Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Volume:12 Issue: 4, Autumn 2023

There is no clear consensus on the effect of natural sounds on elderly sleep quality, as one of the most common causes of disability in them. This study aimed to determine the effect of natural sounds on elderly sleep quality.

In this randomized controlled trial, 100 elderly were selected based on the inclusion criteria from comprehensive health care centers and then divided into two equal groups by simple random sampling method. The intervention group listened to the natural sounds in MP3 format every night for 2 weeks, 30 minutes before going to bed, through mobile phone and hands-free. The control group did not receive any intervention. The PSQI was measured before and after the intervention. Data analysis was done in SPSS software (version 22) applying the Shapiro-Wilk test, Chi-square, and Fisher Exact test, Independent Samples-t test, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, and Mann Whitney U test. A confidence level of 95% was considered.

In the intergroup comparison, in the baseline, groups were the same in terms of the total sleep quality score as well as other components (P>0.05). After the intervention, there was a significance difference between the two groups in terms of global sleep quality (P=0.048), sleep latency (P=0.001), habitual sleep efficacy (p= 0.012), and sleep disturbance (p=0.01).

Based on the our results, natural sounds could improve the sleep quality in the elderly.

Identification of causes of divorce in any society is the first and most important step in proposing practical solutions to this social problem. This study aimed to investigate certain causes of divorce in a community of divorce applicants in Rafsanjan, Iran.

In this descriptive study, 278 people (139 couples) applying for divorce, referring to counseling centers in Rafsanjan, Iran (2021) were enrolled via convenience sampling method. The causes of divorce were examined from the perspective of the counsellor and subjects. The data were analyzed using SPSS.

The mean age were 34.70±9.85 years. From the perspective of counsellors, psychological- psychiatric and sociocultural issues were the most common reasons for divorce (19.4% and 19.1% respectively). Men stated that the most important causes of divorce were lack of boundaries (parental interference) (21.6%), lack of empathetic dialogue (18%), and lack of conflict resolution skills (17.6%). According to women, the principal causes of divorce were the husband's addiction (17.3%), poor anger control skills (15.1%), and economic problems (15.1%).

The findings of this study indicated that apart from the issue of addiction and economy, other causes of divorce are related to marital skills, which can be reduced with proper pre-marriage education.

Job burnout is more frequent in stressful and high-risk jobs. Healthcare workers, especially Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) workers and therapists, are more exposed to job burnout. This study aimed to compare the burnout rate among the staff and therapists working in behavioral disease counseling centers and health centers in 9 provinces of Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 9 provinces of Iran from January 2020 to March 2020. For this research, 94 VCT workers as the experimental group, and 103 public clinic workers participated as the available sampling group. To collect the data, the Meslesh questionnaire was used and descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, etc.) and inferential methods were applied for statistical analysis (t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test, chi - square test and Spearman correlation test). (P< 0.05)

Our finding showed that 33% of health center workers and 32% of VCT workers had burnout, but the difference was not statistically significant. Most Health Center (HC) workers who showed burnout were working in the southern province of Iran (Bushehr and Bandar Abbas), and the most VCT workers who showed burnout were working in the western province of Iran (Kermanshah and Kurdistan).

Although the rate of burnout in the staff of these two centers is very similar, it can be concluded that due to the small number of people referred to AIDS centers compared to the large number of patients in health centers, working with people with HIV/AIDS is so difficult.

Noise pollution is one of the known harmful factors in workplaces. Noise can have different psychological consequences. Noise annoyance (NA) and noise sensitivity (NS) are seen as mediators in the study of noise impacts. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between NA and NS with psychological distress (PD).

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 115 textile workers. The sampling method was stratified random sampling. Noise exposure (NE) was determined by a noise dosimeter. NA, NS, and PD were assessed using Noise Annoyance Scale (NAS), Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity Scale (WNSS), and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, respectively. Data analysis was performed in SPSS-22 software.

The median (interquartile range) of NA was equal to 7 (3). The mean (standard deviation) of NS was equal to 66.33 (15.76). The results showed that there is a positive and significant association between equivalent sound level, and PD (P=0.01, r = 0.23). The results of our study showed that PD had a significant difference in diverse levels of NA (P=0.01) and NS (P<0.001).

In general, the annoyance caused by NA and NS can affect people's PD. Therefore, it is suggested to pay attention to these factors in studying the consequences of noise exposure.

Smartphone is now an inevitable device for the populace, with its use growing progressively worldwide. There is lack of published literature focusing on the consequences of smartphone addiction on middle-aged and older adults in Nigeria. This study investigated the association between smartphone addiction, psychological status, insomnia and pain-related disability of the neck among staff of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL).

This study involved the use of cross-sectional survey to investigate 271 (106 females, 165 males) staff of CMUL, Lagos, mean age (45.797±9.28 years) via purposive sampling technique in 2022. Four standard questionnaires were used for data collection; smart phone addiction scale (SAS), depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS), neck pain disability index (NDI), and insomnia severity index (ISI).

The results revealed that 80 (29.5%) staff of college of medicine were addicted to smartphone use. Eleven (4.1%) staff of this college had severe depression, 16 (5.9%) had extremely severe anxiety while nine (3.3%) were severely stressed. Nine (3.3%) participants had clinical insomnia and five (1.8%) had moderate to severe problem with their neck. It was revealed that there was a significant association between smartphone addiction, pain-related disability of the neck (p=0.023), and insomnia (p=0.001). However, no significant association existed between depression (p=0.578), anxiety (p=0.060), stress (0.685), and smartphone addiction level of the participants

Smartphone addiction is predominant among staff of CMUL, and it is associated with neck pain-related disability and insomnia.

Neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders among office workers. This study aimed to investigate the impact of strengthening the neck muscles on pain prevalence and neck disability among office workers.

This interventional study was performed among 85 University office workers (female=50 and male=35). Participants were randomly divided into the two groups (exercise group=42 subjects and control group=43 subjects). The exercise intervention was performed for 12 weeks, five sessions per week, and each session lasted approximately 15 minutes in the experimental group. Evaluations were performed at baseline and after 12 weeks: demographic questionnaire, Nordic questionnaire for measuring neck pain prevalence, and Neck Disability Index (NDI) for measuring functional disability were applied. The neck pain prevalence and NDI were compared before and after the intervention using McNemar and paired t-tests.

47.05% and 40% of all participants reported neck pain during the last 12 months and the last seven days, respectively. The neck pain prevalence during the last seven days (P<0.05) and NDI (P<0.01) after exercise were significantly decreased comparing to the other group.

About half of the office workers suffer from neck pain, and exercise intervention can improve and reduce the prevalence of neck pain and NDI by strengthening neck muscles.

One of the important principles of workstation design is the anthropometric compatibility of the workstation with people. Designing workstations by the anthropometric characteristics of employees can prevent awkward working postures and reduce the risk of such disorders. The present study aimed at investigating the anthropometric compatibility of workstations among Female Tailors and its association with working postures.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in female tailors in north Khorasan province in 2021. Participants were randomy selected and invited to the study. Working postures were assessed in workstations using the NERPA technique. Anthropometric dimensions were measured by ISO 7250 and anthropometric compatibility with the workstation was investigated. Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and T-test were used when analyzing the data.

two hundered and ninty six tailors with a mean age of 26.5±12.7 years participated in this study. There was no significant association between posture scores and anthropometric conformity in the dimensions of chair back height, width, and depth. Anthropometric Compatibility with chair height and desk height is the only important factor of a workstation with a significant effect on people's posture (P<0.01). The final score of the NERPA method determined that 30 workstations (15%) had a low-risk level, and 166 stations (85%) had a high-risk level.

Anthropometric incompatibility with workstation generally deteriorated the working postures. However, anthropometric compatibility with seat-height and desk height were the ones with a significant association with working posture. Therefore, the seat height and desk heightshould be considered first for redesigning workstations.

Paying attention to psychological issues and characteristics of military service is one of the points that must be assessed by senior planners and commanders.

In the present descriptive correlational study, 604 soldiers serving in the barracks of Kerman province in 2021 were studied. Cluster sampling was used to select the statistical sample from the two barracks of Martyr Ashraf Ganjavii and Martyr Bahonar of the police force. Three characteristics of Mental Health, Personality Traits and Psychological Empowerment were compared in two groups of newly arrived and discharged soldiers.

Two hundred fifty-seven people (42.5%) were in the group of newly arrived soldiers, and 347 people (57.5%) were in the other group. The average scores of the discharged group in all aspects of mental health were lower than those of the newly arrived group (p<0.05). The average scores of two dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion in the discharged group was significantly higher than that of the newly arrived group (p<0.05). Also the two groups had a significant difference in competence score (p=0.048).

According to the results of this study, military service has had a negative effect on the mental health of soldiers. Nonetheless, it cannot be alleged that military service had a significant effect on the psychological empowerment of soldiers. Consequently, it seems obligatory to use psychological and clinical consultants and doctors for appropriate interventions to increase mental health, such as education, counseling, and psychotherapy.

The increased use of digital devices has led to a rise in computer vision syndrome (CVS), particularly with remote work and online learning. Prolonged screen use also negatively impacts sleep quality. This paper aims to review existing research on the association between CVS and sleep quality in digital screen users.

The study conducted a literature search across various databases using specified terms to find articles on the association between computer vision syndrome (CVS) and sleep quality among digital device users. The search was limited to articles published between 1900 and 2023 and followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant articles. The inclusion criteria involved original research concurrently examining sleep quality and CVS, published in English or Persian language scientific journals.

The eligibility of the entire texts of 52 articles was assessed, resulting in 17 cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria for this review. A significant correlation exists between eye discomfort and poor sleep quality (p<0.05), with individuals experiencing CVS frequently reporting disrupted sleep. Moreover, reduced sleep duration is significantly associated with the severity of eye problems (p= 0.001). Furthermore, the time spent using digital screens is also related to CVS and sleep quality.

Excessive electronic device use has caused an increase in Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) and worsened sleep quality due to prolonged screen time and exposure to blue light. To mitigate these issues, limiting screen time and using protective measures to reduce blue light exposure is crucial, as they can affect cognitive and physical performance.