International Journal of Occupational Hygiene
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Apr 2013

Manual patient handling is known to be the major source ofmusculoskeletal load among hospital nurses. The objectives of the present study were determination of frequency ofmusculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and its associatedfactors together with assessment of musculoskeletal loaddue to patient transfer by PTAI method in hospitalnursing staff of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 400 randomlyselected nurses of SUMS hospital participated. Data were collected by anonymousdemographic and Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaires together with PTAI index checklist. Statistical analyses wereundertaken using SPSS, version 16. Age and job tenure means of participantswere 30.76±6.44 and 6.92±5.75 years, respectively. 88.2% of the nursing staffreported some forms of musculoskeletal symptoms during the 12 months prior tothe study. The results of PTAI index assessment demonstrated that in 4%, 8.5% and87.5% of the subjects, musculoskeletal load were at levels 1, 2 and 3,respectively. The results revealed that PTAI index score was significantlyassociated with musculoskeletal disorders occurrence (p<0.001).Musculoskeletal load was high among nurses with patient transfer activity. Age, nurse to bed ratio, marital status, shiftwork and PTAI score were associated risk factors for MSDs in the studiednursing staff.

Evaluation an etiological modelwith psychosocial and occupational risk factors has applied implication fortherapeutic intervention. This research was aimed to investigate psychosocialand occupational risk factors of musculoskeletal pains among computer users inSemnan Province of Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 324 computerusers from governmental offices and private industrial/organizationalinstitutes in the province were enrolled by random sampling at the age of 25 to63 yr old. Data were collected by Demographical-Occupational and Musculoskeletalpains history Questionnaire and a set of specialist-validated questions, theDepression Anxiety Stress Scales, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and theMultidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Gathered data were examinedvia binary logistic regression analysis. The mean age was 39.76±7.77 years,48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Age, duration of occupation, dailycomputer usage, incorrect body posture, work overload, poor ergonomicknowledge, social support, alexithymia, depression and somatization were significantly associated withmusculoskeletal pains (p<.000). Daily computer usage (OR=18.408[4.306-27.519]), incorrect body posture (OR=11.786 [2.864-24.528]), workoverload (OR=8.725 [2.831-13.527]), poor ergonomic knowledge (OR=12.370[6.520-20.095]), social support (OR=1.088 [1.034-1.144]), alexithymia (OR=1.934[.897-2.971]), depression (OR=2.894 [.836-3.956]) and somatization (OR=13.032[3.626-.25.546]) were significant predictors of musculoskeletal pains (p<0.001).Psychosocial factors, work-related factors and lack of support or appropriateergonomic knowledge were all important correlates of musculoskeletal pains.Thus, efficient preventive plans require addressing all these aspects.

Improvements in knowledge as well as technology andindustrial workers’ exposure to adverse factors have caused more attention tobe paid to the workers’ occupational health. According to the report by W.H.O.,noise, as one of the most important physical factors of workplace, causes 4million dollars health damage every day. Noise can also reduce the workers’morale as well as motivation and, consequently, have negative effects on theirperformance. Considering the importance of occupational health, the presentstudy aimed to determine the effect of noise exposure on the steel industryworkers’ general health. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 50steel industry workers as the exposed group and 50 general practitioners as thereference group. Both study groups completed the demographic informationquestionnaire as well as GHQ-28. Then, the similarity of the demographiccharacteristics in both groups was determined using t-test and Chi-square.After scoring the questionnaires, the subjects’ final scores were computed andtheir general health statuses were determined. Besides, Mann-Whitney U test wasused in order to compare the two groups’ mean scores. The demographiccharacteristics were similar in both study groups. In addition, the two groups’mean scores were significantly lower than 23, as the cut-off point. The resultsalso revealed a significant difference between the two groups regarding abnormalsocial performance and depression; in a way that the workers’ mean score wassignificantly higher than that of the physicians (p<0.001 and p=0.018,respectively). This implies that in comparison to the physicians, the workershad a significantly lower health status. In addition, 36% of the workerssuffered from at least one psychological disorder. Overall, the steel industryworkers had a lower level of psychological health; in a way that they weresignificantly different from the reference group regarding the abnormal socialperformance and depression. Therefore, noise can be considered as a risk factorin the incidence of psychological disorders.

Knowledge of the warming or cooling effects induced by asphalt or grasscovered areas, may improve our understanding of how thermal stress or thermalcomfort is created for workers who have to work outdoors for long hours in warmseasons. For this purpose a field measurements were carried out to know the cooling and warming effects of two adjacentareas, one covered with grass and the otherwith asphalt. These two adjacent coverages were located in an open area, inZanjan, a city in the north west of Iran. A calm and sunny day in June wasselected to perform measurements. The temperature and relative humidity, on the grassand asphalt surfaces and also ata heights of 1.2 m above themwere measured at 2 hours intervalfrom 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Results showed that in the measurement day, the grass surfacetemperature was less than asphalt surface temperature in the afternoon and inthe before noon there was no significant difference between temperatures.Whereas, the temperature measurementsat the height of 1.2 m above asphalt andgrass, showed that the air temperature above grass wasless than the air above asphalt during the measurements period, but in the afternoon, thedifference between these temperatures was less thanthat of before noon. Both grass and asphalt surfaces, showed the cooling and warmingeffects, which are impressed on the air above them, dueto thermal convection.

Low Frequency Noise (LFN) is ubiquitous in bothoccupational and general environments. Mental performance of subjects exposedto LFN is expected to be impaired. Individual characters seem to play asignificant role in this process. This study aimed to evaluate the effects ofmoderate levels of LFN (20–200 Hz) on mental performance. Fifty-three subjects(in two groups) were exposed to low and flat frequency character noise each atthe same sound pressure levels of 45 dBA. Personality traits of extro-intraversion andneuroticism were determined using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Thesubjects were asked to carry out two different mental tasks while being exposedto the noise. Subjective reports were collected using questionnaires.Concentration problems, fatigue and noise annoyance during the experiments weremeasured using a numeric ten-point self-rating scales. The results revealedthat LFN impaired mental performance. There was no significant effect of LFN onthe accuracy of mental processing, compared to the reference noise condition.Extrovert subjects performed significantly faster, compared to the introvertsand subjects that exposed to LFN performed slower than reference noise. Morestable personality, with extroversive tendencies is likely for betteradaptation to LFN during mental performance, compared to people with theopposite personality traits. Correlation analysis showed a highly significantnegative relation of extroversion and noise annoyance during mental processing.

The establishment of good process safety management (PSM) is widely considered as the most effective means of improving safety levels in process industries. This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of establishing and implementing PSM requirements based on Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 standards (OHSAS 18001) and Health, Safety and Environment management systems (HSE-MS) in an Iranian petrochemical plant. Firstly, the requirements of PSM, OHSAS 18001 standards and HSE-MS were compared via literature review and their levels of agreement were determined. Next, the degree of implementation of PSM requirements at a selected petrochemical site was investigated. The study’s results show that PSM requirements complied with HSE-MS to a greater degree than with OHSAS 18001 standards. Although the plant studied had not yet formally applied process safety management requirements, based on the HSE-MS and OHSAS 18001 it had already applied, 67% of PSM requirements had in effect been put in place. By revising certain requirements of existing management systems, including PSM requirements in them, and providing the outstanding necessary documentation, this study concludes that the establishment of a PSM system in the plant is feasible.

Garbage collectors areoccupationally exposed to a variety of airborne contaminants. The mainobjective of this study was to evaluate the respiratory health of garbagecollectors. This study was carried out in Fars Province, south of Iran. A groupof 105 garbage collectors and 93 referent subjects were investigated. Astandard questionnaire was administered to both groups. Furthermore, subjectsunderwent Pulmonary Function Tests. The data revealed that a few symptoms ofrespiratory disease were significantly more prevalent among garbage collectors.Likewise, significant decrements were observed in some parameters of pulmonaryfunction such as FEV1and FEV1/FVC ratio among garbage collectors. Theventilatory disorder found in spirometry of garbage collectors was consistentwith that of obstructive pulmonary disease. Our findings indicate that theprevalence of respiratory symptoms as well as impaired lung functionalcapacities were more common among garbage collectors than in their controlcounterparts. This is likely to be attributed to the occupational exposure ofthis group to workplace contaminants, particularly, bioaerosols.