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PubMedDate not supplied

[Ergonomic evaluation of working conditions and the possibilities of their optimal improvement in small slaughterhouses].

Assessment of working conditions in small slaughter-butcher workshops was based on the measurements of microclimate, illumination intensity, noise level, physical work, load, health risk factors and of other parameters which increased the work strenuousness. The analysis showed that the working conditions were harmful, mainly due to unfavourable microclimate, too poor illumination and the magnitude of physical load which reached mid-heavy and heavy levels. Based on performed analysis of occupational hazards a list of simple technical procedures which could improve working conditions was established by the authors.

Abattoirs↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Hygiene, working conditions and professional risks in the Moorish "hammams++" in Marrakech].

Moorish "Hammam" baths are used by almost all of the Moroccan population. We evaluated the occupational hazards associated with these baths by studying the working conditions, hygiene and safety at ten Hammam baths in Marrakech. We carried out a descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological study of 60 workers (30 men and 30 women). We analyzed working conditions, hygiene and safety and carried out a medical survey by means of a questionnaire, clinical tests, chest X rays and biological screening. The working environment in Hammam baths is particularly hot and humid. We found working conditions, hygiene and safety to be poor. Elementary regulations concerning environmental health were not respected and no means of protection was provided for the staff. Mycological studies showed that fungi pathogenic for humans were present in 100% of floor samples. Bacteriological analysis of the well water supplying the baths and of the residual water collected from various bath chambers showed that pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics were present. The medical survey identified various diseases affecting staff members, mostly infectious in nature. The most common problems observed were: problems muscular or skeletal in nature or linked to posture (28.3%), dermatological (100%), neurological (71.6%), ocular (30%), respiratory (90%), ear/nose/throat (51.6%), digestive (11.6%), oral (63.3%), gynecological (83.3%) and urinary (31.6%). Often, individual workers suffered several morbidities associated with working conditions simultaneously In light of these major occupational hazards, it is clearly important to implement special medical supervision of workers in Hammam baths, to improve hygiene and working conditions and to ensure the occupational health education and training of those concerned. As a first step, an occupational health service should be set up in the offices of the municipal health department.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Employment, working conditions, and preterm birth: results from the Europop case-control survey.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To analyse the relation between preterm birth and working conditions in Europe using common measures of exposure and to test whether employment related risks varied by country of residence. DESIGN: A case-control study in which cases included all consecutive singleton preterm births and controls included one of every ten singleton term births in each participating maternity unit. Data about working conditions were obtained by interview from women after delivery. SETTING: Sixteen European countries. PARTICIPANTS: The analysis included 5145 preterm and 7911 term births of which 2369 preterm and 4098 term births were to women employed during pregnancy. Analyses of working conditions were carried out for women working through at least the third month of pregnancy. MAIN RESULTS: Employed women did not have an excess risk of preterm birth. Among working women, a moderate excess risk was observed for women working more than 42 hours a week (OR = 1.33, CI = 1.1 to 1.6), standing more than six hours a day (OR = 1.26, CI = 1.1 to 1.5), and for women with low job satisfaction (OR = 1.27, CI = 1.1 to 1.5). There were stronger links in countries with a lower overall level of perinatal health and a common practice of long prenatal leaves. CONCLUSION: These findings show that specific working conditions affect the risk of preterm birth. They also suggest employment related risks could be mediated by the social and legislative context.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed1993

Are social inequalities as associated with the risk of ischaemic heart disease a result of psychosocial working conditions?

Large social inequalities exist in the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and they are only partly explained by established cardiovascular disease risk factors. Social class differences in psychosocial working conditions could be important explanatory factors. In a cohort of 1752 employed males, age in years, mean (S.D.): 59.7 (3.5), we investigated the issue. Self-reported psychosocial working conditions examined were: influence on the job, work monotony, work pace, degree of satisfaction with immediate superiors and colleagues, and ability to relax after working hours. One hundred and fourteen men were excluded due to prevalent cardiovascular disease. During the follow-up period (1985/86-1989), 46 men (approx. 3%) suffered an IHD event, 11 events were fatal. Compared with the rest, the highest social class had a relative risk with 95% CI (RR) of IHD of 0.26 (0.06-1.09), an association which was not explained by major potentially confounding or effect modifying factors: smoking, alcohol, physical activity, blood pressure, hypertension, body mass index, serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum HDL, and serum selenium. Including psychosocial factors in the multivariate model had little influence on the estimate, RR = 0.21 (0.05-0.95), and yet there were highly significant differences in psychosocial working conditions between social classes. Neither self-reported influence on the job, work monotony, work pace, degree of satisfaction with immediate superiors and colleagues, nor interactions of the above factors were significantly associated with risk of IHD. However, men who reported that they were incapable of relaxing after working hours had a highly significant approximately threefold increased risk of IHD. We conclude that in middle-aged and elderly males self-reported, i.e. subjective psychosocial working conditions, did not contribute to the explanation of social inequalities in IHD, and that self-reported incapability to relax after work was associated with an increased risk of IHD.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The National Survey on Working Conditions: data for reflection].

This work presents some data of relevance from the National Survey on Working Conditions, carried out in Spain in 1993. A cross-section survey was undertaken on a representative sample of the industry and services sectors (3,148 workers), both through an individual interview which took place at their places of work, and a questionnaire. The study revealed that preventive activities are few and far between. Only 11.8% of the companies carried out surveys into the risk of occupational accidents and/or illnesses. This datum contrasts with the high incidence among workers of exposure to the risk of accidents (59%), noise (33%) or the inhaling of chemical substances (32%). Furthermore, approximately 50% of workers spend at least a quarter of their work time in a static posture or making repetitive hand-arm movements. It is estimated that 60% are exposed to high work rates or repetitive tasks of short duration. Where the question of morbidity is concerned, 60% of workers suffer from posture problems associated with their work. In this study, a comparison is made between these findings per activity sector, together with a detailed analysis of morbidity. Finally, it should be borne in mind, that the subjectivity in the responses and answers, which is inherent to any qualitative survey, should not be regarded as a negative aspect. The way in which the worker perceives and experiences his or her work environment, provides essential information for the preventionists.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

PubMed2003

[Working condition of pregnant women. Departures from regulation on occupations especially noxious or hazardous to women].

To define the range and kind of discrepancies between regulations and actual state of working conditions and occupations performed by women during pregnancy, a survey was carried out in the population of 2649 women, a representative group of occupationally involved pregnant women in the region of Łódź. The questionnaire analysis provided information on the kind and arduousness of work performed, working hours and conditions in the work environment. Having verified the data obtained from 10% of women, a very high consistency between working conditions described by respondents and evaluated by experts was noted. Its was found that almost 60% of women under study indicated that their working conditions depart from those defined as admissible for women during pregnancy. Of the women who worked only during the first month of pregnancy, 75% of them were employed at workposts, which did not meet the requirements, and nearly half of women who worked during the whole period of pregnancy were employed in inappropriate conditions. The noxiousness most frequently reported by respondents applied to body posture: bending and position with rotated spine (about 40%). This was followed by lifting and carrying various objects (about 30%), prolonged working hours (about 20%), shift work, including night shifts (about 12%), work at conveyor belt and forced work pace (about 20%). Noise that makes it difficult to communicate, local vibration and work with computers over 4 hours daily was reported by 30% and 15% of respondents, respectively. The most common solution to limit the potential effect of hazardous and noxious working conditions on pregnant women was to remove them from work by issuing a sick leave certificates, while the modification of working conditions or shifting them to another post applied only to 14% of women. The results of the study showed that working conditions of pregnant women differed from those described by the State Labor Inspectorate. The discrepancy can be explained by different method of data collection.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Nursing working conditions in relation to restraint practices in long-term care units.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of nursing working conditions on the use of physical restraints and antipsychotics as restraints in long-term care units for elderly residents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data were obtained in Finland in 2002 from long-term care units that used the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) system and participated in a survey on working conditions. SETTING: A sample of 91 inpatient units in 31 facilities (23 residential homes and 8 health centers). PARTICIPANTS: Data included 2430 resident assessments and 977 nursing staff survey responses. MEASUREMENTS: We measured unit-level mean scores of physical restraint and antipsychotics use as restraints and resident characteristics (activities of daily living, cognitive impairment, and daily behavioral problems) based on the RAI system as measured by the Minimum Data Set 2.0. Head nurses reported the structural factors (nurse staffing levels and unit size). Nursing working conditions were measured by the Job-Demands and Job-Control Scales in the staff survey questionnaire. RESULTS: Controlling for resident characteristics, nurses' job demands and control had a combined effect on restraint practices. Job demands strongly increased the risk of physical restraint use in units where nurses reported low job control (odds ratio [OR] = 13.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-114.30, P = 0.019), but not among high-control units (OR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.04-1.29, P = 0.090). Although the use of antipsychotics was not related to job demands in units with low control (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.26-4.99, P = 0.891), the antipsychotics use in particular decreased when high job demands were coupled with high job control (OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.03-0.91, P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that restraint use can be reduced by enhancing working conditions so that the nursing staff has possibilities for skill usage and decision-making.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Decompression for lateral lumbar spinal stenosis. Results and impact on sick leave and working conditions.

STUDY DESIGN: One hundred patients underwent lumbar nerve root decompression without fusion. All patients were registered preoperatively in a computer-coded protocol and followed at regular intervals: 4, 12, and 24 months after surgery. A number of subjective and objective variables were investigated including data on preoperative and postoperative working conditions and sick listing. Patients' opinions on pain relief were assessed using a 4-grade scale. OBJECTIVES: Surgical results and impact on sick leave and working conditions in patients who underwent surgery for lateral spinal stenosis were evaluated in a prospective, consecutive study. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Preoperatively, 81 of the patients were employed, 21 in sedentary work, 36 in moderately heavy work, and 24 in heavy work. The majority of the patients (78%) were off work (sick listed) with a mean duration of 13 months. Mean preoperative duration of sciatic pain was 2.5 years. METHODS: Working conditions were classified into one of three categories: sedentary, moderately heavy, and heavy work. Distribution of working conditions preoperatively and postoperatively was assessed in conjunction with duration of sick leave. Change of work category postoperatively was evaluated and related to preoperative working conditions. RESULTS: The effect of decompression for sciatica due to lateral spinal stenosis was gratifying in most cases with excellent results in 65% and fair in 23% of the patients concerning leg pain. The majority of patients employed preoperatively (73%) returned to work after a postoperative sick leave of 5.5 months. Patients who received disability pension postoperatively had significantly inferior surgical result concerning back pain and were also sick listed significantly longer preoperatively. CONCLUSION: Thus, lateral spinal stenosis was improved in the majority of patients (88%) who underwent surgery, and the majority of patients who were employed before surgery returned to work after.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Sleeping tablet consumption, self reported quality of sleep, and working conditions. Group of Occupational Physicians of APSAT.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess the frequency of sleep disorders in relation to working conditions. DESIGN: This was a cross sectional study. Data were collected prospectively, on a standardised form, by 13 occupational physicians. The quality of sleep was assessed by self perceived sleep disturbances and consumption of sleeping tablets. Working conditions were described by the worksite physician as well as by the participants. SETTING: 2769 small or medium sized firms in the Paris area. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 7629 wage earners was studied. Among the participants, 61% were men and 39% women; 44% were blue collar workers. MAIN RESULTS: The prevalence of sleeping tablet consumption was 6.1% and 11.3% respectively for men and women. Sixteen percent of men and 26% of women stated that they had sleep disturbances (p < 0.001). In both sexes, drug consumption and sleep disturbances increased with age and were highest among individuals aged 55 years and more. No association between working conditions (exposure to noise, assembly line working, or physical workload) and sleep disturbances or drug consumption was found. Sleeping tablet consumption was higher among subjects reporting a bad atmosphere at work; the same was true for men with little interest in their job and for women working under time pressure. For both sexes, subjects reporting any of these conditions were more likely to report sleep disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of self reported sleep problems and related drug consumption was observed. Physical working conditions were not related to the quality of sleep in contrast to perceived job conditions. The results suggest that sleep quality might be a useful health indicator for the occupational physician.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed2004

Reliability of sickness certificates in detecting potential sick leave reduction by modifying working conditions: a clinical epidemiology study.

BACKGROUND: Medical sickness certificates are generally the main source for information when scrutinizing the need for aimed intervention strategies to avoid or reduce the individual and community side effects of sick leave. This study explored the value of medical sickness certificates related to daily work in Norwegian National Insurance Offices to identify sick-listed persons, where modified working conditions might reduce the ongoing sick leave. METHODS: The potential for reducing the ongoing sick leave by modifying working conditions was individually assessed on routine sickness certificates in 999 consecutive sick leave episodes by four Norwegian National Insurance collaborators, two with and two without formal medical competence. The study took place in Northern Norway in 1997 and 1998. Agreement analysed with differences against mean, kappa, and proportional-agreement analysis within and between groups of assessors was used in the judgement. Agreements between the assessors and the self-assessment of sick-listed subjects were additionally analysed in 159 sick-leave episodes. RESULTS: Both sick-listed subjects and National Insurance collaborators anticipated a potential reduction in sick leave in 20-30% of cases, and in another 20% the potential was assessed as possible. The chance corrected agreements, however, were poor (k < 0.20) within and between groups of National Insurance collaborators. The agreement between National Insurance collaborators and the sick-listed subjects was no better than chance. Neither extended medical information nor formal medical competence increased agreement in cases where modified working conditions might have reduced sick leave. CONCLUSION: Information in medical sickness certificates proved ineffective in detecting cases where modified working conditions may reduce sick leave, and focusing on medical certificates may prevent identification of needed interventions. Strategies on how to communicate directly with sick-listed subjects would enable social authorities to exploit more of the sick leave reduction potential by modifying the working conditions than strategies on improving medical information.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The relationship between stressful working conditions and high alcohol consumption and severe alcohol problems in an urban general population.

The relationship between 15 measures of stressful working conditions and high alcohol consumption (35 g 100% ethanol per day or more for men and 25 g or more for women) was studied, using cross-sectional data from a general population survey of 1344 males and 1494 females; the ages 25-64 years in metropolitan Stockholm in 1984. In a longitudinal component of the study, hospitalization and mortality with alcohol-related diagnosis was assessed during 1984-90, and also the association between previous experience of unemployment and high alcohol consumption. Some of the associations, expressed as age-adjusted odds ratios, were positive and some were negative when high alcohol consumption was the endpoint, but there was a clear variation by sex and social class. Generally the positive associations were stronger among male non-manual employees. Among males, there was a clear association between stressful working conditions and subsequent risk of severe medical alcohol-related problems, but the precision of the estimates was low due to low number of cases. The odds ratio was 6.18 (95% confidence interval 1.86, 20.61) for twisted working positions and 6.74 (95% confidence interval 1.67, 27.19). Previous unemployment among males was associated with increased risk for high alcohol consumption, with an odds ratio of 5.71 (95% CI 1.39, 15.97) among those who had been unemployed more than once, and 1.67 (95% CI 0.76, 3.64) among those who had been unemployed once during the previous 5 years. Those and other increased odds ratios were lower when subjects with an alcohol diagnosis at inpatient care during 1980-84 were excluded in the analyses. On the whole, our findings are not conclusive. The strong, but imprecise associations between stressful working conditions and severe alcohol problems, are however challenging, and warrants further studies, preferably with longitudinal design and repeated measurements of both working condition and alcohol habits.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

[Recommendations and notes for Manual RP 2.2.-013-94, "Hygienic criteria in the evaluation of work conditions according to indicators of harmfulness and risks of industrial environment factors and hardness and intensity of the work process"].

Some modifications need to be set in Classification of work conditions, adopted in Manual R rho 2.2.013-94 "Hygienic criteria to evaluate work conditions through occupational hazards and jeopardy, work hardness and intensity". We suggest to modify maximal allowable levels of general vibration, local vibration and infrasound. A recommended formula characterizes total vibration dose received through exposure to several factors, calculates work duration in accordance with all acting hazards.

Aerosols↗

PubMed2003

A follow-up study on the association of working conditions and lifestyles with the development of (perceived) mental symptoms in workers of a telecommunication enterprise.

AIM: This study investigated the association of working conditions and lifestyle with mental health in Japanese workers. METHODS: A follow-up study was carried out in the Kanto district of Japan of workers in a telecommunications enterprise who received their first annual health check-up between 1992 and 1996 and were between 20 and 54 years old. Workers who reported mental symptoms, had a past history of disease, or current illness at their first check-up were excluded from the analysis. In total, the study included 23 837 workers. The association between working conditions and lifestyle and the development of mental symptoms was investigated by pooled logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Working long hours and part-time work, as opposed to normal daytime hours of work, were factors associated with the development of mental symptoms in males, as were smoking, short sleeping hours, little physical exercise, rarely taking three meals a day, frequently eating within 1 h before sleep, much preference for salty meals and little preference for vegetables. Consumption of alcohol was negatively associated with the development of mental symptoms in males. Overall, the results suggested that the lower the Healthy Work and Lifestyle Score, the higher the risk of developing mental symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Working conditions and lifestyle, especially food preferences, have an apparent influence on the mental health of Japanese workers. Moreover, the Healthy Work and Lifestyle Score indicates that working conditions and lifestyle appear to have a cumulative influence upon the mental health of Japanese workers.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

[Working conditions of nurses at public hospitals 1980 to 1990].

The 1988 and 1991 strikes among nurses were motivated by claims concerning the status of the nursing profession, wages and working conditions. A study of working conditions was carried out from two samples: 1) a cohort of nurses (N = 571) recruited in 7 hospitals and followed up in 1980 (follow up rate: 85%) and in 1990 (follow up rate: 69%); 2) a sample of nurses who began to work in the same settings between 1985 and 1989 (N = 108). The results indicate no improvement in the organisation of shiftwork on the 10 years period. Working conditions deteriorated during the last 5 years. These findings are discussed in the light of the global evolution of hospital and of the specific problems of the nursing profession.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Changes in job stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and complaints of unfavorable working conditions among nurses after the adoption of a computerized order communication system.

OBJECTIVES: Order communication system (OCS) is a real-time computerized hospital information system that supports communication of orders from the ward users to the service departments. The adoption of an OCS may profoundly alter the service patterns of healthcare workers. As a result, job stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and complaints of unfavorable working conditions can be expected to increase. This study investigated changes in job stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and complaints of unfavorable working conditions among nurses after an OCS had been adopted and whether adoption of the system affected the changes. METHODS: A group of nurses employed in a university hospital in Korea was surveyed 1 month before and 3 months after the OCS had been adopted. We used Karasek's job contents questionnaire (JCQ) to evaluate job stress. The cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) questionnaire was used to assess the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms. The presence of unfavorable working conditions was also assessed. Next, we evaluated whether non-work factors (such as demographic factors and life events) had influence on job stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and complaints of unfavorable working conditions after adoption of the OCS. RESULTS: One hundred thirty nurses from the hospital (51.2%) responded to both surveys. Several JCQ scales were notably altered after OCS adoption; psychological job demand was significantly decreased (P < 0.01), although subjective assessment for hazardous conditions was significantly increased (P < 0.01). There was a significant increase in back complaints (P < 0.05). There was considerable decrease in the number of nurses who complained of 'increase in work intensity' (P < 0.05), 'increase of staying time to deal with remaining duties' (P < 0.05), and 'abrupt change of duties' (P < 0.01). According to the analysis for the associations between non-work factors and significantly changed variables, only two non-work factors, 'tenure' and 'conflicts with friend(s)', showed statistical significance with complaints of 'increase in work intensity' (P < 0.05) CONCLUSIONS. This study suggests that a newly adopted computerized system might have provoked changes in job stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and the complaints of unfavorable working conditions. It was found that, despite the overall favorable changes, complaints of hazardous conditions and back symptoms increased.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Working conditions and effects of ISO 9000 in six furniture-making companies: implementation and processes.

What effects will the implementation of the quality standard ISO 9000 have regarding working conditions and competitive advantages? Which are the most important change process characteristics for assuring improved working conditions and other desired effects? These are the main questions behind this study of six furniture-making companies which implemented ISO 9000 during the period 1991-1994. The results show that customer requirement was the dominant goal to implement ISO 9000. Five of the six companies succeeded in gaining certification. The influence on working conditions was limited, but included better order and housekeeping, more positive attitudes towards discussing quality shortcomings, a few workplace improvements, work enrichment caused by additional tasks within the quality system and a better understanding of external customer demands. Among the negative effects were new, apparently meaningless, tasks for individual workers as well as more stress and more physically strenuous work. The effects on the companies included a decrease in external quality-related costs and improved delivery precision. The study confirms the importance for efficient change of the design of the change process, and identifies 'improvement methodology' as the most important process characteristic. Improved working conditions are enhanced by added relevant strategic goals and by a participative implementation process.

Humans↗

PubMed1994

[Structure of working conditions in occupation having privileges according to the List #1 and #2].

The scientists studied work conditions of workers at KAMAZ plants. The studies covered the workers which are assigned to Registers 1 and 2 providing preferential pensions for hazardous and hard work conditions. Although being empirically formed, the Registers include workplaces which are similar in some characters. Therefore the descriptions of work conditions are obtained, and the principles are suggested to provide preferential pensions for workers which are not included into the Registers.

Automobiles↗

PubMed1993

[Working conditions and health status from the workers' viewpoint].

In the present study details about disruptive factors in working conditions, elements injurious to health or general well-being, personal attitudes to work etc. have been obtained by means of a representative survey of about 2000 employed persons in Switzerland. The most frequent disruptive factors in working conditions (> 30%) are noise and too little time for family and friends. A relatively large number of employed persons (20-25%) complain about unsatisfactory ventilation, air pollution due to dust, smoke etc., draughts, uncomfortable temperature, dry air, lifting and carrying heavy weights, uncomfortable body positions at work, unsuitable working hours, as well as pressure on time, too much concentration required, pressure of responsibility, insufficient recognition and lack of information about the planning and results of work being done. In the field of health complaints, back problems and nervous tension are at the top of the list (39%), followed by fatigue, sleeping problems, neck or leg problems, burning eyes, and stomach and intestinal problems (25-34%). The analysis shows that interrelationships exist--sometimes in the sense of a vicious circle--between complaints about disruptive factors in work conditions, professional groups, health problems and attitudes to professional live. The results provide a comprehensive survey of the incidence of problems in the fields of worker protection.

Air Pollution↗