Occupational health

Development and usability of educational material about workplace particulate matter exposure

Particulate matter (PM) exposure is an important health risk, both in daily life and in the workplace. It causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and results in 800,000 premature deaths per year worldwi...

Authors: T. A. M. Stege, J. F. B. Bolte, L. Claassen and D. R. M. Timmermans

Effects of effort-reward imbalance, job satisfaction, and work engagement on self-rated health among healthcare workers

Healthcare workers, who protect and improve the health of individuals, are critical to the success of health systems and achieving national and global health goals. To respond effectively to the healthcare nee...

Authors: Jingjing Ge, Jing He, Yan Liu, Juying Zhang, Jingping Pan, Xueli Zhang and Danping Liu

Maternal pesticide exposure and child neuro-development among smallholder tomato farmers in the southern corridor of Tanzania

Exposure to pesticides with its associated effects prenatally and in early childhood has not received much attention. There is little scientific data on this aspect in Tanzania therefore this study was meant t...

Authors: Peter M. Chilipweli, Aiwerasia Vera Ngowi and Karim Manji

Predictors of resignation and sick leave after cancer diagnosis among Japanese breast cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study

In Japan, 55.5% of breast cancer survivors (BCSs) are of working age, so various perspectives regarding return to work (RTW) after cancer diagnosis need to be considered. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify...

Authors: Kiyomi Mitsui, Motoki Endo, Yuya Imai, Yuito Ueda, Hiroko Ogawa, Go Muto, Yan Yan, Gautam A. Deshpande, Yasuhisa Terao, Satoru Takeda, Takeshi Tanigawa, Katsuji Nishimura, Kazuhiko Hayashi, Mitsue Saito and Akatsuki Kokaze

Working conditions and health status of 6,317 front line public health workers across five provinces in China during the COVID-19 epidemic: a cross-sectional study

Public health workers at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and primary health care institutes (PHIs) were among the main workers who implemented prevention, control, and contain...

Authors: Jinghua Li, Jingdong Xu, Huan Zhou, Hua You, Xiaohui Wang, Yan Li, Yuan Liang, Shan Li, Lina Ma, Jing Zeng, Huanle Cai, Jinzhao Xie, Chenghao Pan, Chun Hao, Stuart Gilmour, Joseph Tak-fai Lau…

Setting – based prevalence and correlates of central obesity: findings from a cross-sectional study among formal sector employees in Dodoma City, Central Tanzania

Obesity at the workplace has been associated with symptoms of lower self-esteem, increased individual and employer healthcare costs, increased absenteeism and presenteeism and reduced productivity. Therefore, ...

Authors: Mariam John Munyogwa, Kaloli Sayi Ntalima and Secilia Ng’weshemi Kapalata

Association between overtime work hours and preventive dental visits among Japanese workers

This study aimed to examine the association between overtime work and the frequency of preventive dental visits among workers in Japan.

Authors: Yoshikazu Harada, Tomohisa Nagata, Masako Nagata, Arisa Harada, Ryoichi Oya and Koji Mori

Prevalence and risk factors of self-reported wrist and hand symptoms and clinically confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome among office workers in China: a cross-sectional study

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common cause of pain, numbness and tingling in the wrist and hand region and is associated with repetitive wrist and hand use in office workers. However, scarce knowledge exis...

Authors: Beibei Feng, Kedi Chen, Xiaoxia Zhu, Wing-Yuk Ip, Lars L. Andersen, Phil Page and Yuling Wang

Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries

Estimates of the economic burden of work injuries and diseases can help policymakers prioritize occupational health and safety policies and interventions in order to best allocate scarce resources. Several att...

Authors: Emile Tompa, Amirabbas Mofidi, Swenneke van den Heuvel, Thijmen van Bree, Frithjof Michaelsen, Young Jung, Lukas Porsch and Martijn van Emmerik

Smoking practices in relation to exhaled carbon monoxide in an occupational cohort

Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) remains a leading occupational hazard in firefighters, but cigarette and waterpipe smoking likely contributes to the other sources of CO in such workers. The aim of this study ...

Authors: Denis Vinnikov, Zhangir Tulekov, Zhanna Romanova, Ilya Krugovykh and Paul D. Blanc

Development and internal validation of risk prediction model of metabolic syndrome in oil workers

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome continues to rise sharply worldwide, seriously threatening people’s health. The optimal model can be used to identify people at high risk of metabolic syndrome as early as ...

Authors: Jie Wang, Chao Li, Jing Li, Sheng Qin, Chunlei Liu, Jiaojiao Wang, Zhe Chen, Jianhui Wu and Guoli Wang

A rapid review of mental and physical health effects of working at home: how do we optimise health?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of millions of employees who are now based at home and may continue to work at home, in some capacity, for the foreseeabl...

Authors: Jodi Oakman, Natasha Kinsman, Rwth Stuckey, Melissa Graham and Victoria Weale

Complex return to work process – caseworkers’ experiences of facilitating return to work for individuals on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders

Authors: Ida Løchting, Margreth Grotle, Kjersti Storheim, Vegard Foldal, Martin Inge Standal, Egil Andreas Fors and Hedda Eik

Joint association of physical work demands and leg pain intensity for work limitations due to pain in senior workers: cross-sectional study

Leg pain, especially of the knees and hips, is common among senior workers and may limit the ability to perform physically demanding work. In light of the aging workforce, this study determined the joint assoc...

Authors: Sebastian Venge Skovlund, Rúni Bláfoss, Emil Sundstrup, Kristina Thomassen and Lars L. Andersen

A randomized controlled trial to improve psychological detachment from work and well-being among employees: a study protocol comparing online CBT-based and mindfulness interventions

The changing landscape of the work environment, which often encompasses expectations of employees being continuously available, makes it difficult to disengage from work and recover. This can have a negative i...

Authors: Sara Tement, Saša Zorjan, Meta Lavrič, Vita Poštuvan and Nejc Plohl

Occupational stress and psychological health impact on hypertension of miners in noisy environment in Wulumuqi, China: a case-control study

Hypertension has been declared as a global public health crisis by the World Health Organization, because of its high prevalence. It affects the health of one billion people worldwide and is directly responsib...

Authors: Yaoqin Lu, Huan Yan, Jiandong Yang and Jiwen Liu

Effects of a work-related stress model based mental health promotion program on job stress, stress reactions and coping profiles of women workers: a control groups study

Work-related stress and its detrimental effects on human health have rapidly increased during the past several years. It causes many different stress reactions, related diseases and unhealthy behavior among wo...

Authors: Ozlem Koseoglu Ornek and Melek Nihal Esin

Lifestyle-associated health risk indicators across a wide range of occupational groups: a cross-sectional analysis in 72,855 workers

Identify and compare health risk indicators for common chronic diseases between different occupational groups.

Authors: Daniel Väisänen, Lena V. Kallings, Gunnar Andersson, Peter Wallin, Erik Hemmingsson and Elin Ekblom-Bak

Law enforcement personnel are willing to change, but report influencing beliefs and barriers to optimised dietary intake

Law enforcement personnel have been recognized as having a high risk for several lifestyle-related health conditions which, in combination with the nature of their work (sedentary roles interspersed with inter...

Authors: Kristen MacKenzie-Shalders, Charlene Matthews, Joe Dulla and Robin Orr

Covid-19 effects on the workload of Iranian healthcare workers

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the workload and mental health of Iranian medical staff using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and NASA -Task Load Index (NAS...

Authors: Esmail Shoja, Vahideh Aghamohammadi, Hadi Bazyar, Hamed Rezakhani Moghaddam, Khadijeh Nasiri, Mohammad Dashti, Ali Choupani, Masoumeh Garaee, Shafagh Aliasgharzadeh and Amin Asgari

Interventions on cognitions and perceptions that influence work participation of employees with chronic health problems: a scoping review

Cognitions and perceptions, such as motivation and return to work (RTW) expectations, can influence work participation of employees with chronic health problems. This makes these cognitions and perceptions imp...

Authors: Mariska De Wit, Bedra Horreh, Joost G. Daams, Carel T. J. Hulshof, Haije Wind and Angela G. E. M. de Boer

The impact of the Maritime Labor Convention on seafarers’ working and living conditions: an analysis of port state control statistics

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC2006) entered into force in August 2013 and is a milestone for better working and living conditions (WLC) for seafarers. As of March 2020, 96 countries have ratified th...

Authors: Marina Liselotte Fotteler, Despena Andrioti Bygvraa and Olaf Chresten Jensen

Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and preventive behaviours towards COVID-19 among health care providers in Yemen: an online cross-sectional survey

The growing incidence of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to cause fear, anxiety, and panic amongst the community, especially for healthcare providers (HCPs), as the most vulnerable group at risk of contractin...

Authors: Gamil Ghaleb Alrubaiee, Talal Ali Hussein Al-Qalah and Mohammed Sadeg A. Al-Aawar

Health behaviours and psychosocial working conditions as predictors of disability pension due to different diagnoses: a population-based study

To investigate whether the clustering of different health behaviours (i.e. physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption) influences the associations between psychosocial working conditions and disabi...

Authors: Annina Ropponen, Jurgita Narusyte, Karri Silventoinen and Pia Svedberg

Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

The majority of Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum mental health. Especially postpartum depression (PP...

Authors: Marlene Karl, Ronja Schaber, Victoria Kress, Marie Kopp, Julia Martini, Kerstin Weidner and Susan Garthus-Niegel

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Most U.S. studies on workforce preparedness have a narrow scope, focusing primarily on perceptions of clinical staff in a single hospital and for one type of disaster. In contrast, this study compares the perc...

Authors: Aram Dobalian, Michelle D. Balut and Claudia Der-Martirosian

Safety and Health through Integrated, Facilitated Teams (SHIFT): stepped-wedge protocol for prospective, mixed-methods evaluation of the Healthy Workplace Participatory Program

Healthcare facilities are notorious for occupational health and safety problems. Multi-level interventions are needed to address interacting exposures and their overlapping origins in work organization feature...

Authors: Laura Punnett, Suzanne Nobrega, Yuan Zhang, Serena Rice, Rebecca Gore and Alicia Kurowski

Work profiles of older employees in Germany-results from the lidA-cohort study

This study investigates whether a typology of work exposure can be established among older workers in Germany. Work exposure comprises physical work, working time quality, work intensity, skills & discretion, ...

Authors: Hans Martin Hasselhorn, Michael Stiller, Jean-Baptist du Prel and Melanie Ebener

Associations between change in labour market policies and work stressors: a comparative longitudinal survey data analysis from 27 European countries

Many studies have shown that work stressors have a negative impact on health. It is therefore important to gain an understanding of how work stressors can be reduced. Recent studies have shown that employees i...

Authors: T. Lunau, M. Wahrendorf, N. Dragano, J. Siegrist, K. A. van der Wel and M. Rigó

Examining relationship between occupational acid exposure and oral health in workplace

Acid mist can suspend in the air and enter the body via skin contact, the respiratory tract, or even oral intake, which pose various health hazards. Previous studies have shown that occupational exposure to ac...

Authors: Wei-Liang Chen, Yuan-Yuei Chen, Wei-Te Wu, Ching-Huang Lai, Yu-Shan Sun and Chung-Ching Wang

Cold-related symptoms and performance degradation among Thai poultry industry workers with reference to vulnerable groups: a cross-sectional study

Few studies have examined cold-related symptoms among cold workplace workers in Thailand. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cold-related cardiorespiratory, circulatory, and general symptoms and p...

Authors: Nipaporn Auttanate, Chotirot Chotiphan, Suchinda Jarupat Maruo, Simo Näyhä, Kirsi Jussila, Sirkka Rissanen, Penpatra Sripaiboonkij, Tiina M. Ikäheimo, Jouni J. K. Jaakkola and Wantanee Phanprasit

Applying health, safety, and environmental risk assessment at academic settings

Students, staff, and faculties are involved in activities that exposed them to a range of minor to severe or even fatal accidents in academic settings. Managing work environment risks is crucial to any safety ...

Authors: Alireza Dehdashti, Farin Fatemi, Muhammadreza Jannati, Fatemeh Asadi and Marzieh Belji Kangarloo

Demographic and health-related factors associated with reduced work functioning in people with moderate medically unexplained physical symptoms: a cross-sectional study

Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are a leading cause of reduced work functioning. It is not known which factors are associated with reduced work functioning in people with moderate MUPS. Insight ...

Authors: Mark L. van Tilburg, Paula Elisabeth van Westrienen and Martijn F. Pisters

Sickness absence trajectories following labour market participation patterns: a cohort study in Catalonia (Spain), 2012–2014

Previous studies have focused on the relationship between employment pathways and health-related outcomes based on cross-sectional or longitudinal approaches. However, little is known about the cumulative effe...

Authors: Julio C. Hernando-Rodriguez, Laura Serra, Fernando G. Benavides and Monica Ubalde-Lopez

Working conditions of healthcare workers and clients’ satisfaction with care: study protocol and baseline results of a cluster-randomised workplace intervention

In the present investigation the study protocol and the results at baseline of a workplace intervention are reported. It is hypothesised that the reduction of the physical and psychosocial workload of healthca...

Authors: Diego Montano, Marco Kuchenbaur, Heinrich Geissler and Richard Peter

Physical environmental and occupational factors inducing work-related neck and shoulder pains among self-employed tailors of informal sectors in Ethiopia, 2019: results from a community based cross-sectional study

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) caused by occupational-related factors continue to place huge burdens on global workforces. Significant numbers of workers report potential adverse health outcomes related to th...

Authors: Tesfaye Hambisa Mekonnen, Dawit Getachew Yenealem and Demiss Mulatu Geberu

Psychological impact of an epidemic/pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals: a rapid review

Epidemics or pandemics, such as the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, pose unique challenges to healthcare professionals (HCPs). Caring for patients during an epidemic/pandemic may impact neg...

Authors: Suzannah Stuijfzand, Camille Deforges, Vania Sandoz, Consuela-Thais Sajin, Cecile Jaques, Jolanda Elmers and Antje Horsch

Work-related moderators of the relationship between organizational change and sickness absence: a longitudinal multilevel study

A sizeable body of research has demonstrated a relationship between organizational change and increased sickness absence. However, fewer studies have investigated what factors might mitigate this relationship....

Authors: Anniken Grønstad, Lars Erik Kjekshus, Trond Tjerbo and Vilde Hoff Bernstrøm

E-cigarette environmental and fire/life safety risks in schools reported by secondary school teachers

To identify if e-cigarette usage is an on-campus problem for secondary schools and evaluate initial school survey responses. More specifically, this survey can aid in identifying where students are seen using ...

Authors: Maryanne L. Fakeh Campbell, Andrew Sansone, Lauren N. Gonzalez, Kevin R. J. Schroth and Derek G. Shendell

“Oh-oh, the others are standing up... I better do the same”. Mixed-method evaluation of the implementation process of ‘Take a Stand!’ - a cluster randomized controlled trial of a multicomponent intervention to reduce sitting time among office workers

Multicomponent workplace-based interventions aimed at reducing sitting time among office workers are becoming increasingly popular. ‘Take a Stand!’ was such an intervention, reducing sitting time by 71 min aft...

Authors: Ida H. Danquah, Stine Kloster and Janne S. Tolstrup

Factors associated with unsafe work behaviours in an Iranian petrochemical company: perspectives of workers, supervisors, and safety managers

The petrochemical industry is hazardous, in part because of the inherently dangerous nature of the work conducted, and incidents frequently result in significant financial and social losses. The most common im...

Authors: Azita Zahiri Harsini, Fazlollah Ghofranipour, Hormoz Sanaeinasab, Farkhondeh Amin Shokravi, Philip Bohle and Lynda R. Matthews

Job morale: a scoping review of how the concept developed and is used in healthcare research

The job morale of healthcare staff is widely seen as an important factor for the quality of care. Yet, there are different understandings of what constitutes job morale, which hinders systematic research and c...

Authors: Alina Sabitova, Lauren M. Hickling and Stefan Priebe

Long-term sickness absence among young and middle-aged workers in Norway: the impact of a population-level intervention

The study objective was to evaluate the impact of a population-level intervention (the IA Agreement) on the of one-year risk for long-term sickness absence spells (LSAS) among young and middle aged workers in ...

Authors: Therese N. Hanvold, Petter Kristensen, Karina Corbett, Rachel L. Hasting and Ingrid S. Mehlum

Evaluating real-time momentary stress and affect in police officers using a smartphone application

Police officers work under stressful conditions, and the resulting occupational stress may impact their health and well-being through changes in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). It is therefore i...

Authors: Gi Wook Ryu, Yong Sook Yang and Mona Choi

Job stress and interpersonal relationships cross country evidence from the EU15: a correlation analysis

The aim of the study is to analyse the association between job stress and interpersonal relationships on and outside of the job in Europe. The main assumption of the paper is that since social relations at var...

Authors: Nunzia Nappo

Cumulative, high-stress calls impacting adverse events among law enforcement and the public

The unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous, nature of the occupation exposes officers to both acute and chronic stress over law enforcement officers’ (LEO)  tenure. The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) De...

Authors: Katelyn K. Jetelina, Alaina M. Beauchamp, Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez, Rebecca J. Molsberry, Stephen A. Bishopp and Simon Craddock Lee

Occupational benzene exposure and the risk of genetic damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Benzene, an important component of organic solvents, is commonly used in industry. Meanwhile, benzene is a human carcinogen leading to leukemia. Although the links between benzene and various types of genetic ...

Authors: Yanhua Zhou, Kun Wang, Boshen Wang, Yuepu Pu and Juan Zhang

Association of job category and occupational activity with breast cancer incidence in Japanese female workers: the JACC study

Breast cancer represented the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Japan. Although physical activity has been reported protective against breast cancer, scientific evidence is limited on the risk of b...

Authors: Gita Nirmala Sari, Ehab Salah Eshak, Kokoro Shirai, Yoshihisa Fujino, Akiko Tamakoshi and Hiroyasu Iso

Predicting return to work after long-term sickness absence with subjective health complaints: a prospective cohort study

Long-term sickness absence results in increased risks of permanent disability and a compromised quality of life. Return to work is an important factor in reducing these risks. Little is known about return to w...

Authors: Kristel H. N. Weerdesteijn, Frederieke Schaafsma, Karin Bonefaas-Groenewoud, Martijn Heymans, Allard Van der Beek and Johannes Anema

From long-term sickness absence to disability retirement: diagnostic and occupational class differences within the working-age Finnish population

It is well documented that sickness absence is strongly associated with disability retirement. A long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in particular increases the risk of disability retirement, but little is known...

Authors: Laura Salonen, Jenni Blomgren and Mikko Laaksonen