Characteristics and Health Status of Outdoor Workers Exposed to High Temperature / 한국직업건강간호학회지

Purpose@#This study aims to identify general, workplace, and health-related characteristics of outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures, and to compare the risk of disease according to outdoor high temperature exposure. @*Methods@#This secondary analysis study used the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (2017) to identify 4,915 outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures. @*Results@#Outdoor workers exposed to high temperatures were mostly male, elderly, less educated, and daily contract workers. Most of them were engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and construction industries. About 40~50% of them complained of musculoskeletal pain and overall fatigue. The results showed that high temperature exposure increased the risk of illness (hearing problem, skin problem, backache, muscular pains in upper and lower limbs, headache/ eyestrain, injuries, depression, and overall fatigue) among workers. @*Conclusion@#High temperature exposure might increase the risk of illness among workers. The results of this study demonstrated that the outdoor workers should be protected from high temperatures.

Psychosocial Working Environment and Mental Health of Financial Clerks / 한국직업건강간호학회지

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to identify the psychosocial working environment and mental health of financial workers, and analyze the impact of the former on the latter. @*Methods@#Data of 257 financial clerks were extracted from the 2017 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey. Psychosocial working environment was divided into five fields: demands at work, work organizations, interpersonal relations, workplace violence, and working hour quality. Mental health included sleeping problems, psychological well-being, and job stress. @*Results@#A total of 6.1% subjects reported sleep problems, 28.2% experienced poor psychological well-being, and 39.6% had job stress. More than half the subjects were exposed to tight deadlines, complex tasks, hiding feelings at work, fair treatment, fair distribution of work, colleagues’ support, and managers’ support. Tight deadlines, workplace violence, long working hours, hiding feelings at work, and managers’ support had a significant impact on the mental health of financial clerks. @*Conclusion@#Based on the results of this study, we propose that employers, workers, and health managers in the financial industry should work together to establish a respectful organizational culture, prevent long working hours through recruitment, and conduct programs to protect emotional health.

Effects of Customer Violence Experiences, Protection Systems, and Monitoring Systems on the Subjective Health Status of Workers: Focusing on Salespersons and Electronic Machine Repairers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of customer violence experiences, protection systems, and monitoring systems on the subjective health status of salespersons and electronic machine repairers. @*Methods@#A total of 934 persons were sampled nationwide, including 582 salespersons and 352 electronic machine repairers, from March 2~30, 2020 and asked to fill out a self-reported questionnaire. @*Results@#The findings show that electronic machine repairers were more exposed to customer violence and had a weaker protection system than salespersons. They also experienced severe control from management through a monitoring system. The regression analysis revealed that verbal violence had a negative impact on the subjective health status of electronic machine repairers (p=.021). A worker protection system had significant effects on the improved subjective health status of salespersons (p=.009). Depression and fatigue had negative impacts on the subjective health status of both salespersons (depression: p<.001, fatigue: p<.001) and electronic machine repairers (depression: p<.001, fatigue: p=.002). @*Conclusion@#These findings put a greater emphasis on the need for worker protection systems to prevent workplace violence and a health promotion program to manage depression and fatigue in workplaces.

The Effects of College Students’ Dual Use of Electronic Cigarette and Conventional Cigarette on Depression

Purpose@#This study was conducted to find out the association between dual-use of the electronic cigarette (EC) and conventional cigarette (CC) and depression among undergraduate students. Methods: The participants of this study were 225 undergraduate students who were attending two universities located in Ulsan metropolitan city. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were conducted to analyze the data. @*Results@#Nicotine dependence and depression were significantly higher in the dual-use group than in the single-use group. Dual-use of the EC and CC was significantly associated with depression among undergraduate students. In addition, quality of sleep was significantly associated with depression among undergraduate students. @*Conclusion@#In order to prevent depression among undergraduate students, it is necessary to improve the awareness of the danger of dual use of the EC and CC.

Analysis of Media Articles on COVID-19 and Nurses Using Text Mining and Topic Modeling

Purpose@#The purpose of this study is to understand the social perceptions of nurses in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak through analysis of media articles. @*Methods@#Among the media articles reported from January 1st to September 30th, 2020, those containing the keywords ‘[corona or Wuhan pneumonia or covid] and [nurse or nursing]’ are extracted. After the selection process, the text mining and topic modeling are performed on 454 media articles using textom version 4.5. @*Results@#Frequency Top 30 keywords include ‘Nurse’, ‘Corona’, ‘Isolation’, ‘Support’, ‘Shortage’, ‘Protective Clothing’, and so on. Keywords that ranked high in Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) values are ‘Daegu’, ‘President’, ‘Gwangju’, ‘manpower’, and so on. As a result of the topic analysis, 10 topics are derived, such as ‘Local infection’, ‘Dispatch of personnel’, ‘Message for thanks’, and ‘Delivery of one’s heart’. @*Conclusion@#Nurses are both the contributors and victims of COVID-19 prevention. The government and the nurses’ community should make efforts to improve poor working conditions and manpower shortages.

The Relationship between Parenting Stress and Health Promotion Behavior of Working Women: Mediating Effect of Supporting Resources

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to understand the parenting stress and health promotion behavior of working women, and to investigate the mediating effect of supporting resources. Supporting resources were set as social support of spouse and community, and institutional support of the organization to which the subject belongs based on previous studies and an ecological system theory. @*Methods@#The participants were composed of 214 female workers residing in 17 cities and provinces nationwide and having at least one child aged 1~12 years old. Data were collected online from February 19 to February 28, 2021. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 program to understand the level and correlation of the general characteristics and major variables, and to test the mediating effect, after controlling the variables significantly from univariate analysis, step regression analysis was performed. @*Results@#Among the supporting resources, the mediating effect of social support of spouse and community was statistically significant. @*Conclusion@#These findings suggest that it is necessary to seek ways to increase the social support of working women's spouses and people around them in order to increase the health promotion behavior of working women.

Working Poverty and Health Disparities in Korean Workers

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between working poverty and health status among Korean workers. @*Methods@#This study is secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2018 Community Health Survey. For the present analysis, 23,575 of the working poor whose household disposable income is below 50.0% of the national median and 111,443 of the working nonpoor were selected. Based on existing literature, a set of variables were chosen from the Community Health Survey. Health status was measured using self-rated health status measure, Patient health Questionnire-9, and EuroQol-5dimension. @*Results@#The proportion of subjective unhealthy status, depressive symptoms, and poor quality of life were significantly higher among the working poor than among the working nonpoor. After adjusting for general characteristics and health behavior factors, the working poverty was a significant predictor of subjective unhealthy status (AOR=1.32, 95% CI=1.25~1.40), depressive symptoms (AOR=1.61, 95% CI=1.38~1.88]), and poor quality of life (β=-0.02, p<.001). @*Conclusion@#The current study confirmed the health disparities between the working poor and the working nonpoor. Therefore, health care programs and policies are required for reducing the health inequalities among the workers.

Working Poverty and Health Disparities in Korean Workers

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between working poverty and health status among Korean workers. @*Methods@#This study is secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2018 Community Health Survey. For the present analysis, 23,575 of the working poor whose household disposable income is below 50.0% of the national median and 111,443 of the working nonpoor were selected. Based on existing literature, a set of variables were chosen from the Community Health Survey. Health status was measured using self-rated health status measure, Patient health Questionnire-9, and EuroQol-5dimension. @*Results@#The proportion of subjective unhealthy status, depressive symptoms, and poor quality of life were significantly higher among the working poor than among the working nonpoor. After adjusting for general characteristics and health behavior factors, the working poverty was a significant predictor of subjective unhealthy status (AOR=1.32, 95% CI=1.25~1.40), depressive symptoms (AOR=1.61, 95% CI=1.38~1.88]), and poor quality of life (β=-0.02, p<.001). @*Conclusion@#The current study confirmed the health disparities between the working poor and the working nonpoor. Therefore, health care programs and policies are required for reducing the health inequalities among the workers.

Working Conditions and Health Status of Delivery Workers / 산업간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare working condition and health status between parcel delivery workers (PDW) and food delivery workers (FDW) and to examine the factors influencing their health status. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. RESULTS: The proportion of PDW who carryied/moved heavy loads and experienced high job stress and lack of rest time was significantly higher than that of FDW. However, more FDW than their counterparts worked atypical hours. The differences in fatigue and well-being between PDW and FDW were not statistically significant. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed low temperature, tobacco smoke, standing for long periods, and job stress were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being of FDW. Among PDW, noise, tobacco smoke, sitting for long periods, quantitative demands, hiding emotions, support from colleagues, job stress, no recovery period, and night work were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may be useful in developing nursing interventions for disease protection health promotion of delivery workers.

Working Conditions and Health Status of Delivery Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE@#The purpose of this study was to compare working condition and health status between parcel delivery workers (PDW) and food delivery workers (FDW) and to examine the factors influencing their health status.@*METHODS@#This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS.@*RESULTS@#The proportion of PDW who carryied/moved heavy loads and experienced high job stress and lack of rest time was significantly higher than that of FDW. However, more FDW than their counterparts worked atypical hours. The differences in fatigue and well-being between PDW and FDW were not statistically significant. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed low temperature, tobacco smoke, standing for long periods, and job stress were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being of FDW. Among PDW, noise, tobacco smoke, sitting for long periods, quantitative demands, hiding emotions, support from colleagues, job stress, no recovery period, and night work were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being.@*CONCLUSION@#The findings of this study may be useful in developing nursing interventions for disease protection health promotion of delivery workers.

Comparison of Requirement and Activity of Workers' Health Promotion according to Business Type and Enterprise Size / 산업간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in requirement and activity related to workers' health promotion according to business type and enterprise size. METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of data extracted from a survey on the Enterprise Health Promotion Index. For the present analysis, 7,784 companies were selected. RESULTS: Requirements for lifestyle management and activities to prevent musculoskeletal disorders were the highest. The requirement and activity of musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease were high in the manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, in the non-manufacturing industry, the requirement and activity of job stress management were high. Small-sized companies had a high requirement to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease. CONCLUSION: Government support should be strengthened in workers' lifestyle management. Additionally, workers' health promotion in small-sized companies needs to focus on preventing musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease.

Comparison of Requirement and Activity of Workers' Health Promotion according to Business Type and Enterprise Size / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE@#The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in requirement and activity related to workers' health promotion according to business type and enterprise size.@*METHODS@#This study is a secondary analysis of data extracted from a survey on the Enterprise Health Promotion Index. For the present analysis, 7,784 companies were selected.@*RESULTS@#Requirements for lifestyle management and activities to prevent musculoskeletal disorders were the highest. The requirement and activity of musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease were high in the manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, in the non-manufacturing industry, the requirement and activity of job stress management were high. Small-sized companies had a high requirement to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease.@*CONCLUSION@#Government support should be strengthened in workers' lifestyle management. Additionally, workers' health promotion in small-sized companies needs to focus on preventing musculoskeletal disorders and cerebrovascular disease.

Evaluation on Criterion Validity of Enterprise Health Promotion Index / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the validity of the ‘ Enterprise Health Promotion Index’, a tool for assessing health promotion activities of worksite developed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. METHODS: This is designed a methodological study that evaluates the validity of the Enterprise Health Promotion Index. For this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted for the workplace health professional and safety professional, and a total of 297 data were extracted as final data. We developed the informal health promotion needs and activity measurement tools. The correlation coefficient between the score of the enterprise health promotion index and the score of the informal health promotion tool was analyzed for the criterion validity evaluation. RESULTS: The criterion validity of the Enterprise Health Promotion Index and activity index were supported by finding moderate (r=.597) and high (r=.783) correlation coefficient. However, the requirement index has low levels of criterion validity (r=.364). CONCLUSION: Based on these results, we suggest to improve the utility of the corporate health promotion index by developing user manual, active public relations, and providing briefing sessions.

Effects of Working Environment and Socioeconomic Status on Health Status in Elderly Workers: A Comparison with Non-Elderly Workers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study were to compare working condition, socioeconomic status, and health status between elderly and non-elderly workers and to examine the influencing factors of health status according to age groups. METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2014 Korean Working Conditions Survey. For the present analysis, 15,980 elderly workers over the age of 55 and 32,037 non-elderly workers under the age of 55 were selected. RESULTS: The prevalence of subjective unhealthy status and poor mental health were significantly higher among the elderly workers than the non-elderly workers. The elderly workers were more likely to have lower level of education and income than the non-elderly workers. They also reported less support from colleagues and managers, however, have more decision authority. Among the elderly workers, long working hours, awkward posture, physical environmental risks, quantitative demand, decision authority, social support, age discrimination, education level, and income level were significant predictors of subjective health status or mental health. CONCLUSION: For keeping elderly workers healthy and productive, work environment needs to become more age-friendly. An age-friendly workplace may include: accommodative support, workers' participation, minimization of environment risk, etc.

Comparison of Occupational Health Providers' Perception on Workers' Health Promotion Program by Business Types: Focusing on Need, Necessity, Performance, Barriers, and Effectiveness of Program / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to examine the differences in need, necessity, performance, barriers, and effectiveness of workers' health promotion program and to determine the influencing factors in effectiveness of workers' health promotion program by business types. METHODS: Subjects were participants of an education held by Korean association of occupational health nurses and a survey was self-reported. Survey items were developed by researchers through literature review. It included general characteristics of occupational health providers and worksites, need, necessity, performance, barriers and effectiveness of workers' health promotion (WHP) program. The total number of worksites was 168, manufacturing/construction was 76 (45.2%), other services were 52 (31.0%), and healthcare services were 40 (23.8%). We used chi2 test, ANOVA test, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: There were differences in need, necessity and performance of WHP by business types. In healthcare services, WHP had statistically significant effectiveness to reduce turnover rates. And the influencing factors of WHP's effectiveness were workers' need in manufacturing/construction, health provider's career in other services, and perceived necessity in healthcare services. CONCLUSION: Based on this result, we propose differentiated strategies depending on the business types for effective workers' health promotion program.

The Effects of Customer Contact Service to the Mental Health among Korean Taxi Drivers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between customer contact service and mental health among Korean taxi drivers. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the 2015 Korean Working Conditions Survey. The sample included 496 taxi drivers in South Korea. The effect of customer contact service on mental health was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The independent variables were general characteristics, working conditions, and hazardous factors in interactive service. RESULTS: The prevalence of poor mental health was 56.3%. Taxi drivers experienced emotional involvement (17.2%), hiding feeling (32.0%), and contact with angry clients (18.3%) in their job. During the first month of their work, 33.7% experienced verbal abuse and 12.3% threats/humiliating behaviors. In bivariate analysis, verbal abuse, threats/humiliating behaviors, and physical violence were associated with mental health of taxi drivers. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed 'emotional involvement' and 'contact with angry clients' were significant predictors of mental health. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may be useful in developing intervention programs to improve the mental health of taxi drivers in South Korea.

Physical and Psychosocial Risk Factors Affecting Mental Health and Presenteeism among South Korean Hairdressers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among physical and psychosocial risk factors, mental health, and presenteeism of South Korean hairdressers. METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2014 Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), conducted by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. For the present analysis, 920 hairdressers were selected. Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association among risk factors in working place, mental health, and presenteeism. RESULTS: The prevalence of poor mental health and presenteeism was 45.1% and 36.0%, respectively. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that ‘repetitive hand or arm movements,’ were significant predictors of mental health (OR: 0.63, CI: 0.41~0.97), and ‘role clarity’ was a significant predictor of presenteeism (OR: 1.86, CI: 1.10~3.13). CONCLUSION: Based on these results, we suggest to improve the clarification of the role of hairdressers as a strategy to reduce their presenteeism.

Association between Sleep Duration and Body Mass Index among South Korean Adolescents

BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been a growing interest in sleep duration as a risk factor for obesity. The link between sleep duration and obesity has been well established in adults, but there are limited studies in adolescents. Also, little research had been done involving South Korean adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index in South Korea adolescents. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the data collected from the 2013 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. The sample included 59,367 adolescents. The questionnaires used for this study assessed gender, age, mother's education level, academic performance, smoking, alcohol use, eating behaviors, physical activity, duration of internet use, perceived stress level, and perceived health status. Data were analyzed with chi2-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression analysis using SPSS Version 21. RESULTS: The percentage of obese subjects was the greatest among respondents reporting less than 5 h of sleep (11.0%) and the lowest among those reporting 8 or more hours of sleep (8.4%). In the results of logistic regression analysis, compared with sleep duration of 8h or more, the adjusted odds ratio was 1.11 for 7-8 h, 1.19 for 6-7 h, 1.19 for 5-6 h, and 1.19 for <5 h of sleep, with other factors controlled. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that a shortsleep duration is significantly associated with obesity among South Korea adolescents. In managing obesity in this population, health professionals should attend to how much sleep they are getting.

Gender Differences in Psychosocial Working Conditions and Psychological Well-being among Korean Interactive Service Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being depending on the gender among Korean interactive service workers. METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of the data extracted from the 2011 Korean Working Conditions Survey. For the present analysis, 15,669 workers who interact with others at work were selected. Based on the existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. Psychological well-being was measured using the WHO-5 well-being index. RESULTS: The prevalence of poor psychological well-being was significantly higher among men (43.1%) than women (39.6%). Women were more likely to be exposed to demands for hiding emotions, bullying, and discrimination, whereas men were more likely to be exposed to psychological job demands, cognitive demands, demands for responsibility, role conflict and long working hours. Most factors were associated with poor well-being among women and men except demands for hiding emotions, skill discretion and development, physical violence, and sexual harassment. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, some practical suggestions are offered to help interactive service workers adjust to their duties.

A Comparative Study on Health Status and Health Determinants of Foreign Workers and Native Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the health status between foreign workers and native workers and to examine the influencing factors of health status of foreign and native workers. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the data collected from the 3rd (2011) Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). The sample included 101 foreign workers and 101 native workers matched by age and gender. RESULTS: The difference in health status between foreign workers and native workers was not statistically significant. The most commonly complained health problem of foreign workers was muscle pain of the upper limbs. Among foreign workers, hazard exposure, coworker support and supervisor support were significant predictors of health status. Among native workers, income level and obesity were significant predictors of health status. CONCLUSION: For health management and health promotion of foreign workers, employers and health providers need to establish coworker supporting systems in workplace and improvement strategies of work environment. Particularly, they must pay closer attention to management of foreign workers' musculoskeletal disorder.