Work-related musculoskeletal disorders and related risk factors among bakers: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) and ergonomic risk factors are very common in bakery workers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to (1) assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among bakers because they use automated machines or traditional baking, and (2) to determine the strategies to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in bakers. METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted from the beginning to February 4, 2022, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Mesh keywords and phrases were used to execute the search strategy. Information on MSDs and ergonomic risk factors in bakery workers was collected. Two reviewers worked independently on study selection, data extraction, and paper quality ranking. RESULTS: This study identified 14 papers from seven countries. Although the prevalence of MSDs in bakery workers has been studied, only a handful of them have been studied ergonomic risk factors, and the findings have been very limited. The association between different risk factors and MSDs seemed significant compared to many other occupational diseases. The traditional bread-baking system and lack of mechanization may increase the risk of MSDs in bakery workers. CONCLUSION: WRMSDs for bakery workers have been less studied than other occupational diseases. Our systematic review found several significant relations between the factors influencing the prevalence of MSDs. This study also showed the comparison of traditional and modern cooking systems with diseases of the upper limbs, shoulders, and back pain as possible fields for future research.

Validation of a temperature-humidity index (Humidex) in evaluating heat stress at a tile factory in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Several heat indices have been developed in industrial health, but each has its limitations. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to determine the validity and applicability of a temperature-humidity index, named Humidex compared with the Standard Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index (ISO 7243). METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the summer of 2019, in a tile factory in the west of Iran. 59 measurements were performed in 8 different workstations. Environmental parameters including natural wet bulb temperature (Tnw), dry bulb temperature (Ta), globe bulb temperature (Tg), and heat stress (WBGT) were measured. Humidex was calculated according to an equation. SPSS software (version 16) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: There was a high correlation between Humidex and WBGT in the estimation of heat stress (R=0.912, P<0.001). The Kappa Coefficient between Humidex and WBGT was 0.298, P=0.001. CONCLUSION: Humidex is highly correlated with WBGT. Humidex can be used instead of the WBGT index, especially in hot and humid environments.

Epidemiology of Traumatic Brain Injury in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of leading cause of death and disability in Iran that has serious consequences on people's health. Understanding of epidemiology of TBI can be helpful for policy making in health care management. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the epidemiology of TBI in Iran. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar, and internal databases including, SID, Magiran, and IranMedex were searched to identify the relevant published studies up to Feb 2022. Moreover, the references list of key studies was scanned to find more records. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool was used to assess the quality of included studies. The Excel and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software were to analyze the data. Results: Overall, 23,446 patients from 15 studies were included in the study. The overall mean age of the patients was 31.36 ± 0.13 yr (95%CI: 31.10 to 31.61). The majority of the patients were male (74.37%), with a male to female ratio of 3:1. The incidence rate of TBI was 15.3 to 144 per 100,000 population. The mortality rate of TBI was estimated to be 10.4% (95%CI: 5% to 19%). The most common causes of injury were road traffic accidents (RTAs) (60%; 95%CI: 49% to 70%), and falling (20%; 95%CI: 16% to 26%), respectively. The most frequent type of head injury was subdural hematoma. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that appropriate control and prevention strategies should be focused on male, road traffic accidents, and the group under 40 yr.

Semi-quantitative risk assessment for workers exposed to occupational harmful agents in an oilfield in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Workers are exposed to occupational health hazards from physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychological agents. Assessing occupational health risks is vital for executing control measures to protect employees' health against harmful occupational agents. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to identify, evaluate, and prioritize occupational health risks to assist senior management in determining where to allocate the budget to carry out the required corrective actions in the oilfields project. METHODS: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed in 2021 among Iran's Sarvak Azar oil field job groups. The occupational health risk was assessed using the Harmful Agents Risk Priority Index (HARPI) as a semi-quantitative method. Then, to simplify decision-making and budget allocation, we reported HARPI final score in the Pareto principle format. RESULTS: The results show that in this oil field, controlling exposure to adverse lighting, improving the thermal conditions and ergonomics, and preventing noise exposure has the highest priority, with scores of 6342, 5269, 5629, and 5050, respectively. Production, HSE, laboratory, and commissioning need the most health care measures with scores of 8683, 5815, 5394, and 4060, respectively. CONCLUSION: HARPI could be used to prioritize occupational health hazards, and this method can simplify managers' decisions to allocate resources to implement control measures.

Designing and Validation of Self-Assessment Tool of Professional Competency and Its Psychometrics in the Administrators of Preschool Educational Centers.

Background: The role of preschool administrators in raising children is increasing day by day, so the purpose of this study was to detect the validity and reliability of the professional competency questionnaire and its psychometric assessment in preschool administrators. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 380 preschool administrators with a minimum age of 25 and a maximum of 65 year participated in 2018. The sampling method was stratified from four regions of north, south, west and east of Tehran, Iran. Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire was used for convergent validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency. Face validity, content validity and structural validity were also calculated. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Results: The questionnaire of professional competency of preschool administrators was appropriate in terms of face validity. Indicators related to content validity were appropriate in terms of relevance, transparency and necessity in this study. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.98. The correlation between the total score of the managers' professional competency test and self-esteem was equal to 0.08 with a significance level of 0.58. Conclusion: The professional competency questionnaire of preschool administrators had good validity and reliability to assess the level of professional competency of preschool administrators. Researchers can use this questionnaire to assess the professional competency of preschool administrators.

Effectiveness of educational intervention on reducing oxidative stress caused by occupational stress in nurses: A health promotion approach.

BACKGROUND: Nursing is one of the most stressful occupations. Educational intervention regarding stress management can play an important role in reducing occupational stress among nurses The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of educational intervention on reducing oxidative stress caused by occupational stress in nurses: A health promotion approach in a hospital in western Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present interventional study was performed in 2019 among 92 nurses working at the Kosar Hospital located in the city of Sanandaj in the country of Iran. Occupational stress was evaluated using the Osipow Occupational Stress Questionnaire. Oxidative stress was measured by taking blood samples and measuring the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde, and catalase (CAT) using SOD, malondialdehyde (MDA), and CAT kits. Educational intervention was carried out in the second stage. Three months after the intervention, data were taken again. RESULTS: The results of the present study indicated that there was a significant difference in occupational stress between before and after the educational intervention (P < 0.05). A significant reduction in MDA (P = 0.038) and SOD (P = 0.048) was observed after educational intervention, but this was not the case for CAT (P = 0.592). There was no significant correlation between occupational stress with oxidative stress parameters before and after the educational intervention (P < 0.05). No significant difference in occupational stress was observed between men and women. Among the oxidative stress parameters under evaluation, MDA was higher among men compared to women and this was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Educational intervention regarding occupational stress is effective in reducing oxidative stress among nurses. The group meetings teach stress management to the participants and enable them to better manage their stress by utilizing their own capabilities. Thus, attention to this issue is vital in maintaining the mental and physical health of nurses and, in turn, improves the quality of care rendered.

Epidemiology of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries in Iran; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Understanding the epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCIs) can be helpful for policymakers and planners to consider appropriate strategies to control and prevent these injuries. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics of TSCI in Iran in order to increase knowledge and awareness of these injuries. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted up to January 2022 in the electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, SID, Iranmedex, and Magiran. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the STORBE checklist. Comprehensive meta-analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Nineteen studies involving 9416 cases were included in the study. Participants' pooled mean age was 35.80 ± 1.07 years (95% CI: 33.69 to 37.91), of whom 69% (95% CI: 68% to 70%; P<0.05) were male. The most frequent TSCI occurred in the age group of less than 30 years. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) was the most common cause of TSCI (57%; 95% CI: 25% to 63%), followed by falls (32%; 95% CI: 26% to 38%). Most participants had thoracolumbar (27%; 95% CI: 10% to 55%) and cervical injuries (23%; 95% CI: 16% to 31%), respectively. The incidence of TSCI was estimated at 10.5 per million people. The prevalence of TSCI was 3 per 10000 people. The mortality rate due to TSCI was 3.9% (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.06; P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings of this meta-analysis, the pooled incidence and prevalence of TSCI in the Iranian population were 10.5/1000.000 people and 4.4/10.000 people, respectively. TSCIs had occurred more frequently in males following MVCs, and in the age group under 30 years. The pooled mortality rate due to TSCI was 3.9% (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.06; P<0.05).

Prevalence of job burnout in Iranian nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nurses experience many job tensions, which lead to job burnout. The consequences of nurses' job burnout include absenteeism, reduced quality of patient care, interpersonal conflicts with colleagues, physical and mental problems, reluctance to provide care with patients, and quitting the job. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of job burnout among nurses in Iran using a meta-analysis method. METHOD: The study was conducted through a meta-analysis method based on the PRISMA checklist. An unlimited search was conducted until 2020 to access the Persian and English papers in national databases, including Medlib, SID, Iranmedex, and Magiran, and databases including Cochrane, Science-Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The keywords were "job burnout, nurse, and Iran." The data were searched and extracted by two researchers independently. All analyses were performed using version 2.0 of the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. RESULTS: The prevalence of job burnout was investigated in 14 papers with a sample size of 2271 individuals with an average age of 31.44 years old, and a confidence interval of 55% (44-66%). Fars province, with 89.2%, had the highest, and Zanjan province, with 25.9%, experienced the lowest prevalence of job burnout. The overall prevalence of job burnout was 44% in males and 66% in females so that the highest prevalence was in women. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of job burnout in nurses was high in some areas of Iran. A special attention by managers is needed in this field because of the several roles played by the nurses in the healthcare system and the improvement of public health. Implementation of plans to reduce the job burnout and to improve the mental health of nurses by reducing work hours, giving more opportunities to them to express their opinion(s) in amount of salary and benefits, and creating better working conditions are recommended.

Investigation of occupational fatigue and safety climate among nurses using the structural equation model.

BACKGROUND: Nursing is associated with many stressful situations that can lead to fatigue, reduced efficiency, and physical and mental illness. Safety climate is one of the most important indicators of safety management performance assessment that assesses employees' attitudes towards safety issues. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between safety climate and occupational fatigue in nurses. METHOD: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Zabol University of Medical Sciences in 2019. 143 nurses were selected by the proportional sampling method and entered the study. Demographic questionnaires, Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI), and Nurses' Safety Assessment Questionnaire were used for data collection. Statistical tests, including Independent T-Test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyze the results using SPSS software version 21, and the multivariate structural equation was used for modeling. RESULTS: The mean scores of safety climate and occupational fatigue were 67.15±12.73 and 85.09±41.49, respectively. Job and demographic variables except for the second job (P-value = 0.065) had a significant effect on the variables of safety climate and occupational fatigue. There were also higher scores for occupational fatigue and all of its subscales in the group of women compared to the group of men. CONCLUSION: The results showed that occupational and demographic variables have significant effects on safety climate and occupational fatigue. There was a significant relationship between demographic variables of age, work experience, and education level with safety climate. There was also a significant relationship between education level, job satisfaction, satisfaction with colleagues and work experience with occupational fatigue. Therefore, paying attention to fatigue and safety climate of nurses in workplaces is recommended.

The effects of neck, core, and combined stabilization practices on pain, disability, and improvement of the neck range of motion in elderly with chronic non-specific neck pain.

BACKGROUND: Chronic non-specific neck pain is the most prevalent neck pain with notable impacts on the quality of life in the elderly. OBJECTIVE: The impacts of the neck, core, and combined stabilization practices on pain, disability, and improvement of the neck range of motion in the elderly with chronic non-specific neck pain were examined. METHOD: A quasi-experimental (open label) study was carried out through a cluster sampling in two phases in Tehran-Iran in 2017. Totally, 102 patients were randomly allocated to three groups of specific neck stabilization, specific core stabilization, and combined practices through envelope method. The intervention took 12 weeks. To measure the severity of pain and neck disability, the visual analog scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI), and neck pain and disability scale (NPDS) was used. A goniometer was used to measure the range of the motion. To examine data, used SPSS (v.20). RESULT: The results, confirmed a significant decrease in pain over the time in the three therapeutic groups (p = 0.000). In addition, there was a significant difference between neck, core, and combined stabilization groups. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the angle of motion in all treatment groups with different treatment duration (P = 0.000). The highest increase in the angle of motion was after 12 weeks of practice in right lateral flexion (RLF) (p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: Twelve sessions of the neck, core, and combined stabilization practices can alleviate the pain and improve the strength in the elderly with chronic non-specific neck pain. In addition, compared to two other methods, the combined method was a more efficient way to improve the range of motion in patients.

Relationship between the status of occupational health management and job satisfaction among farmers: A health promotion approach.

BACKGROUND: Job satisfaction is one of the most important issues related to human resources in the organization which can reduce organizational productivity. In this regard, occupational health is an important science related to the health of the workforce in any organization, paying attention to it will help health promotion. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the status of occupational health management and job satisfaction among farmers with a health promotion approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020. The number of 209 farmers from all villages of Zabol was included by census method. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire that consisting of three sections of demographic information, occupational safety and health status, and standard job satisfaction questionnaire. At first, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated. In addition, 5-10 staff working in Agricultural Jihad Organization were asked about the content, clarity, and simplicity of the questionnaire terms. Content validity index and content validity ratio indexes were calculated as 0.68 and 0.83 for occupational health management and 0.69 and 0.83 for job satisfaction questionnaires, respectively. Instrument reliability was also assessed using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which was 0.872. Finally, after verifying the validity and reliability of the instrument, a questionnaire was used to collect the research data. Shapiro-Wilk, Wilcoxon, and Spearman correlation tests were used to analyze the findings. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. Armonk; NY, USA: IBM Corp. RESULTS: The results of the study indicate that occupational health management was at a moderate to a high level (3.701) and job satisfaction (3.381) was at a moderate to a high level. The standard regression coefficient between occupational health management and job satisfaction was obtained as 0.571. With a confidence of 95%, it can be stated that occupational health management in Zabol city under the supervision of jihad-e-agriculture organization has a significant impact on farmers' job satisfaction. In addition, the research findings confirmed a positive and significant relationship between occupational health management and job satisfaction of employed farmers and showed that the implementation of occupational safety and health programs in the jihad-e-agriculture organization can affect the job satisfaction of farmers. CONCLUSION: According to the evaluation of research findings, job satisfaction and occupational health management in the Agricultural Jihad Organization are relatively favorable among farmers in Zabol city. It was argued that there is a relationship between occupational health management and job satisfaction, that the implementation of programs related to occupational safety and health management system such as Health and Safety Executive will promote health.

Health in disasters in Iranian schools: A systematic review.

Iran is disaster-prone country in the world. Lack of awareness and failure to have a proper response to natural disasters cause heavy damages to nations and national assets. Risk management is essential to prevent, intervene, and fight disasters as it can attenuate the destructive effects. The present study reviews studies on health in disasters in Iranian schools with an emphasis on readiness to deal with crises. The study was carried out through a systematic search using keywords in Persian and English in Iranian and international databases such as Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, Web of Sciences, PubMed, and Scopus. The time range of the search included all articles published before September 2020. The reference lists were also checked to find more articles. Totally, 575 articles were found and full-text of 32 articles were examined. After omitting repetitious items, the articles were checked by two independent researchers in terms of inclusion and exclusion criteria so that 15 articles entered the final analysis phases. The target population consisted of students, teachers, managers, and experts of disaster resilience. The articles were mostly focused on earthquake, fire, and structural safety. Implementation of health school models through improving awareness and crisis management knowledge in school officials plays a key role in improving and preserving health in school environment and safety of students. Measures like paying more attention to safety of building and physical space of schools, adding crisis management skills to curriculum as practical educations, informing parents about such risk, and educating students about safety and prevention of risks are recommended.

Analyses and anticipating the future trend of accidents in an electricity distribution company of Iran: A time series analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many work-related fatalities happen every year in electricity distribution companies. This study was conducted to model accidents using the time series analysis and survey descriptive factors of injuries in an electricity distribution company in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: Data related to 2010 to 2017 were collected from the database of the safety department. Time series and trend analysis were used for data analyzing and anticipating the accidents up to 2022. RESULT: Most of the accidents occurred in summer. Workers' negligence was the reason for 75% of deaths. Employment type and type of injuries had a significant relationship (p <  0.05). CONCLUSION: The anticipating model indicated occupational injuries are going to have an increase in the future. A high rate of accidents in summer maybe because of the warm weather or insufficient skills in temporary workers. Temporary workers have no chance to work in a year like permanent workers, therefore acquisition experiences may be less in them. Based on the estimating model, management should pay attention to those sectors of the company where most of the risky activities take place. Also, training programs and using personal protective equipment can help to protect workers in hazardous conditions.

Investigating the match between anthropometric measures and the classroom furniture dimensions in Iranian students with health approach: A systematic review.

Ergonomics of schools and school furniture is one of the main issues in students' education. The proportion of school furniture to the anthropometric dimensions of students is one of the main ergonomic challenges in schools that affect students' health. This systematic review study aimed to examine the match between anthropometric measures and school furniture dimensions among Iranian students. A systematic review was carried out using databases to Google Scholar, SID, IRANDOC, PubMed, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect and specific keywords to find papers published before March 2020. The references of seminal studies were also used to extend the search scope. Totally, 11 studies entered the review. The results showed that there was no proportion between classroom furniture and students in schools under study. This lack of proportion was evident at different grades in both boys' and girls' schools. The results showed a lack of proportion between classroom furniture and Iranian students. There is a need to design and procure furniture based on the anthropometric dimensions of the society that will help to health promotion of students. An updated national anthropometric databank of Iranian students can be a step to solve the problem.

Ergonomics factors influencing school education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A literature review.

BACKGROUND: The school is one of the most critical social, educational, and training institutions and the main pillar of education in society. Education and, consequently, educational environments have the highest effect on the mentality, development, growth, welfare, concentration, performance, and learning efficiency of students. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to examine the effects of environmental ergonomics on the learning and cognition of pre-school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The study was carried out as a review article using some keywords, namely "children", "learning", "pre-school", "COVID-19", "ergonomics", and "environmental factors". Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct and Web of Science were searched to find related articles. RESULTS: Factors like color, form, and layout of classrooms, lighting and ventilation, interior decoration, and educational equipment are effective in creating interest and motivation for students to learn. CONCLUSIONS: A review of these articles showed that the presence of ergonomics in educational spaces for children increases the quality of learning and reduces stress and anxiety, and by observing health protocols, a healthy and safe environment can be provided for students.

Safety climate and related factors in rehabilitation nurses of hospitals in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Safety climate is a common insight of staff that indicates individuals' attitudes toward safety and priority of safety at work. OBJECTIVES: Nursing is a risky job where paying attention to safety is crucial. The assessment of the safety climate is one of the methods to measure the safety conditions in this occupation. The aim of this study was to assess the safety climate of rehabilitation nurses working in hospitals in Tehran. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study which was carried out on 140 rehabilitation nurses selected from all hospitals and clinics in Tehran in 2019. To collect the required data, a two-section questionnaire was used. The first section was related to demographic factors and the second part (22 statements) was to measure the safety climate using nurses' safety climate assessment questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS V16 using independent t-test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test at the 5% level. RESULTS: Findings showed that the total mean of safety climate was 3.06±0.56. According to the results, a significant difference was found between the positive and negative satisfaction of nurses with safety climates (P-value = 0.03), communication with nurses (P-value = 0.01) and supervisors' attitude (P-value = 0.02). Furthermore, a significant difference in safety climate between the individual with the second job and the individual without second could be observed (P-value = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the safety climate was not at an acceptable level. Thus, it is essential to introduce safety training courses (e.g. safety, work-rest balance, and so on) and to improve the safety performance at work.