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Abstract 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

BackgroundOccupational injuries are one of the leading causes of death or disability in occupational populations. According to the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, occupational injuries were the occupational contributor responsible for the largest loss of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) globally in 2016. ObjectiveTo analyze the burden of deaths attributed to occupational injuries in Chinese population from 1990 to 2019, and provide a reference for further construction of occupational injury surveillance system. MethodsUsing the results and data of the Global Burden of Disease 2019 (GBD 2019), this study estimated the burden of deaths attributable to occupational injuries by year, sex, and age groups, and the indicators included deaths, years of life lost (YLL), mortality, and YLL rates. Age-standardized rates of deaths and YLL rates were calculated using a world standard population presented by GBD 2019. Annualized rate of change (ARC) was use to evaluate changes in the indicators over time. All results were presented as point estimates with 95% uncertainty intervals (95%UI). ResultsIn 2019, the deaths attributable to occupational injuries among women in China accounted for 33.16% of that among world's women, their YLL accounted for 31.88%, and the two indicators among Chinese men accounted for 17.98% and 17.09%, respectively. Compared with 1990, the standardized mortality rate and the standardized YLL rate attributable to occupational injuries in China in 2019 decreased, among which the ARCs of the standardized mortality rate in the whole population, men, and women were −0.68 (95%UI: −0.78, −0.51), −0.68 (95%UI: −0.80, −0.47), and −0.68 (95%UI: −0.82, −0.46), respectively. The ARCs of the standardized YLL rate in the whole population, men, and women were −0.68 (95%UI: −0.78, −0.51), −0.67 (95%UI: −0.80, −0.48), and −0.68 (95%UI: −0.81, −0.44), respectively. Absolute values of the ARCs of the standardized mortality rate and the standardized YLL rate attributable to occupational injuries from 1990 to 2010 were higher than those from 2010 to 2019. The ARCs of the standardized YLL rate for road injuries, falls, and drowning from 1990 to 2010 were −0.55 (95%UI: −0.67, −0.36), −0.57 (95%UI: −0.73, −0.38), −0.77 (95%UI: −0.84, −0.63), and the ARCs from 2010 to 2019 were −0.27 (95%UI: −0.46, −0.02), −0.07 (95%UI: −0.34, −0.26), −0.06 (95%UI: −0.32, −0.29), respectively. In 2019, the standardized mortality rate attributable to occupational injuries among Chinese men was 5.68/100000 (95%UI: 3.89/100000, 8.23/100000), and the standardized YLL rate was 286.27/100000 (95%UI: 197.58/100000, 411.38/100000); the standardized mortality rate attributable to occupational injuries among Chinese women was 1.55/100000 (95%UI: 0.99/100000, 2.36/100000), and the standardized YLL rate was 80.85/100000 (95%UI: 51.61/100000, 122.07/100000). ConclusionFrom 1990 to 2019, the burden of deaths attributable to occupational injuries in China is declined, but the rate of decline is slowed down in the last decade. The burden of deaths attributable to occupational injuries among women in China still accounts for a high proportion of the global burden among women. The burden of deaths attributable to occupational injuries among Chinese men is higher than that among Chinese women.

BackgroundFalls are one of the most important types of occupational injuries. The incidence of falls is high in manufacturing workers. However, most of the studies on falls in China focus on primary and secondary school students and the elderly, and there are few studies on falls in the occupational population. ObjectiveTo evaluate efficiency of Bayesian network model in predicting fall injury risks in manufacturing enterprise staff, and impacts from work content, work environment, enterprise status, and health management on falls and their mutual relationships, and provide a scientific basis for enterprises to carry out fall-associated injury intervention. MethodsData from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) were used. The survey provided data on work content, working environment, enterprise status, and health management of enterprises in European countries. The outcome indicator, was fall injury risks reported in enterprises. A total of 23 potential impact factors covering work content, working environment, enterprise status, and health management were screened by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, followed by Bayesian network model for structure learning and parameter learning and area under the curve (AUC) for model fitness evaluation, using R and Netica 5.18. Diagnostic inference analysis was also conducted to identify key influencing factors and key influencing chains of fall injury risks based on the change rate of fall injury risks. ResultsIn 5997 enterprises surveyed, 2573 (42.9%) enterprises reported fall injury risks. Ordered by their coefficient estimates from high to low, the 14 variables (mean-squared error=0.20) selected by LASSO regression were: manual handling, repetitive arm movement, poor posture, using desktop computers, and using robots in the category of work content; abnormal temperature and noise in the category of working environment; company size and employee quality in the category of enterprise status; mental health training, regular risk assessment, availability of psychologists, health and safety procedures, and provision of psychological counseling in the category of health management. The fitting result of Bayesian network model for fall injury risks was good (AUC=0.779). The Bayesian network diagnostic inference identified five key influencing factors, including abnormal temperature (change rate=35.9%), poor posture (change rate=27.3%), noise (change rate=23.4%), manual handling (change rate=18.2%), and repetitive arm movement (change rate=5.1%). The key influencing chain was "manual handling - poor posture - repetitive arm movement - fall injury risks" (combined change rate=16.9%). ConclusionThe Bayesian network model has a good predictive performance in predicting the risk of falls in manufacturing enterprises. Manufacturing enterprises need to focus on jobs involving manual handling and repetitive arm movement, identify and improve workers' poor posture and mental health problems, and avoid workers working in harsh temperature or noise environment.

Globally, manufacturing workers are one of the most vulnerable groups to occupational injuries. Occupational injuries can lead to absenteeism, disability or even death, and most of the inflicted workers involve young adults aged 18-40 years, suggesting a safety and health problem that needs close attention. In the working environment of manufacturing industry, there are a variety of occupational injury risk factors, involving individuals, equipment, environment, and management, which should be considered comprehensively. This study found comprehensive research coverage on the influencing factors of occupational injuries in manufacturing industry at individual, environmental, and management levels at home and abroad, and rich research results on the impacts of psychological factors on occupational injuries. However, factors associated with occupational injuries in equipment safety and engineering like man-machine environment need further research. Influencing factors at all levels should be comprehensively considered in the surveillance and intervention of occupational injuries in manufacturing industry to protect health and safety of workers.

BackgroundThe United Kingdom (UK) adopts active surveillance and passive surveillance to jointly collect occupational injury data, and builds a relatively complete occupational injury surveillance system, which can provide reference for the construction of China's occupational injury surveillance system. ObjectiveTo compare the results of active surveillance and passive surveillance of occupational injuries in the UK, and to explore the joint application value of active and passive surveillance methods in the field of occupational injury prevention and control. MethodsThe non-fatal occupational injury active surveillance data from Labor Force Survey were used to calculate indicators such as number of reported cases, reporting rate, lost workdays per year, lost workdays per capita, and average lost workdays per case. The fatal passive surveillance data reported by the employers were used to calculate number of reported deaths, reported mortality, and other indicators. Join-point regression was used to estimate the reported trends of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries from 2004 to 2020, and the annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were calculated. ResultsThe active surveillance data showed that from 2004 to 2020, the number of reported cases of absenteeism ≥0 d due to occupational injury decreased from 89.7 (95%CI: 85.2, 94.2) per ten thousand to 44.1 (95%CI: 39.1, 49.2) per ten thousand, and the reporting rate of occupational injury decreased from 32100/100000 (95%CI: 3050/100000, 3370/100000) to 1410/100000 (95%CI: 1250/100000, 1570/100000), showing a linear downward trend (both APC and AAPC were −3.88%, P

In order to promote the development of China's occupational injury surveillance system, this paper presented the legal basis, project overview, reporting procedures, definitions and stati statistical scope, data sources and collection standards, statistical data management and analysis points of the European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), and combined with existing research and related surveillance management system in China, five key points were proposed for constructing China's occupational injury surveillance system: 1) Establish and improve laws and regulations related to occupational injury surveillance; 2) Promote utilization of nation-level data systems; 3) Establish and optimize a sound national occupational injury surveillance system; 4) Provide standardized protocols for data collection and data application of occupational injury statistics; 5) Strengthen supervision and law enforcement targeting industries and enterprises.

BackgroundOccupational injuries, which can result in absenteeism, disability, or death, are closely related to poor working conditions. However, the improvement of operating conditions are often time-consuming and require significant economic inputs. Both occupational psychology and enterprise risk factors have been proved to be related to the occurrence of occupational injuries, but their roles in the influence path of adverse working conditions leading to occupational injuries remain unclear. ObjectiveTo explore the roles of occupational psychology and enterprise risk factors in the impact of adverse working conditions on occupational injury, so as to provide a scientific basis for enterprises with adverse working conditions to carry out targeted occupational injury intervention programs. MethodsThe survey data of 5997 manufacturing enterprises were obtained from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) database. The data on enterprise risk characteristics, occupational injuries, working conditions, and occupational psychological factors were extracted and assigned. Occupational injury differences by enterprise categories were examined by chi-square test. Correlations between interest variables were evaluated by Spearman test. Path analysis with Bootstrap method was conducted using AMOS 26 software, and ratio of chi-square statistic to degree of freedom (χ2/ν), comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used to evaluate the path model candidates. The effect size and its proportion were calculated for variables (occupational psychological factors, enterprise risk factors, and adverse working conditions) included in the final model. ResultsThe M (P25, P75) scores of occupational injuries, adverse working conditions, and occupational psychological factors were 40 (20, 50), 50 (30, 60), and 20 (10, 30), respectively. The enterprises that reported occupational injuries accounted for 25.5% (1550 enterprises) of the total enterprises. Proportions of the enterprises that reported occupational injuries varied significantly by company scale, branch companies, temporary employment, language barriers, and establishment time (P

Occupational injuries cause a large number of personal injuries, illnesses, or deaths, resulting in a huge burden of disease, and has become an important global occupational safety and health problem. Developed countries in Europe and the United States have provided strong support for occupational injury prevention and control by establishing continuous and stable occupational injury surveillance systems. The occupational injury problem has not attracted enough attention and concern in China, with few relevant research reports, and the current occupational injury surveillance system is far from perfection. From the perspective of protecting workers' occupational health, this paper analyzed and compared the classification and scope of occupational injuries at home and abroad, as well as the status quo of occupational injury surveillance and assessment, and proposed to set up an occupational injury surveillance system with multiple surveillance methods and multiple data sources that complement with each other, so as to strengthen the continuity of surveillance activities, consistency of data formats, and comparability of assessment indicators. Step by step, we can set up a surveillance system covering the whole process of surveillance, assessment, intervention, and evaluation of intervention effects.

BackgroundOccupational injury is one of the important causes of death among the working population and a worldwide hot topic, but there are few relevant studies on the trend and prediction of occupational injury attributable deaths in China. ObjectiveTo analyze the trend of occupational injury attributable deaths in China from 2000 to 2019, predict the deaths of occupational injuries in China from 2020 to 2024 by contructing a gray GM(1,1) model, and provid a reference for surveillance and assessment of occupational injuries. MethodsMortality, crude mortality rates, and standardized mortality rates of occupational injuries in China by year, sex, and age groups were calculated using data of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study. Join-point model was used to analyze possible trend of standardized mortality rate from 2000 to 2019, and calculate annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC). After a gray model GM(1,1) was established, the accuracy of the model was evaluated by posterior error ratio (C) and small error probability (P) and rated as Level 1 (good, C≤0.35 and P≥0.95) or Level 2 (qualified, 0.35

GI endoscopy forms an important part in the daily practice of a gastroenterologist. Musculoskeletal injuries related to GI endoscopy are on the rise. Observational studies and surveys depict the importance of a proper ergonomic environment when performing GI endoscopy. Our aim is to describe the pathophysiology, risk factors and possible preventive measures to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries during gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. We review the most relevant studies that outline the gravity of the problem. A detailed analysis of proposed ergonomic recommendations is performed, outlining crucial steps in injury prevention. Proper ergonomic education is a key step in preventing occupational injury. Robotics and other mechanical solutions offer a variety of approaches to tackling the ergonomic challenge. Implementing proper ergonomic education and mechanical solutions lowers the possibility of occupational injury. The strategies and appliances presented are beneficial to all GI endoscopy practitioners.

Background: Recent research on occupational injuries in companies has faced difficulties in obtaining representative data, leading to studies relying on surveys or case studies. Moreover, it is difficult to find studies on how a company's industry characteristics affect occupational injuries. This study aims to address these limitations. Methods: We collected 11 years of disclosure data from 1,247 listed companies in the Korean stock market and combined it with their occupational injury histories collected by the Republic of Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) to build a dataset. We attempted to analyze a linear panel model by dividing the dataset into manufacturing, construction, and other industries. Results: The higher proportion of full-time employees and better job skills correlate with lower occupational injuries in other industries. The wage increase reduces occupational injuries in manufacturing and other industries, but the substitution effect produces the opposite outcome in construction. Also, foreign ownership and credit ratings increase effectively reduce occupational injuries mainly in the manufacturing industry. Conclusion: Our results suggest that in explaining the relationship between corporate characteristics and occupational injuries, it is necessary to consider the nature of the industry more closely, and in particular, employment and labor policies for preventing occupational injuries need to be selectively applied according to industry. In addition, to improve the limitations and increase the usability of the research results, further detailed studies are needed in the future.

Abel Afework,1 Aiggan Tamene,2 Abera Tafa,1 Amanuel Tesfaye,1 Sisay Gemede1 1Infection Prevention and Control Department, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia; 2Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Wachemo, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Abel Afework, Email agziabel@gmail.comBackground: The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a high-risk environment for workers’ occupational health and safety. As a result, healthcare workers are constantly exposed to a wide range of hazards, including biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards. Consequently, janitorial staff are the most vulnerable section of the healthcare workforce to occupational injuries when compared to others due to the nature of their work. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the magnitude of occupational accidents and associated factors among Janitorial staff at Dilla University Teaching Hospital.Methods: This cross-sectional institutional-based study was conducted from August to September 2022 at a University Teaching Hospital in South Ethiopia. A total of 105 janitorial staff were included in the study with a response rate of 93.8%. The data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi Info version 7.2.5 and exported to IBM SPSS statistics 22 for further cleaning and analysis. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of occupational accidents and variables with a p-value of < 0.05 during the multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant.Results: The prevalence of occupational accidents is 61% (95% CI: 51.4, 70.5). Of the total study participants, 52 (45.5%) and 33 (31.4%) of the participants had reported that they have experienced chemical splash and needle stick injury, respectively. The age of participants was one of the factors for occupational accidents. The participants who did not receive training were 3 times [AOR=2.9, 95% CI (1.04, 8.02)] more likely exposed. Having good practice was protective against occupational injuries.Conclusion: The study highlights the high prevalence of occupational accidents, particularly chemical splashes, and needle stick injuries, among janitors in the study settings. The study emphasizes the importance of age, training, awareness, and adherence to infection prevention and control strategies as factors influencing the likelihood of experiencing occupational injuries.Keywords: occupational accident, occupational injury, chemical splash, needle stick injury, sharp injury

Foreign body retention in the neck may be either traumatic or iatrogenic. Penetrating neck injuries with retained bodies are critical, as the neck serves as a passage for structures essential to life. Therefore, prompt detection and retrieval of the foreign body are paramount in preventing mortality. Here, authors present a case in which a successful surgical retrieval was performed without any postprocedural complications, despite the patient presenting relatively late after the injury. In this case report, a 23-year-old male labourer presented with a right-sided neck swelling two months after a workplace injury involving a shattered metal plate. Imaging confirmed a 15x5 mm hyperdense metallic object penetrating the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Successful open exploration extracted a 1.5 cm metallic shard at the C6 vertebral level, with no major vessel or airway damage. Postoperatively, the patient exhibited no movement restrictions, highlighting the atypical presentation of a retained metallic foreign body and the importance of timely intervention and comprehensive imaging for successful management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionConstruction workers are often exposed to significant injury risk. The aim of our study is to assess their occupational hazards and injury risk perception.MethodsWe administered 256 questionnaires to construction workers. The survey was aimed at collecting information regarding occupational risk and hazard exposure perception, risk control and behavioral self-assessment. We analyzed the data obtained in order to highlight any associations between injury risk perception and anamnestic, occupational, behavioral or perceptual factors.ResultsParticipants were prevalently males (92.37%) aged 21–60 years (94%). They showed a job seniority level of 21.3 (11.51) on average and, ranging from a 1 to 10 score, a danger awareness of 6.8 (2.9), a lack of prevention measures 6.0 (3.3), an improper behavior of 7.3 (2.7), an unpredictable fate of 6.0 (2.9). These factors resulted significantly associated with the injury risk perception. Multivariable analysis highlighted that the injury risk perception was associated with the lack of prevention measure and unpredictable fate. On the other hand, we found a negative association with the workers’ improper behaviors.ConclusionWorkers’ perception showed fairly uniform average values even when occupational risk was demonstrated. Our analysis suggests a positive correlation between injury risk perception and the idea that injuries are due both to fate and to chance; it also shows a negative correlation between injury risk perception and the idea that injuries are due to improper behavior. A lack of fully comparable studies confirms the need for further studies on the injury risk perception of construction workers.

From 2009 to 2019, staff, students, and faculty volunteers from a chiropractic college started Mission Trip America, later re-named Service Trip America (STA), providing monthly free chiropractic services at a hiring hall for day laborers in San Francisco until the 2020 COVID-19 hiatus. We report on volunteers' service-learning experiences. Mixed-methods analysis comprising document review, descriptive report of site visit records, and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 12 student and faculty volunteers. STA conducted 104 visits (8–11 per year) including 2272 patient encounters. Document review revealed an average of 22 patients per visit, with 60% to 85% return patients. On average, 3 student interns and 2 student assistants attended each visit, supervised by a doctor of chiropractic faculty member and the program director. Most commonly, interns treated 8 patients during the 4- to 5-hour visits. Patient concerns included musculoskeletal problems and other health conditions commonly seen at chiropractic offices and teaching clinics. Interns also regularly saw chronic health problems exacerbated by poor living conditions, violence, limited access to health care, low educational attainment, chronic stress, and the extreme biomechanical loading resulting from heavy labor. Interview results yielded 4 themes: learning, attitudes, challenges, and program strengths. Interviewees described opportunities to learn while working with a marginalized population and discussed long-term effects on their postgraduation practice as chiropractors. Patients' physical, mental health, and psychosocial issues illustrated unique circumstances and profound needs of the underserved population being cared for by STA volunteers. Our findings may provide guidance for other community-based chiropractic service-learning programs in marginalized and underserved communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) are continually required to adjust position and posture to access the limited surgical field in and around the head and neck, oral cavity, and oropharynx. Very limited data exists that quantifies the burden of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among OMS. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory study seeks to address these literature gaps by assessing the prevalence of MSD among OMS. METHOD: A 12-question survey was designed to investigate the prevalence of MSD for OMS, including residents in training, actively practicing surgeons, and retired surgeons. Seventy-six surveys were distributed and completed in person by surgeons attending professional conferences from September 2018-September 2019. Survey questions included the Baker-Wong Faces pain scale, years in practice, number of hours worked per week, job tenure, pain attributable to work, and age. The Nordic scale identified and delineated anatomic site of musculoskeletal complaints, duration and treatment sought. RESULTS: The most frequently cited sources and locations of pain attributable to occupation were shoulders, neck, and lower back. The risk of MSD symptoms was relatively two-fold [PR = 2.54, 95% CI = 0.90, 7.22] among OMS in practice for more than ten years compared to those in practice less than ten years. After adjusting for age and hours worked per week as potential confounders, the risk of MSD symptoms was higher among OMS in practice for more than ten years compared to those with less than ten years of experience, despite no statistically significant association. CONCLUSION: OMS are impacted by a high prevalence of MSD. The neck, shoulder, and lower back are the most frequently affected with discomfort and pain. This study found that practicing oral and maxillofacial surgery for more than 10 years is a potential risk factor for experiencing MSD. Keywords: Occupational pain, surgical ergonomics, work-related injuries, oral surgery, occupational injury prevention, return to work, workplace health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Spacesuits are designed to be reliable personal spacecraft that preserve the life and well-being of the astronaut from the extremes of space. However, materials, operating pressures, and suit design requirements often result in a risk of musculoskeletal discomfort and injury to various areas of the body. In particular, this investigation looked at fingernails and their risk of developing onycholysis. Methods: An onycholysis literature review was followed by a retrospective analysis of injury characteristics, astronaut suited training and spaceflight events, hand anthropometry, glove sizing, and astronaut demographics. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the likelihood of onycholysis occurrence by testing potential risk variables against the dataset compiled from the retrospective data mining. Results: The duration of event exposure, type of glove used, distance (delta) between the fingertip and the tip of the glove, sex, and age were found to be significantly related to occurrence of onycholysis (whether protective or injurious). Conclusion: An initial risk formula (model) for onycholysis was developed as a result of this investigation. In addition to validation through a future study, further improvement to this onycholysis equation and spacesuit discomfort and injury in general can be aided by future investigations that lead to better definition of the threshold between safe and risky exposure for each type of risk factor. Application: This work described a potential method that can be used for EVA spacesuit glove onycholysis injury risk analysis for either iterative glove design or between glove comparisons, such as during a product downselect process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GI endoscopy forms an important part in the daily practice of a gastroenterologist. Musculoskeletal injuries related to GI endoscopy are on the rise. Observational studies and surveys depict the importance of a proper ergonomic environment when performing GI endoscopy. Our aim is to describe the pathophysiology, risk factors and possible preventive measures to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries during gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. We review the most relevant studies that outline the gravity of the problem. A detailed analysis of proposed ergonomic recommendations is performed, outlining crucial steps in injury prevention. Proper ergonomic education is a key step in preventing occupational injury. Robotics and other mechanical solutions offer a variety of approaches to tackling the ergonomic challenge. Implementing proper ergonomic education and mechanical solutions lowers the possibility of occupational injury. The strategies and appliances presented are beneficial to all GI endoscopy practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Occupational hazards among nurses are very high, resulting in increased absenteeism from work, more doctor visits, reduced service delivery, and work disability. A poor safety climate may be one of the causes of workplace injuries. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of occupational accidents, as well as the existing safety climate, in Gorgan teaching hospitals from the nurses' perspective. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in teaching hospitals in Gorgan, Iran. In total, 267 nurses participated in the study, who were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using valid and reliable questionnaires on the frequency of occupational hazards, causes of occupational hazards, and safety climate, and then analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, as well as the MannWhitney U test and the Kruskal-wallis test. Results: Regarding physical injuries, 94% of nurses had suffered from musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, 90.3% reported being threatened or verbally and physically assaulted by the patient and attendants. The heavy workload of nurses was the most important and frequent cause of occupational injuries in the nurses' workplace (61%). The average rating of the existing safety climate was 3.10±0.6, and the safety climate was moderate (3.10±0.6). Occupational hazards were negatively and weakly, yet significantly, correlated with the overall rating of the safety climate and all its dimensions (P-value<0.05), indicating that as occupational hazards increase, the safety climate and all its dimensions decrease. Conclusion: A high percentage of nurses reported work-related physical and psychological injuries, and the safety climate among them was relatively moderate. To reduce the number of physical injuries, nurse leaders need to address injury prevention methods to manage this problem. To improve the safety situation, in addition to corrective control measures, training on safety issues and the regulation of rest hours should be conducted in hospital departments for all employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Medical services for wildland fire incidents are vital and fire personnel need to be comfortable seeking care and have adequate access to care. Aims. The aim of this study was to examine wildland firefighters' (WLFFs) attitudes towards, opinions of and experiences with the medical services on fire assignments. Methods. A survey was used to collect information from WLFFs. The survey covered: (1) demographics, (2) injury descriptions, (3) trust/respect toward medical personnel, and (4) perceived impact of injury treatment on individual and team deployability. Analysis used contingency tables with chi-square tests to compare groups. Key results. WLFFs in both groups respect and trust incident medical personnel. Private firefighters compared with agency firefighters report a perception of less access to care, a high level of discouragement to seek care, and a greater concern that seeking care could result in being removed from the incident. Conclusions. Although respect and trust are high, there are concerning perceived differences between groups on several aspects of seeking and receiving medical care. Implications. Policy changes and culture shifts may be needed to narrow the opinion and perception gaps between private and agency firefighters on multiple aspects of incident medical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Upper limb disorders are one of the most common and important types of occupational injuries. Besides, identifying the factors influencing return to work following these injuries is essential to reduce the dimensions of the problem. In this study, we investigated the return to work and associated factors following occupational injuries leading to upper limb impairment. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the rate of return to work and associated factors were assessed in 256 workers with work-related upper limb injury referred to a teaching hospital from March 2011 to December 2018. The inclusion criterion was a history of occupational injury resulting in upper limb impairment, and exclusion criteria included the presence of simultaneous impairment in other organs, congenital or non-occupational limb defects as well as patients with incomplete information in their medical records. Individuals' records, including age at the time of injury, gender, date of injury, marital status, education, level of amputation and injury, whole person impairment (WPI) and physiotherapy (prescribed by the physician) were reviewed. The WPI was calculated to assess the extent of the injury. All analyzes were performed by SPSS version 25.0. Result: The rate of return to work was 54.3%, in which 51.8% for the same job and 48.2% for a new job. The main factors associated with non-return to work were more days off work (p = 0.001), higher injury severity (p = 0.001), and dominant hand injury (p = 0.034). Conclusion: The number of days off work, the WPI, and dominant hand injury are the most important determinant in returning to work. In addition, increased job satisfaction and support from co-workers and employers are work-related factors that can lead to an increased return to work.

The presented article deals with the use and evaluation of individual risks of work in the environment of Slovak mining company. The mining company is also a manufacturing company. The company mines the raw material and the final product (clinker). The main goal of the article is to monitor the incidence of accidents over the last 10 years, to analyse the group of risks that have a significant impact on accidents in mining companies and to evaluate them. The Risk Matrix, shows the relationship between estimated consequences and probability of risks formation. The next step is to use the workplace Risk Assessment Method to define acceptable risks and minimize the impact on workers. Another method we used is the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) model. The output of the FTA model is the creation of a faulty tree, which resulted in the individual traumatized accidents that resulted in the definition of the resulting risk - namely a load injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to find out whether utilizing a shift schedule evaluation tool with ergonomics recommendations for working hours has favorable effects on the incidence of occupational injuries. METHODS: This 4-year prospective cohort study (2015–2018) consisted of a dynamic cohort of healthcare shift workers (N=29 237) from ten hospital districts and six cities in Finland. Working hour characteristics and occupational injuries were measured with daily registry data. Multilevel generalized linear model was used for the analyses, and the estimates were controlled for hierarchical structure of the data and confounders. RESULTS: Ward heads of the cities used the shift schedule evaluation tool 3.2 times more often than ward heads of the hospital districts. Overall incidence of workplace and commuting injuries did not differ between users and non-users of the evaluation tool. The incidence of dislocations, sprains, and strains was lower in the users than non-users [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78–0.99]. Approximately 13% of this association was mediated by increase in realized shift wishes and 10% by increase in single days off. In subgroup analyses, the incidence of workplace injury (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.69–0.99), and among types of injuries, the incidence of dislocations, sprains, and strains (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.55–0.85) and falling, slipping, tripping, or overturning (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58–0.99) were lower in users than non-users among employees of the cities, but no association was found among employees of the hospital districts. CONCLUSION: The use of ergonomics recommendations for working hours is associated with a reduced risk of occupational injuries.

This paper introduced a multifunctional test-tube rack for nucleic acid sample collection. This test-tube rack has designed to reduce the incidence of spillage of specimen fluid, improve the quality of test-tube fixation and reduce the occupational injuries to medical workers. (本文介绍一种多功能核酸采样试管架的设计与应用。该多功能核酸采样试管架应用于核酸采样过程中, 可有效降低标本液外洒发生, 提高采样管固定质量, 降低医务人员职业伤害。)

Introduction: Fluctuations in the numbers of patient consultations in hand trauma emergency units are challenging in terms of both scheduling and the provision of sufficient resources. Trauma consultations in general are affected by both temporal and meteorological variables. As the genesis and epidemiology of hand trauma have their own characteristics, this study aimed to identify the influence of temporal and meteorological factors on hand trauma consultations. Materials and methods: All patients treated for hand trauma in our level one trauma center in 2019 were included in the study population and the data were analyzed in retrospect. The daily weather data, including temperature, sunshine duration, precipitation, humidity and wind speed, as well as temporal factors such as time of day, weekday and public holidays were considered and correlated with patient consultations. Gender differences were studied as well. Results: We included 4787 hand trauma patients (66.4% male, mean age 38.4 ± 19.3 years, 31.7% occupational injuries). Significantly more consultations occurred on Saturdays as compared to weekdays (14.8 ± 0.6, n = 52 vs. 13.0 ± 0.2, n = 261; p = 0.028), and fewer occurred on official holidays (11.8 ± 0.5, n = 63 vs. 13.4 ± 0.2, n = 302; p = 0.0047). We found a significant positive correlation between daily consultations, sunshine duration (r = 0.14, p = 0.0056) and the mean temperature (r = 0.20, p < 0.0001); in contrast, a significant negative correlation between daily consultations and humidity (r = − 0.17, p = 0.001) was observed. Furthermore, fewer consultations were seen on days with precipitation (12.7 ± 0.3, n = 219 vs. 13.8 ± 0.3, n = 146; p = 0.009). The variation was considerably stronger in men. Conclusions: Hand trauma consultations increased with increasing temperatures, duration of sunshine, and decreasing humidity. Peak admissions were seen on Fridays and Saturdays. These findings can assist in predicting days with peak admissions to allocate resources appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has implications for human health worldwide, with workers in outdoor occupations in low- to middle-income countries shouldering the burden of increasing average temperatures and more frequent extreme heat days. An overlooked aspect of the human health impact is the relationship between heat exposure and increased risk of occupational injury. In this study, we examined the association between occupational injury occurrence and changes in outdoor temperatures through the workday among a cohort of Guatemalan sugarcane harvesters. Occupational injuries recorded for the 2014/2015 to 2017/2018 harvest seasons were collected from a large agribusiness employing male sugarcane harvesters in Southwest Guatemala. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) for the same period was collected from the El Balsamo weather station. We used a logistic mixed effects model to examine the association between injury occurrence and (1) the average WBGT during the hour injury was recorded, (2) the average WBGT during the hour prior to the injury being recorded, and (3) the change in the hourly average WBGT prior to the injury being recorded. There were 155 injuries recorded during the study period. Injuries were recorded most often between 14:00 and 16:00 (n = 62, 40%) followed by 8:00 and 10:00 (n = 56, 36%). There were significant differences in the average hourly WBGT and the hour in which injuries were recorded (p-value <.001). There were no observable associations between average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.94, 1.05; p-value: 0.87), lagged average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 0.97, 1.05; p-value: 0.71), or change in average hourly WBGT (OR: 0.96, 95%CI: 0.89, 1.04; p-value: 0.35) and recorded occupational injury. This is the first study that has examined how changes in WBGT throughout the day are related to occupational injury among agricultural workers. Although this study did not demonstrate an association, there is a need for future research to examine how various measurements of WBGT exposure are related to occupational injury in agricultural worker populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigorous legislative activity both for and against paid sick leave has occurred over the last decade. Although a compelling body of evidence suggests that paid sick leave supports personal and public health goals, a notable barrier in opposition to paid sick leave is apprehension about the potential short‐term and long‐term harms to business. This review critically assesses the relationship between paid sick leave and favorable or unfavorable business conditions. Utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we systematically review six research databases between 2000 and November 2022. Of 2664 studies identified, 123 were considered potentially relevant and 43 were included in the review. In addition to absence from work, paid sick leave was associated with favorable business conditions such as increased job satisfaction; improved retention; and reductions in occupational injury, contagion, presenteeism, and death; as well as some measures of firm performance and labor market conditions. Overall, our review discovered more evidence supporting the relationship between paid sick leave and favorable business conditions as compared with evidence that supported unfavorable business conditions. Although more research is needed, these findings can be used to inform firm‐level and public policy decisions about paid sick leave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to show, using the example of the Section 101(5) of the Czech Labour Code, that the recodification of private law has had a number of consequences, even to the point of making previously excluded constructions permissible. If the general courts originally rejected the employer’s liability for harm caused to the third parties at his/her workplaces, now, after the recodification, such liability is being imported. However, the rather complex legal regulation for a layman is still not settled in the application practice, and the courts are still looking for its optimal implementation in situations of ordinary life. Thus, despite a more favourable regulation for him/her, the injured party may still lose in the implementation of his/her right, if he/she incorrectly estimates the legal position of the responsible entity.

Health care and social work, in Croatia and Europe, and especially in the United States, occupies a high place according to the areas of activity in which the largest number of injuries at work occurs, with a tendency to further growth. Add to this the fact that this activity generates an extremely large number of lost working days and financial losses for both the employer and the state, and over the last decade, a number of experts have paid special attention to this activity. To the extent that new technologies in health care have brought a number of advantages without which today's medicine in this form would not exist, on the other hand, in certain segments, a number of potential dangers have opened up for workers themselves. The aim of this paper, as the first of its kind in this form, was to present the safety indicators of employees of the Children's Hospital Zagreb, a central and unique institution for health care of children and adolescents in Croatia, and compare them with available indicators at the state, European Union and of the United States. In the twelve-year period, 113 injuries at work were recorded, of which 56.64% occurred at the place of work. Most of them were minor injuries (59.29%), and the largest share was related to sprains, strains, and sprains. The largest share of lost working time also related to injuries that occurred at the place of work. The clinic recorded 105 exposure incidents over a nine-year period. Needle-stick injuries generated the largest share (80.95%), and as a branch, nursing was the most affected (69.52%). The occupational disease was diagnosed in 16 people, almost all of whom were caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care and social work, in Croatia and Europe, and especially in the United States, occupies a high place according to the areas of activity in which the largest number of injuries at work occurs, with a tendency to further growth. Add to this the fact that this activity generates an extremely large number of lost working days and financial losses for both the employer and the state, and over the last decade, a number of experts have paid special attention to this activity. To the extent that new technologies in health care have brought a number of advantages without which today's medicine in this form would not exist, on the other hand, in certain segments, a number of potential dangers have opened up for workers themselves. The aim of this paper, as the first of its kind in this form, was to present the safety indicators of employees of the Children's Hospital Zagreb, a central and unique institution for health care of children and adolescents in Croatia, and compare them with available indicators at the state, European Union and of the United States. In the twelve-year period, 113 injuries at work were recorded, of which 56.64% occurred at the place of work. Most of them were minor injuries (59.29%), and the largest share was related to sprains, strains, and sprains. The largest share of lost working time also related to injuries that occurred at the place of work. The clinic recorded 105 exposure incidents over a nine-year period. Needle-stick injuries generated the largest share (80.95%), and as a branch, nursing was the most affected (69.52%). The occupational disease was diagnosed in 16 people, almost all of whom were caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper limb disorders are one of the most common and important types of occupational injuries. Besides, identifying the factors influencing return to work following these injuries is essential to reduce the dimensions of the problem. In this study, we investigated the return to work and associated factors following occupational injuries leading to upper limb impairment. In this retrospective cohort study, the rate of return to work and associated factors were assessed in 256 workers with work-related upper limb injury referred to a teaching hospital from March 2011 to December 2018. The inclusion criterion was a history of occupational injury resulting in upper limb impairment, and exclusion criteria included the presence of simultaneous impairment in other organs, congenital or non-occupational limb defects as well as patients with incomplete information in their medical records. Individuals' records, including age at the time of injury, gender, date of injury, marital status, education, level of amputation and injury, whole person impairment (WPI) and physiotherapy (prescribed by the physician) were reviewed. The WPI was calculated to assess the extent of the injury. All analyzes were performed by SPSS version 25.0. The rate of return to work was 54.3%, in which 51.8% for the same job and 48.2% for a new job. The main factors associated with non-return to work were more days off work (p = 0.001), higher injury severity (p = 0.001), and dominant hand injury (p = 0.034). The number of days off work, the WPI, and dominant hand injury are the most important determinant in returning to work. In addition, increased job satisfaction and support from co-workers and employers are work-related factors that can lead to an increased return to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Injured workers can experience adverse effects from work injury and claims processes.Workers may be treated unfairly by employers, compensation boards, and return-to-work coordinators; however,how workers respond to these challenges is unknown. This article describes how injured precarious workersresponded behaviourally and emotionally to procedural unfairness in work injury and claims processes, and whatworkers did next. Methods: Interviews were conducted with thirty-six precariously employedinjured workers recruited in Ontario through social media, email, cold calling, word-of-mouth, and the "snowball"method. Thematic code summaries were analyzed to identify how precarious workers responded to procedural unfairness. Results: Workers went through all or most of these five stages (not always linearly)when faced with procedural unfairness: (1) passive, (2) fought back, (3) quit pursuit of claim, (4) quit job, and (5)won or got further in fight. Feeling confused, angry, frustrated, unsupported, disappointed, determined, optimistic,and wary were common emotions. Conclusions: Identifying unfairness and its emotional,behavioral, and material effects on workers is important to understand implications for compensation systems.Understanding and recognizing unfairness can equip employers, legal representatives, compensation boards, andphysicians, to address and prevent it, and provide worker resources. Policy changes can ensure accountability andconsequences to unfairness initiators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational injuries and toxicant exposures lead to the development of neuroinflammation by activating distinct mechanistic signaling cascades that ultimately culminate in the disruption of neuronal function leading to neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. The entry of toxicants into the brain causes the subsequent activation of glial cells, a response known as 'reactive gliosis'. Reactive glial cells secrete a wide variety of signaling molecules in response to neuronal perturbations and thus play a crucial role in the progression and regulation of central nervous system (CNS) injury. In parallel, the roles of protein phosphorylation and cell signaling in eliciting neuroinflammation are evolving. However, there is limited understanding of the molecular underpinnings associated with toxicant- or occupational injury-mediated neuroinflammation, gliosis, and neurological outcomes. The activation of signaling molecules has biological significance, including the promotion or inhibition of disease mechanisms. Nevertheless, the regulatory mechanisms of synergism or antagonism among intracellular signaling pathways remain elusive. This review highlights the research focusing on the direct interaction between the immune system and the toxicant- or occupational injury-induced gliosis. Specifically, the role of occupational injuries, e.g., trips, slips, and falls resulting in traumatic brain injury, and occupational toxicants, e.g., volatile organic compounds, metals, and nanoparticles/nanomaterials in the development of neuroinflammation and neurological or neurodegenerative diseases are highlighted. Further, this review recapitulates the recent advancement related to the characterization of the molecular mechanisms comprising protein phosphorylation and cell signaling, culminating in neuroinflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Agricultural labor-intensive activities have been threatened by COVID-19. Wearing a face mask has been introduced as one of the personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce COVID-19 risk. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the safety behavior of urban green space workers around wearing a face mask in the time of COVID-19 before vaccination. METHODS: The personal and safety backgrounds of 61 male participants were collected using a designed questionnaire. The nonparametric correlation coefficients of Spearman and logistic regressions were used to investigate the relationships among variables. RESULTS: Above one-third of workers (37.7%) got COVID-19 in the past year. Although all of the participants were aware of wearing a face mask is a protocol against COVID-19, only about half of them (50.8%) completely wear face masks at work. Non-smoking participants were 5.5 times more likely to influence their personal preference on wearing the mask. CONCLUSION: Safety attitude may be a key variable in relation to the factors that influence the wearing face mask. The causes of face mask-wearing during a pandemic such as COVID-19 as well as safety attitudes may be behind the factors studied in this study. Although some significant linkages were found, they were not enough to conclude a comprehensive action program. This concern is still open to discovering factors that influence wearing face mask. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of occupational injuries based on fatality, sex, and classification of occupations among construction workers using workers' compensation (WC) insurance data in South Korea. Methods: We collected WC insurance data from the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service for all construction workers between 2009 and 2018. Data from 158,947 accepted claims for occupational injury were extracted, and the demographic features, occupational injury types, and annual trends were analyzed for fatal and nonfatal cases. The annual incidence and mortality trends of occupational injury were estimated using negative binomial regression and Poisson regression models, for injury incidence and mortality respectively. Results: Among a total of 158,947 occupational injury cases, there were 155,772 (98%) nonfatal injuries and 3175 (2%) fatal injuries. For all occupational injuries, Construction Elementary Workers (6th Korean Standard Classification of Occupations (KSCO) 910; 45.7%) was the most frequent occupation, followed by Construction‐Related Technical Workers (6th KSCO 772; 39.2%). The most frequent injury type was a fracture, followed by ruptures or lacerations and contusions. The incidence of all occupational injuries increased from 700.36 per 100,000 persons in 2009 to 1,195.98 per 100,000 persons in 2018. Further, deaths from injuries at work followed a significantly increasing annual trend [mortality rate ratio 1.04 (95% CI: 1.03–1.05)] from 2009 to 2018. Conclusion: The over two‐thirds increased incidence of occupational injuries and significantly increasing mortality trends for occupational injuries during the last 10 years indicate the need for aggressive intervention in occupational safety and health management within the Korean construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The occupational health and safety (OHS) performance of organizations maybe affected by internal and external factors. According to a literature review, standardized tools for studying these factors are limited. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of a tool for evaluating OHS performance. The tool was used to investigate the relationship between the identified OHS performance influencing factors and occupational injury. Methods: The questionnaire developed through conducting a literature review about the OHS performance and constructing a question pool. The number of items was reduced to 93 after performing a screening process. Sixteen OHS scholars offered feedback on the tool's phrasing and applicability to check face and content validity. Test-retest reliability was examined through intraclass correlation coefficients. 850 questionnaires were distributed at 12 manufacturing companies in the West Azerbaijan province in Iran, 600 valid questionnaires were returned. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to assess construct validity. Criterion validity was investigated by measuring agreement between its OHS performance scores and occupational injury. A set of regression analyses examined the variables associated with OHS influencing factors. Results: Validity analysis revealed that 93 items had an excellent content validity ratio (>0.79) and content validity index (>0.47). The exploratory factor analysis resulted in eleven OHS performance factors. Thirty-three items were removed because of inadequate reliability. The result of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the OHS performance model is satisfactory. The final 60-item scale's reliability score was 0.96. The safety system was identified as the main influencing factor (3.54 ± 0.65). Participants with more safety training reported more injuries. Safety training and injury experiences, company size, and occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) adoption affected OHS performance influencing factors. Occupational injuries were linked to company size (OR = 1.39, CI = 1.06–1.82), whereas the absence of OHSMS was connected with an increased risk of occupational injury (OR = 0.09, CI = 0.02–0.55). Conclusions: The developed tool had satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing OHS performance in manufacturing companies. OHS performance could be improved by implementing safety systems and focusing more on incentive programs. Implementing the requirements of an OHSMS may improve the OHS performance and decrease occupational injuries.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to measure the frequency of workplace violence (WPV) victimization in 16 to 24-year olds in the United States and compare rates by occupation and demographics. METHODS: As an open cohort, participants 12 years or older in the National Crime Victimization Survey were interviewed at 6-month intervals over a 3-year period from 2008 to 2012. WPV victimization rates were calculated. Weighted, multilevel Poisson regression was used to compare WPV victimization rates by occupation and demographics. RESULTS: The rate of WPV victimization was 1.11 incidents per 1000 employed person-months (95% confidence interval: 0.95-1.27). The highest rates of WPV were in protective service occupations (5.24/1000 person-months), transportation (3.04/1000 person-months), and retail sales (2.29/1000 person-months). Compared with their respective counterparts, lower rates of WPV victimization were found among younger, black, and rural/suburban workers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings identify occupations and target populations in need of future research and evidence-based interventions to improve the working conditions for young workers.

Background: Construction companies are one of the highest accident-prone fields. One of the efforts to protect the safety and health of construction workers is OHS compliance from the aspect of compliance in using PPE, following work instructions and implementing routine and periodic housekeeping. OHS compliance and housekeeping implementation to prevent the risk of work accidents. However, based on conditions in the field, many workers still do not comply with OHS and have not implemented housekeeping properly. Purpose: To determine the relationship between OHS compliance, housekeeping implementation, and occupational injury risk in a construction company. Method: This study was an observational study type using a cross-sectional approach. A total of 98 people were used in the sample for this study. Data analysis was performed using the phi test and contingency coefficient test. Result: There is a relationship (p=0,000) with a strong relation (phi=0.959) between OHS compliance and occupational injury risk, and there is a relationship (p=0,000) with a moderate level of relationship (r=0.583) between the housekeeping implementation levels and occupational injury risk for the construction company workers. Conclusion: There is a strong relation between OHS compliance and occupational injury risk and a relatively strong relation between housekeeping implementation levels and occupational injury risk in construction company workers.

ObjectiveOccupational injury protection is essential to safeguard the basic rights of workers. This article focuses on a group of gig workers who have emerged on a large scale in recent years in China and aims to explore their status of occupational injury protection.MethodsBased on the theory of technology-institution innovation interaction, we adopted the institution analysis to assess the work-related injury protection of gig workers. The comparative study was used to evaluate three cases of occupational injury protection in China for gig workers.ResultsInstitutional innovation failed to respond to technological innovation and provided insufficient occupational injury protection for gig workers. The work-related injury insurance was inaccessible to gig workers due to they were not treated as employees in China. The work-related injury insurance was not available to gig workers. Although some practices were explored, shortcomings remain.ConclusionsBehind the flexibility of gig work is insufficient occupational injury protection. According to the theory of technology-institution innovation interaction, we believe the reform of work-related injury insurance is increasingly essential for improving the situation of gig workers. This research contributes to expanding understanding of gig workers' situation and may offer a reference to other countries on protecting gig workers against occupational injuries.

With the acceleration of the pace of urban life and the development of information technology, the takeout industry has emerged as the times require, which obtains intermediate costs by distributing goods to consumers. People pay more and more attention to public health, which requires takeout workers to drive as fast as possible to ensure the quality and safety of goods, but it also makes takeout workers suffer from various occupational injuries, such as car accidents, stomach diseases caused by eating disorders and long-term psychological pressure. This paper optimized the employment protection of takeout workers in combination with their professional characteristics. This paper used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to analyze the indicators that can evaluate the optimization effect of employment protection for takeout workers, and compared the occupation of takeout workers before and after employment protection. The experimental results showed that in Meituan takeout, the rationality of the average delivery management system before and after the optimization of employment protection was 47.2 and 64.4%, respectively; in ELEME takeout, the rationality of the average takeout distribution management system before and after the optimization of employment protection was 55.0% and 69.8%, respectively. Therefore, in the context of public health, the implementation of social security, employment relationship and optimization of service evaluation mechanism for outbound sales personnel can effectively improve the rationality of the delivery management system.

Women play a significant role in the processing of the seafood after the harvesting process and are mostly engaged in grading, peeling, cutting, and packing activities. Injuries during their job make them vulnerable to many problems and lead to many severe consequences. The present study aimed to identify the frequency and factors associated with occupational injuries among the workers in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. This cross-sectional study included 257 women seafood processing workers. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The data were collected through face to face interviews using a predesigned questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS. The prevalence of injuries among 257 women seafood processing workers was 74.3 percent. Age of the worker, job satisfaction, working hours per day, breaks duration between work, and blanching of hands (paleness of hands due to vasoconstriction) were found to be statistically significantly associated factors with injury occurrence among women seafood processing workers. Thus, to conclude, the frequency of occupational injuries among the women seafood processing workers is high and is associated with several occupational factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Workers' diseases and injuries are often highly related to work. However, due to limited resources and unclear work relatedness, workers' compensation insurance cannot cover all diseases or injuries among workers. This study aimed to estimate the status and probability of disapproval from national workers' compensation insurance using basic information from Korean workers' compensation system. Methods: The compensation insurance data for Korean workers consists of personal, occupational, and claims data. We describe the status of disapproval by workers' compensation insurance according to the type of disease or injury. A prediction model for disapproval by workers' compensation insurance was established by applying two machine‐learning methods with a logistic regression model. Results: Among 42 219 cases, there were significantly higher risks of disapproval by workers' compensation insurance for women, younger workers, technicians, and associate professionals. We established a disapproval model for workers' compensation insurance after the feature selection. The prediction model for workers' disease disapproval by the workers' compensation insurance showed a good performance, and the prediction model for workers' injury disapproval showed a moderate performance. Conclusion: This study is the first attempt to demonstrate the status and prediction of disapproval by workers' compensation insurance using basic information from the Korean workers' compensation data. These findings suggest that diseases or injuries have a low level of evidence of work relatedness or there is a lack of research on occupational health. It is also expected to contribute to the efficiency of the management of workers' diseases or injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the early drug prescription patterns as predictors of final workers compensation claim costs and closure based on an updated analysis on a large cohort. The result would provide claim management with tools to estimate final claims outcomes in the first 3- or 6-months post-injury. Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the associations of workers' compensation claim costs and return to work with drugs prescribed for early symptom management. Methods: Claims filed from 1998 to 2007 were followed for 10 years from the injury date. Drugs analyzed included gabapentin, pregabalin, antipsychotics, antidepressants, sedatives, benzodiazepines, carisoprodol, and opioids, controlling for initial reserve, sex, age, physical therapy, attorney involvement, and surgery. Results: Gabapentin, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and sedatives used in the first 3 months after injury were significantly associated with higher claim cost (≥$100,000). All opioid morphine equivalent doses greater than or equal to 5 mg/d for the first 6 months was significantly associated with higher cost (≥$100,000) and not being released to work at end of third year after injury with dose-response relationships. Conclusions: Prescription patterns in the first 3 months or first 6 months of workers' compensation claim development may be used as predictors of claim outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing opioid prescription patterns is key to understanding the opioid crisis. Some researchers have suggested that work and workplace issues are not adequately represented in efforts to reduce the opioid crisis. This paper addresses this concern by comparing opioid prescription patterns of occupational injury-caused conditions to other injury-caused conditions. Objectives: This study aimed to compare opioid prescription incidence, supply days, and cost associated with occupational injury and other injury-caused conditions. Methods: We used Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data for 2010–2019. The MEPS provides information on medical conditions and associated medical encounters, treatments, and treatment costs, as well as demographic, education, health, working status, income, and insurance coverage information. We used descriptive statistics and logistic and 2-part regressions. Results: Controlling for covariates and compared with other injury-caused conditions, occupational injury–caused conditions resulted in 33% higher odds of opioid prescribing, 32.8 more opioid prescription supply days, and $134 higher average cost. Conclusions: Occupational injuries were associated with higher opioid incidence and costs, and more opioid supply days. These findings point to the need to focus on making work safer and the role employers may play in supporting worker recovery from injury and opioid use disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We examined whether low literacy skills are a risk factor for occupational injury during a 5.3-year follow-up period. Methods: The study population was taken from the Danish participants in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2011/2012. Literacy skills were based on the PIAAC survey. Data on occupational injuries were obtained from national registers. We included the 5997 employees aged 16–65 who worked during the follow-up period. We used Cox regression to estimate the risk of occupational injury as a function of literacy skills. We adjusted the analysis for gender, age, nationality at birth, educational level, occupation, weekly work hours and month of survey completion. Results: Literacy skills were divided into four categories based on the six levels of skills in PIAAC. With the highest level of literacy skills as the reference (level 4/5), the hazard ratios for occupational injury were estimated at 1.58 (95% CI 0.80–3.15) for literacy level 3, 2.04 (95% CI 0.99–4.19) for literacy level 2 and 2.29 (95% CI 1.08–4.86) for literacy level 0/1. Conclusion: Employees with a low level of literacy skills are at a higher risk of occupational injury than employees with a high level of literacy skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Apprenticeships combine mentored on-the-job training with related instruction to develop a workforce with the skills sought by employers. Workplace safety is an important component of apprenticeship training. Whether that training results in fewer work injuries, however, is largely unknown. Method: We linked Washington's registered apprenticeship data, plumber certification (licensing) data, employment data, and workers' compensation claims to compare claim rates among journey level plumbers (JLP) by apprenticeship participation. We used negative binomial regression models to estimate rates of total claims, wage replacement/disability claims, acute injuries, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), adjusted for worker characteristics. Results: Among JLP certified between 2000 and 2018, rates among JLP with no apprenticeship training were 46% higher for total workers' compensation claims (adjusted Rate Ratio (aRR) = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.26–1.69) and 60% higher for wage replacement/disability claims (aRR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.22–2.11), compared to rates among JLP who completed a plumbing apprenticeship. Apprentice graduates experienced a greater decline in the rate of total claims between the 5 years preceding JLP certification and the years after certification (55.3% vs. 41.4% among JLP with no apprenticeship training). Greater rate reductions among JLP apprentice graduates were also observed for acute injuries and MSD, although the decline in MSD was not significantly different from the decline among JLP with no apprenticeship training. Conclusions : Successful completion of a plumbing apprenticeship program is associated with fewer work injuries throughout the career of a JLP. Apprenticeships appear to play a key role in reducing work injuries among JLP, especially acute injuries. Practical Applications : Apprenticeships are an effective model for reducing workplace injuries. The mechanisms by which apprenticeship training improves workplace safety should be identified to better inform injury prevention efforts among apprentices as well as among workers outside of a formal apprenticeship arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the break environment conditions provided to construction workers in hot and humid climates and assesses the impact of the thermal conditions in rest areas on the physiological and psychological responses of the workers. It was conducted during summer in Japan with 26 male rebar workers across five construction sites by monitoring variables such as ambient temperature, humidity, step count, pulse rate, blood pressure, forehead skin temperature, and fatigue level. Workers worked for approximately 8–9 h per day, with scheduled 15–30-min short breaks at 10:00 and 15:00, in addition to a 1-h break at lunchtime. While the work sites exhibited temperatures ranging from 30.0 to 38.4 °C and relative humidity between 47.0 and 87.2 %, the thermal conditions in the rest areas varied, with temperatures from 26.9 to 35.8 °C and relative humidity from 45.4 to 83.4 %. We found that break periods in cooler areas led to lower pulse rates and prevented excessive pulse pressure decreases after exercise. Additionally, the combination of a cooler environment during breaks with a cooling jacket led to lower maximum forehead skin temperatures during the subsequent work periods. However, workers tended to report higher tiredness levels when break areas were cooler. Therefore, while providing cool rest areas is beneficial for worker recovery and preventing heat-related illnesses, the potential negative effects on workers' perception of tiredness should be considered. • We explore the break environment of construction workers in hot and humid climates. • Thermal conditions in rest areas affect physiological and psychological responses. • Break periods in cooler areas led to lower pulse rates and prevented excessive pulse pressure decreases after working. • However, higher tiredness levels were reported when break areas were cooler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing concern that surgeons are at increased risk for work-related orthopedic injuries due to poor ergonomics. We conducted a survey of North American cardiothoracic surgeons to evaluate the prevalence of occupational injury, as well as perceptions and use of ergonomic techniques. Cardiothoracic surgeons identified through the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network were asked to complete a 33-question survey assessing their musculoskeletal health, as well as their perceptions and use of ergonomic techniques in the operating room and office. Among 600 cardiothoracic surgeons, the prevalence of occupational musculoskeletal injuries was 64%, with 30% of affected surgeons requiring time away from work and 20% requiring surgery or the use of narcotics. Cervical spine injury (35%, n = 216) was the most common injury due to operating, followed by lumbar spine injury (30%, n = 180). In multivariable-adjusted analysis, cardiac surgeons were more likely than thoracic surgeons to experience occupational musculoskeletal injuries (adjusted odds ratio, 1.8 [1.2-2.8], P <.01). Notably, 90% of surgeons (n = 536) reported thinking that their institution did not provide sufficient ergonomics education or support, and only 35% (n = 205) thought that the cardiothoracic surgical community is supportive of implementing ergonomics techniques in the operating room and office. In this survey analysis, cardiothoracic surgeons reported experiencing work-related orthopedic injuries at an alarmingly high rate, leading to significant time away from work and for many to retire from surgery over a decade early. These findings underline a critical need for institutions to prioritize ergonomics education and implement ergonomics-directed techniques in the operating room and office. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]