Digital human factor management

Now culture of manage safety, health and wellbeing in the mining industry needs a scientifically sound new approach to the training process for professionals at all levels. Insufficient qualification of employees and managers in occupational safety, health and wellbeing has a negative impact on the occupational injury rate, and the current occupational safety, health and wellbeing management system does not allow to instill in employees compliance with the requirements for their own safety. To improve the quality of employees training in safe work practices and to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing in processes, a new training process has been developed and implemented based on a video-based continuous learning system. The innovation will make it possible to manage the human factor by improving employees competence, increasing the efficiency of the system OSH management, taking prompt corrective action, reducing injury rates and retaining human resources.

Prevalence and Determinants of Occupational Injuries among Solid Waste Collectors of Zoomlion Ghana Limited

Background. Globally, occupational injuries account for 15% of the mortalities associated with occupational accidents. The work of the solid waste collectors exposes them to numerous occupational hazards, which results in injuries. Increasing rates of occupational injuries from 43.7% to 63.9% among solid waste collectors in sub-Saharan Africa opens room for more research to be done. The study assessed the magnitude of occupational injuries and associated factors among solid waste collectors of Zoomlion Ghana Limited in the Accra Metropolis. Methods. A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out among the solid waste collectors. The occupational injuries and their associated factors among the solid waste collectors were assessed using questionnaires. Multistage sampling approach was used to select study respondents. Data were collected through the administration of questionnaires. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between the dependent and independent variables. Results. In this study, 21.79% (78/358) with 95% CI (0.1749, 0.2608) among the solid waste collectors reported having at least one work-related injury in the last 6 months. The factors that were significantly associated with at least one occupational injury among the solid waste collectors in the Accra Metropolis were work duty (collection and transportation), the zone of assignment for respondents, and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). Conclusion. This study showed that the prevalence of occupational injuries among municipal solid waste collectors in the Accra Metropolis was lower as compared to similar research conducted in Ethiopia, Egypt, and India. Working in the collection and transportation category and lack of PPE for use at work were significantly and positively associated with occupational injury among the solid waste collectors. Again, working in the La Dade Kotopon zone had reduced odds of sustaining injuries as compared to those in the Ablekuma South zone. The result of the study demonstrated that cuts/puncture was the injury that was mostly sustained by the municipal solid waste workers, while the leg was the body part that was mostly injured followed by the hands. Public health education in the municipality should target solid waste collectors with the aim of improving their health-seeking behaviour.

Occupational injury among paramedics: a systematic review

IntroductionParamedics are frequently exposed to acute and/or chronic environmental, operational and patient-related factors that increase their risk of physical and psychological injury. However, there has been wide variation in reported paramedic injury rates. This systematic review aims to synthesise the evidence to examine the incidence and nature of occupational injury among paramedics.MethodsThis systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PROSPERO 2020: CRD42020164556). A systematic search of four electronic databases was conducted for the years 2004–2019. Peer-reviewed studies examining the incidence and proportions of paramedic occupational injury within civilian emergency medical services (EMS) were included. Injury types, mechanisms, contributing factors and incidence of injury were synthesised narratively.ResultsTwelve studies met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of injury ranged from 29.7 to 345.6 injuries per 1000 workers per year. Sprains and strains were the most reported injury types, and the trunk and upper limbs were the main sites. Body motion was the most frequently reported mechanism of injury, accounting for 35%–55% of all injuries. Female paramedics had a proportionally higher rate of injury compared with male paramedics. Paramedics aged 25–34 years accounted for the majority of fatal (mean 34.0%) and non-fatal (mean 51.7%) injuries.ConclusionThis review highlights the increased risk of occupational injury among paramedics and provides further insight into their overall injury profile.

Ergonomic assessment of work-related musculoskeletal disorder and its determinants among commercial mini bus drivers and driver assistants (mini bus conductors) in Nigeria

Introduction Work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) is a leading causes of occupational injury and disability among drivers and workers in the transport industry. This study evaluated the ergonomically assessed WMSD and its determinants among Nigerian commercial mini bus drivers (BD) and mini bus conductors (BC) Method A total of 379 participants (BD = 200, BC = 179) were purposively sampled for this exploratory cross-sectional study. Participants’ WMSD and work related variables were respectively assessed using the standardized Nordic questionnaire and a content-validated, Driving Work Station Assessment (DWSA) form. Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using chi-square and logistic regression. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05. Results The participants were aged between 20 and 66 years, with a mean age of 33.26±10.76years (BD = 38.42±10.22years, BC = 27.50±8.13years); most of whom consumed alcohol (84.4%) and experienced severe job stress (73.4%). There was a high prevalence (95.8%; BD = 94.5%, BC = 97.8%) of WMSDs, the lower back (66.8%) and upper back (54.1%) had the highest regional prevalence of WMSD. The BC (BC vs BD) had significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence of Neck (47.7% vs 21.5%) and upper back (80.4% vs 30.5%) WMSDs. Conversely, the BD (BD vs BC) had significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence of low-back (85.0% vs 46.4%), knee (25.0% vs 9.5%), elbow (11.5% vs 3.9%), and wrist (10.5% vs 3.4%) WMSD. There was a significant association between WMSD and each of work duration (X2 = 11.634, p = 0.009), work frequency (X2 = 8.394, p = 0.039), job dissatisfaction (X2 = 10.620, p = 0.001) and job stress (X2 = 16.879, p = 0.001). Working beyond 4days/week (OR = 10.019, p = 0.001), job dissatisfaction (OR = 1.990, p = 0.031), constrained working postures (OR = 5.324, p = 0.003) and fatigue (OR = 4.719, p = 0.002) were the predictors of WMSD. Conclusion Job stress, work duration and work frequency, posture and fatigue are important determinants of WMSDs among mini bus drivers and their assistants in Nigeria. Ergonomics training intervention for this population is recommended.

Population-Based Study on Cancer Incidence in Pharmacist: A Cohort Study in Taiwan

Cancer is increasing in rate globally and is leading cause of death among no communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) after cardiovascular disease (CVD). Most of the research focuses on the risk of occupational injury, job stress, mental illness, substance abuse and workplace safety in physicians and nurses. However, fewer studies have investigated the risk of cancer in pharmacists. We compared the matched general population to investigate the risk of cancer in pharmacists in Taiwan. Data were obtained from the Health and Welfare Data Science Center of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. We established a pharmacist group that included 11,568 pharmacists and selected a 4-fold comparison (n = 46,272) for the non-clinics comparison group, frequency being matched by age, gender and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score. The pharmacists had a lower but non-significant risk of all cancer (Adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85–1.07) compared with the general population. Female pharmacists had a higher risk of cancer than male pharmacists ([aHR] = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.06–1.43). Pharmacists had higher risks of breast cancer in females (aHR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.35–2.08) and of prostate cancer in males (aHR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.35–2.08) when compared with the general population. Occupational risk factors could play a role, but they were not evaluated. These epidemiological findings require additional studies to clarify cancer risk mechanisms in pharmacists.

Research on Occupational Injury Protection System for New Business Practitioners

This paper analyzes the necessity of establishing the occupational injury security system for new forms of business and summarizes the pilot areas of the current occupational injury security sy stem, and then analyzes the problems existing in the current occupational injury security for new forms of business, including the difficulty in identifying labor relations and the mismatch between supply and demand of occupational injury security. Finally, the specific conception of occupational injury protection system for employees in the new form of business is put forward, including open insured objects, appropriate payment base, flexible identification of occupational injury, etc.

‘Ergopaedics’: the future of ergonomics in orthopaedics

Ergonomics is the scientific study of people and their working conditions, aiming to improve effectiveness. Improved ergonomics of orthopaedic theatres and equipment would reduce the risk of occupational injury and help to encourage more women into an underrepresented specialty.

Sleep duration and sleep difficulties as predictors of occupational injuries: a cohort study

Study objectivesTo examine the association between sleep duration and sleep difficulties with different types and causes of workplace and commuting injuries.MethodsThe data were derived from the Finnish Public Sector study including 89.543 participants (178.309 person-observations). Participants reported their sleep duration and sleep difficulties between 2000 and 2012. These were linked to occupational injury records from the national register maintained by the Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions. Risk of injuries was followed up 1 year after each study wave. Logistic regression analysis with generalised estimating equations (GEEs) was used to examine the association between sleep duration/difficulties and risk of injuries, and multinomial logistic regression with GEE was used to examine the association with injury types and causes.ResultsBoth sleep duration and difficulties were associated with injuries. Employees with short sleep (≤6.5 hours) had 1.07-fold odds of workplace injuries (95% CI 1.00 to 1.14) and 1.14 times higher odds of commuting injuries (95% CI 1.04 to 1.26) compared with employees with normal sleep duration. For employees with disturbed sleep, the corresponding ORs were 1.09-fold (95% CI 1.02 to 1.17) and 1.14-fold (95% CI 1.04 to 1.26) compared with those without sleep difficulties, respectively. The risk of commuting injuries was higher among those who had difficulty in falling asleep (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.55), woke up too early (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.23) or had non-restorative sleep (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.33).ConclusionsShort sleep duration and sleep difficulties are associated with slightly increased risk of workplace and commuting injuries.