Analysis of differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to understand the differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers, specifically to identify the differences by employment type on in health status, the likelihood of wearing protective gear when working, access to manuals on emotional expression, and access to information on risk factors related to health and safety. Methods: The secondary data of four items on employment type, health type of workers and safety among the 5th Korean Working Condition Survey conducted in 2017 in Korea was used in this study. The data of workers were processed by using SPSS/WIN 23.0 Program and R 3.1.2, and demographic characteristics were quantified as frequency and percentage. Results: A total of 30,300 employed people were surveyed. The result shows that part-time workers have poorer health than full-time workers (c2 = 540.7155, p < 0.05), insufficiently wore protective gear (c2 = 24.8702, p < 0.05), had insufficient access to manuals on emotional expression (c2 = 27.7612, p < 0.05) and lacked information about risk factors (c2 = 185.0082, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Health and safety manager will need to have education and consultation, development of manual and perform an early intervention to improve safety environment as primary health care providers by understanding factors related to health and safety of part-time workers.

Maximizing the Role of Emergency Medical Services in COVID-19 Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define six intervals of a pandemic: (1) investigation of cases, (2) recognition of the increased potential for ongoing transmission, (3) initiation of a pandemic wave, (4) acceleration of a pandemic wave, (5) deceleration of a pandemic wave and (6) preparation for future pandemic waves. Each of these stages has eight domains. Following China’s COVID-19 outbreak announcement, Israel’s National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization immediately began working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to address the threat of the COVID-19 outbreak. This article will describe how a national EMS organization acted according to these pandemic intervals and domains. In the initial stages, EMS managed a checkpoint in the international airport voluntarily testing people for febrile symptoms. Calls to the dispatch centers that aroused the suspicion of COVID-19 resulted in EMS transport to the hospital with protective gear. During the period of first exposure, the scope of the medical emergency number was increased to include questions concerning coronavirus, telemedicine, and home sampling by protected EMS workers. In the contagion stages, epidemiological tests were conducted by the MOH and EMS began operating dedicated telephone triage, mass drive-through sampling, and finally, administration of vaccinations.

Consumer’s demand for Disinfectants and Protective Gear from COVID-19 infection in Al-Hofuf, Saudi

Introduction: The paper aims to estimate consumers’ demand for personal protecting products (PPP) from COVID-19. Thus, the paper collected primary data on consumers’ demand for PPP utilizing the timeframe of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: The paper uses two sample t-test and Anova test to examine mean differences in the quantity consumed of PPP. Also, the paper uses Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) to estimate the responsiveness of quantity demanded of PPP for changes in prices and consumers’ income. Results: The results show that there is a significant difference in the mean of quantity demanded of facemasks among men and women. Also, the results show that there is a significant difference in the mean of quantity demand for facemasks, gloves, and hand sanitizer based on respondents’ level of education. In addition, the paper analyzed the effect of price and income changes on quantity demanded of PPP. The findings indicate that the quantity demanded of facemask and gloves are sensitive to changes in consumers’ income. Also, soap, hand sanitizer, and gloves were recognized as complementary products. Furthermore, facemasks were identified as a complementary product with glove use. Lastly, the own-price elasticities of demand revealed that the demand for PPP is price insensitive. Conclusions: the paper recommends that the consumer protection unit closely monitor the prices of PPP since the sellers have an opportunity to increase those products prices and maximize their revenue by exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowledge & Usage of Personal Protective Equipment for Prevention of Infection Among Frontline Health Care Workers During Covid – 19 Pandemic

Background: The risk of transmission of novel SARS CoronaVirus-2 among health care workers can be reduced using personal protective equipment. It is critical to follow guidelines for appropriate use of protective gear to avoid its wastage. This study aimed to evaluate frontline healthcare workers’ understanding of effective donning and doffing of protective equipment in the wake of recent emergence of corona virus disease.Physical impacts due to its prolonged usage were also identified. Material and Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted targeting frontline health care workers from June till July 2021. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive analysis was performed for qualitative variables.Chi-square test was utilized to determine association between qualitative variables and p <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: A total of 204 responses were received. Surgical masks (53.9%), gloves (51.5%), gowns (46.1%) and N95 respirator (40.7%) were most frequently used. Physicians had better knowledge on correct utilization of protective equipment as compared to non-physicians, p<0.001.Only 55.9% and 47.1% participants knew correct donning and doffing sequence respectively.The most prevalent mistakes while doffingwere touching front of mask and potentially contaminated surfaces followed by incorrect doffing sequence.Mostrespondentsmentioned scarcity of protective gear. Around 53% participants did not attend any training session on utilization of personal protective equipment. Prolonged exposure to masks and gloves led to acne, facial marks and itching. Frequent practice of hand hygiene was linked with skin dryness and cracking, p<0.001. Conclusion: We observed lack of expertise in donning and doffing technique. Mostly mistakes occurred during doffing, so interactive workshops are required to train health care workers.Most common dermatological manifestationsdue to use of masks and gloves included acne, facial markings, and itching. Adverse effects of prolonged use of PPE can be avoided by having shorter duration of working hours and giving rest during the shifts. Keywords: COVID-19; personal protective equipment; skin manifestation; pandemics.

The Legal Defect in the Conditional Prohibition of Manual Scavenging in India

This article problematizes the definitional discourse of manual scavenging in Indian legislative interven-tions and its judicial treatment by the Supreme Court of India. It assesses the evolution of the definition of manual scavenging and the judicial treatment of it to cull out the insufficiency of legal doctrines and judicial interpretations in its elimination. It is argued that the career of legal prohibition of manual scavenging, despite deploying new measures to promote the elimination and rehabilitation, is antithetical to the very objectives of the legislations due to a paradoxical definitional discourse. The paradox is discerned by problema-tizing the condition-based permissibility of manual scavenging, where the usage of protective gear is the excluding criterion for identifying manual scavengers and perpetuates the practice. This condition-based permissibility has been a key burden on the discourse of elimination, as no such measures, it is argued, can mitigate discrimination, humiliation and stigma faced by manual scavengers. After identifying the conditional prohibition of manual scavenging, the article makes normative suggestions towards the adoption of a non-condition–based complete prohibition approach rooted in the understanding of human dignity. This must be complemented with the complete rehabilitation of individuals and complete mechanization of sewage work.

COVID–19 Information, Demand and Willingness to Pay for Protective Gear in the UK

In the first month of the UK first lockdown, we studied the demand and willingness to pay (WTP) for hand sanitizer gel, disposable face masks and disposable gloves, and how information on tested people and coronavirus deaths explains the demand and WTP for these products. The specific hypotheses to test and concrete questions to study were pre-registered in AsPredicted (#38962) on 10 April 2020, and an online survey was launched in Prolific on a sample of the UK general population representative by age, sex and ethnicity on 11 April 2020. We find that there is a demand for these products, estimate the average WTP for them, and show that the provision of information affected the demand (and WTP) for disposable face masks. Providing information on the numbers of coronavirus cumulative tested people and coronavirus cumulative deaths increases the stated demand for disposable face masks by about 8 percentage points [95% CI: 0.8, 15.1] and 11 percentage points [95% CI: 3.7, 18.2], respectively. JEL Classifications: C99, D12, I12, I18

An Innovative Three-in-One Face Protective Gear (FPG): A Feasibility Study in a Neonatal Unit in Times of Pandemic!

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at greatest risk of acquiring infection in times of global pandemic of COVID-19 disease. There is an unprecedented demand of several forms of personal protective equipment (PPE) for HCWs leading to possible acute shortage of these equipment. This has paved way for development of local innovative PPEs. Objective: To test feasibility of a low cost, indigenous three-in-one face protective gear (FPG) in HCWs of a neonatal unit of a tertiary care institute in northern India. Methodology: A three-in-one FPG was developed using the commonly available items in a ward or intensive care and few trash items. Items used were sterile surgical sheet, cling wrap piece/transparency sheet, cover of umbilical catheter/any sterile hollow plastic pipe, or straw and adhesive tape. The FPG was tested in 17 HCWs regarding its ease to use, comfort, and feasibility with the help of questionnaire. Results: A total of 17 HCWs participated in this study. Majority (10, 58.8%) were doctors. Eight (47%) participants have never used any form of PPE previously. Thirteen (76.4%) participants found the FPG comfortable to wear; 12 (70.5%) found it comfortable to wear up to 8 h. Three HCWs found it difficult to work when wear the FPG; 1 out of 3 found it suffocating. Conclusion: Three-in-one FPG is an indigenous, low cost, and may be a feasible alternative in low-risk situations when there is scarcity of conventional protective equipment.

A review on the plant secondary metabolites with special context with North East India

<p>Extracting phytochemicals or phytocompounds for the upliftment of general health and sustainability is one of the greatest needs of the millennium. Plants have immense quality in regards to secondary metabolites although not required for general growth and development yet are very much necessary for forming a protective gear and maintaining homeostasis. With their immense diversity in curing various diseases, these plants' secondary metabolites are therefore must be put forth and give much importance in generation and production from the root level to the mission worldwide. Along with the increasing cases of failure in the usage of chemotherapeutic drugs and its utilities, the implementation of secondary metabolites for its various medicinal characteristic in the therapeutic cases are also increasing in demand. With the increasing demand for Ayurveda treatment and the popularity of the mass for it can be positively taken up as a means of earning capita and making self- sustained. North-Eastern states of India in this regard are a vital source of income and also a media to generate and bringing indigenous products to the world.</p>

A new quality metric for dermatology: The “SPA” (sunscreen, protective gear, and avoidance) questionnaire to assess sun protection practices

Background: Given the importance of counseling patients on UV radiation exposure, a Sunscreen, Protective Gear, and Avoidance (SPA) Questionnaire was developed to assess patients’ sun exposure and help physicians provide tailored counseling to their patients regarding safe sun protection practices. Materials and methods: Six Denver Veterans Affairs (VA) dermatology providers who were trained in using the questionnaire randomly selected patients in the Denver VA Dermatology clinic to pilot-test the questionnaire. Demographic information and responses were collected using the SPA Questionnaire. Results: 43/61 (70.5%) of patients answered “no” to at least one sun protection strategy. Of these 43 patients, 40 (93%) were provided with tailored counseling. Five out of six providers indicated that the questionnaire encouraged conversations about sun protection for skin cancer prevention. Conclusion: The SPA questionnaire is a simple measure of UV exposure risk, which can help clinicians determine the sun-protective behavior of patients and initiate dialogue to increase patient knowledge of sun protection practices.

DESIGNING A TEMPORARY COLD PROTECTIVE GEAR CONSTRUCTED BY FOLDING NEWSPRINT PAPER CONSIDERING HEAT-RETAINING PROPERTY AND RIGIDITY

During the cold season, the cold protective products are often short during evacuation life after a natural disaster. If evacuees can make and wear simple cold protective gears by using materials obtainable on site, it will reduce the burden on the evacuees in emergent situation. Therefore, we investigated the structure constructed by folding newsprint paper, which can improve the heat retention effect and be applied to various body shapes. Focusing on the glide reflection structure repeating a smaller chamber, the basic size was determined by experiments with reference to the accordion shape, and the experimental results indicated that the heat retention effect was significantly greater than that of a mere air layer and those of ordinary fabrics. Next, it was found that the apex angle of structure had no significant difference in the heat retention effect. Then, the dimensions of the structure were determined to maintain the air layer under the pressure of the clothes by simulation of structural analyses. Finally, we made a temporary cold protective gear that can practically cover the trunk of the body and found that the heat retention effect was significantly higher than that of unprocessed newsprint and that of accordion shape.