Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

Regarding the consequences of parasitic infections, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and types of parasitic infections in the liver of slaughtered animals and their economic losses.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 510,802 and 501,108 head of livestock, respectively, in 2018 and 2019, including different species of cattle, sheep, and goats in the modern slaughterhouse of Mazandaran province. All recorded livers were evaluated using macroscopic, observational, and palpation methods. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and the Chi-square test.

The prevalence of parasitic infection of hydatid cyst in 2018 was 6.37% in sheep (liver), 2.40% in cattle, and 1.90% in goats; further, in 2019, it was 8.06% in sheep, 2.83% in goats, and 1.35% in cattle. According to the results, the prevalence of hydatid cyst was significantly higher in sheep liver than those in cattle and goats. After hydatidosis, fasciolosis was most prevalent in the liver of slaughtered animals. The highest seasonal prevalence of parasitic infections in the liver was observed in spring and summer, respectively. The average overall direct economic loss during the years of the study was estimated to be 82,362,000,000 Rial, equivalent to 588,300 USD.

The rate of contamination of slaughtered animals with hydatid cysts and Fasciola is high due to the zoonotic nature of these parasites, and the damage caused by the extermination of infected areas imposes high costs on society; thus, preventive measures should be taken in livestock in this area.

Cardiovascular disease often leads to limitations in patient activities. Therefore, providing a valid and reliable tool to measure the level of participation and autonomy can be used for improving their health. This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of a participation and autonomy scale (IPA-p) in patients with positive angiography.

This psychometric properties assessment study was conducted recruiting 202 positive angiography patients referred to a cardiovascular diseases clinic in Rafsanjan in 2017. Ten experts were also recruited to help assess the face and content validity. Criterion validity of the scale was assessed by calculating the correlation of the two sets of scores collected from patients and their relatives. To compute the construct validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. Scale reliability was also evaluated.

The content validity index was 0.94. The correlation coefficient between the scores of the completed questionnaires by patients and their relatives ranged between 0.443 and 1.0. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 9 factors, explaining about 73% of the total variance of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fitting of the model. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.962, the coefficient of Split-half was 0.825, the Intera-class correlation coefficient was 0.363, and the coefficient of Test-retest was 0.807.

Present findings the Persian version of the IPA scale to be a valid and reliable questionnaire for assessing participation and autonomy in patients with positive angiography. More investigation is recommended.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an important infectious disease that affects all age groups, especially children, in endemic areas. This study aimed to investigate epidemiological aspects of pediatric (children under 15 years old) cutaneous leishmaniasis (PCL) in Hormozgan province, southeast Iran.

This descriptive study was conducted from 2010 to 2020. In this study, data were obtained from two databases, including the disease surveillance system of the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences and epidemiological registration forms completed by leishmania focal points in the regional health centers. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and t-test using SPSS ver.21 software.

In total, 394 confirmed cases of PCL were recorded. The PCL incidence rate was found to decrease from 10.37/100000 cases in 2016 to 7.85/100000 in 2020. The mean age of the patients was 5.2 ±3.8 years, and most of the cases (239/394; 60.7%) belonged to the 0 to 5-year-old group. The mean number of lesions was 1.5 per person, and most of the lesions were observed on the face followed by hands. Compared to females, the infection rate was higher in males, and 264 of the cases (67%) were observed in rural areas. The higher incidence of PCL was observed in winter and fall with 183(46.5%) and 78(19.8%) cases, respectively.

our findings confirm that pediatric cutaneous leishmania sis is an endemic disease in Hormozgan province, with more prevalent in children. Appropriate educational interventions for prevention along with active surveillance for rapid detection and treatment of the patients should be considered to reduce the prevalence of PCL in this province.

Traffic accident injuries are a major public health problem. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of traffic accidents leading to injuries or deaths and its related risk factors in Yazd city, Centre of Iran.

In this retrospective study, traffic accidents information recorded by the traffic police of Yazd city during 2016-2018 were used. The data were described using mean, standard deviation, frequency and frequency percentage indices and also independent sample t-test, chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. All analyses were conducted in SPSS 20 software with a significance level of 0.05.

The total number of people involved in these accidents were 2082 people, including 25 (1.2%) cyclists, 624 (30%) motorcyclists, 183 (8.8%) pedestrians, 321 (15.4%) passengers, and 929 (44.6%) vehicle drivers. Accidents were associated with 1) Types of involved vehicles (light vehicles-58%), 2) Occurrence time (4-8 p.m.-28.9%), 3) Age of drivers (16 to 30 years old-41.1%), 4) Education (diploma and high school-60.1%), and 5) Gender (males-82.2%). The victims of traffic accidents are mostly males and young people.

Therefore, preventive measures and targeted interventions should be considered to reduce the risk of being involved in crashes.

To manage a problem, knowing the size of the population associated is of great significance. In this study, direct and indirect (network scale-up [NSU]) methods were used to estimate the population size of students of the university of medical sciences with high-risk behaviors in Rafsanjan, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, using stratified random sampling, 440 students were selected and interviewed from the target group by a standard questionnaire, with three social network size estimation, NSU, and direct methods. The frequency approach of the NSU method was used to estimate the size of groups with high-risk behaviors. Correction coefficients were applied to adjust common errors in this method.

Using the maximum likelihood method, the means of social network size (C) for male and female students were 25.71 and 24.45, respectively. Using the NSU method, the prevalence rates of alcohol drinking, extra-marital sexual relationship, and opium use were 26.57%, 15.28%, and 9.69% among male students and 3.13%, 2.89%, and 1.3% among female students, respectively. Using the direct method, the prevalence rates of alcohol drinking, extra-marital sexual relationship, and opium use were 23.2%, 14.3%, and 6.25% among male students and 2.1%, 2.8%, and 0.34% among female students, respectively.

Our results showed high-risk behaviors to have a relatively high prevalence among students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS). These behaviors were more prevalent among males than females. Thus, it seems necessary to plan preventative measures against drug abuse in academic departments.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is transmitted through saliva and respiratory aerosols. Concerns among dental clinicians over cross-contamination are among the main challenges currently present in the dental profession. This study aimed to assess dental students’ distress level and attitude towards their professional future following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This descriptive study was carried out recruiting 369 dental students of the Guilan University of Medical Sciences (a census sampling method) using an online questionnaire consisted of the three main topics of students’ academic status, distress level, and attitude towards their professional future. The students received the link to the questionnaire via instant messaging applications. The Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Spearman’s correlation, the chi-squared test, the Fisher’s exact test, the binomial test, as well as the backward multiple logistic regression model were used for data analysis.

The dental students had a low level of distress and a negative attitude towards their professional future. Accordingly, the distress level was significantly higher in females (P < 0.001) than in males. Besides, it had a positive correlation with the academic level. In addition, the attitude of the females and those attending the Rasht Dental School was more significantly negative than that of the males and those attending the Anzali Private Dental School (P = 0.01 and P = 0.009, respectively). Furthermore, attitude had a positive correlation with distress.

The subjects showed little distress over the pandemic. However, this level of distress showed a significant correlation with the negative attitude towards the professional future. In fact, this negative attitude stemmed from structural changes in the dental profession as well as the threats posed to financial conditions following the transmission of the disease and concerns over it.

Road accidents, as the main causes of mortality and disability in the world, have been seriously endangering human health. Human factors are among the most significant causes of road accidents. This study aimed to investigate the association between high-risk behaviors among truck drivers with their fatigue and drowsiness in the occurrence of road accidents and near miss accidents.

This descriptive study was conducted recruiting 200 truck drivers in Tehran using two-stage cluster sampling method, in 2019. A standard driver safety questionnaire was used to collect data, with its reliability measured by the test-retest method. The Fisher's test, a chi-squared test, and the Pearson’s correlation were used to analyze the data.

The mean age of the drivers and the mean hour of driving were 47.5 ± 9.05 years and 10.66 ± 2.52 hours, respectively. In addition, the number of accidents had a significant association with the drivers' age, drowsiness, talking on the cell phone, texting, eating snacks, and driving hours. However, it had no significant relationship with drinking tea and smoking. Furthermore, the rate of road accidents had a significant correlation with the drivers' driving time and rest hours.

Behaviors and factors, such as talking on the cell phone, texting, eating snacks, long hours of driving per day, long hours of nonstop driving, low rest hours, and drowsiness were among the major causes of accidents among trucks drivers. In this regard, authorities are recommended to run educational courses to modify high-risk driving behaviors so as to reduce road accidents.

Job satisfaction is a metric for measuring satisfaction with life and emotional health among employees. This study aims to examine job satisfaction and the relationship between job satisfaction and psychological distress among secondary school teachers in Ibadan, Nigeria.

This descriptive study was conducted among 476 teachers in nine public schools and six private secondary schools in Ibadan. Data were collected within the time period of July-August 2021. In this study, job satisfaction was assessed using a single item on a five-point scale. The Likert and the GHQ-scoring methods were adopted for the GHQ-12 instrument to examine psychological distress. In addition, the association between job satisfaction and psychological distress was established using the correlation and a chi-square test.

Respondents’ mean age was 38.1± 9.0 years. Overall, 307 (64.5%) expressed satisfaction with their job. The psychological distress burden was 197/476 (41.4%) as assessed by Likert scoring and 168/476 (35.3%) as assessed by the GHQ-scoring of the GHQ-12 instrument. Job satisfaction scores and the GHQ instrument scores had a low significant negative correlation (r = - 0.2, p = 0.01).  

In general, a low significant association was observed between job satisfaction and psychological distress among teachers in the secondary schools. Therefore, it is recommended that a cohort study be carried out to examine a causal link between job satisfaction and psychological distress.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can have many adverse personal and professional consequences for physicians and medical students. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 disease in physicians and medical students during the pandemic.

Using the census method, this cross-sectional study was conducted on 132 physicians and medical students working in Rafsanjan hospitals, Kerman province, Iran, from May to August 2020. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and Impact of Event Scale (IES) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22, and descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Multiple logistic regression) methods were applied.

More than half of the participants were female and married. According to GHQ, fifty-one and a half of the participants had psychological disorders. Based on the results, 24.2% of the participants had GAD, and 33.3% had PTSD. The results also showed that only occupation significantly correlated with psychological disorders (P = 0.01). The risk of psychological disorders in medical students was 2.38 times higher than among physicians (OR= 2.38, 95% CI= 1.11- 5.10, P = 0.026).

Physicians and medical students were faced too much stress in the COVID-19 pandemic. They were at great risk of mental health disorders and the psychological consequences of COVID-19 due to their job condition. Managers and health policymakers need to take the necessary mental health interventions to reduce such risks.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) belong to the family Coronaviridae, the order Nidovirales, and the genus Coronavirus. This research aimed to assess the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers at Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ardabil County, Northwest of Iran.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 201 health care workers of Imam Khomeini hospital were recruited. The questionnaire included demographic information (including age, gender, height, and weight items) and information about job and working conditions, the degree of exposure to people suspected of having the disease, and the degree of compliance with health protocols.

The mean age of the healthcare workers (HCWs) was 34.37 ± 7.42 years. In terms of job distribution, most of the HCWs were nurses (57.2%), and only 4.5% were experts. Regarding blood groups, most of the HCWs had the O+ blood group (35.3%). Besides, the PCR results showed that 85.1% of the HCWs had a positive PCR result, and 14.9% were negative.

In general, nurses were the most at-risk group among HCWs. This is because they were more frequently in direct contact with patients than other staff members.