team identified the risks of each unit separately and assessed the risks. All risks were prioritized following identification based on the range of priority numbers (RPN) method resulting from multiplication of the Occupancy, Severity, and Detectability components as well as the control measures.

The RPN ranged from 18 cases related to repetitive work in inspection operations to RPN=180 related to electric current leakage. Among the risks, three potential risks had higher priority, which included electric current leakage (RPN=180), inhalation of toxic substances (RPN=162), and falling from a height (RPN=150). Other risks were ranked next in priority.

The results showed that use of FMEA technique was appropriate to identify and assess occupational risks in research and renewable energy production environments that lead to identification of risks at different levels. This helps the HSE team to eliminate or reduce the level of risks by providing control solutions with the priority of unacceptable risks.