Occupational Health Practice Research Articles

Occupational Health and Safety Conditions of Informal Sector Workers in Three Nigerian Cities

Abstract Despite its economic relevance, the informal sector in Nigeria is plagued by occupational health and safety (ohs) anomalies. This study assessed ohs conditions among informal sector workers (isw s) operating in three Nigerian cities (Sokoto, Owerri and Port Harcourt). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a total of 717 isw s. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. Logistic regression was used in predicting good ohs practices, based on gender, education level, occupation, health impairments and common health and safety practices. The findings show that many isw s have inadequate water sources and sanitary facilities and poor occupational health and safety practices. The overall model was statistically significant in predicting the likelihood of having good ohs practices. The study concludes that ohs conditions among isw s are poor as a result of insufficient water and sanitation facilities and poor environmental health practices. Improved water and sanitation provision and ohs awareness and education programmes for isw s, in line with their specific occupations and susceptibility to certain kinds of occupational health impairment, are recommended.

Total Worker Health® and Organizational Behavior Management: Emerging Opportunities for Improving Worker Well-being

ABSTRACT We draw artificial boundaries between our lives at work, at home, and in the community. Each person is living an integrated life where all of their environments (resources, physical environment, psychosocial environment, responsibilities/demands) interact to impact their safety, health, and well-being. Total Worker Health® is an approach developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to address such interactions, and to advance science and practice for protecting workers’ safety, health, and well-being. The Total Worker Health (TWH) approach represents an expansion of traditional occupational safety and health research and practice, with strong safety protections for workers as its foundation. The current paper provides an introduction to TWH, including: (1) Significance, (2) Historical Background, (3) Hierarchy of Controls, (4) Review of TWH Interventions, and (5) Future Opportunities. The reciprocal and interactive perspective of TWH is consistent with Skinnerian and other approaches to behavioral science, as well as organizational systems analysis approaches. With its behavioral and systems analysis roots, and associated historical emphasis on environmental conditions and interventions, the Organizational Behavior Management community can make great and important contributions in the TWH domain.

Professional health, occupational stress and occupational nursing performance

Objective: To examine scientific productions that address discussions on professional health, occupational stress, and occupational nursing, highlighting ways to improve professional health so that work practice is carried out more efficiently. Methods: This is an integrative literature review built from the search in the databases: Database in Nursing - Brazilian Bibliography (BDENF), Online System for Search and Analysis of Medical Literature (MEDLINE/PUBMED), Web of Science Cochrane Library (SCOPUS) and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS). Descriptors were used according to the list of Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS): Occupational nursing, Occupational Health, and Professional Practice. The following were included: studies with free access, available online, complete, in English/Portuguese/Spanish, and published between the years 2017 to 2022. Results: There is a correlation between occupational stress and workers' health, where job satisfaction directly interferes with their well-being. Final considerations: Occupational nursing is very important for professional health, as it has an educator and care provider role.

Safeguarding in occupational health

According to NHS England safeguarding means “protecting a citizen’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect” and goes on to say that “Safeguarding children, young people and adults is a collective responsibility”. So, like health and safety safeguarding is everyone’s business. Occupational health professionals have always needed an understanding of the issues around safeguarding in adults, but this need has increased in recent years as more vulnerable workers have been recruited and vulnerability has been better recognized in the workplace. It is important to remember that workers can be both permanently vulnerable, e.g., due to a learning disability or only temporarily vulnerable, e.g., due to a current mental health condition. Many media reports concentrate on the safeguarding of children and the elderly, populations not usually encountered in occupational health practice. But the Covid pandemic has brought OHPs direct access to people’s homes during video and to a lesser extent, telephone consultations and with that has come the potential to witness behaviours which would not be seen in a conventional face to face occupational health assessment. This may sound far-fetched but consider the scenario of a routine video consultation with a worker aimed at providing advice to their manager on their likely return to work.

New paths to interprofessional collaboration: collaboration between assistant practitioners and practice nurses in general and occupational health care

Background: To this date, there is little to no interprofessional collaboration between professionals in general and occupational health care in the Netherlands. Where earlier initiatives for improvement focused on general practitioners (GPs) and occupational physicians (OPs), we examine the role that professionals working under task delegation of GPs and OPs can play in addressing problems on multiple life domains as well as in interprofessional collaboration.Methods: We conducted three focus group interviews with 7assistant practitioners (APs) in general practice, 11practice nurses (PNs) in general practice and 8APs in occupational health practice.Results: All PNs and APs in our study are confronted with multi-domain problems and see arole for themselves in addressing these problems. Moreover, in case of multi-domain problems, they acknowledge the relevance of interprofessional collaboration to provide good care. At this moment, however, there is practically no collaboration at the level of PNs and APs. Challenges are found in the formal task delegation and role identity of the APs in occupational health practice, unfamiliarity and prejudices among especially general practice PNs and APs regarding occupational health care, and practical barriers as privacy laws and reachability.Conclusion: Interprofessional collaboration among PNs and APs in general and occupational health care is possible, provided that asolution is found for fundamental and practical challenges. Potential solutions are to shift the focus from sharing medical information to communicating about the needs of working patients to function healthily on multiple life domains, to address interprofessional collaboration in educations, to adapt consultation protocols to include work and to organize joint meetings between professionals in general and occupational health practice. Finally, addressing structural barriers such as privacy laws and financing requires political action.

COVID-19 Pandemic, Occupational Health and Safety Practices Industrial Companies (Case of Jordan)

This study aims to investigate the impact of occupational health and safety practices on the employees performance in joint venture located in the southern industrial development zone in Aqaba. An analytical descriptive sample study approach was used to study three vital joint ventures selected for the study, Aqaba Ports Marine Services Company, Jordan Industrial Ports Company (JIPC) and Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JPMC), by designing a study questionnaire to collect data, 338 questionnaires were distributed and 192 answers were retrieved. The data collected was analyzed by the SPSS 20 Program and the results were presented by tables showing the results of the study. Findings revealed that the occupational health and safety variables positively and significantly affect the employee performance, and according to these positive results on employee performance, we recommend the companies to continue and to improve the occupational health and safety practices to ensure better results and a noticeable improvement in employees' performance.

Process evaluation of the ‘Grip on Health’ intervention in general and occupational health practice

BackgroundFor working patients with a lower socioeconomic position, health complaints often result from a combination of problems on multiple life domains. To prevent long-term health complaints and absence from work, it is crucial for general and occupational health professionals to adopt a broad perspective on health and to collaborate when necessary. This study aimed to evaluate how the ‘Grip on Health’ intervention is implemented in general and occupational health practice to address multi-domain problems and to promote interprofessional collaboration.MethodA process evaluation was performed among 28 general and occupational health professionals, who were trained and implemented the Grip on Health intervention during a six-month period. The ‘Measurement Instrument for Determinants of Innovations’ was used to evaluate facilitators and barriers for implementing Grip on Health. Data included three group interviews with 17 professionals, a questionnaire and five individual interviews.ResultsWhile most health professionals were enthusiastic about the Grip on Health intervention, its implementation was hindered by contextual factors. Barriers in the socio-political context consisted of legal rules and regulations around sickness and disability, professional protocols for interprofessional collaboration, and the Covid-19 pandemic. On the organizational level, lack of consultation time was the main barrier. Facilitators were found on the level of the intervention and the health professional. For instance, professionals described how the intervention supports addressing multi-domain problems and has created awareness of work in each other’s healthcare domain. They recognized the relevance of the intervention for a broad target group and experienced benefits of its use. The intervention period was, nevertheless, too short to determine the outcomes of Grip on Health.ConclusionThe Grip on Health intervention can be used to address problems on multiple life domains and to stimulate interprofessional collaboration. Visualizing multi-domain problems appeared especially helpful to guide patients with a lower socioeconomic position, and a joint training of general and occupational health professionals promoted their mutual awareness and familiarity. For a wider implementation, stakeholders on all levels, including the government and professional associations, should reflect on ways to address contextual barriers to promote a broad perspective on health as well as on collaborative work.

"Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy" (MERIT) for the Occupational Therapy Practitioner.

Background. Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) is a manualized, evidence-based approach that supports occupational participation through its focus on the inter-related constructs of meaning making, positionality, and self-definition (Lysaker et al., 2020). MERIT's core tenets parallel the fundamentals of occupational therapy, making it an ideal guiding methodology for mental health occupational therapy practice. Purpose. We outline key constructs of MERIT and detail how occupational therapy practitioners can apply MERIT to support occupational engagement. Key Issues. Few manualized, evidence-based interventions exist to guide occupational therapy mental health practice (Kirsch et al., 2019). Detailing MERIT and its application in occupational therapy is an important first step in future studies of its feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness in this context. Implications. MERIT provides a clear methodology for delivering mental health occupational therapy services that is amenable to large-scale hybrid implementation and effectiveness studies, thereby supporting practice and rigour in research.

Assessing the knowledge and practices of occupational safety and health in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector of Ghana: A case of obuasi

It is noted that most developing countries such as Ghana are still grappling with health and safety policies and practices as governments and corporations have made insignificant efforts. This study utilized a questionnaire since it is suitable for both illiterate and literate respondents and allows for the gathering of massive quantities of data in a short space of time. The descriptive statistics, chi-square, likelihood ratio test regression, and correlation were used to assess the occupational safety and health knowledge and practices of employees in the artisanal small-scale gold mine in Obuasi. Although majority of the respondents had less than 5 years of job experience, however about 36% and 19% of the respondents had between 4-10 years and 11–15 years of experience respectively. However, the study further observed that an increase in health and safety practices such as safety training, committee, education, facilities, etc. will increase the level of knowledge of respondents on health and safety policies. The study further revealed that the more health and safety practices, the higher the primary responsibility of site managers to ensure that workers are practicing safety. However, the general working conditions of respondents did not meet acceptable standards as revealed by the observation checklist. The study, therefore, recommends that prime Stakeholders in the ASGM need to consider investing in future research on ASGM safety issues to acquire accurate database on ASGM operations safety.

The Effect of Occupational Health and Safety Practices on the Psychological Contract: A Research in the Cement Sector

Dünyada artan sanayileşme ve teknolojik gelişmelerin etkisiyle yeni risklerin ortaya çıkması kaçınılmaz hale gelmiştir. Bu muhtemel risklerin, işgücü olarak ifade edilen insan faktörü üzerindeki etkisinin belirlenmesi ve işverenler tarafından güvenli ve sağlıklı bir iş ortamı için gerekli koşulların oluşturulması önemlidir. Bu durum çalışanlarda karşılıklılık ilkesine dayanan psikolojik sözleşmenin gereklerinin yerine getirilme algısı yaratacaktır. Çalışmanın amacı çimento endüstrisindeki iş sağlığı ve güvenliği uygulamalarının çalışanların psikolojik sözleşmeleri üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Araştırmanın verileri Aralık 2017 ve Şubat 2018 tarihleri arasında Orta Anadolu bölgesinde faaliyette bulunan çimento üretim tesislerinden anket yöntemi ile elde edilmiştir. Analize uygun 409 anketten elde edilen bulgular ışığında iş sağlığı ve güvenliği uygulamaları ile işlemsel psikolojik sözleşme boyutu arasında p < .001 düzeyinde negatif (-.17) yönde anlamlı düşük bir ilişki, ilişkisel psikolojik sözleşme boyutuyla ise pozitif (.23) yönde anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmuştur.

How to Enhance Occupational Health and Safety Practices in Schools: An Analysis Through the Eyes of School Principals

School principals are responsible for occupational health and safety (OHS) issues that may arise, and they play a critical role in ensuring that health and safety procedures in schools.The purpose of this study is to determine how occupational health and safety practices in schools can be improved with reference to the views of school principals. Twenty-one principals from kindergarten, primary, secondary and high schools participated in this qualitative research. The research data were collected via official documents and semi-structured interviews. Document and content analyses were utilized to examine the data. At the end of the research, the findings show that the OHS activities for school administrations are listed under the following headings: 'Occupational health and safety services', 'training and information, 'emergency drills', 'projects and activities, 'chemical waste and zero waste project', 'audit, guidance and supervision activities', 'health observation', 'precautions, measurements, safety and periodic checks', 'notifications', and 'OHS module'. The expectations of school administrations from senior management for the development of OHS practices address budget/financial support; directing the solutions to the school; the appointment of an OHS specialist, health and security personnel; more training, seminars, audit and technical support; cooperation among institutions. However, school administrators are expected to properly follow work.

Workplace social support, mental health and work functioning among young workers

Abstract Background Young adults with a history of mental health problems (MHPs) report lower work functioning (WF) compared to their peers without a history of MHPs. The identification of modifiable, protective workplace factors, such as workplace social support, is needed to increase WF.We examined the moderating role of workplace social support from supervisors and co-workers in the prospective association between MHP trajectories from childhood to young adulthood and WF among young adults. Methods The most recent 2019/2020 data of N = 861 young workers, participating in the 18-year follow-up Dutch TRAILS (TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey) cohort study, was used. MHP trajectories for internalising and externalising problems included measurements at ages 11, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 26. Supervisor and co-worker social support were measured at age 29. WF was assessed at age 29. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the moderating role of workplace social support in the association between MHP trajectories and WF. Results Four trajectories were identified for both internalising and externalising problems. Young adults with high-stable MHP trajectories reported more often low WF (ORs 3.73 (95% CI 2.28-6.12) and 2.88 (1.78-4.65) for internalising and externalising problems respectively) than those with low-stable trajectories. Higher supervisor and co-worker social support were associated with a lower odds for low work functioning (adjusted ORs ranging from 0.67 (0.54-0.83) to 0.84 (0.71-1.00)). No moderating effect of workplace social support was found for the association between MHP trajectories and WF. Conclusions Both supervisor and co-worker support were shown to be important for all young workers, regardless their history of mental health problems. Occupational health professionals should create awareness among employers and employees that workplace social support is beneficial for young adults’ work functioning. Key messages • Both supervisor and co-worker social support are important for all young workers’ work functioning, regardless of their history of mental health problems. • Creating awareness of the impact of workplace social support on young adults’ work functioning among employers and employees should be a priority area for occupational health practice and policy.

Discussion on relevant issues of Technical Specifications for Occupational Health Surveillance (GBZ 188-2014)

Technical Specifications for Occupational Health Surveillance (GBZ 188-2014) is an important basis for judging suspected occupational diseases and occupational contraindications. There are crossing over or overlap between occupational contraindications and diagnostic criteria of poisoning damage. Occupational contraindications have different meanings with the degree and range of common diseases or symptoms and the frequency of physical examination during employment conflicts with the current standard. Based on the practice of occupational health examination in a large population, the present study analyzed relevant articles and put forward some suggestions for revision, in combination with clinical medicine, occupational health standards, and diagnostic standards of occupational diseases. The modification could provide a reference for the revision of Technical Specifications for Occupational Health Surveillance and the practice of occupational health examination.

How does adopting occupational health and safety management practices affect outcomes for employees? The case of Vietnamese SMEs

While most research examines corporate performance, only a few studies examine the effect of occupational health and safety management practices on outcomes for employees. Using a comprehensive three-year matched firm-employee panel dataset, this study shows that investing in worker health and environmental standards enhances the wages of employees in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. Furthermore, our findings reveal that certified SMEs are more likely to provide their employees with non-monetary benefits, such as paid sick leave, and health, social, unemployment, and accident insurance, as well as formal contracts. These effects derive from higher profitability, greater labor productivity, government financial support, and a lower level of competition when firms adopt environmental standards.

The Impact of Work Environment, Occupational Health and Safety Practices on Performance of Health Workers in Kitagata Hospital and Two Health Centre IVS in Sheema District Uganda

The Impact of Work Environment, Occupational Health and Safety Practices on Performance of Health Workers in Kitagata Hospital and Two Health Centre IVS in Sheema District Uganda

A Guide Proposal for the Evaluation of Risk Analysis Techniques Used in Occupational Health and Safety

Üretim ortamlarında İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği (İSG) uygulamalarının başarılı bir şekilde yürütülmesi uygun risk değerlendirme tekniğinin başarılı bir şekilde uygulanması ile doğrudan ilişkilidir. Risk değerlendirme tekniklerinin her birinin kendine has özellikleri nedeni ile hesaplanan risk skorları farklılık gösterebilmektedir. Dahası tekniklerin uygulanmasında gereken İSG bilgi-birikim seviyesi, metotların uygulanmasındaki teknik detaylar, tekniklerin takım çalışması gerektirip-gerektirmediği, ilgili yöntemin ön hazırlık süreçlerini içerip içermediği gibi yöntem özelinde farklı yanıtların verilebileceği çeşitli durumlar bulunmaktadır. Risk değerlendirme çalışmalarının sonuçları doğrudan doğruya insan hayatı ile ilgili alınacak önlemlerle ilişkili olduğu için, risk değerlendirme çalışmalarında uygulanacak risk analizi tekniğinin hangi kriterlere göre seçileceği de önemli bir karar problemi haline gelmektedir. Öte yandan, işletmeler genelinde yapılan her türlü çalışmanın bir maliyete katlanmayı gerektirdiği göz önüne alınırsa, yöntem seçimi ekonomik gerekçeler ile de önemli bir karar olmaktadır. Bu açıklamalar ışığında bu çalışmada bir işletmede risk değerlendirme uygulamaları sırasında kullanılacak risk analizi tekniğinin taşıması gereken özelliklerin göreli önem derecelerinin belirlenmesine yönelik bir çalışma yapılmıştır. Göreli önem ağırlıkları hesaplanırken en sık kullanılan çok kriterli karar verme tekniklerinden biri olan Analitik Hiyerarşi Prosesi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan uygulama sonucunda en önemli ana kriter ve alt kriter sırası ile teknik kriter, ve değerlendirme skalasının hassaslığı olarak belirlenmiştir.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice towards Occupational Health and Safety among Nursing Students in Gaza Strip, Palestine.

Health and safety in the workplace are critical components in healthcare institutions. Unsafe working conditions are among the causes of poor quality of care and burnout. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of occupational health and safety among nursing students at Al-Israa University. In this cross-sectional study, a structured online questionnaire was distributed from March to May 2021. Of the 350 eligible students, 219 students answered the questionnaire (Response rate=62.6). Data were analyzed using the statistical software IBM-SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistic, Independentsamples T-Test, and ANOVA tests were used. The majority of participants were female (81.7%) and studying in a diploma program. 21% of nursing students have experienced a needle stick injury. The mean scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practice were (M±SD:78.2% ±12.9, M±SD:80.6% ±7.1, and M±SD:81.2% ±7.6) respectively. In terms of knowledge, attitudes, and practice the mean scores were statistically significant between nursing students who attended a safety precautions course and those who didn not (P-value <.05). In terms of attitudes, the mean scores were statistically significant between diploma and bachelor students (P-value =.026). In terms of practice, the means scores were statistically significant between males and females (Pvalue =.017), nursing students who had experience with needle sticks and those who didn't (P-value =.015). The authors recommend that clinical training departments and universities continue to offer occupational health and safety courses and training for health science students. Since the training had a positive impact on the students' practices.

Exploring Occupational Health and Safety Standards Compliance in the South African Mining Industry, Limpopo Province, Using Principal Component Analysis.

The health and safety of the miners in the South African mining industry are guided by the regulations and standards applied to promote a healthy work environment. The miners must comply with these regulations/standards to protect themselves from potential occupational health and safety risks, accidents, and fatalities. The status of compliance to safety regulations and standards in the mining industry of Limpopo Province has received little attention from scholars. This study explores the practices related to occupational health and safety standards compliance in the mining industry. A total of 277 miners were randomly selected from 1300 respondents in the mining industry. Data were collected using a 31-item survey questionnaire, administered to miners to explore occupational health and safety standards compliance from December 2019 to May 2020. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extracted key attributes of occupational health and safety standards compliance in the mining industry and uncovered relationships between different dimensions. The study revealed that seven factors could measure occupational health and safety standards practices. It was observed that Factor 1 (occupational health practice related to regulations) is correlated with Factor 2 (measures to reduce risk of injuries/accidents). Additionally, Factor 2 (measures to minimise the risk of injuries/accidents) is correlated with Factor 4 (impact of the environment and production). There is a correlation between non-compliance with the safety regulations and the occurrence of injuries and accidents.

Perceptions of nurses on occupational health hazards and safety practices in Ditsobotla public hospitals in North West province.

BackgroundNurses are the backbone of the healthcare system. During the fulfilment of their duties and responsibilities, they experience various types of work-related risks, which harmfully affect their health and nursing quality.ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore and describe perceptions of nurses on occupational health hazards and safety practices in Ditsobotla public hospitals of North West province.MethodAn exploratory, descriptive, qualitative research design was undertaken in this study. An explorative design allowed the researcher to identify key issues regarding nurses’ perceptions on occupational health hazards and safety practices using Donabedian structure, process and outcome. A total of 15 nurses of different categories participated in the study that formed four focus group discussions. Semi-structured focus group discussions of three to four participants were conducted until data saturation is obtained and at the point where no new themes from participants’ perceptions emerged. Creswell and Clark framework of data analysis was used to analyse data.ResultsThree major categories emerged during data analysis: nurse’s perception on occupational health hazards in the health settings, Donabedian framework on assessing the quality of care in relation to occupational health hazards and occupational health and safety (OHS) practices. Eight themes were identified.ConclusionNurses’ perceived different occupational hazards that affect their normal duties and responsibility in the workplace. Future interventions such as training and education on OHS policy should be adopted to promote health and well-being of the staff.

The Effect of Occupational Health and Safety Practices on Organization Trust in Hotel Businesses

This research, is aimed to determine the effect of occupational health and safety practices in hotel businesses in Nevşehir province on the perceptions of employees' trust in the organization. For this purpose, data were collected from employees working in hotel businesses in Nevşehir province from February to May 2021 by survey technique. In the study, correlation analysis was applied to determine the relationship between occupational health and safety practices of hotel businesses and their perceptions of trust in the organization, and regression analysis was applied to determine the effect of occupational health and safety practices on trust in the organization. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the perception of trust in the organization of the employees of hotel enterprises is affected by occupational health and safety practices. Occupational health and safety, gaining more importance with each passing day, plays a decisive role for both developed countries and developing countries. Changes in working life also have an impact on occupational health and safety, and changing working conditions bring new risks and dangers. For this reason, with new regulations, states, employers, and employees need to keep occupational health and safety up to date. Practices at the point of working conditions, employment contracts, working methods (trial-term, part-time, seasonal, on-call work, overwork, unregistered employment, etc.) of the enterprises in the tourism sector are important for the sector employees and must be taken under legal supervision and protection.