A multicomponent quasi-experimental ergonomic interventional study: long-term parallel four-groups interventions.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are known as one of the main problems affecting the health of industrial workers and can lead to lost working days, functional disability of workers and wasting the financial resources of an organization. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluating the effect of ergonomic interventions on reducing MSDs and improving working posture in the in a foundry industry workers. METHODS: A field multicomponent cross-interventional study was conducted on workers working in a foundry industry. In this study, 117 male workers were divided into 4 groups, including a control group, a group with specialized ergonomics training, a group with workstation intervention, and a group simultaneously undergoing training and workstation intervention. All 4 groups were evaluated during a period of baseline, 6 and 12-months follow- up. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) and direct observations of working postures by using the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method were used. RESULTS: The results showed that the implemented interventions in the shoulder/arm, back and stress level were effective and the difference in the final score was significant among different groups (P-value > 0.05). In addition, the interventions led to a significant decrease in the QEC scores and musculoskeletal symptom scores in the neck, shoulder, lower back, knee, and lower leg regions among different groups (P-value > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that workstation modification and training and workstation intervention simultaneously had a greater effect on MSDs and improving working posture compared to training alone.

Health beliefs and behaviors of livestock industry workers regarding Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Northwest of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute, feverous disease that is caused by tick bites or humans' direct contact with the blood and tissues of infected livestock and humans. The transmission of the disease is also possible via human-to-human contacts and nosocomial transmission is well described. The majority of patients suffering from this disease are slaughterhouse workers (including butchers), farmers, veterinarians and hospital staff. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the health behaviors of butchers regarding CCHF and study factors affecting such behaviors based on the health belief model. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 500 butchers in Ardabil Province in 2020 by a multistage sampling method. The participants of the study completed the researcher-made questionnaire of health belief model and health behaviors model relevant to CCHF. The collected data were then analyzed by descriptive statistical tests and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 44.4 (10.5) years, and 96% were males. Only 11.1% of the participants displayed acceptable disease-preventive behaviors. The validity and reliability of the developed questionnaire were confirmed. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the constructs of the model explained 84% of the total variance. The results of the study revealed that among the variables of the health belief model, perceived susceptibility (p-value = 0.006, ß = 0.152) and perceived barriers (p-value = 0.023, ß = 0.14) were the strongest factors predicting disease-preventive behaviors regarding CCHF. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that the health belief model can predict preventive behaviors for CCHF. Therefore, designing and executing interventions based on the results of this study may encourage such preventive behaviors in butchers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quality of life in health Iranian elderly population approach in health promotion: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QOL) is essential in all different stages of life; however, It is more important for older people as it can be effective in promoting their health. Therefore, the present study aimed to review the literature on the QOL in the Iranian elderly population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out as a systematic review. For this purpose, all databases were searched in March 2021. The keywords used for the search were "quality of life, elderly, older adults, aging, seniors, and Iran" along with the Persian equivalents. PRISMA protocol was used to screen articles. After removing duplicate and irrelevant items, two evaluators appraised the articles separately based on a researcher-made checklist derived from the SBEM and STROBE Statement standard checklists. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 3734 studies on the QOL in the Iranian elderly population. After screening and assessing the studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 articles remained in the study. Most of the studies (cross-sectional) were conducted in Tehran using a 36-item Short-Form Health Survey to assess the QOL. The studies investigated sociodemographic determinants, physical and health-related behaviors, and spirituality and psychological determinants of the QOL. The sociodemographic determinants were the most common factors under study. The results showed that the role of gender and socioeconomic status was the strongest among the sociodemographic characteristics. A significant association was found between the QOL in the Iranian elderly population and factors such as depression and religious confrontation. CONCLUSION: In addition to chronic diseases, diseases of the oral and dental, as well as an unhealthy diet, should be considered in the elderly. Therefore, attention should be paid to all social, physical, and psychological variables that affect the QOL of older people.