Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology

178-183

Authors: A Ghanbary Sartang * , M Ashnagar , M Abedi , E Habibi

Background: Nowadays, shift work is a common work schedule. Shift work has been hypothesized as a risk factor for obesity. So, identifying the effective factors on obesity is of great importance. In the present research, we are going to study the effects of shift work on obesity among military personnel in 2016. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 80 man military at southern Iran in June and July 2016. Respondents were divided into two groups based on their working schedule (40 shift work and 40 day work personnel). These two groups were matched in terms of type work. In this study, the participants were selected through simple random sampling. In this research, we controlled the effect of age and work experience on obesity. Finally, data analysis was performed with SPSS software. Results: Total people who participated in this study were 80. The findings revealed that mean body weight and body mass index (BMI) in shift workers were more than day workers. The results also showed that 79.6% of subjects had BMI > 25 in shift work individuals. Furthermore, 83.9% of subjects had BMI < 25 in day work individuals. Finally, Pearson correlation test showed a significant correlation between BMI (r = 0.69) and weight (r = 0.67) with years on shift work, in a way that with increasing duration of shift work, BMI and weight increased. Conclusions: The duration of shift work was positively associated with the prevalence of obesity in military personnel and shall be taken to intervention actions in shift works.

190-198

Authors: H Shojaee-Farah Abady , B Fouladi Dehaghi , H Irvani , A Vahidi , M Nakhaei Pour *

Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are considered as major environmental contaminants that have a harmful effect on human and ecosystem health, so much effort has been focused on their removal. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal efficiency of styrene by Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) after immobilization of nanoparticles of zinc oxide (ZnO) on it. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study and in order to produce styrene, clean dry air with a constant flow rate of 1 l/minute was pumped into an impinger containing styrene solution which resulted in the evaporation of styrene. Produced vapors entered into the mixing chamber to be mixed with clean air. Produced styrene with certain concentrations of 20, 100 and 300 ppm was sent to a reactor containing ZSM-5/ZnO bed to investigate the effectiveness of the bed in the elimination of styrene. Results: This study focused on removal of styrene using ZnO nanoparticles stabilized on ZSM-5 Zeolite. The highest removal efficiency of styrene was 47.5% in concentrations of 20 ppm. For concentrations of 100 and 300 ppm, the efficiency was 22% and 12.5%, respectively. Conclusions: Both adsorption and catalytic mechanisms can be effective in removal of pollutants in different conditions. Findings related to adsorption and removal of styrene also showed that coating ZnO nanoparticles on zeolite absorbent in presence of ultraviolet (UV) has increased the removal efficiency.

207-214

Authors: S Rahimi-Moghadam , N Khanjani , V Feyzi * , M Naderi , H Sadeghi

Background: Shift work can cause problems for workers’ health, especially nurses. This study was done to assess the problems caused by shift work and the nature of the job in nurses of the educational hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study carried out in 2013. The research participants were 159 nurses with and without shift work and 167 employees from one of the hospitals affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Data were gathered via the survey of shift workers (SOS) questionnaire and were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: There were 41.1% (n = 134) shift working nurses, 7.7% (n = 25) fixed daytime nurses and 51.2% (n = 167) fixed daytime employees. Their average age was 35.7 ± 6.4, 34.0 ± 6.9 and 40.0 ± 6.8, respectively. This study showed that headache and dizziness (P = 0.001), lack of concentration (P = 0.011), boredom (P = 0.001), depression (P = 0.001), irritability (P = 0.001) and fatigue during the day (P = 0.026) were significantly higher among shift workers. Shift work significantly affected the personal (P = 0.029), family (P = 0.039) and social life (P = 0.001) of the shift working nurses, and also caused more musculoskeletal and psychosocial disorders. Conclusions: Shift work may cause musculoskeletal and psychological problems and have a negative impact on nurses’ personal, family and social life. Allowing nurses to choose shift work based on their own will, and the regular rotation of shifts can decrease the problems arising from shift work.

225-233

Authors: Y Soltanmoradi , A Ansari , Sh Heidari *

Background: Nurses’ working environments, especially operating rooms are stressful environments due to their undesirable factors and conditions. The present study was conducted to determine sources of occupational stress among operating room nurses of hospitals affiliated to universities of medical sciences in Kerman, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the operating rooms of hospitals affiliated to universities of medical sciences, in Kerman. The sample population consisted of 250 operating room nurses with at least 1 year of work experience. The subjects were selected using randomized cluster sampling. Data were collected using a socio-demographic data form and the Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS). The collected data were analyzed using independent t-test, Pearson correlation, and ANOVA in SPSS software. Results: Operating room nurses rated situations of the “death and dying” subscale as the most stressful, whereas situations of “discrimination” were described as less stressful. Uncertainty concerning treatment was significantly affected by gender; women had higher scores in this subscale (P = 0.019). Moreover, general operating room nurses (vs. specialized) had significantly higher mean scores regarding the perception of the stressfulness of “inadequate preparation”, “conflict with physicians”, and “discrimination” subscales (P < 0.50). Conclusions: The situations of the death and dying subscale were the most important stressors from the viewpoint of operating room nurses. Due to nurses’ constant observation of patients’ pain and suffering, preparing them for coping with such stressors is necessary through education and organizational/familial supports.

240-242

Authors: M Rezaeian *

No Abstract