International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health

Effects of Interactive Environment on Occupational Health and Safety

Somnath Gangopadyay — 2019-08-18

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Occupational injuries sustained by caregivers in geriatric care homes of Kathmandu valley

Prakash Kumar Mahto — 2019-08-18

Background: Ageing is an inevitable process. The population of elderly is increasing in Nepal. Caring of elderly at geriatric care homes is becoming popular. Caregivers take care of the elderly in the geriatric care homes. Occupational injuries are very common and no study has been done to document the injuries sustained by caregivers working in geriatric care homes in Nepal. This study has been conducted to determine the prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders and the injuries sustained among care givers working in geriatric care homes in Nepal.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study design. A convenience sample of 41 caregivers among geriatric care homes in Kathmandu valley aged between 20-45 years were included in the study. The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was adapted to measure Musculoskeletal Disorders in the study population. Descriptive analysis of data was done. Type of injury was classified and their consequences observed.

Results: Caregivers (n=41) reported work related musculoskeletal disorders in six areas of the questionnaire: Neck 4 (9.75 %), Shoulder 8(19.5%), Elbow 4(9.75%), Low back 22(53.65%), Knee 5(12.19%) and ankle 3(7.31%). Common types of injuries sustained were muscle strain, ligament sprain, joint pain, hernia etc. In most of the cases, caregivers had to take interventions like taking medications, exercises, rest while some were able to get away with minor symptoms.

Conclusion: The incidence of occupational injuries among caregivers is high. The existing training programs are not enough. A revision of the course work for training of caregivers is necessary

Prevalence of Bullying among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital, Bangalore

Cency Baburajan — 2019-08-18

Background: In the last decade, research conducted in different countries has shown that bullying in the health care sector especially among nurses is a widespread and serious problem. Bullying of nurses at workplace affects their quality of life, hinders delivery of quality healthcare and contributes to increase in workplace stress. So, this study was conducted to assess the prevalence of work place bullying among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore.

Methods: This study was conducted among 300 staff nurses providing in-patient services in a tertiary health care hospital located in Bangalore. The required sample was selected utilizing the documents maintained in the office of Chief of Nursing Services and using computer generated random numbers. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaire which comprised of socio-demographic factors and Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised.

Results: Among the 297 respondents, 26.9% were victims of bullying in the past six months according to Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R). Among the participants who were bullied, those exposed to work-related bullying, person-related bullying and physical intimidation were 80%, 60% and 21.3% respectively.

Conclusion: This study suggests existence of work place bullying among nurses which can adversely affect their performance as health care professionals and their quality of personal life.

Health and safety issues among construction workers in Bangladesh

Firoz Ahmed Mamin — 2019-08-18

Background: Bangladesh is a rapidly developing country. Lots of infrastructures are set up every year. A large number of people are working in the construction industry. Work related injuries and deaths of construction workers are common. The aim of this study was to find the health and safety awareness of informal construction workers.

Methodology: This study was a cross sectional study by using a preset questionnaire among the construction workers in Bangladesh.

Results: Participants of this study had lower income and education. About 87% of participants did not receive any health and safety training and did not wear safety equipment when they were working. About 57% of the participants had a history of injury. This study also found that the main reasons for the non-use of safety equipment were lack of safety equipment, motivation and training.

Conclusion: Construction workers are not adequately aware about health and safety issues that relate to them.

Health Risk Behaviors of Employees in Selected Oil Servicing Companies in Port Harcourt

Imiete Godspower — 2019-08-18

Background: The recent rate of deaths of worker in the oil industry is alarming. However, the way managers of the workers handle the problem is even more worrisome. This study investigated the health risk behaviours of employees in selected oil servicing companies in Port Harcourt city, Nigeria.

Methods: The study adopted the purposive sampling technique to select three notable oil servicing firms in the area and then selected 175 workers of the 350 workers as target population. Questionnaires were used to elicit information regarding the subject matters from the respondents. Data generated were presented in tables, while percentages were used as a yardstick for conclusions.

Results: Findings showed that most of the respondents exceeded driving speed limit (73.6%), do not get enough rest (84.9%), alcohol consumption (76.1%), cannot manage their individual stress (75.9%), having more than one sexual partners (74.8%). Also noted in the study is that most workers do not maintain low sugar diet (65.6%), do not take adequate fruits/vegetables (54.1%), do not get adequate sleep (54.6%), regular exposure to sun (58.5%), not coping with work stress (59.2%) and not socializing with friends (56%).

Conclusions: As a result of these findings, it was recommended that, there is need for supervisors of the workers to engage the workers in round table discussions that will ease the stress and psychological imbalance of the workers, the supervisors are advised at the instant of this research, to institute periodical exercises for workers to keep them fit and encourage healthy living, finally, there is need for awareness campaign by the companies for the purpose of re-orienting the workers on the need to practice with safety always.