Prevalence of occupational injuries and associated factors among workers of textile and garment factories during the era of COVID-19 pandemic in mekelle city, Northern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aim: Occupational injury is any personal injury that can lead to disease, disability, or death due to accidents sustained by workers while performing their work. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational injuries and associated factors among workers of textile and garment factories in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia during the era of COVID-19. Methods: A cross-ectional study was conducted among 348 Textile and Garment factories in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia on September and October 2020. Data were collected using a semi-structured face-to-face interview questionnaire by trained data collectors and supervisors. Occupational injury was assessed by a yes/no question "Have you had any injury related to your occupation in the last 12 months?." Epi Data version 3.1 was used to enter data and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used for data analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the independent determinants of occupational injury, and variables with p < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The annual prevalence rate of occupational injury among textile and garment factories was 27.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 23.2-32.9%). Factors like being a male (AOR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.92-6.92), job satisfaction (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.11-0.43), sleeping disorder (AOR = 3.47; 95% CI = 1.91-6.32), job stress (AOR = 2.62; 95% CI = 1.44-4.73), and safety and health training (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.22-0.74) were significantly associated with the occurrence of occupational injury. Conclusion: Expectedly, lockdown during COVID-19 could lead to absenteeism and reduced prevalence of occupational injuries as the outcome of this study.

Removal of endocrine disrupters from the contaminated environment: public health concerns, treatment strategies and future perspectives - A review.

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are emerging contaminants of concern (ECC) that disturb endocrine hormones and system functionality even at very low concentrations (i.e. µg/L or ng/L levels). Hence, EDCs are found in all components of the environment including surface and groundwater, wastewater, soil, outdoor and indoor air and in the contaminated foods from a variety of sources (run off from agricultural activities, sewage treatment plants, leakage from septic tanks etc.), and the effects are more severe as the majority of EDCs do not have standard regulations. The environmental mobility of EDCs is higher as conventional wastewater treatment does not degrade efficiently and the development of effective and sustainable removal technologies specifically designed for the removal of those emerging micropollutants is essential. Accordingly, EDCs cause various public health diseases such as reproductive abnormalities, obesity, various cancer types, cardiovascular risks, metabolic disorders, epigenetic alterations, autism, etc. This paper reviews the existing and emerging treatment technologies for the removal of phenolic based EDCs, such as natural estrogens (estrone (E1), 17ß-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3)), synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) and phenolic xenoestrogens (4-nonyl phenols (4-NP) and bisphenol-A (BPA)) from the contaminated environment. These includes advanced oxidation processes (AOP), adsorption processes, membrane based filtration, bioremediation, phytoremediation and other integrated approaches. The sustainability of EDCs removal can be assured through the use of combined processes (i.e. low-cost - biological and adsorption methods with efficient and costly - AOPs) techniques through system integration to achieve better removal efficiency than using a single treatment technique. Besides, the public health concerns and future research perspectives of EDCs are also highlighted.

Prevalence and associated factors of burnout syndrome among healthcare workers in public and private hospitals in Mekelle City, Ethiopia

Introduction: Burnout syndrome, an occupational negative psychosomatic condition, has three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low personal achievement. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout syndrome and associated factors among public and private healthcare workers in Mekelle City, Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 229 healthcare workers in Mekelle, Kay Kalkidan and Ben Meskerem General Hospitals. An anonymous questionnaire was used for data collection. Pearson Chi-square test and Binary logistic regression analysis were employed. Both tests were conducted at 95% CI with p-value ≤ 0.05 as acceptance area. Result: Overall 109 (47.6%) of respondents had burnout syndrome. Workers in the private hospitals (65.8%) were more at risk compared to those in the public hospital (44.0%). The lower staff/patient ratio in the private hospitals compared with the public hospital might have contributed to the higher prevalence of burnout syndrome. Independent predictor factors were: being female, few years of work experience, working night shifts and long working hours each week. Conclusion: Prevalence of burnout syndrome was high among all respondents but particularly those working in private hospitals. Some socio demographic and occupational factors were also implicated