Toxic jellyfish in Thailand

Jellyfish stings are common in Thailand. Stings can range from mild skin irritation to severe systemic symptoms resulting in death. Jellyfish envenomation is becoming an important public health concern. The lethal box jellyfish and bluebottle jellyfish are found on the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman coasts, but there are still misconception and mismanagement of these types of severe stings. Prevention and awareness of jellyfish stings are important, as well as knowledge and first aid management of severe envenomation. Educational programmes should be provided to locals including school children, teachers, hotel and tour operators, and medical staff. This will greatly reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with fatal stings

Developing Tools for Health Impact Assessment in Environmental Impact Assessment in Thailand

The purpose of this research was to develop tools applicable to the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in a Thai context. The relevant documents and articles were extensively reviewed, analyzed, and drafted. The first draft was presented to a research advisory committee for their review, and the recommended changes were subsequently made. The second draft was then presented to respondents from 6 groups of key stakeholders-expert review committees under the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONREPP), EIA registered consulting firms, non-government organizations, members of the ONREPP, local government organizations, and government organizations responsible for issuing permission to the proposed projects. Their commentary and recommendation were considered, and modifications were made as necessary. The third draft was finally reviewed by the research advisory committee before the tryout step. The final revised version is presented in this paper

Medical evacuations among offshore oil and gas industries in the Gulf of Thailand

Background: Medical evacuation in the offshore oil and gas industry is costly and risky. Previous studies have found that the main cause of medical evacuation due to illness is increasing. In Thailand, there have been no studies on the causes and costs of medical evacuation in the offshore oil and gas industry. This study aims to study on the causes and costs of medical evacuation among offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Thailand. Materials and methods: A retrospective review of data of medical evacuation among the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Thailand from 2016 to 2019 for a period of 36 months. Results: During the research period, a total of 416 cases were evacuated. The majority of the causes of Medevac (84.13%) were illness. We found that 60.1% of all Medevacs were unpreventable or difficult to prevent, and only 39.9% were preventable. The cost of Medevac ranged from 10,000 to 880,000 THB per case. The cost of Medevac occurring from preventable causes was 17,160,000 THB for this period of 36 months. Conclusions: Reducing the cost of Medevac can be done by: 1) vaccination to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases, 2) screening to prevent people at risk of getting complications from pre-existing diseases to work offshore, and 3) increasing treatment capability of offshore facilities. Offshore oil and gas industry may consider cost-benefit of these approaches compared to status quo

Lung function change in hyperbaric chamber inside attendants

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one of new trends of additional treatment, especially for non-di- ving-related diseases in Thailand. Hyperbaric inside attendants have to work under hyperbaric environment to provide medical care for patients in the hyperbaric chamber. This study aims to investigate longitudinal change in lung function in hyperbaric inside attendants (HIAs) and the relationship with hyperbaric exposure. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study exploring the adverse long-term effects to the lungs in HIAs. All inside attendants (HIAs) who worked in the public hospitals or medical centres with multiplace hyperbaric chamber in Thailand were included. To be considered for inclusion in the study, inside attendants were required to have at least two follow-up lung function tests and minimum 1-year interval at baseline from annually periodic examination. Lung function of HIAs were compared against reference values of the Thai population.  Results: There were 51 subjects with 9.26-year mean period of follow-up. The HIAs showed a significantly decrease in measured lung function in average forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced expi- ratory flow at 25–75% of functional vital capacity (FEF25–75%) and FEV1/FVC ratio over time. The annual reductions in FEV1, FEF25–75% and FEV1/FVC ratio were 22.52 mL per year, 44.92 mL/s per year and 0.48% per year, respectively. The study showed significant differences in annual changes in FVC, FEF25–75% and FEV1/FVC ratio between HIAs and the lung function predicted values for the Thais. However, the results revealed no differences of annual change in FEV1 from predicted values. The average working depths, average session duration and total working hours as HIAs were related with the changes of lung function.  Conclusions: Working in a hyperbaric environment does affect the lung function of HIAs. In addition to fitness to work implementation, periodic lung function evaluation should be encouraged to monitor further possible harm to the attendants.

Environmental and health impact assessment for ports in Thailand

Port development in Thailand is an essential part of the national maritime interest in connection with ship and shore activities. The growth of maritime industry and transportation has led to the expansion of ports’ areas and capacity. Each port type causes different environmental impacts. Therefore, the Port Authority of Thailand has set up guidelines on ports’ environmental management. This is divided into 3 major phases; namely, planning, construction and operation commencement periods. The Report of Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EIA, HIA and EHIA) is regarded as the environmental management process in the planning period. It is a key tool to anticipate and prevent any adverse effects that might occur on the environment as well as community health resulting from the project implementation. This measure, in turn, creates advance preparation on both the preventive and problem-solving means before the project gets off the ground. At present, the majority of new projects on port development have still been in the process of information gathering for EHIA submission. Some cannot start to operate due to their EHIA failure. For example, the Tha-sala port which did not pass EHIA, mainly because emphasis had been focused on adhering to legal regulations without taking into consideration the in-depth analysis of data being conducted by community entities in the area. Thus caused the project to be finally abolished. Impact assessment on environment and health should be aimed at detailed understanding of the community in each particular area so that effective data of objective achievement in preventing environmental problems could actually be carried out and welcomed by the concerned society.

Sleep Quality and Associated Factors Among Firefighters in Bangkok, Thailand: A Cross-sectional Study

Objectives: Professional firefighters face various health hazards and are required to maintain both physical and mental fitness to effectively mitigate crises and respond to emergencies. Moreover, the long working hours and shift work of this profession impact sleep quality. This study investigated the quality of sleep and its associated factors among firefighters in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of firefighters affiliated with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand between January 2023 and March 2023. A cluster random sampling technique was utilized to distribute 600 questionnaires to firefighters in 15 fire stations. The questionnaire addressed demographic, work-related, and environmental factors. Sleep quality was assessed using the Thai version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistics. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed. Results: The response rate was 78.7% (n=472), and 44.1% of the firefighters reported poor sleep quality (PSQI score >5). Sleep quality was statistically associated with conflicting family relationships (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 2.9), additional part-time jobs (daytime, OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.4; or nighttime, OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 16.7), noisy sleeping areas (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.8), and the availability of adequate bedding (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.8 to 4.9). Conclusions: Poor sleep quality among firefighters was associated with various personal, work-related, and environmental factors. Organizations should promote policies that improve sleep quality through good sleep hygiene practices and facilities