Work Assistance Research Articles

Distribution of The Health Workers in The Tuberculosis Sector, Mongolia: Assessment Results Using the Gini Index

Background: Mongolia was classified as one of the 30 countries with the highest tuberculosis burden by World Health Organization in 2021 and tuberculosis is the first leading cause of mortality among deaths from all communicable diseases in the country. The number and distribution of health workers to provide tuberculosis healthcare services will play an important role in the fight against tuberculosis. However, there has been no quantitative evaluation of the distribution of tuberculosis health workers in Mongolia. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the distribution of health workers in the tuberculosis sector using the Gini index. The results provide quantifiable information for monitoring resource distribution and serve as a basis for informed decision-making on resource allocation, facilitating targeted interventions and equitable healthcare distribution in Mongolia. Methods: Data from the National Center for Communicable Diseases and the National Statistical Information Service of Mongolia was obtained and analyzed. The Gini coefficients were calculated to reflect the inequality of distributions. Results: Total number of health workers in the tuberculosis sector was only 1.29 per 10,000 population. The Gini index values for the distribution of tuberculosis doctors, assistant workers, nurses, and laboratory technicians were at 0.61, 0.67, 0.43, and 0.33 respectively, all showing a range from severe to relative inequality. Conclusions: Findings showed the number and distribution of tuberculosis health workers were both inadequate and unequal and ring the need for proper health system planning. To plan the tuberculosis control and address the high burden of the disease in the country, the human resources situation should be analyzed and handled regularly. Keywords: Mongolia, Tuberculosis, Health workers, Distribution, Gini index

“Too few, too far away, for what is paid”: Consumer voices about the personal assistance worker crisis

BackgroundThe growing gap between demand and supply of personal assistance service (PAS) workers presents a significant burden to those who use services. The intensity and duration of hardship is growing, and consumer voices need to be heard and incorporated into the national dialogue. ObjectiveThis paper explores how PAS worker shortages manifest themselves in the daily lives of people with disabilities using or needing PAS services in the United States. MethodsWe used thematic coding of qualitative data from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability. Respondents (n = 330) provided open-ended responses to the prompt “Briefly explain the types of problems or issues you have had finding PAS or support workers.” ResultsThree themes emerged regarding consumer perspectives and experiences with worker shortages (1) low pay, few benefits, and undervalued work, (2) demanding working conditions and logistics, and (3) low quality workers. In combination, these themes informed a fourth theme (4) impacts for PAS consumers characterized by substandard care and additional stress and workload for those who direct their own care. ConclusionsAs a society, we have taken steps to increase opportunities for community living and created policies to uphold choice and independence for people with disabilities. In the absence of an adequate workforce to support these policies, however, we convey an empty promise. Without tangible steps to resolve these problems at the policy level, such as improved worker pay and protections, hope for resolution to these issues remains elusive.

Work Engagement and Well-being in Chilean Judicial Assistance Workers

Work Engagement and Well-being in Chilean Judicial Assistance Workers

O PLANEJAMENTO TRIBUTÁRIO DO PRODUTOR RURAL PESSOA FÍSICA: UMA ANÁLISE SOBRE A EVASÃO FISCAL

The agribusiness is one of the most relevant sectors in the economy. In 2022, it represented 24.3% of the Brazilian GDP. Due to its complex production chain, the stage within the gate is essential, as it represents rural activities focused on agriculture and livestock farming. In these activities, rural producers make crucial decisions related to plant and animal production and the allocation of resources for these activities. The general objective of this study is to present tax planning for individual rural producers within the gate as a strategy to avoid the hypothesis of tax evasion. To achieve this, the specific objectives are to conceptualize tax planning applied to individual rural producers, present the strategic use of tax planning for individual rural producers within the gate, and analyze tax evasion by individual rural producers. The methodological approach is based on logical-semantic constructivism, being a qualitative study with bibliographic, legal, and documentary research as instruments. As results, tax planning, or fiscal avoidance, was conceptualized as a strategic tool that uses legal means to reduce the tax burden. As a tool for individual rural producers, it requires continuous effort for its full implementation, as it is embedded in the complex scenario of sector management and taxation. The study also presents tax evasion considering the incidence of Income Tax (IR), Rural Territorial Property Tax (ITR), Circulation of Goods and Services Tax (ICMS), Social Integration Program (PIS), Contribution to Social Security Financing (COFINS), and Rural Worker Assistance Fund (FUNRURAL) on individual rural producers and their ancillary obligations, highlighting the Digital Cash Book of the Rural Producer (LCDPR), eSocial, and EFD-Reinf.

Decision support for augmented reality-based assistance systems deployment in industrial settings

AbstractThe successful deployment of augmented reality (AR) in the industry for on-the-job guidance depends heavily on factors such as the availability of required expertise, existing digital content and other deployment-related criteria such as a task’s error-proneness or complexity. Particularly in idiosyncratic manufacturing situations involving customised products and diverse complex and non-complex products and its variants, the applicability and attractiveness of AR as a worker assistance system is often unclear and difficult to gauge for decision-makers. To address this gap, we developed a decision support tool to help prepare customised deployment strategies for AR-based assistance systems utilising manual assembly as the main example. Consequently, we report results from an interview study with sixteen domain experts. Furthermore, when analysing captured expert knowledge, we found significant differences in criteria weighting based on task complexity and other factors, such as the effort required to obtain data.

Association between the change in the job facilitating and inhibiting factors of care staff due to the employment of older assistant workers and the emotional exhaustion among care staff

Objectives The mental health condition of care staff in Japan is becoming problematic. Older assistant workers are currently being employed to assist care staff with their jobs and alleviate their job burden. This employment of older assistant workers is drawing attention; however, their influence on the job facilitating and inhibiting factors of care staff and the association with the care staff's emotional exhaustion remains unclear. In this study, we aim to examine how the employment of older care assistant workers relates to the job-facilitating and job-inhibiting factors of care staff and explore that association with the care staff's emotional exhaustion.Methods Data from a mail survey of geriatric health services facilities with older assistant workers were analyzed. Among the answers obtained from the care staff, answers from 5,185 who reported working in facilities that employ older assistant workers (over the age of 60) were analyzed. The Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Japanese Version of the Burnout Questionnaire was used as the dependent variable. The change in job-facilitating and job-inhibiting factors of care staff due to the employment of older assistant workers (improve, maintain/exacerbate) was explored for nine contents.Results Care staff reported a decrease in the total volume of the task (63.6%), less stress during daily tasks (39.8%), and more concentration on the tasks that require expert care knowledge (38.0%). The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the emotional exhaustion score of care staff was low when the total volume of tasks decreased (β=－0.383, 95%CI=－0.719, －0.047), when less stress was perceived during daily tasks (β=－0.432, 95%CI=－0.796, －0.068), when concentration on tasks that required expert care knowledge increased (β=－0.574, 95%CI=－0.937, －0.210), and when human relationships among staff improved (β=－0.871, 95%CI=－1.263, －0.480). Conversely, an increase in tasks requiring work with regional personnel and organizations (β=0.800, 95%CI=0.162, 1.437) was associated with a high emotional exhaustion score.Conclusion The employment of older care workers was related to the job-facilitating or job-inhibiting factors of care staff, and the change in these factors was associated with lower emotional exhaustion. The employment of older personnel may lower the risk of burnout among care staff.

Predicting coal workers' pneumoconiosis trends: Leveraging historical data with the GARCH model in a Chinese Miner Cohort.

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is one of the most common and severe occupational diseases worldwide. The main risk factor of CWP is exposure to respirable mine dust. Prediction theory was widely applied in the prediction of the epidemic. Here, it was used to identify the characteristics of CWP today and the incidence trends of CWP in the future. Eight thousand nine hundred twenty-eight coal workers from a state-owned coal mine were included during the observation period from 1963 to 2014. In observations, the dust concentration gradually decreased over time, and the incidence of tunnels and mine, transportation, and assistance workers showed an overall downward trend. We choose a better prediction model by comparing the prediction effect of the Auto Regression Integrate Moving Average model and Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity model. Compared with the Auto Regression Integrate Moving Average model, the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity model has a better prediction effect. Furthermore, the status quo and future trend of coal miners' CWP are still at a high level.

Analisis Prospektif Peremajaan Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq) POLA Swadaya di Kabupaten Kampar

This study aims to analyze oil palm farming self-help patterns and determine the determinants of successful replanting and the implications of self-help oil palm replanting. The analysis used is a prospective analysis. The results of this study show that independent oil palm farmers in Kampar Regency have an average net income obtained by farmers of 38,814,983.21 / lg / th and the determining attributes for the success of oil palm replanting in Kampar Regency are banks, assistance workers and partners. These attributes have a strong influence on the success of oil palm replanting and there are implications for the development of oil palm replanting self-help patterns in this study, namely improvements in the components of the attributes of ease of selling production products, high demand, knowledge and skills of farming, controlled prices, capital and land legality.

Exploring the correlation of social networks, family support, health worker assistance, and health education using the precede-proceed model: impact on emotional responses in diabetes mellitus patients

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that has the potential to cause stress due to uncertainty about the course of the disease, treatment, and complications. The aim of this research was to analyze the relationship between the support of health workers, family support, social networks, and health education through the precede-proceed model approach to emotional responses. The type of research is a cross-sectional study. The research was conducted at the Simo Mulyo Health Center in Surabaya, with data collected from June to July 2023. The independent variables, namely the support of health workers, family support, social networks, and health education, were measured using a questionnaire, while the dependent variable, emotional response, was measured using a questionnaire. The population in this study comprised all people with diabetesmellitus registered at the Simo Mulyo Health Center in Surabaya. The inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: patients with unstable blood sugar regulation, aged between 26 and 65 years, capable of reading, and willing to be respondents. The sample size in this study was 112 respondents, and the sampling technique used was simple random sampling. Data analysis utilized the Spearman rho correlation test with a significance level of α = 0.05. The findings indicate that social network support and emotional response, with a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.005) and r = 0.879. Health education is correlated with emotional response, with a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.005) and r = 0.585. Health worker support is correlated with dealing with emotional responses, with a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.005) and r = 0.786. Family support is correlated with emotional response, with a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.005) and r = 0.738. Social network support, health education, family support, and health worker support correlate with the emotional response of people with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, health workers, families, and social networks can enhance support to improve the quality of the patient's emotional response, promoting patient enthusiasm for adhering to treatment and minimizing complications due to diabetes mellitus.

Excessive working hours and moral harassment: its impacts on workers’ mental health

The present study sought to carry out a brief analysis of excessive working hours and moral harassment, with the general objective of understanding the impacts caused by excessive working hours and moral harassment on workers' mental health based on an experience report. From this, the following question arose: How do excessive work and moral harassment influence workers' mental health within the work environment? To carry out this study, we followed the methodological path in which theoretical-bibliographical research was used, in order to critically and socio-historically understand the phenomenon of work and working hours, as well as their construction in society over time. . The research was carried out by searching for works by authors who contributed to the topic on the academic platforms Google and Sciello using the descriptors: working hours; mental illness; excessive working hours; and moral harassment at work. We carry out brief analyzes of work, mental illness in the workplace, its impacts on the worker, laws that guarantee worker assistance, mental illness, moral harassment and its relationship with excessive working hours, debating how the hostile environment interferes in good professional development and lists how to act in order to face these issues. Finally, we understand that most workers do not realize that they are in the middle of a game of interests, influenced to always be in competition with others and ensuring the best performance of the company.

Traditional and fuzzy goal programming approaches for resource dependent assembly line balancing problem

In this study, two goal programming models are proposed for balancing resource dependent assembly lines with precise and fuzzy goals in order to provide flexibility for decision makers based on their decision environment and preferred priorities. Three conflicting goals, namely, total number of utilized workstations, cycle time and total cost of additional resources (equipment and assistant workers) are considered. The proposed models are validated on illustrative examples and scenario analyses are performed with different priority levels of the goals. The results show that the proposed goal programming formulations are valid and useful for balancing resource dependent assembly lines.

A Brief Review of Artificial Intelligence Robotic in Food Industry

Artificial Intelligent Robotic (AI Robotic) is the formal term for an ‘intelligent induced’ robot that can operate with vision (eye) to detect a product defect, or a control operating system to assist robot to differentiate good and reject product during production. A number of cutting-edge manufacturing automation technologies have been developed, including automatic inspection, autonomous robots, additive manufacturing, ubiquitous manufacturing, cloud manufacturing, and cyber-physical systems. Intelligent and automation technologies for worker assistance have been considered feasible. As knowledge-driven industries develop in terms of artificial intelligence and robotic automation, and to upgrade the existing and next generation of workforce, higher and further education is needed to advance a better understanding of robotic automation in manufacturers who face endless challenges such as labor shortages, high turnover labor force, product innovation, quality matters, and many others. This paper provides a general view of food supply chain challenges when faced with labor issue, environmental disaster and production problems. AI Robotic application would be a good source of problem solving in food manufacturing, food processing and food handling process.

A system dynamic perspective in efforts to improve the income of independent palm oil farmers in Regency X through changing roles in the palm oil supply chain

At present, independent palm oil (PO) farmers are expected to change their roles in the palm oil supply chain, not only being producers and sellers of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) but also able to generate added value by processing FFB into CPO for renewable energy resources. This research aims to improve the income of farmers based on changing roles through strategies using system dynamic modeling. The impacts observed are the number of labors based on a proxy of government revenue and GDP, labor income, and benefits obtained. Scenarios to improve the income of farmers projected over the next 10 years are selling FFB to Farmer’s Cooperatives that own palm oil mill(s) and other palm oil mill(s). Each scenario has 3 sub-scenarios: Business as Usual, Optimist and Environment. With the addition of new plantations of 5.7-7% per year, CPO yields of 20%, and using the palm oil mill of 30 tons/hour owned by Farmers Cooperative, the income of farmers can be improved. Recommendations to attract more farmers to become members of Farmer’s Cooperatives include funding for implementing Good Agricultural Practices, buying FFB from Cooperative members at transparent prices based on mutual agreements, and providing assistant workers for farmers.

Nurses’ and midwives’ perceptions and preferences for lifelong learning

Lifelong learning is essential for personal and professional growth and enables individuals to gain new knowledge and skills that keep them in touch with the advancements in their work and open new career prospects (McGreal & Olcott, 2022). In the healthcare sector, lifelong learning is integral to workforce development. Workforce development is critical to ensure that nurses and midwives maintain knowledge of best practice for improved care outcomes and sustain appropriate levels of skill competence. Recently, the Australia government has implemented a range of initiatives to support the development of short courses and micro-credentials designed to deliver lifelong learning that will upskill the labour market and meet the needs of the healthcare workforce (Varadarajan et al., 2023). An Australian survey of 3,756 workers was undertaken by Deloitte (2020) to explore workforce attitudes toward lifelong learning. This study found that the majority of Health care and social assistance workers were relatively interested in further study (63%). The study also established that the majority of study-interested workers want flexible, bite-sized intensive learning that is linked to their jobs and industry (Deloitte, 2020). However, while lifelong learning is a requirement of nurses’ and midwives’ registration, little is reported on the motivational drivers, enablers and barriers associated with lifelong learning (Oliver, 2019). This Pecha Kucha reports on a study undertaken to better understand the motivational drivers of nurses’ and midwives’ engaging in lifelong learning and the enablers and barriers they face undertaking lifelong learning. An online survey of nurses and midwives was implemented, to glean their perspectives on motivational drivers, enablers and barriers for lifelong learning. Convenience sampling was used to identify participants who were registered nurses and midwives in Australia, Mauritius or Singapore. Participants were recruited by email invitation distributed through professional networks as well as education and industry providers in Australia, Mauritius and Singapore. The findings of this study confirmed that the motivational drivers for lifelong learning across the respondents were personal interest/development (62%), continuing professional development (62%) and career progression (51%). Participants noted their preference for undertaking lifelong learning was via a combination of face to face and online learning (56%). Their pedagogical preferences included interactive resources (56%), written materials (56%) and discussions with other participants (54%). Key enablers to success in lifelong learning was deemed to be flexibility in assessment submission (56%) and easy to use systems (52%). The barriers identified by respondents included work/life balance (52%) workload (49%) and cost (49%). Digital technology in relation to lifelong learning can significantly promote enablers and nullify perceived barriers. Lifelong learning should be designed to maximise engagement at minimal cost to the participant. This can be achieved by providing interactive resources and digital materials that are easy to use, intuitive and can be utilised when convenient to the participant. Online discussions are ideal but these need to be asynchronous to ensure flexibility and support for learner scheduling around work/other life commitments. These findings could be used by educators and learning designers to guide and inform the development of lifelong learning.

Sex differences in COVID-19 deaths in the early months of the pandemic in Canada: An examination with an immigration lens.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an overrepresentation of males in COVID-19 deaths worldwide, with Canada reporting more female COVID-19 deaths. This paper examines the overrepresentation of female COVID-19 deaths in Canada, with an immigration lens. Data were extracted from the COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker to compare the sex distribution of COVID-19 deaths in Canada with that of other countries. A linkage of deaths to the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) allows for the comparison of sex-specific COVID-19 death rates by immigrant status for age and geography, as well as by major employment sector among immigrants, using the tax data from the IMDB. While there were proportionately more female than male COVID-19 deaths in Canada in the early months of the pandemic, this trend was mainly a phenomenon among non-immigrants aged 85 and older. In addition, COVID-19-specific death rates for males were higher than those for females across age groups by immigrant status, except for those aged 85 and older among the non-immigrant population. Among immigrants, the death rate among health care and social assistance workers was higher among males than among females (10.7 vs. 2.9 per 100,000 population). The initially observed overrepresentation of female COVID-19 deaths to male COVID-19 deaths in Canada evened out in the summer of 2021. The higher proportion of female COVID-19 deaths was likely related to the high concentration of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities, where a lower institutionalization rate for immigrants had been observed. Since the implementation of vaccination targeting long-term care facility residents in Canada, the overrepresentation of female COVID-19 deaths ceased.

Use of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to Pilot an Occupational Physical Activity Intervention: Tailored Through a Community Partnership.

Healthcare and social assistance workers are at increased risk for obesity. This industry has limited access to workplace health promotion resources and reports low rates of physical activity programs for workers. This article describes the application of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model (PPM) to plan, implement, and evaluate a pilot physical activity intervention, Project Move, tailored to promote occupational physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors among female workers. Actions taken by the community-based participatory research partnership assisted in the identification of the predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors that influenced the physical activity behaviors of female workers. The resources and capacities of the partnership were leveraged to implement and evaluate the pilot intervention. After the 12-week intervention, the participants' daily average steps while at work met the recommended minimum 7,000 steps/day, and the time spent sitting decreased along with positive changes in health-related psychosocial measures. The PPM represents a feasible approach for community-based participatory partnerships to create a tailored intervention to address the occupational physical activity and sedentary behaviors of at-risk female healthcare and social assistance workforce.

Keeping Healthcare Workers Safe Through Policy Initiatives

Keeping Healthcare Workers Safe Through Policy Initiatives

Impact of Stress on Employee Performance at Jamsai Firm in Bangkok, Thailand

In the current world, stress has been regarded as a global phenomenon that occurs in different forms in various workplaces. The study sought to determine the effects of stress on the performance of employees in the Jamsai firm in Bangkok, Thailand. The study was literature based. The study findings revealed that stress influences worker performance if not managed properly. The productivity and performance of workers are significant and essential elements for the success of any firm. The extreme stress encountered in the working places substantially hampers effectiveness and draws many employees' focuses. The study discovered that a firm or supervisor should correctly manage stress levels to get work done properly. In some instances, job stress makes employees more prone to error, poor work performance, mental health issues, burnout, and conflict in the workplace. If job stress goes unaddressed, organizations pay the price in higher rates of turnover, disengagement, and absenteeism. To attain an organizational goal, all the aspects that affect stress ought to be appropriately identified and measured. The study concluded that stress has a negative effect on the performance of employees. There are numerous stress elements that the workers have gone through, and the research confirmed that stress influences performance adversely. The study recommended that a good framework should be put in place to assist workers in minimizing stress while they are at work. The management needs to evaluate the state of mind by analyzing why the workers assume the firm does not appreciate its workers and what they can do to change the elements which bring about the discontentment of workers in the workplace. A worker assistance program needs to be introduced to identify and intervene early on challenges affecting employees' performance in a firm. Keywords:  Stress, Employee Performance, Jamsai Firm, Thailand

Pentingnya Literasi Digital Pada Pendidikan Pekerjaan Sosial di Indonesia

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0 are marked by the massive use of the internet and artificial intelligence. As a result, some social work assistance processes have shifted to an online system. Such conditions demand social work education to equip students with digital skills. Research Purpose. This study tries to explain the importance of digital skills in social work education. Methods. This research method uses a literature study by reviewing various literature on digital literacy in social work education. Data Analysis. Data analysis was carried out by categorizing secondary data into themes. Social work education curricula must be responsive to the demands of digitalization in some social worker assistance practices. Result and Discussion. The use of ICT in social work education must refer to the standards formulated by professional organizations. Social work educators and students must be aware that digitizing social work practices is only a means of facilitating services, not an end. Conclusion. Digital literacy is a necessity in social work education. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare educators with digital skills and ethical standards for using ICT in social work education.Keywords: Digital Literacy, Information and Communication Technology, Social Work Education

Research priorities to reduce risks from work hours and fatigue in the healthcare and social assistance sector.

The services of Healthcare and Social Assistance (HCSA) workers are needed by society around the clock. As a result, these workers are exposed to shift work and long work hours. The combination of demanding work schedules and other hazards in the HCSA work environment increases the health and safety risks to these workers, as well as to their patients/clients and the public. This paper has three aims: (1) provide an overview of the burden of shift work, long hours, and related sleep and fatigue problems in this sector; (2) suggest research priorities that would improve these; and (3) discuss potential positive impacts of addressing these research priorities for the health and safety of workers and the public. The authors used a modified Delphi approach to anonymously rank-order priorities for improving HCSA worker health and safety and public safety. Input was also obtained from attendees at the 2019 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Work Hours, Sleep, and Fatigue Forum. The highest rated research priorities were developing better designs for work schedules, and improving the HCSA culture and leadership approaches to shift work and long work hours. Additional priorities are identified. Research in these priority areas has the potential to benefit HCSA workers as well as their patients/clients, employers, and society.