Tibbi- i- kar
Year:2011 | Volume:3 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among bank workers are receiving growing attention. Aim of present study was survey of musculoskeletal disorders among Bank staff of Yazd city.Methods: This study was carried out, involving work observation and interviews. Self-answered questionnaires performed by 102 bank staff operators, the statistical analyzed were software SPSS 15.Results: men represented 87.25% of the bank staff, 92.2% of them were in the age bracket of 20 to 40 yr. daily working time was 6-h with 2-h break time. Among bank staff operators the prevalence of back symptoms was 18.6% and of wrist/hand was 0.9%. Risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders were inadequate height of table and making fewer rest breaks.Conclusion: Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders among bank staff operators requires an integrated approach including improved workstation design, thermal comfort environment, well-scheduled work-rest regime and realistic production goals.

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss is among the most common occupational diseases and is completely preventable despite being permanent and irreversible. Although management and engineering control are in prior, for some reasons its implementation is difficult in certain circumstances. So, Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) are often the only method. But most of workers exposed to high level noise do not use them. The aim of this study was to detect factors influencing on usage of HPDs by workers based on Pender’s Health Promotion Model and safety climate.Methods: In this study, 121 tile workers who exposed to sounds ≥ 85dB were evaluated. A questionnaire including demographic date, HPDs using frequency, worker’s self-efficacy regarding HPDs use as well as workers’ perceptions of management’s commitment to HPDs use and safety was completed for them.Results: Our research showed that 24% of workers used HPDs for more than 50% of work duration. Only 10% of the workers used it for more than 90% of work duration. There was a significant difference in scores related to “Safety climate” and also one of the items of “HPDs usage barriers” between the group who used HPDs>50% of work duration and the group£50% (p=0.04 and p=0.06 respectively).Conclusion: Despite exposure to noise and being subject to noise-induced hearing loss, prevalence of HPDs use is low. In this survey, the belief that wearing HPDs is not uncomfortable and safety climate were important factors for HPDs usage.Therefore, manager support for working in safety climate including HPDs use, education of using method and its importance in preventing hearing loss have significant influences on increasing HPDs use.

Background: Each year many people lose their lives resulting from driving accidents. This can cause irreparable mental, physical and psychological loss for the survivals. Driving sleeping is referred to as one of the causes requiring a research on the relationship between driving accidents and damages resulted from with the sleep quality of the truck drivers.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study 150 truck drivers of Darab city were selected randomly. A two-section questionnaire was used the first part of which included demographic information while for the second part it comprised Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).SPSS software was applied to analyze the data.Results: The results indicated the subjects' mean of PSQI as 4.9±2.70 with a bad sleep quality in 39.3% of the drivers. Less than a quarter of the subjects (22.7%) had accidents in the 5 previous years.Sleepiness was the cause of 25.3% of the accidents. Driving accidents, record for the drivers with appropriate sleep quality was lower compared with those with inappropriate sleep quality and the difference was statistically significant.Conclusions: The results represented that around a quarter of the accidents were due to the subjects' sleepiness. Over one third of them were not enjoying a good sleep quality. So it is suggested offering sleep health training to the drivers as well as issuing health card and sleep test as required for them.

Background: The aim of this study is identification and evaluation of laboratories hazards in Yazd Medical Sciences University.Methods: This is a descriptive analytic study that was done to identify hazards of laboratories of Yazd Medical Science Universities in 2009.The instrument used for data collection was standardized checklists that before were used in 20 international organizations and 30 reliable laboratories in world, and their reliability and validity were confirmed. The kind of hazards were separated and systematized in these checklists and hardware, human, instruction, and environmental errors were separated from each other qualitative method was applied for evaluation.Results: According to results, main deficiencies were related to management failure and other defects in order of preference were lack of suitable ventilation, Lack of heating and cooling systems in the laboratory, Lack of safe work instructions and Lack of physical space.Conclusion: This study showed that the laboratories of universities have many defects and hazards, then adverse events and high probability of occurrence and certainly will be dire consequence, considering the high risk of events is necessary in the short term parallel administrative measures taken in this regard.

Background: Occupational injury involves thousands workers worldwide especially in developing countries every years that could lead to workers disability and costly events for industrial cycle of the country. Thus, the aim of this study was to demonstrate status of work injuries and main pattern of work related trauma.Methods: All documents of the miners who had documented between 2003 and 2009 were assessed, and work related injuries were recorded.Demographic data, pattern of trauma were obtained and distributions of the patterns were addressed among age subgroups.Results: According to the result, work related injuries of kicked and contusions were the most common types of accidents. All types of fractures were in second position among other patterns. Age could not variant the rate of pattern in a descriptive view.Conclusion: The results in agreement with were same results from the other researches. This study evaluated trauma patterns in more prescribe than the other same researches.

Background: Now musculoskeletal disorders are common among occupational disorders and these are one reason for absence of the work that lead to reduction of performance. According the report of Social Security organization in 1990-1993, musculoskeletal disorders had led to 14.4% impairments in Iran. By these statistics, the aim of this study is the assessment of musculoskeletal disorders associated with welding by OWAS posture assessment method.Methods: First we Nordic questions are to determine whether this job requires ergonomic assessment and then posture were photographed during 40 minutes for 30 seconds. Intervals At the last, the associated pictures to any posture were evaluated with OWAS method.Results: The most necessary corrective for lumbar and arms is in level 2, whereas these for legs and complex postures are in level 1.Conclusion: Most musculoskeletal complains are in lumbar (52%), knee (48%) and back (38%). Therefore, OWAS can be suitable method for assessment of postures in this job.

Background: It is nearly twenty years passed from introducing of computer to human life and it is now an inseparable part of our life, because of widespread use of computer, many studies have been done for finding safety and health principle for these users, the aim of this study is determination of ophthalmic complains in Shahid Sadoughi University computer users.Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was done on 105 employees of Shahid Sadoughi University during 1386-1387.Data was collected by a questionnaire that includes duration of computer usage per day, time of starting computer usage, type of monitor, type of ophthalmic complains and the position of computer users against light source. This information was analyzed by SPSS software.Results: The study group was included 105 employees that 56 of them were women and 49 were men. Mean age of this group was 33.7±5.77 years. The frequency of ophthalmic complains in the users was as below: eye strain 79%, eye burning 57.7%, epiphora 33.4% and red eye 30%.There was significant duration of computer usage per day, time of starting computer usage and inappropriate condition of light source (R=21%, p=0.033; R=21%, p=0.032, respectively).Conclusion: There are several ophthalmic complains such as eye strain, red eye in the computer users who had significant correlation with condition of work environment.Because of extended use of computer in office and home, it is necessary to plan studies for identification of causes of these complains and the methods for prevention and modification of these problems.

Background: Workers who exposed to cotton dust are at risk of some occupational lung diseases such as byssinosis and chronic bronchitis. In general respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, sputum and dyspnea are more common in cotton dust exposed workers. With continuous exposure, progression of disease and pulmonary dysfunction will happen. In this study, we assessed the effect of cotton dust exposure on pulmonary function.Methods: In this survey, 141 textile workers who exposed to cotton dust have been elected as exposed group and data was gathered by ATS’s standard questionnaire, physical exam and spirometry. Spiro metric indices such as FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75% and PEFR were measured.Results: Outcomes show that some respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum and episodic productive cough (chronic bronchitis) have significant increase in cotton dust exposed group and decreased mean of FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC percentage have been seen. These results suggest high prevalence of obstructive airway disease in this group.Conclusion: According to results in our study textile workers are at risk of progression of respiratory symptoms and decreased of pulmonary function. Physical exam and spirometry can detect the disease at early stage.