مجله مهندسی بهداشت حرفه ای
سال نهم شماره 4 (زمستان 1401)

Individuals constantly hear different sounds that can affect their work and living place. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of traffic noise on cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase biomarkers.

The subjects were men aged 18 to 35 who performed driving activities for one hour in the laboratory. The tests were performed in two conditions of background noise (35 dBA) and traffic noise with a level of 75 dBA and saliva samples were collected from the subjects before and after driving. Finally, saliva samples were analyzed with cortisol and alpha-amylase kits and by ELISA method. The statistical method used for data analysis was SPSS software (version 24) and data analysis was performed by Wilcoxon statistical test.

The results of this study indicated that the concentrations of both biomarkers cortisol and alpha-amylase in background noise conditions after driving were higher than that before the start, although this increase was not significant (p> 0.05). In the presence of traffic noise with a level of 75 dBA, the concentration of both biomarkers after driving was significantly higher than that before driving. (p<0.05)

This study demonstrated that exposure to traffic noise can increase the concentration of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol biomarkers while driving.

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the cumulative injuries that result from working in dangerous conditions and poor postures over several years. One of the major problems for computer users is musculoskeletal disorders. The present study investigated the effect of teaching ergonomics to computer users on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders.

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed on the administrative staff of Imam Reza (AS) hospital in Mashhad, Iran. In this study, 77 administrative and support staff were selected using the simple random sampling method. After the initial assessment of their physical condition during work, an ergonomic educational intervention program was given to the users to reduce their musculoskeletal injury factors during a three-month period. Their physical condition was assessed before and after the training using the rapid office strain assessment method. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20).

The mean age of participants was 36.4±6.62 years old and their mean work experience was 13/8%±6.12 years. The prevalence of discomfort and pain was mainly reported in the lumbar region (57.2%) and neck (43.8%). Moreover, the highest frequency of rapid office strain assessment method score was 5 before training (42.3%), which reached 9.6% after the intervention and training of staff. The scores of 6, 3, 4, and 2 were 18.3%, 15.7%, 14.6%, and 7.1%, respectively.

The results showed the importance of teaching the principles of ergonomics for using computer systems in reducing musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, it was found that the level of musculoskeletal disorders in this group of occupations can be minimized with proper training.

Today, contractors are required to submit an HSE Plan before starting a project, and HSE officials in organizations must be able to develop an HSE Plan. Due to the lack of a specific format for the development of the HSE Plan, to avoid personal preferences, save time and money, and include the necessary parts, the present study aimed to provide a consistent model for users to develop a specific HSE-Plan using suitable software.

First, the main framework of HSE-Plan was determined by searching various databases and including expert opinions. In the next step, the idea generation and design of the portal were done. Afterward, the required basic information was entered into the program and different parts of the program were designed according to the requirements of each section. Finally, the software was validated by testing it in a provincial power distribution company.

According to the input options, as well as the subject of the project and its specific requirements, the outputs were designed to suit different projects, and after entering the required information for each section, the output HSE-Plan was displayed.

This software helps the user to define appropriate goals and policies for the organization and identify the relevant requirements by entering information such as risk assessment data and the results of occupational accidents, and finally the collection of these materials creates the plan required by users.

The aviation industry, despite considerable advances in technology and Safety, is still witnessing unfortunate accidents, 80% of which are caused by human factors. The present study aimed to investigate resilience safety culture in order to improve the level of safety culture and resilience and reduce accidents in one of Iranian's airports.

In this cross-sectional study, resilient safety culture indices were weighed and ranked by the expert panel, including safety experts and airport operators, using Analytic Hierarchy Process and Expert Choice software (version 11). Moreover, the resilient safety culture questionnaire based on the above-mentioned indices was completed by the airport staff and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 16.0).

According to the experts' opinions, management commitment (with a normal weight of 1.0), competence (0.79), and awareness (0.69) had the most importance and just culture (0.45), flexibility (0.39, and management of change (0.35) had the least importance. According to the airport staff's opinions, competency (4.12), just culture (3.87), and readiness (3.84) obtained the highest score, while employee participation (3.61), flexibility (3.48), and awareness (3.29) had the lowest score.

As evidenced by the obtained results, the competency factor, which was highly rated by both staff and experts, can be effective in improving airport resilience. Improving the level of awareness among employees, which in their opinion is the least important, is one of the most important factors affecting resilience safety.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), occupational accidents cause the greatest human hardship and economic compensation. The economic costs of accidents are not only borne by the victims but also by the relevant companies and the government. This study aimed to estimate the burden of occupational accidents in Kashan, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the working population of Kashan, Iran. In order to collect data, all information related to occupational accidents registered in the Department of Labor, Cooperation, and Social Affairs of Kashan was used. The burden of occupational accidents was assessed using the method by the World Health Organization. Moreover, Excel software was utilized to estimate the number of years lost due to early death and disability, and the overall years of life lost regarding social values.

The results showed that 407 accidents occurred during the study period. Furthermore, the total number of DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) cases in the present study was 523.138 years, out of which 308 (58%) years are related to YLL (Years of Life Lost) and the remaining 138/218 years are related to YLD (Years Lived with Disability).

Given the high number of years of life lost due to disability caused by occupational accidents, this study highlights the importance of providing occupational health services in industries to protect human resources against occupational accidents.

Job satisfaction and occupational stress are considered as two factors affecting the productivity of employees at the workplace in developed organizations. Various physical and psychological effects of occupational stress are more common, which in turn leads to poor job satisfaction.

 This analytic cross-sectional study was performed in winter 2018-spring2019 at health centers in one of the cities of Markazi province, Iran. The data gathering tools were demographic and individual characteristics, Job Description Index (JDI) questionnaire and occupational stress questionnaire (OSQ) Davies. Data are then analyzed using SPSS 20 software.

 The test indicated that occupational stress is generally higher in women (119/848) than in men (108/122), and their job satisfaction (242/450) is lower than men (262/682). There is a negative and significant relationship between occupational stress and job satisfaction (r= 0.001 and p= -0.783) at the significance of level p <0.05. Multivariate regression stated that occupational stress variable is generally able to predict job satisfaction (β=-0.783., p = 0.001). The highest occupational stress and the lowest job satisfaction was related to health care workers.

 Regarding the high percentage of female employees in health centers, it is necessary to pay special attention to their problems. The provision of a proper arrangement and policymaking, allocating financial resources, and resolving economic issues are essential.

Transportation of dengerous goods in metroplices can be led to catastrophic accidents. Transporation risk assessment of such materials and determination of the consequences resultion of their possible accidents can prevent from probable accidents and help to manage in a good manner their consequences. In this regard, TRRI method was used for estimation of the quantitative risk index. Assessment and analysis of determinental damages resulting from accidents of sudden discharge of such hazardous materials were performed by PHAST software. furthermore, Pathfinder software was used to simulate people's reactions, condition management and how far they were from the accident zone. Assessing the risk of transportation of jet fuel using the TRRI method showed that the risk was estimated to be 144. Consequence analysis showed that in the scenario of sudden discharge of fuel in the first six months of the year, the consequence of the explosion of a jet fuel tanker up to a radius of 120 meters could cause an irreparable damage to surrounding buildings.Findings resulting from this simulation showed that in the pool fire scenario of the people who are exposed to 12.5 Kw/m2 radiation in the first and second half of  year in the sudden discharge scenario will not suffer first or second degree burns. Given the significant road transport of hazardous materials and the high severity of the consequences of probable accidents in the intracity transport of jet fuel, designing a safe transport time of materials along with determining safer routes can reduce risk of such incidents.

Considering the importance of quality of work life of nurses working in the intensive care unit in providing medical services, it is important to identify the components that affect this index. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between workload and quality of work life in intensive care nurses.

In the present cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study, 384 nurses of the intensive care unit working in hospitals were studied in Tehran in 1400 year. NASA-TLX mental load questionnaire was used to determine workload and The Quality of Work Life Questionnaire (WRQL) was used to determine the quality of their working life. After extraction, the data were entered into SPSS software.

The results showed that the most effective factor in increasing the workload is physical need.
 And the most important dimension affecting the quality of work life is job satisfaction. The correlation between quantitative demographic parameters with workload and quality of life indicators also showed that there is a significant correlation between age, work experience, number of shifts per month with the mentioned indicators.

The results of the present study showed that there is an inverse relationship between workload and quality of work life, it is necessary for hospital managers to be aware of the existing conditions and reduce the factors affecting workload to increase the quality of work life of nurses and subsequently improve the reception of nursing care.