مجله بهداشت و ایمنی کار
سال دهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1399)

Stress is one of the major problems of living in industrial societies. Job and career issues are the most important causes of stress. Job stress is one of the important factors in causing psychological injury and illness in staff and decreasing productivity in organizations. Since human resources are among the most important assets of any organization, identification of the factors causing job stress is very crucial. Therefore current study aimed to investigate the causes of occupational stress in the staff of different units of the legal medicine centers in the Northwest Provinces.

A Descriptive-analytical study was conducted was designed and conducted on 166 employees of the various units of the legal medicines centers of Tabriz, Urmia, Ardebil and Zanjan cities by census statistical method during 2016-2017. Data were collected using questionnaires consist of demographic information and Cooper job stress questionnaire. The  collected  data  were  analyzed  by  means  of  SPSS  software  using  t-test  for  independent  groups,  ANOVA,  chi square, Pearson and  Spearman  correlation  coefficients, at the significant level of P<0.05.

It was found that about 50% of the staff had moderate job stress and more than 12% had severe job stress. The comparison of mean job stress between healthy and ill individuals showed that the patients had a higher mean of job stress than healthy individuals, and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The study of interference between work and life issue (family) also showed that the people whose work always interferes with their life issues had higher mean job stress than the other two groups and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The result of this study also showed that there is a significant direct relationship between job stress and smoking (P<0.045), work interference and life issue (P<0.001), and a significant inverse relationship (P<0.044) with literacy.  Lower incomes, shifting the place of work, the heavy work, the ignorance of the managers to work problems, dealing directly with the people, the pressures due to the completion or working against deadlines, and the lack of hope for job promotion, respectively, are the factors causing stress in the organization.

Compared with employees of other organizations, the legal medicines staff seemed to have a much higher prevalence of stress. The organizational authorities could help staff to improve the quality of life and reduce occupational stress by creating the correct communication, desirable support and generating the appropriate environment for job activities.

Occupational health is one of the important issues that can affect productivity and economic development of an organization. This study aimed to determine the effect of didactic interventional Ergonomic-Safety program on workers’ productivity of an assembling industry.

This interventional study was conducted on 54 workers of assembling part of an electronic industry. Firstly, QEC method was used for Ergonomic assessment of work place and Hersey-Goldsmith questionnaire was applied for assessment of productivity. Then a comprehensive program was provided using findings of first stage assessment and identifying of existing failures. Second assessment of Ergonomic condition and productivity was done again by using QEC method and Hersey-Goldsmith questionnaire within three month of interventions. Data was analyzed by using of R software.

Mean total productivity score and mean whole body score of QEC were 75.24 and 99.40 in before intervention phase respectively. In after intervention phase, Mean total productivity score and mean whole body score of QEC were 80.16 and 97.92 respectively. Data analysis by paired-samples t-test shows that difference of productivity score in before and after intervention phase was significant (P-value˂0.05). But difference of whole body score of QEC score in before and after intervention phase was not significant (P-value>0.05).

Accomplishment of Ergonomic-Safety intervention had a positive effect on productivity score whereas had not significant effect on general condition of body limbs.

Prevention of occupational accidents is of a great importance. Analysis of accidents and their causes could prevent the accidents recurrence. The study objective was to investigate the causes of occupational accidents in a dispatching project.

 This research is descriptive-analytic. Data were extracted from the reports of occupational near-misses and accidents recorded between 2013 and 2017 and analyzed using Tripod-Beta model. Then direct, indirect and root causes of the accidents were identified. Based on the causes identified, a questionnaire was developed to analyze the workers’ mental patterns in relation to the real causes, and Friedman test was used to rank the causes.

The results showed the falling/dropped objects hit a person, inappropriate working conditions and lack of safety trainings were, respectively, the most important direct, indirect and root causes as per the analysis results. The leakage of flammable and explosive substances, hazardous conditions in the workplace and discrimination in rewards were the most important causes from the employees’ views.

Identifying and ranking the most important causes of accidents would help to prevent the occurrence of similar events. Also, the analysis of the causes based on the employees’ mental patterns could be effective in the prevention of accidents.

The most common of farmerschr('39') occupational exposure is exposure to pesticides. Organophosphate pesticides (OP) are widely used in agriculture to control pests. The main mechanism of Organophosphates (OPs) toxicity is irreversibly inhibiting of Butyl cholinesterase and acetyl cholinesterase. POEM model (Predictive Operator Exposure Model) was made to assess exposure and absorption of the pesticides. The aim of this study was to estimate the rate of exposure of farmers in West of Iran to organophosphates with POEM model and to compare its results with activity level of plasma cholinesterase (PChE).

In this descriptive and analytical research, farmers were divided into two same groups who were exposed to diazinon. One group of them wore full personal protective equipment (PPEs) and the second group including farmers with daily routine work had no proposed personal protective equipment. Before and after spraying operation, a blood sample was collected from both groups of farmers, as well as from control group. Then plasma cholinesterase activity was measured by DGKC (German Biochemical Society) and photometric device. Farmer’s exposure to OPs was estimated with POEM model.

The activity mean PChE enzyme in the groups with and without personal protective equipment was 11639.3 mg/l and 8516.3 mg/l, respectively. The mean of predicted total absorbed dose and predicted total exposure to toxic substance in group with PPEs was 9.1 mg/day and 0.15 mg/kgbw/day, respectively and in group with PPEs were 0.5 mg/day and 0.009 mg/kgbw/day, respectively. dermal exposure average, percentage of dermal absorption, absorbed dose at the time of preparing the poison solution and spraying, by using of the POEM model was significantly higher in the no PPE group than in the PPE group (P<0.001).

This study showed that the use of personal protective equipment prevents from the effects appearing of pesticides by reducing the activity of PChE. With the increasing in PChE activity, the values of POEM model parameters decreases such as the absorbed dose of the skin and the inhalation of the toxin. Therefore, the POEM model can be used to check the exposure of people with pesticides. Finally, this study suggests that from the POEM model can be considered as a screening tool to identify individuals at exposure of pesticides to the next steps for biological monitoring, diagnosis and treatment and … .

1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogenic compound that can be emitted to the atmosphere from several sources like petrochemical industry. One way to determine the level of carcinogenic and health effects of respiratory exposure to pollutants in the workplace is to use risk assessment methods. The aim of this study was to comparative assessment of carcinogenic risk of respiratory exposure to 1,3-Butadiene in a petrochemical industry by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Singapore Health Department methods.

 This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2018 in a petrochemical industry that producing copolymer ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) in Iran. Occupational exposure to 1,3-Butadiene was measured according to the NIOSH 1024 method. Cancer risk assessment was done according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Singapore semi-quantitative methods.

The average occupational exposure to 1,3-Butadiene during work shift among all participants was 560.82 ± 811.36 µg.m-3 (0.253 ± 0.367 ppm) and in all cases was below the occupational exposure limit. The average lifetime cancer risk in USEPA method in the present study was 2.71 × 10-3, Also in this method 82.2% of all exposed workers were in the definite carcinogenic risk level and 17.8% were in the probable carcinogenic risk level. The results of the Singapore health department method showed that 91.2% of all subjects were in the probable carcinogenic risk level and 8.8% were in the definite risk level.

The findings of the present study showed that the results of the Singapore semi quantitative risk assessment method are not in good agreement with the results of the quantitative risk assessment method proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, given the high accuracy and thoroughness of the US Environmental Protection Agencychr('39')s risk assessment methodology as a worldwide reference method for assessing the carcinogenic and health risk of exposure to chemicals, it is recommended to use this method instead of the Singapore method in future studies.

Many studies have been carried out on the effects of heat stress on cognitive functions, but the results are contradictory. Therefore, this study was conducted to review the effect of heat stress on cognitive functions.

 In this study, all English articles conducted on effect of heat stress on cognitive, perceptual, and psychomotor functions from 1970 to 2018 were reviewed. For this, articles with keywords such as heat strain, heat stress, cognitive function, memory, comprehension, psychomotor, reaction time, mental performance, mood, mental response, error, task performance, fatigue, alertness, hyperthermia, and heat exhaustion in the  Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Pub Med, Springer, Wiley Online Library and ProQuest databases were searched. Out of 157 retrieved articles, 39 articles were finally reviewed according to the inclusion criteria.

Out of 157 retrieved articles related to the topic, according to the inclusion criteria, 39 articles were finally considered for review. Among this articles, 9 (%23) articles were published before 2000 and 30 (%77) after 2000. Two articles were in athletes, four articles (%10.2) in workers, four articles (%10.2) in students, four articles (%10.2) in military soldiers and twenty-five articles (%64.2) were conducted in ordinary people.Based on the results, heat stress was identified as a detrimental factor for decreased cognitive functions such as reading comprehension, memory, focus, mathematical processing, tracking test, reaction time, perception  and decoding text and numeric messages, visual alertness, mental computing, text reading , hidden figures test and verbal fluency.

Based on the results of these studies, heat stress has been introduced as a detrimental factor for disrupting cognitive functions, but conclusion based on the results of studies is a systematic method is difficult because many confounding variables such as type of work, exposure time, skill and adaptation plays a big role.

Safety is a significant part of the public transportation. Suitable safety climate has a positive effect on safety performance and reduces accidents rate. The aim of this study was investigating safety climate status of Tehran subway drivers in 2013.

 The present study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. In this study, statistical population was all drivers of 1, 2 and 4 lines of Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Operation company. Also, a questionnaire arranged by one of our researcher was used to collect demographics data of subjects. Safety climate was also investigated using standard Vinod Kumarchr('39')s questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and T-Student and ANOVA tests using SPSS21 software.

Overall, 293 questionnaires were analyzed. Among the participants, 38.8% were line 1 derivers, 31.1% line 2 drivers and 33.1% line 4 drivers. The mean and standard deviation of the safety climate was 146.53±49.44, which is less than 147 (median). The results indicated that safety climate had a relation with the age group and education levels (P<0.01), while had no significant relationship with the deriving experience, and also marital status (P>0.05).

Safety climate status among subway drivers is not desirable. Among the various factors, commitment and performance of management in the safety area had the weakest status. Strengthening the structure of the health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management system in the Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation company can enhance the level of safety climate among staff of this organization.

Commercial complexes are one of the most prestigious public and city-centered areas in terms of urban safety and passive defense. The purpose of this study was to determine the fire safety risk score of commercial complexes and its related factors.

 The commercial complexes of area 1 of District 12 of Tehran were studied. The characteristics of the complexes, including construction, height, activity, Occupancy Coefficient and etc in each complex were collected. fire risk assessment was performed using NFPA101 standard and CFSES software in three areas of control, Egress and general safety. In SPSS software version 21, linear regression and ANOVA tests were used to determine the relationship between variables.

Of the 79 commercial complexes studied, only 8 in control area and 4 in general area achieved acceptable risk level. None of them achieved an acceptable score in the Egress. According to the results, there was no significant relationship between risk levels and height, type and activity Coefficient of them(p>0.05). However, between Occupancy Coefficient of complexes with fire safety risk levels of control(p<0.001) and general(p= 0.013) and between construction with all risk levels ((pEgress= 0.004), (pControl & pGeneral<0.001)) There was a significant relationship.

The results showed the current situation of the studied commercial complexes is prone to cause a disaster in the 12th district of Tehran; Using the results of this study in urban planning and cross-sectoral communication to improve the safety of commercial complexes in the region is suggested.

Nursing Known as a stressful and overwhelming profession. Due to the stressful nature of the nursing job, nurses experience burnout more than any other occupation, which may affect the quality of health care. Emotional intelligence is one of the important predictors of psychological well-being and it plays an important role as a distinguishing factor for organizational performance and achievement of job success. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and nurseschr('39') personal and occupational characteristics. 

 In this cross-sectional analytical study, 135 nursing staff working in Gonabad hospitals was selected through a census sampling method. Written informed consent of nurses and working in hospitals of Gonabad city were the inclusion criteria and Failure to complete the questionnaires or the questionnaire being confounded or withdrawal from the study was considered as the exclusion criteria. They were evaluated by Shirring Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire and Demographic Information Form. The research data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16, Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. The significance level was less than 0.05.

In this study72.6% of participants were women. The majority of nurses were married (81.5%) and 87.4% of nursing staff had high emotional intelligence. In this study, there was no significant relationship between individual characteristics and emotional intelligence, but there was a significant association between job characteristics, job shift (P = 0.03) and employment status (P = 0.03) with total emotional intelligence. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between social consciousness with education level (p = 0.019) and employment status (p = 0.001) and there was a significant relationship between social skills with work shift (p = 0.003) and nurseschr('39') marital status (p = 0.007)

According to the findings, considering the appropriate job shifts for nurses and formalizing them to create a strong organizational commitment to take benefit of nurses with higher emotional intelligence and this leads to improved performance of nurses.

Burnout dimensions include the emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA).

The information was obtained from searching standard Persian and English keywords in accessible databases including: Scopus, Magiran, SID, Science Direct  and  PubMed from database commencement to April 2017. Data  Analysis was performed using Stata version 11.1., and p value was considered less than 0.05.

In the systematic review 43 studies met the inclusion criteria, and 9456 people were evaluated. The prevalence of burnout was calculated in any of the three dimensions of burnout. The prevalence of the Emotional Exhaustion (EE) dimension of burnout was%36 (%95CI: 29-42), the Depersonalization (DP) dimension was%23 (%95CI: 18-29) and the Personal Accomplishment (PA) dimension was%46 (%95CI: 39-53). Based on the type of the job, the maximum prevalence of the EE, DP and PA dimensions was in librarians 67% (%95CI:40-93), university staff 51% (14-88) and dentists 72%(%95CI:65-79), respectively. Meta regression results showed that there was no significant relationship between the year of publication and the prevalence of burnout.

According to the prevalence of burnout in Iran and the high prevalence of the PA dimension, it is recommended to consider mediating strategies for reducing and controlling stressful occupational events and burnout in organizational schedule.