نشریه طب کار
سال چهارم شماره 4 (پیاپی 9، زمستان 1391)

Improper body positions such as kneeling, bending and twisting during saffron harvest, cause skeletal disorders. Low levels awareness about the true position of the body during work, is one of the problems of saffron workers. The purpose of this study, was training the correct body position in saffron pickers during work.

This is a semi experimental study. Ssubjects were 30 saffron pickers who were selected by simple sampling method. Devices includes: educational pamphlet, camera and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) chart. Pictures from all postures of the ssubjects during work were taken, and all parts of the body scored upon the REBA method, and calculated after entering codes into tables. After two weeks training about correct work position using pamphlet, the assessment was repeated. Finally, using SPSS (version 16) with Wilcoxon and T-test, the data was analyzed.

REBA assessment showed that the number (percent) people with moderate status (requiring a change in the near future) and those with very poor condition (needs more research and implement changes quickly) before the intervention was 9 (30%) and 21 (70%) changed to 15 (50%) and 15 (50%) respectively. This change was statistically significant. (P=0.003)

This study shows that improper postures of farmers could be changed to better condition. Corrected postures training could be an appropriate interventional method to decrease MSDs risk factors.

Shift working causing negative effects of physiological, psychological and social life of nurses. Because of impact on patient health status can also influence the general population health. This study reviews the effects of insomnia on public health of nurses in a educational hospital of Babol city. In this research as a descriptive, analytical and cross sectional study, 210 nurses are considered. The data was collected from individual questionnaires, General Health Questionnaires (GHQ-28) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaires (PSQI). The collected data was analyzed by Chi square test and Spirman correlation test and Kruskal-Wallis. and Overall findings of our research showed that general health of 36.7 percent of the nurses was desired, 58.1 percent was near the normal and 11.2 percent was poor. Sleep quality status of 34.3 percent of the nurses was good and others (65.7percents) were poor. The relation between sleep quality and public health of nurses was significant (P<0.001) also the relation between sleep quality and night shifts was significant. According to findings from our research, it seems appropriate policy must be done to improve sleep quality of nurses.

High levels of fatigue in the workplaces can lead to reduced productivity, and increase the risk of accidents and injuries. Purpose of this study was to assess and compare the fatigue levels among fixed-dayshift and rotating-shift workers of a rolling mills and steel production company in tehran. The study included 180 workers with fixed- and rotating-shift schedules. The method involved in our survey data collection was using standard questionnaires by face-to-face surveys. Results showed that maximum level of fatigue for both groups is 4. Fatigue level between fixed-day shift and rotating-shift workers was statistically significant; the degree of fatigue was higher in rotating shift workers. All symptoms associated fatigue in rotating shift workers were more severe than other, and statistically was significant. Comparison between tasks showed the most exhausting task is warehouse. Results show that level of fatigue is high in the company's personnel, so adopting proactive measures such as reducing working hours, doing regular rest and exercise during working time, paying sufficient attention to humanitarian needs and improving work system can be helpful.

Bioaerosols are airborne particles that with occupational and non-occupational activities generated and were found in the air. This study aimed to determination of bacterial bioaerosols in a tobacco industry. In this cross sectional study, bioaerosols were measured with standard methods and data were statistically analyzed by using SPSS software. The highest mean ± SD concentration of bioaerosols to 26.5 CFU/m3 was known Gram-negative Bacillus. Also, the highest mean ± SD concentration of bioaerosols was 39±23.3 CFU/m3 in the cigarette unit. The mean maximum temperature in outdoor was 35 oC and relative humidity in packing unit was 68.7%. In unit cigarette due to the process of preparing and processing tobacco the mean concentration of bioaerosols were higher of other places. The results show that the concentration of bacterial bioaerosols in all places was lower of guidelines for the assessment of bioaerosols in the indoor environment ACGIH and indoor air quality aspect bacterial bioaerosols is in good condition.

Human error is one of the most important issues in the world and studying these errors among medical occupations like physicians and nursing works to find solutions for identifying and controlling them became imperative. Therefore, current study was conducted with the aim of identification and evaluation of human error using SHERPA (Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach) technique among nurses working at the emergency section of an educational hospital in Iran. This study was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted using SHERPA method. First, the aim and methodology of the study was explained to the nurses and then the task and subtasks of the nursing activity were determined through interview with the nurses and also by observation of their activities. A job analysis of nursing activity was implemented by HTA (Hierarchical Task Analysis) technique, at the next stage. Finally, the error types for each task and subtasks were determined, based on the SHERPA guideline and, worksheet was finally completed for each of the related error types. In total, 231 errors were indentified among 65 tasks of the nurses’ clinical activity who worked in the emergency section. The highest percentage of the errors was belonged to the action error with 59.3%, and the rest were 25.55% for checking, 4.33% for retrieval, 2.16% communication, and 8.66% selection errors. Accordingly, the highest percentage of errors was belonged to the action error and the lowest one to communication errors. According to the findings in this study, action errors (with highest frequency) and checking errors (with highest unacceptable risk level) should be control and prioritized for error reduction program. Meanwhile, SHERPA technique can completely cover medical activities of the nurses; and factors such as communication with patient which is not considered in other techniques, can be analyzed using this method.

Benzene and ethyl benzene are important indoor air pollutants, even in low amounts in office environment may cause risk for staff. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and determine the amounts of these pollutants in the office environment air of Yazd hospitals. In a cross-sectional study, 18 samples of the air in office units of two hospitals were collected in December 2011. Methods of sampling and measurement were in accordance with the guidelines of the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOSH), using Tedlar bag and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC/FID) were performed. The data were analyzed by SPSS (version 16). The highest average of benzene concentration was seen in management office (1.09±1.28 µg/m3), accountancy (0.59 ± 0.25 µg/m3) and personnel rooms (0.40 ± 0.56 µg/m3. For ethyl-benzene, the highest concentration was observed in personnel room (0.45±0.56 µg/m3), management office (0.18±0.16 µg/m3) and accountancy rooms (0.06±0.00 µg/m3). No significant difference was found between the mean concentration of benzene and ethyl benzene compounds in the office departments (P> 0.05). The mean concentrations in reconstructive office departments was higher than others and it had significant differences (P<0.05). Concentrations of benzene and ethyl-benzene in all office sections of hospital Was in Safe Range. However the concentration of these substances was increased during reconstruction and new decoration.