Long-term Workers Research Articles

Research of the Distribution of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in Print Shops in Xi’an

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major constituents of the indoor air pollutants. The indoor air quality has caused wide concern for VOCs may affect human health in many ways. The VOCs in general rooms volatilize from building materials, furniture and so on. In print shops the print equipment and materials may produce a large amount of VOCs that may affect the health of the long-term print shop workers. The author has measured the VOC content and the air indexes in a seventy square-meter print shop in Xi’an with comprehensive functions, then, evaluated the pollution and proposed the preventions of the VOC content in print shops.

Mental health, duration of unemployment, and coping strategy: a cross-sectional study of unemployed migrant workers in eastern china during the economic crisis

Background20 million migrant workers in China lost their jobs during the economic crisis of 2008. Both urban migration and unemployment have long been documented to be associated with vulnerability to mental problems. This study aims to examine the mental health of unemployed migrant workers in Eastern China and its relation to duration of unemployment and coping strategy during the recent economic crisis.MethodsThe data were collected through interview-based survey with a sample of 210 unemployed migrant workers in Zhejiang Province of China from 2008 to 2009. Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, and seven short demographic questions were used.ResultsThe majority of the unemployed migrant workers were found to be young male manufacturing industry workers with short-term unemployment and a relatively low education level. Nearly 50% of unemployed migrant workers were classified as mentally unhealthy and the most frequently reported symptom was depression. Compared with the adult norm of 1986, 2003, and 2007 in China, unemployed migrants had more mental problems. Long-term unemployed migrant workers had more psychiatric symptoms than the short-term unemployed workers and employed migrant workers. Unemployed migrant workers with immature coping strategies expressed significantly more psychiatric symptoms than those with mixed and mature coping strategies. Duration of unemployment and two coping strategies, problem-solving and self-blaming, predicted the mental problems of unemployed migrant workers.ConclusionsThe results indicated that mental health status of unemployed migrant workers in Eastern China was poorer than the national adult norm. More psychiatric symptoms are evidenced among unemployed migrant workers who lost their jobs for a long term and who had immature coping strategies. These findings can be used for prevention and intervention of mental illness among unemployed migrant workers.

(Dis)Trust of Displaced Workers - The Experience of 'Quic Project' in Italian Public Retraining Programs

Every training process aims to a deep transformation of individual competencies. The success of these programs strongly depends on the level of commitment of the actors involved playing different roles (Public Government, financing body, providers, trainers, firms, workers) and mainly on the presence of a crucial aspect: trust. Trust favors the willingness to cooperate, to change and to risk, so to run virtuous training processes. This concern is very important in low trust-based contexts as the professional training programmes for long-term unemployed workers re-skilling implemented by the Italian Regions and especially by those of the Southern. In fact, they usually have a bad reputation, because (for reasons beyond the scope of this research) they contributed to a gradual trust destruction between all the parties involved, first of all the unemployed workers. In these contexts, the (almost) total lack of mutual trust between the actors involved (Region, training provider, trainers, unemployed workers and enterprises) is an insurmountable obstacle to start virtuous training processes.The present paper intends to describe the 'Quic project' (funded by Campania Region, Southern Italy, in 2009) started to test out if there is place to build training paths according win-win logics, with no losers and where all the parties involved can profit. According to this assumption the 'Quic project' focuses on planning high quality training project, giving much attention to trust-related problems. Therefore, the 'Quic project' believes very important to develop a study on trust building, together with the training providing, to better the reputation of this type of training processes.According to such idea we assume that unemployed workers training programmes could be a very 'productive' context where understand if and how it is possible to undertake a trust-based (re)building and maintenance process.

Lung cancer incidence among Norwegian silicon carbide industry workers: associations with particulate exposure factors

ObjectivesAn increased lung cancer risk associated with total dust exposure in the silicon carbide (SiC) industry has previously been reported. The aim of the present study was to examine the...

Dynamics of a Coupled System: Multi-Resolution Remote Sensing in Assessing Social-Ecological Responses during 25 Years of Gas Field Development in Arctic Russia

Hydrocarbon exploration has been underway in the north of West Siberia for several decades. Giant gas fields on the Yamal Peninsula are expected to begin feeding the Nord Stream pipeline to Western Europe in late 2012. Employing a variety of high- to very high-resolution satellite-based sensors, we have followed the establishment and spread of Bovanenkovo, the biggest and first field to be developed. Extensive onsite field observations and measurements of land use and land cover changes since 1985 have been combined with intensive participant observation in all seasons among indigenous Nenets reindeer herders and long-term gas field workers during 2004–2007 and 2010–2011. Time series and multi-resolution imagery was used to build a chronology of the gas field’s development. Large areas of partially or totally denuded tundra and most forms of expanding infrastructure are readily tracked with Landsat scenes (1985, 1988, 2000, 2009, 2011). SPOT (1993, 1998) and ASTER (2001) were also used. Quickbird-2 (2004) and GeoEye (2010) were most successful in detecting small-scale anthropogenic disturbances as well as individual camps of nomadic herders moving in the vicinity of the gas field. For assessing gas field development the best results are obtained by combining lower resolution with Very High Resolution (VHR) imagery (spatial resolution < 5 m) and fieldwork. Nenets managing collective and privately owned herds of reindeer have proven adept in responding to a broad range of intensifying industrial impacts at the same time as they have been dealing with symptoms of a warming climate. Here we detail both the spatial extent of gas field growth and the dynamic relationship between Nenets nomads and their rapidly evolving social-ecological system.

Expanding the Role of Long-Term Care Social Workers: Assessment and Intervention Related to Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common and stigmatizing problem faced by long-term care (LTC) residents. It is typically addressed by medical professionals, with social work rarely involved. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how social workers can address the psychosocial implications of UI while working with residents and their family members as part of an interdisciplinary team. Using a case example and the NASW objectives for LTC, recommendations on how the role of the LTC social workers can be expanded to better address both the needs of residents, families, and the larger LTC system are provided.

Health effects and acceptance of a physical activity program for older long-term unemployed workers

Long-term unemployment has negative effects on both mental and physical health. In combination with an inactive lifestyle, it often leads to functional or constitutional limitations that make reemployment in the labor market difficult especially for older adults. The presented pilot study examined a 3-month-long interventional program for improving health of older, long-term unemployed persons with regard to its effectiveness and acceptance by the target group. The low-threshold intervention was offered by a job training center that supports reemployment and was divided into lectures for enhancing the individual health competence and a supervised physical training part in a fitness center. One hundred and nineteen long-term unemployed workers (53.7 ± 3 years) took part in a prospective investigation with 3 data collection points: before intervention (T1), after intervention (T2, n = 94), and 6 month after intervention (T3, n = 59). The spectrum of methods included the assessment of nutritional status, cardiovascular risk factors, physical fitness, chronic backache, and depression. As a result of the intervention, the physical fitness improved significantly (maximal oxygen uptake: p < 0.002). Cardiovascular risk factors like systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.016; p < 0.001) and percentage body fat (p < 0.017) decreased significantly. There were also remarkable effects in the reduction in depression (p < 0.028). Chronic backache was lowered in more than 50% of the cases. The health promotion program reached people who have a desire to improve both physical and mental health. To assume responsibility for their own health may be a first step in regaining self-confidence and lowering the work placement barriers.

Comparison of intestinal parasitic infection in newly arrived and resident workers in Qatar

BackgroundThe rapid growth of Qatar in the last two decades has been associated with an enormous expansion of building programs in its cities and in the provision of new service industries. This in turn has attracted a large influx of immigrant workers seeking employment in jobs associated with food handling, domestic service and the building industry. Many of these immigrants come from countries in the tropics and subtropics where intestinal parasitic infections are common.MethodsWe analyzed intestinal parasitic infections recorded in 2008 among immigrant and long-term resident workers in Doha city, Qatar (n = 1538). Stool examinations were carried out at the Hamad Medical Corporation and at the Medical Commission in Doha using standard procedures.ResultsOverall, 21.5% of subjects were infected with at least one of the species recorded (8 helminth and 4 protozoan species; the highest prevalence was for hookworms = 8.3%) and there were strong regional effects on prevalence of helminths, with subjects from North East Africa and Nepal showing particularly high prevalence. Most helminths declined in prevalence in subjects that acquired residency status in Qatar, especially among female subjects, but there was a marked exception among male Nepalese workers, who continued to harbour helminth infections (notably hookworms) after they became residents. Contrary to all other regional groups the prevalence of Giardia duodenalis was higher among Nepalese residents compared with new arrivals, while Blastocystis hominis infections were more common among residents of all regions, and especially among North East Africans.ConclusionsOur analysis has identified male Nepalese workers as a particular risk group continuing to harbour hookworm infection and G. duodenalis as residents, and subjects from North East Africa are as particularly likely to acquire B. hominis infection after settling in the country. These conclusions have important implications for the health authorities in Qatar.

Prevalence, comorbidity, onset, severity and treatment of mental disorders among long-term sick-listed workers

ObjectivesTo assess prevalence, comorbidity, onset, severity and treatment of mental disorders in a population of sick listed workers.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, data were collected from a sample of 346 long...

Cancer mortality among electrolysis workers: where have all the cancers gone? A challenge to occupational epidemiologists and regulatory boards

ObjectivesThe alleged absence of increased cancer mortality among electrolysis workers at the Port Colborne refinery (Canada) contrasts the excess incidence of lung cancer and nasal cancer seen among workers engaged...

Exposure related mortality from obstructive lung diseases among workers in the Norwegian silicon carbide industry

ObjectivesAn excess mortality from asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, is previously reported from the silicon carbide (SiC) industry. Our objective was to study mortality from obstructive lung diseases (OLD) with...

The Impact of Contact Lens Wear and Visual Display Terminal Work on Ocular Surface and Tear Functions in Office Workers

To evaluate the effect of contact lens (CL) wear and visual display terminal (VDT) work on the ocular surface and tear functions. Prospective case-control study. Sixty-nine CL wearers (45 women and 24 men; mean age, 35.2 ± 7.3 years), and 102 age- and sex-matched non-CL wearers were enrolled in the study (66 women and 36 men; mean age, 36.7 ± 7.3 years). Ocular surface and tear function tests, including vital stainings (fluorescein and rose bengal), Schirmer test, tear meniscus height measurement, and tear film break-up time were performed. The subjective symptoms of dry eyes were evaluated using a dry eye symptom questionnaire. The participants were divided into 4 subgroups according to the total time of VDT work in 1 day (VDT work time in 1 day ≥ 4 hours or < 4 hours) and presence of CL wear. Main outcome measures included ocular surface vital staining scores, Schirmer test results, tear film break-up time, tear meniscus height measurement, and symptom questionnaire score. CL users and long-term VDT workers showed significantly worse tear meniscus height values than non-CL users and short-term VDT workers (P < .001). The mean visual symptom scores in CL wearers and long-term VDT workers were significantly higher than the other groups (P < .001). Office workers who wore CLs and spent more than 4 hours engaged in VDT work had a lower tear meniscus volume with significant dry eye and visual symptoms triggered by environmental factors.

Quantification of the healthy worker effect: a nationwide cohort study among electricians in Denmark

BackgroundThe healthy worker effect (HWE) is a well-known phenomenon. In this study we used the extensive registration of all Danish citizens to describe the magnitude of HWE among all Danish electricians and evaluated strategies for minimizing HWE bias of the association between occupation and mortality.MethodsAll Danish male citizens aged 26-56 years in the period 1984-1992 were followed for three years in several registers. We evaluated HWE bias among electricians because they were unexposed to detrimental occupational exposures. We compared electricians to three reference groups (general population, construction industry and carpenters/brick layers) and utilized analytical methods for minimizing HWE bias (lag time analyses, age-stratified analyses, marginal structural model and restriction to employed, newly employed or long-term workers).ResultsThe mortality rate was higher among electricians, who the year following active employment received incapacity benefits or were on long-term sick leave. Electricians receiving incapacity benefits, on long-term sick leave, unemployed, or with increased comorbidity index had lower odds of re-employment. Electricians had lower mortality rate (rate ratio,0.60;95%CI,0.52-0.69) compared to the general population, while electricians leaving employment had increased mortality (1.90;1.50-2.40). Adjusting for several social events slightly attenuated the estimates, while the marginal structural model did not minimize bias. Electricians had the same mortality as the construction industry and carpenters/brick layers. Mortality was comparable to the general population after three or more years of lag time.ConclusionsIn this nationwide study, employment as electricians had marked effect on mortality. Appropriate reference selection and lag time analyses minimized the HWE bias.

Work characteristics in long-term temporary workers and temporary-to-permanent workers: A prospective study among Finnish health care personnel

In this study, the authors seek to account for possible transitions from temporary to permanent employment in relation to perceived psychosocial work characteristics, i.e. job insecurity, workload, job control and organizational communication. The study compared three groups of Finnish hospital workers utilizing a two-wave design with a two-year time lag: (1) workers who were temporarily employed at Time 1 but permanently employed at Time 2 (temporary-to-permanent workers; n = 25); (2) workers who were temporarily employed at Time 1 and at Time 2 (long-term temporary workers; n = 45); and (3) a reference group of workers who were permanently employed at Time 1 and Time 2 (permanent workers; n = 316). The results showed that temporary-to-permanent workers experienced less job insecurity but more workload at Time 2 than at Time 1. Furthermore, long-term temporary workers experienced higher workload at Time 2 than at Time 1, and they also reported a negative change in organizational communication during the follow-up.

Unheard voices, unmapped terrain: care work in long-term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden.

This article aims to contribute to comparative welfare state research by analysing the everyday work life of long-term care facility workers in Canada and Sweden. The study's empirical base was a survey of fixed and open-ended questions; this article presents results from a subset of respondents (Care Aides and Assistant Nurses) working in facilities in three Canadian provinces (n=557) and across Sweden (n=292). The workers' experiences were linked to the broader economic and organisational contexts of residential care in the two jurisdictions. We found a high degree of country-specific differentiation of work organisation: Canada follows a model of highly differentiated task-oriented work, whereas Sweden represents an integrated relational care work model. Reflecting differences in the vertical division of labour, the Canadian Care Aides had more demanding working conditions than their Swedish colleagues. The consequences of these models for care workers, for elderly people and for their families are discussed.

Four-Year Prospective Study of Lung Function in Workers in a High Altitude (4000 m) Mine

The aim of this study was to determine if work at high altitude is associated with accelerated lung function decline and if smoking could further accelerate this decline. Subjects working at high altitude (3800 to 4500 m) in a gold mine on shift-rotation basis were included, and 7320 spirometry reports were obtained throughout a 4-yr observation period (2005-2009). Out of 3368 selected reports with acceptable quality, for 842 patients aged 38.9 ± 8.6 yr we analyzed annual decline in vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume during the first second (FEV(1)). VC was reduced by 46.5 mL, FVC by 67.8 mL, and FEV(1) by 74.5 mL a year, greater than in historical controls. In those having initial FEV(1)/FVC below 70%, yearly VC decline was 59.4 mL, FEV(1) -58.6 mL. In long-term workers with no initial obstruction, FEV(1) declined slower (67.2 vs. 101.3 mL/yr (p < 0.001); but VC and FVC decline did not differ. Work at high altitude for years may be a factor that accelerates lung function decline, and the rate of decline along with confounding factors should be the subject of future studies.

Mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases among workers in the Norwegian silicon carbide industry: associations with dust exposure

ObjectivesIncreased mortality from asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema has previously been reported among workers in the silicon carbide (SiC) industry. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the...

The Ethics of Seasonal Labour Migration

Seasonal labour migration and ‘guest worker’ schemes are a common and growing phenomenon around the world. In 2008, the Australian government introduced the Pacific Seasonal Worker pilot scheme for workers from select Pacific Island nations to work in the horticultural industry in Australia. The scheme is the first guest worker scheme in the history of the Commonwealth. The visas entitle workers to reside in Australia for a maximum of seven months, with no provision for secondary visas for family members and no prospect of upgrading the visas to permanent residency. The introduction of the pilot scheme is indicative of a growing trend in the use of temporary labour migration in Australia, and raises the fundamental question of just what are the ethical limits of such schemes. The article addresses this question by considering whether it is consistent with liberal political values to deny long-term seasonal workers the opportunity to join the Australian community. It introduces Michael Walzer’s influential work on this question, and then proposes the liberal criteria of ‘freedom’ as the principle underpinning the state’s obligation to seasonal workers. The article draws on a distinction between freedom as non-interference and freedom as non-domination in Philip Pettit’s theory of republicanism, and uses the distinction to pose the question of whether the freedom of the migrant labourer can be assured through regulation of the employment relationship, or whether it can only be assured through removing the unequal status between alien workers and citizen employers. The article also considers the nature of work, and the vulnerability of migrant workers within the employment relationship. It argues that the problems which arise in the employment relationship between migrant workers and their employers, as they invariably do, are symptomatic of the exclusion of migrant workers from participation in the political life of the receiving state. The article concludes that there are problems with dissociating work in a state from membership of that state in the long term, and makes the case for providing the opportunity for guest workers to apply for permanent residence.

L'efficacité des mesures d'accompagnement sur le retour à l'emploi

Résumé Dans cet article, nous réalisons une évaluation des effets sur le retour en emploi du Plan d’Aide au Retour à l’Emploi ( pare ), mis en place le 1 er juillet 2001. Dans le cadre du pare , les chômeurs indemnisés se voient proposer différents types d’accompagnement sous la forme d’un suivi individualisé. L’évaluation est réalisée à partir de deux échantillons représentatifs des chômeurs indemnisés. Un échantillon issu du stock permet d’étudier les effets du pare sur des chômeurs de longue durée. Un échantillon obtenu à partir du flux concerne les individus qui ont bénéficié des mesures de suivi dès leur entrée en chômage. Nos résultats montrent que l’accompagnement a un effet positif et significatif sur le retour à l’emploi.

Work absence and absence costs in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and low back pain (LBP) in the United States

Osteoarthritis (OA) and low back pain (LBP) are conditions associated with significant pain, resulting in pain-related patient disability and considerable negative economic employer consequences. A retrospective analysis was performed using the Human Capital Management Services Research Reference Database (HCMS RRDb) from January 2001 to March 2008. Study criteria included ICD-9 diagnosis of OA or LBP, continuous enrollment 12 weeks before and 24 or 56 weeks after index date, and minimum 60-days supply of prescription pain medications. Index date defined as date of first treatment prescription after OA/LBP diagnosis. Comparisons were made within two immediate-released (IR) combination opioid cohorts (APAP/Hydrocodone and APAP/Oxycodone) comparing the pre-index and post-index periods. Outcomes for both cohorts included employee work absences and indirect costs associated with payments for absences, including sick leave (SL), short- and long-term disability (STD, LTD) and workers' compensation (WC). Two-part regression analysis modeled the cost differences between pre- and post-index time periods within each study cohort. All costs are reported per employee per week in 2008 US dollars. Disability absences and costs were all significantly greater for employees using the study drugs after therapy initiation compared with before therapy. More specifically, STD costs significantly increased (P<0.001) by $54/$19 for APAP/Hydrocodone and by $81/$45 for APAP/Oxycodone groups over both 24- and 56-week timeframes, respectively. Total costs (SL, STD, LTD and WC) for the APAP/Hydrocodone users increased 71.6% ($66) in the 24-week cohort and 40.5% ($30) in the 56-week cohort, while the increases for the APAP/Oxycodone were even greater, 118.8% ($92) and 121.6% ($67) in the 24-week and 56-week cohorts, respectively. This study adds to the limited literature of the effect of IR combination opioid use among employees with OA/LBP. Furthermore, this study suggests that additional research is required to develop new and innovative solutions to improve the status of employees with OA/LBP.