Background and Objective: Considering the importance of quality of work life among nurses working in the intensive care unit, it is important to identify the components that affect this index. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between workload and work-related quality of life among nurses working in the intensive care unit. Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study, 384 nurses working in the intensive care unit were studied in 2021. The NASA task load index (NASA TLX) was used to determine workload, and the work-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (WRQoL) was used to determine the quality of their working life. The obtained data were entered into SPSS software and analyzed. Results: The results demonstrated that the most effective factor in increasing workload is a physical need, and the most important dimension affecting the quality of work life is job satisfaction. The correlation between quantitative demographic parameters with workload and quality of life indicators also pointed to the significant correlation of the mentioned indicators with age, work experience, and the number of shifts per month. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of this study, there was an inverse relationship between workload and WRQoL. It is necessary for hospital managers to be aware of the existing conditions and reduce the factors affecting workload to increase the WRQoL of nurses.
Background and Objective: The transportation of dangerous materials can lead to catastrophic accidents in metropolises. Assessment of the risk of transporting such materials and determination of the consequences can prevent possible accidents and consequences. Materials and Methods: In this regard, the TRRI method was used to estimate the quantitative risk index. Assessment and analysis of determinantal damages resulting from accidents of sudden discharge of such hazardous materials were performed by PHAST software. Furthermore, Pathfinder software was used to simulate individual reactions, and manage conditions and their distance from the accident zone. Results: Assessing the risk of transportation of jet fuel was estimated to be 144 using the TRRI method. Analysis of the consequences indicated that the sudden discharge of fuel in the first six months of the year, the consequence of the explosion of a jet fuel tanker up to a radius of 120 meters cause irreparable damage to the surrounding buildings. The findings of this simulation showed that the pool fire scenario of the people who are exposed to 12.5 kW/m2 radiation in the first and second half of the year in the sudden discharge scenario prevents the person from first or second-degree burns. Conclusion: Considering the significant road transport of hazardous materials and the high severity of the consequences of possible accidents in the intracity transportation of jet fuel, designing a time of safe transportation of materials along with determining safer routes can reduce the risk of such incidents.
Background and Objective: Job satisfaction and occupational stress are two factors affecting employees' productivity at the workplace in developed organizations.Occupational stress causes various prevalent physical and psychological effects, which in turn leads to poor job satisfaction.Despite many studies in this field on health groups, less attention has been paid to health workers.Further research is thus needed to explore and explain how job stress and job satisfaction are related to personal work and organizational factors among health center workers.Materials and Methods: This analytic cross-sectional study was performed from winter 2018 to spring 2019 among health workers of a city in Markazi province, Iran.Data collection tools were demographic and individual characteristics questionnaire, Job Description Index (JDI) questionnaire, and Occupational Stress Questionnaire (OSQ, Davies).Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 20).Results: The results showed that occupational stress is generally higher in women (119/848) than in men (108/122), and women's job satisfaction (242/450) is lower than that of men (262/682).In addition, there was a negative and significant relationship between occupational stress and job satisfaction (r=0.001,P=0.783) at the significance of level P<0.05.Multivariate regression findings also revealed that occupational stress can predict job satisfaction (β =-0.783,P=0.001).Moreover, the highest occupational stress and the lowest job satisfaction were related to healthcare workers.Conclusion: In general, stress and job satisfaction were obtained at a moderate level in this study, and there was a negative relationship between the two variables.Given that dissatisfaction is mainly seen in the discussion of promotions, salaries, and benefits, it is necessary to take measures to reduce stress, improve economic conditions, and create fair promotion conditions.
Background and Objective: A proper safety culture is one of the important factors that ensure a healthy and safe work environment.In order to ensure safety performance in the workplace, healthcare departments are required to establish safety rules and procedures and ensure they are applied throughout the organization.Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the safety culture among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Borujerd.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted on 452 HCWs in Boroujerd (1400-1401).Study subjects were selected by random stratified sampling method.The standard safety culture questionnaire was used to assess safety culture.The linear regression was used in SPSS (version 22) to identify factors related to safety culture.Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 33.97±5.69years, and most of them were female (58%).The mean score of safety culture was 172.64±23.53;moreover, 7.1% and 92.9% of subjects had a negative and positive safety culture, respectively.Linear regression analysis demonstrated that the overall score of safety culture decreases with an increase in age.The overall score of safety culture in the occupational group of discharge and income and guards was lower than in the radiography group, and it was higher in participants with illness and accident history than in those without illness and accident history.Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, the safety culture in the HCWs in this study was at a high level.The variables of age, history of accidents, illness, and occupation are the factors influencing the safety culture score.
Background and Objective: Individuals constantly hear different sounds that can affect their work and living place. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of traffic noise on cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase biomarkers. Materials and Methods: The subjects were men aged 18 to 35 who performed driving activities for one hour in the laboratory. The tests were performed in two conditions of background noise (35 dBA) and traffic noise with a level of 75 dBA and saliva samples were collected from the subjects before and after driving. Finally, saliva samples were analyzed with cortisol and alpha-amylase kits and by ELISA method. The statistical method used for data analysis was SPSS software (version 24) and data analysis was performed by Wilcoxon statistical test. Results: The results of this study indicated that the concentrations of both biomarkers cortisol and alpha-amylase in background noise conditions after driving were higher than that before the start, although this increase was not significant (p> 0.05). In the presence of traffic noise with a level of 75 dBA, the concentration of both biomarkers after driving was significantly higher than that before driving. (p<0.05) Conclusion: This study demonstrated that exposure to traffic noise can increase the concentration of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol biomarkers while driving.
Background and Objective: Assessment of safety performance in a work environment is one of the most important steps in establishing optimal safety conditions in an organization.The present study aimed to assess safety performance in a food industry.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a large food industry in 2021.The sample size in this study was calculated as 231 individuals using Cochran's formula with an accuracy of 0.05.The studied variables included two groups of reactive (safety training, risk assessment, and control) and reactive (type of accidents, unsafe conditions, and acts) performance indicators, as well as the final safety performance index.The numerical range of this index was 0.2 to 5.0.Results: The final safety performance index was evaluated as 1.76 in this food industry.The results revealed that the amount of six groups of safety performance indicators including risk assessment (4.01), risk control (3.93), safety training (3.85), type of accidents (2.47), unsafe acts (2.17), and unsafe conditions (2.05) were respectively estimated in this industry.In addition, the lowest and highest indicators were related to unsafe equipment (0.13) and use of personal protective equipment (2.09), respectively among the 32 evaluated indicators.Conclusion: The findings of the study indicated that although the level of safety performance in this food industry is not unfavorable, practical and beneficial measures should be implemented in line with the six groups and 32 indicators to achieve a favorable safety performance index.
Background and Objective: COVID-19 spread faster in crowded public places; therefore, industrial workers are more prone to COVID-19 infection. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 and its association with adherence to sanitary protocols in detergent industries in Alborz province, Iran. Materials and Methods: Given a 95% confidence interval, a 3% permissible error level, and an 11% prevalence rate, a total sample of 552 from seven industrial units were recruited. Demographics and COVID-19 infection data were gathered using a questionnaire. The level of adherence to sanitary protocols was assessed using a checklist approved by the Ministry of Health. Results: The average age of the subjects was 35.17±7.27 years, and 14.3% were female. The level of adherence to sanitary protocols was 94.36±6% in each industry. The prevalence of COVID-19 infection was 33.5% in detergent industries, with the highest rate in the packaging unit (42%). The results suggested that COVID-19 prevalence was associated with education level, history of an infected family member, exposure to crowded places, and disinfection (P<0.05). Conclusion: The contact history of workers with an infected family member played a significant role in their COVID-19 contraction. Enhancing air-conditioning systems, social distancing in working stations, evaluating the workers with a history of contact with infected family members, and developing management measures, including educating workers' families, quarantining, and granting leave to workers in contact with infected family members, are integral for the prevention and control of the epidemic in industries.
Background and Objective: Musculoskeletal disorders are among the cumulative injuries that result from working in dangerous conditions and poor postures over several years. One of the major problems for computer users is musculoskeletal disorders. The present study investigated the effect of teaching ergonomics to computer users on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed on the administrative staff of Imam Reza (AS) hospital in Mashhad, Iran. In this study, 77 administrative and support staff were selected using the simple random sampling method. After the initial assessment of their physical condition during work, an ergonomic educational intervention program was given to the users to reduce their musculoskeletal injury factors during a three-month period. Their physical condition was assessed before and after the training using the rapid office strain assessment method. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Results: The mean age of participants was 36.4±6.62 years old and their mean work experience was 13/8%±6.12 years. The prevalence of discomfort and pain was mainly reported in the lumbar region (57.2%) and neck (43.8%). Moreover, the highest frequency of rapid office strain assessment method score was 5 before training (42.3%), which reached 9.6% after the intervention and training of staff. The scores of 6, 3, 4, and 2 were 18.3%, 15.7%, 14.6%, and 7.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The results showed the importance of teaching the principles of ergonomics for using computer systems in reducing musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, it was found that the level of musculoskeletal disorders in this group of occupations can be minimized with proper training.
Background and Objective: The aviation industry, despite considerable advances in technology and Safety, is still witnessing unfortunate accidents, 80% of which are caused by human factors. The present study aimed to investigate resilience safety culture in order to improve the level of safety culture and resilience and reduce accidents in one of Iranian's airports. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, resilient safety culture indices were weighed and ranked by the expert panel, including safety experts and airport operators, using Analytic Hierarchy Process and Expert Choice software (version 11). Moreover, the resilient safety culture questionnaire based on the above-mentioned indices was completed by the airport staff and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 16.0). Results: According to the experts' opinions, management commitment (with a normal weight of 1.0), competence (0.79), and awareness (0.69) had the most importance and just culture (0.45), flexibility (0.39, and management of change (0.35) had the least importance. According to the airport staff's opinions, competency (4.12), just culture (3.87), and readiness (3.84) obtained the highest score, while employee participation (3.61), flexibility (3.48), and awareness (3.29) had the lowest score. Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, the competency factor, which was highly rated by both staff and experts, can be effective in improving airport resilience. Improving the level of awareness among employees, which in their opinion is the least important, is one of the most important factors affecting resilience safety.
Background and Objective: Today, contractors are required to submit an HSE Plan before starting a project, and HSE officials in organizations must be able to develop an HSE Plan. Due to the lack of a specific format for the development of the HSE Plan, to avoid personal preferences, save time and money, and include the necessary parts, the present study aimed to provide a consistent model for users to develop a specific HSE-Plan using suitable software. Materials and Methods: First, the main framework of HSE-Plan was determined by searching various databases and including expert opinions. In the next step, the idea generation and design of the portal were done. Afterward, the required basic information was entered into the program and different parts of the program were designed according to the requirements of each section. Finally, the software was validated by testing it in a provincial power distribution company. Results: According to the input options, as well as the subject of the project and its specific requirements, the outputs were designed to suit different projects, and after entering the required information for each section, the output HSE-Plan was displayed. Conclusion: This software helps the user to define appropriate goals and policies for the organization and identify the relevant requirements by entering information such as risk assessment data and the results of occupational accidents, and finally the collection of these materials creates the plan required by users.
Background and Objective: According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), occupational accidents cause the greatest human hardship and economic compensation. The economic costs of accidents are not only borne by the victims but also by the relevant companies and the government. This study aimed to estimate the burden of occupational accidents in Kashan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the working population of Kashan, Iran. In order to collect data, all information related to occupational accidents registered in the Department of Labor, Cooperation, and Social Affairs of Kashan was used. The burden of occupational accidents was assessed using the method by the World Health Organization. Moreover, Excel software was utilized to estimate the number of years lost due to early death and disability, and the overall years of life lost regarding social values. Results: The results showed that 407 accidents occurred during the study period. Furthermore, the total number of DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) cases in the present study was 523.138 years, out of which 308 (58%) years are related to YLL (Years of Life Lost) and the remaining 138/218 years are related to YLD (Years Lived with Disability). Conclusion: Given the high number of years of life lost due to disability caused by occupational accidents, this study highlights the importance of providing occupational health services in industries to protect human resources against occupational accidents.
Background and Objective: Lower back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders and an important cause of early retirement due to disability in employees in industrialized and developing countries. The present study aimed to determine the work ability index and its relationship with low back pain among employees of the Tehran offset printing industry. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed within six months in 2020. Data from 220 employers working in the offset printing industry were collected through survey questionnaires, including Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaires and Work Ability Index. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 24) with a significance level of p<0.05. Results: In general, more than half of the participants (62.5%) indicated high symptoms of lower back pain. The results of the Pearson correlation test showed that there was a positive and significant correlation between the level of work ability and the severity of low back pain (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated the need to increase awareness through training courses, and identify and control the risk factors that cause back pain in the studied employees to strengthen appropriate practices and create motivation in adopting appropriate preventive measures to reduce the prevalence of back pain and increase the work ability.
Background and Objective: Work stress is a negative physical and mental reaction that is the second most common work-related problem after musculoskeletal disorders. Fatigue is a state that occurs during a work period and causes a person to lose efficiency. This study was thus conducted to determine the relationship between job stress and job fatigue in nurses. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study conducted in teaching and therapeutic hospitals of Gorgan, Iran, including Sayad Shirazi Hospital, 5 Azar Hospital, and Taleghani Hospital in 2021. A total of 277 nurses were included in the study after random stratified sampling. Data were collected by the OSIPOW job stress questionnaire and the Swedish SOFI job fatigue questionnaire and analyzed by the SPSS software (version 23). Results: The mean score of job tension was 180.05±23.4, which was classified as moderate to severe. The highest score was related to the role of the workload dimension and the lowest to the physical environment dimension. The mean score of job fatigue was 53.18±22.5 and was evaluated at a lower-than-average level. The highest score was related to the dimension of lack of energy and the lowest to the dimension of physical effort. There was also a weak direct and significant relationship between job tension and job fatigue, as well as all its dimensions. Conclusion: Considering the relationship between job stress and job fatigue, it is suggested to provide the necessary infrastructure and facilities to reduce stress in nurses and provide training on how to deal with stress to the hospital staff.
Background and Objective: Human error is the leading cause of accidents in industries. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety culture and model the factors affecting it in a process industry using the structural equation modeling method. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, safety culture was assessed using a 10 dimensions' questionnaire constructed by researchers with a Likert scale. This study was conducted in the petrochemical industry in 2021. Questionnaires were distributed among 312 employees, and 308 questionnaires were completed. SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0 were used for data analysis. Results: The safety culture score was calculated at 3.35. The results of SEM demonstrated that the factor loadings of the effect of income, education, and work experience on safety culture were 0.322, 0.445, and 0.328, respectively, and the factor loadings of the effects of education, work experience, and age on accident experience were -0.336, -0.312, and -0.214, respectively. The relationship between safety culture and accident experience had a factor loading of -0.477, and GFI was obtained at 0.97. Conclusion: The results of the safety culture assessment indicated that this organization had a positive safety culture, with a high score being related to the dimensions of utilizing protective equipment, training and understanding of issues, and the commitment of managers and supervisors. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that education, income, and work experience all had a positive impact on safety culture. Accident experience was inversely related to such factors as age, education, and work experience, and safety culture was likewise inversely correlated with accident experience.
Background and Objective: This study aimed to provide a risk assessment method based on a Fuzzy Bayesian Network (FBN) to prevent the failure of firefighting systems (FSs). Materials and Methods: In this research, the fault tree structure was validated, and the failure factors were identified. Triangular fuzzy numbers and the combined CoA/Sum-Product method were used to calculate the failure rate. Subsequently, deductive and inductive reasoning, as well as sensitivity analysis were performed using fuzzy logic and fault tree transmission in a Bayesian Network (BN). Results: The results of a case study on methanol storage tanks showed that the combination of FBN and validation of structures can be presented as a suitable method to evaluate the reliability of FSs. The content validity index of the final basic events was over 0.79. The highest and lowest failure rates were related to the foam system and valve, respectively. Moreover, the failure rate for the failure of FSs was 5.7×10-6 based on the fuzzy fault tree (FFT). After updating with BN, the previous rate of failure of FSs with FBN was calculated to be 0.022978, which was greater than the value of the FFT. The reliability of the system was equal to 0.77022. Conclusion: The present approach can help the decision-making process of managers and analysts of the petrochemical industry to prevent the failure of FSs in tanks due to changes in systems.
Background and Objective: Noise pollution inside buildings is caused by frequent sound reflection from their inner surfaces. The purpose of this study is to experimentally study the sound emission pattern based on acoustic characteristics in typical industrial manufactories. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in rectangular cubic manufactories with a volume of less than 2000 m2, between 2000 to 3000, and 3000 to 4000. The space reverberation time was measured according to the ISO 3382-2-2008 standard, and the sound emission pattern in manufactories was performed according to the ISO 11690 standard. The space sound level was measured based on the distance from the source with pink noise. In order to simulate sound parameters, the radiation tracking method was used in Odeon. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software. Results: The average reverberation time in manufactories under 2000, between 2000-3000, and between 3000-4000 m2 was 1.75, 2.25, and 2.77 sec, respectively. The measured reverberation time had a significant correlation with the predicted reverberation time (r=0.95, P=0.05). The average sound reduction based on the distance from the source was 4, 3, and 3 dB in manufactories under 2000, between 2000-3000, and between 3000-4000 m2, respectively. There was also a negative significant correlation between the sound reduction level and the reverberation time (r=-0.97, P=0.05). The correlation between the measured and predicted sound levels was determined (r=0.95). Conclusion: Reverberation time calculated by Sabin and Eyring’s formula showed higher values than those of the measurement method. There was also a significant relationship between the average sound reduction pattern and the average time of vocalization. Therefore, measuring sound reduction based on the distance from the artificial source can be used to show the sound emission pattern, even on its own, due to the simplicity of the measurement method. It is recommended to be used with the reverberation time to evaluate the sound emission pattern in manufactories.
Effect of the Neurotoxic Symptoms and the Demographic Factors on the Work Ability Index of Operating Room Nurses
Relationship between Anxiety and Quality of Life in Nurses Caring for Covid-19 Patients in Different Wards
Evaluation of Human Factors of Mining and Construction Transportation Machines Using a Checklist of Ergonomic Indicators
Introduction: In recent years, the rapid growth of nanotechnology has posed challenges related to health and safety of nanomaterials. Standardization is one of the first steps in assessing and controlling the risks posed by nanotechnology. Therefore, this study was conducted to review the national standards of Iran regarding the safety, health and environmental aspects of nanotechnology. Methods: This study was conducted in 2021, by searching in the portal of Iranian National Standards Organization (INSO). The search was provided by keywords "nano" and "nanotechnology". The inclusion criteria were the standards related to safety, health and environmental aspects of nanotechnology. A validated checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the standards. Statistical analysis was also performed using SPSS.22 software. Results: Out of 104 standards, 14 standards were related to safety, health and the environment. Most of the standards were translations of ISO and ASTM standards. Content analysis showed that the standards, in the first years, were about the characteristics of nanomaterials; However, in recent years, they have been developed about preventing exposure to nanomaterials and risk management. Statistical analysis showed that most of the quality evaluation criteria were at the "good" level. Conclusion: The existence of more than 100 standards, shows the importance of standardization of nanotechnology in the country. Although most of the standards are related to nanotechnology safety in workplaces, we need to increase public and specialized awareness to implement and apply the standards, at the national level.
