• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.30 no.4 s.59
• /
• pp.840-851
• /
• 1997

To perform voluntary occupational health program in worksites, regulational supports are necessary. The regulational supports include assessment of current occupational health program and appropriate incentives. The purpose of this study is to find out the requirements of voluntary occupational health program and conditions to be improved. Study population was industrial health managers of both industries with less than 300 workers and over 300 workers, and the member of labor union who is responsible for safety and health in worksite. Two different questionnaire were used to find out the requirements and conditions to be improved respectively, The results were; 1. The category which prevalence rate of occupational injuries and occupational disease should be lower than national average was most important in health managers employed in industries over 300 workers and followed by reporting system, education, worksite policy, work environment assessment, protective equipment, consequently. But those employed in industries less than 300 workers showed high importance in prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease, reporting system, worksite policy, work environment assessment, protective equipment, education, consequently 2. The members of labor union thought that worksite policy was most important and the next is education, reporting system, work environment assessment, protective equipment, prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease. 3. There were difference in importance of education and worksite policy according to the size of industries. Reporting system, prevalence rate of occupational injuries and disease, and worksite policy had different importance between members of labor union and health managers. 4. In the results of quiestionnaire for conditions to be improved, the most important condition was top manager's willingness except personal protective equipments, and followed by financial support, legal support. The limitations of this study were the problems of representativeness of study population. but voluntary health program should be performed in worksites which have relatively good occupational health system. So, this selection bias could not disrupt our results.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.276-283
• /
• 2012

Objectives: This study was conducted to survey the viewpoints on the material safety data sheets(MSDS) training for safety and health managers(SHMs) and workers. Subjects and Methods: A surveillance was made using a self-reported questionnaire for 78 SHMs and 122 workers to survey their viewpoints on the MSDS training. Survey results were analyzed using the SPSS program(Version 12.0 SPSS Inc., USA). Results: The result of the study shows that there are contrasts with the cognition of SHMs' and workers' on the education of MSDS and the program preference for education efficiency of MSDS. Workers were significantly more interested in the MSDS education than the SHMs did. Workers preferred the education program which is easily to be understood, to voluntarily participate on MSDS education, but SHMs did the quiz program. Also we found that the SHMs wanted to learn the education program via the expert(37.3%) rather than education resources(33.3%) which were served by government or relevant agency. In contrast, workers wanted the audio-visual education program, which is mainly consisted of accident cases (33.3%), rather than periodical education program(22.1%). Conclusions: This study showed that effectiveness of MSDS education was associated with the program served by company, and the education program for the voluntary participation of the workers should be made practical and attractive.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.20 no.1 s.69
• /
• pp.143-147
• /
• 2005

Immediate responsibilities for occupational health and safety (OHS) management reside in business proprietors and supervisors whose voluntary participation in OHS educational programs, not legal sanctions, may thus lead to safe and pleasant work environments. This study investigates how to promote the effectiveness of OHS educational programs to draw voluntary participations in such programs in Korea To this end, drawbacks of current practices in OHS education are first analyzed, and then OHS related policies in advanced countries in the area of disaster prevention such as United States and Germany, are also scrutinized. Based on the preliminary investigations, the following propositions are made to lay out the foundation for promoting effective OHS educational programs in Korea: improvement of government regulations, revitalizing job training initiatives, on-site OHS education, compensation and incentive programs for OHS education. These propositions may also facilitate the deployment of disaster prevention activities across the organization and prevent various occupational disorders (for example, musculoskeletal disorders). This study emphasizes that monolithic OHS education systems led by regulatory agencies may not be efficient to ensure healthy and safe work environments. Globally competitive OHS educational systems may be established only when they are based on the health and safety requirements specified by proprietors and workers.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.144-155
• /
• 1997

In December 1990, Occupational Safety and Health Law was amended to reinforce employer's responsibilities on employees' health and safety. Among the amended law it was important to expand the role of an occupational health nurse to the role of an occupational health manager. An occupational health manager should take charge of coordinating periodic health examination and environmental hazard evaluation, providing primary care, monitoring employees' health status, giving the workplace walk-through, selecting safe protection equipment, providing health information, counseling and health education, independently. This position of occupational health nurse is equivalent to the role of doctors or occupational hygienists. In 1991, government made a master plan to prevent occupational disease and injury. Under the plan, Korea Industrial Nursing Association (KINA) was established in 1994 with the purpose of improving health services and upgrading career opportunities for members. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the transition of occupational health nursing education with the changes of law and policy in Korea between 1991 and 1996. In details, it was to analyze the rate of school providing occupational health nursing practice based lecture, lecture hours, lecture contents in undergraduate curriculum, program contents of graduate school, kinds of continuing education, etc. For this purpose, we conducted survey two times. In February 1991, baseline study was conducted with all nursing programs in Korea (19 BSN programs and 43 nursing departments of junior college). From April to May in 1996, the second survey was conducted with all nursing programs (38 BSN programs and 69 junior colleges). The first response rate was 66.1% and the second was 40.6%. Structured questionnaires were mailed to the deans or the community health nursing faculties. In the case of graduate school, telephone survey was conducted with 10 school of public health or environmental health area. Data from the yearbook of Industrial Safety Training Institute (ISTI), the history of Korea Industrial Health Association, and the journals of KINA were also included in the analysis. As the results, we found that there were remarkable improvement in undergraduate and graduate programs, obligatory as well as voluntary continuing education in terms of occupational health nursing expertise between 1991 and 1996. 1) The number of school providing occupational health nursing practice-based lecture was increased with the rate from 7.3% to 25.6%. The rate of school giving over 15 class-hours was increased from 33.3% to 46.6%. 2) Content areas were composed of introduction of occupational health, occupational epidemiology, industrial hygiene, occupational disease and injury, law and policy, health education, concept of occupational health nursing, role of occupational health nurse, occupational health nursing process, etc. Of content areas, occupational health nursing process was more emphasized with the increased rate from 43.9% to 88.4%. 3) In the case of graduate school, occupational health programs were increased from 4 to 10. One of them has developed occupational health nursing program as an independent course since 1991. 4) The law increased educational hours from 28 hours to 36 hours for introductory course at the time of appointment, and from 14 hours to 24 hours every 2 years for continuing education. Course contents were Occupational safety and health law, introduction of occupational health, health education methodology, planning and evaluation, periodic health exam, occupational disease care, primary care, emergency care, management, industrial environment evaluation, etc. In 1996, Korea Industrial Nursing Association has begun to provide continuing education after Industrial Safety Training Institute. 5) Various educational programs in voluntary base were developed such as monthly seminar, CE articles, annual academic symposium, etc. It was shown that changes of law and policy led rapid growth of occupational health nursing education in various levels. From this trend, it is expected that occupational health nurse expertise be continuously to be enhanced in Korea. Legal and political supports should proceed for the development of occupational health nursing in early stage.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.301-312
• /
• 2011

Firefighters and police officers have the third highest prevalence of obesity among 41 male occupational groups in the United States (US). However, few studies have examined the relationship of firefighter working conditions and health behaviors with obesity. This paper presents a theoretical framework describing the relationship between working conditions, health behaviors, and obesity in firefighters. In addition, the paper describes a detailed study plan for exploring the role of occupational and behavioral risk factors in the development of obesity in firefighters enrolled in the Orange County Fire Authority Wellness Fitness Program. The study plan will be described with emphasis on its methodological merits: adopting a participatory action research approach, developing a firefighter-specific work and health questionnaire, conducting both a cross-sectional epidemiological study using the questionnaire and a sub-study to assess the validity of the questionnaire with dietary intake and physical activity measures, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the body mass index as an obesity measure in comparison to skinfold-based percent body fat. The study plan based on a theoretical framework can be an essential first step for establishing effective intervention programs for obesity among professional and voluntary firefighters.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.96-105
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze alcohol drinking cessation programs to promote health status for workers on worksites. Method: Data were collected from the excellent 10 cases which were selected from "competition of health promotion programs on worksites" from 1999 to 2007 held by Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Result: There were three main alcohol drinking cessation programs on worksites: health education, individual health services to change life style, and formation of supportive environments. Health education and individual health services were intervened in nine worksites. Building supportive environments for alcohol drinking cessation were implemented in 10 worksites. The most popular indicators for program evaluation were health diagnosis and percentage of alcohol drinkers. Problems to implement alcohol drinking cessation programs were low voluntary participation of labors, difficulty of applying programs to labors that had a shift duty, and complexity to evaluate the effectiveness of alcohol cessation programs due to deficits of standard instruments. Conclusion: These findings suggest that many worksites did not have alcohol drinking cessation programs and also these programs were not implemented effectively. Thus, employers, professionals and policy makers of occupational health should develop and support effective alcohol drinking cessation programs for l workers on worksites.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.87-96
• /
• 2011

In 1967, the problem of occupational lead exposure came to public attention in Korea. Since then, regular progress has been made in lowering workplace lead exposures, instituting new workplace controls, and implementing health examinations of exposed workers. Past serious lead poisoning episodes made it possible to introduce biological monitoring programs on a voluntary basis in high-lead-exposure facilities in Korea. Industry-specific occupational health services for lead workers in Korea during the last 22 years can be categorized into three phases. During the first phase (1988-1993), efforts were directed at increasing awareness among workers about the hazards of lead exposure, biological monitoring of blood zinc protoporphyrin began, and a respiratory protection program was introduced. During the second phase (1994-1997), a computerized health management system for lead workers was developed, blood-lead measurement was added to biologic monitoring, and engineering controls were introduced in the workplace to lower air-lead levels to comply with air-lead regulations. Finally, during the third phase (1998-present), a new biomarker, bone-lead measurement by X-ray fluorescence, was introduced. Bone-lead measurement proved to be useful for assessing body burden and to demonstrate past lead exposure in retired workers. Occupational health service practice for lead workers, including the industry-specific group occupational health system, has brought considerable success in the prevention of lead poisoning and in reducing the lead burden in Korean lead workers during the last several decades. The successful achievement of prevention of lead poisoning in Korea was a result of the combined efforts of lead workers, employers, relevant government agencies, and academic institutes.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.142-148
• /
• 2013

Background: To elucidate the relationship between seven occupational dermatoses (ODs) and 20 types of work in Greece. Methods: This was a prevalence epidemiologic study of certain ODs among 4,000 workers employed in 20 types of enterprise, in 104 companies, in 2006-2012, using data from company medical records, questionnaires, occupational medical, and special examinations. The ${\chi}^2$ test was applied to reveal statistically significant relationships between types of enterprises and occurrence of ODs. Results: A high percentage (39.9%) of employees included in the study population suffered from ODs. The highest prevalence rates were noted among hairdressers (of contact dermatitis: 30%), cooks (of contact dermatitis: 29.5%), bitumen workers (of acne: 23.5%), car industry workers (of mechanical injury: 15%), construction workers (of contact urticaria: 29.5%), industrial cleaning workers (of chemical burns: 13%), and farmers (of malignant tumors: 5.5%).We observed several statistical significant correlations between ODs (acute and chronic contact dermatitis, urticaria, mechanical injury, acne, burns, skin cancer) and certain types of enterprises. There was no statistically significant correlation between gender and prevalence of ODs, except for dermatoses caused by mechanical injuries afflicting mainly men [${\chi}^2(1)=13.40$, p < 0.001] and for chronic contact dermatitis [${\chi}^2(1)=5.53$, p=0.019] afflicting mainly women. Conclusion: Prevalence of ODs is high in Greece, contrary to all official reports by the Greek National Institute of Health. There is a need to introduce a nationwide voluntary surveillance system for reporting ODs and to enhance skin protection measures at work.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.131-142
• /
• 1999

The purpose of this study is to grasp the relationship between the amount of physical activities at work perceived by workers and their health promotion behaviors. To achieve such a purpose. this survey was conducted on 476 Workers who work for 3 food product work-sites located in Keong-in area by means of questionnaire from June 15 to July 14 . 1998. Collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS/WlN. The significant results were obtained as follows. 1. The average scores of the amount of physical activities at work and health promotion behavior were 3.18 and 2.84 respectively; the former was slightly higher than moderate score 2.5 and the latter was almost the same as it. It can be interpreted that workers perceive their physical activities at work are heavier than their daily activities, which seems to make their health promotion behaviors still inactivated. 2. The amount of physical activities at work, it was were greater revealed that the more activities workers do after work. the more they walk and the more exercises they do. It implies that the voluntary practice of good health habit at leisure can be greatly contributed to the activation of more productive activity at work. 3. The amount of health promotion behaviors was larger as workers do more physical activities at work and have lower PIBW(Percent Ideal Body Weight). It means that the voluntary practice of good health habit is closely related to the degree of obesity and their positive attitude toward their work. Average PIBW was 106.71; most of the workers are distributed within the standard range in their weight. So we can presume that most of them are not seriously conscious of weight maintenance in their daily lives. Therefore it is desirable that health promotion program for workers should be developed toward connecting their physical activities at work with those in their daily lives much more. Physical activities, health promotion behaviors

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1997.10b
• /
• pp.243-245
• /
• 1997