The Prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Radiotherapists

Background: Ionizing radiation is one of the hazardous agents in the work place. It can cause serious and irreversible damage to the people exposed to it. Working in such environments can also causes chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CFS in radiotherapists. Methods: This study selected all men and women exposed to X-ray as the exposed group and nurses working in the same hospital as the control group. The sample size was considered of 46 radiotherapists and 46 nurses. Data on demographic characteristics and chronic fatigue syndrome were collected by the questionnaire. Results: The mean CFS score in all participants was 10.64±4.77. About 17.39% of them had fatigue syndrome. There was no significant difference between two groups in terms of fatigue syndrome (p=0.47). radiotherapists with more than 20 image taking per day had higher mean CFS; however, this relationship was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Chronic fatigue is multifactorial phenomenon in health care personnel. Workload is more important factor in development of chronic fatigue in radiotherapists

The Effect of Coping Strategies on work Stress among Tile Factory workers in Abadeh

Introduction: Stress is result of an interaction between an individual and a situation in which the person cannot meet the demands which is a common problem in work environments. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of coping strategies on work stress among tile factory workers in Abadeh. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was carried out on 288 people selected by systematic randomized stratified sampling method from workers of three active tile factories in Abadeh city in 2015. Samples were evaluated using Hellriegel & Slocum’s work stress questionnaire and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS) questionnaire. The data were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Results: The results showed that problem-focused coping with the beta coefficient (β = 0.320) and the significant level (P = 0.0005) were negative predictors and emotion-focused coping with beta coefficient (β = 0.329) and the significance level (P = 0.0005) were positive predictors of work stress. . The emotion-focused coping was also able to predict the changes related to work stress and its dimensions. However, avoidance-focus coping was not able to predict work stress and its dimensions. Conclusion: According to the findings, the effects of work stress of workers can be improved by increasing problem-focused strategies through training the use of these types of coping strategies and also reducing their emotion-focused coping

Identification and Assessment of Home Accidents Risk in Children under 7 Years Old in Yazd City

Introduction: Home accidents means accidents that happen in the house or its surroundings, and are the main cause of death and disability of children. Risk assessment is an organized method to identify, predict and reduce risk to an acceptable level. Therefore, our goal in this study is to identify and evaluate domestic hazards in the homes of Yazd city for children under seven years old. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 322 home accidents were identified in a cluster method from different areas of Yazd city. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were measured by experts (α=0.764). After completing the questionnaires, the collected data were entered into SPSS software version 20 and were analyzed by descriptive tests, ANOVA and T-TEST in confidence level of 95% Results: The most injuries caused by hazards are cuts, bone fractures/dislocations and contusion with a frequency of 17%, 14.8%, and 9.6%, respectively. The highest risk assessment code belongs to minor risks with a frequency of 39.76%, and the lowest frequency is for critical risks (3.17%). There was a significant relationship between most of the risks in homes with the areas of Yazd city and the type of building (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: This study shows the importance of using from the risk assessment code method, which can be used to identify and determine the relative risk of hazards for each part of the house and provide prevention solutions based on priority. Also, by using appropriate training and policies to monitor compliance and full implementation of legal requirements in construction, home accidents and the resulting complications have been reduced, and safety culture and quality of life of families have been improved

Survey of Safety Culture and Its Relation to Work-Related Accidents in a City Train Project

Introduction: More than 85% of accidents are due to unsafety working and causes of 85 to 98% of occupational accidents are perspectives, behavior and culture. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to survey of safety culture and its relation with work-related accidents in an urban train project. Methods: This study was conducted on 180 workers. To collect data, were used a standard safety culture questionnaire that contains 62 questions related to 5 areas of education, work environment, priority to safety, information exchange and commitment management. Data were analyzed by SPSS-20 software. Results: The overall average of safety culture score in the urban train was 2,420, which is a positive project culture. Among the different dimensions of the safety culture, the lowest mean safety culture score was related to the work environment dimension (58.5%) and the highest average was priority to safety (84%). The most common cause of accidents was surface damage (66.6%). There was a significant relationship between safety culture with age groups and job satisfaction (P <0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, prioritizing safety at work and education has been one of the most important factors in achieving a high score on the safety culture of the project. On the other hand, due to the type of work activity, the work environment has been considered as the main factor in reducing the safety culture score. The most important thing in preventing minor accidents has arisen and promotion of safety culture, observing 5s in the workplace

The impact of academic libraries on students' academic achievement: The relationship between learning styles and information seeking anxiety

Information seeking anxiety is a type of anxiety that affects academic performance. The present study was aimed at investigating the relationship between learning styles and information seeking anxiety in relation to the academic achievement of students. This was a descriptive-analytic research, and the study population consisted of students who had passed at least one semester in Behbahan University, Iran. The sample size was calculated 181 from the Morgan table. The results of this study showed that most of the students used the &lsquo;assimilating' learning style. It was concluded that there was no significant difference between anxiety levels and the field of study. Also, there was no relationship between learning styles and age and gender. Moreover, there was no relationship of gender, academic semester, and age with academic achievement. Even though, there was no relationship between information seeking anxiety and learning styles vis a vis academic achievement, the assimilating learning style was preferred by the majority of the students. The comparison of learning styles with information seeking anxiety was a distinctive feature of this study, indicating that different aspects of learning did not have much effect on the anxiety levels of individuals, which could be the basis for further research on personality dimensions such as self-concept and intrinsic motivation in relation to information seeking anxiety and academic achievement

The Relationship between Job Burnout and Quality of Life of Nurses in Khatam-ol-Anbia, Gonbad-e-Kavoos Hospital in 2017

Introduction: Job burnout, in addition to the adverse effects of physical and psychological health and the various dimensions of the quality of personal and professional life of nurses, has a lot of costs for the organization. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between job burnout and quality of life of nurses. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 175 nurses working in Khatam-ol-Anbia Gonbad-e-Kavous Hospital were included in the study by the available method. The data gathering tool was a three-part questionnaire including demographic information, 26-item quality of life (WHOQOL), and Maslach burnout. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS22 and t test, Chi-Square and analysis of variance tests. Results: The mean age and work experience were 38.34 and 13.81, respectively. In this study, 92.54% of the participants had bachelor degree, 88.81% were married, 62.69% were women, 88.06% were in shift working and 26.12% were in the emergency department. The highest and lowest mean scores of quality of life dimensions were related to physical and environmental health (66.78 and 63.26, respectively). There was a negative correlation between environmental health and overall quality of life with overtime hours (r= -0.193, r= -0.169). The highest and lowest mean scores of occupational burnout dimensions were related to emotional exhaustion and involvement (frequency: 68.7 and 16.4, severity: 75.4 and 19.4). All dimensions of life quality were not correlated with personality frequency and severity of emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Regarding the inverse relationship between job burnout and quality of life, by presenting and implementing various management solutions and identifying effective factors in improving the quality of life of nurses, job burnout can be reduced which will lead to increase productivity. &nbsp

The Effect of Education on Improving the Working Conditions of Computer Users

Introduction: A large part of the compensation payments is allocated to the musculoskeletal disorders of the injured employees. The economic losses imposed by these disorders affect not only the individuals, but also the organizations and communities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of educational intervention on improving the working conditions of the computer-using employees working in Yazd University of Medical Sciences. Method: This semi-experimental study was conducted among the employees of Yazd University of Medical Sciences. In this regard, 100 computer users were randomly selected and the study was conducted in three stages of investigating the current situation, implementing the educational intervention, and re-investigating the situation. We collected the information one month before and one month after the educational course. For this purpose, we used the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) checklist 1910/0900 (31 questions).We analyzed the data using SPSS version 19 and run Chi-square and descriptive statistics to determine the frequency. The significance level was also considered at 0.05. Results: We found that the postures of the participants were unfavorable before the intervention and they were unconscious about it. However, after the intervention, we observed a significant change in their postures (P 0.05). In other words, we cannot change the inappropriately designed desk or workstation by the training intervention. Conclusion: Interventions based on the ergonomic training had a positive effect on the improvement of participants' posture at work. This improvement one month after the intervention can confirm the sustainable effectiveness of such programs. In addition, educational intervention did not have any effect on the workstations; the training program could not change the workstations that were undesirable in terms of ergonomics

The Relationship between Fatigue and Work Ability Index (WAI) of Workers in a Ceramic Industry in Yazd Province, 2014

Background: The basis of welfare and health in all individuals is their work ability. Many factors such as work and working conditions, fatigue, and individual characteristics affect the work ability. In the present study, we evaluated the work ability among workers employed in a ceramic industry and determined the relationship between fatigue areas. Methods: The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. 200 subjects were randomly selected and investigated. This study was conducted using two standard questionnaires of Work Ability Index (WAI) and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Mean general fatigue score was of 9.65 (SD=2.88) and the mean motivation score was 7.11 (SD=2.45). There was a significant difference in fatigue in different job groups in terms of work experience (P <0.05). The mean of fatigue in different occupational groups was higher for those without experience than those with skill. The mean of the work ability index was 39.69 (good level). The highest correlation was found between the score of work ability index and fatigue index among job titles belonging to the operational group (r = 0.97). Conclusion: With the increase of the fatigue score, the score of the work ability index decreased. Better recognition of factors creating fatigue and providing appropriate strategies can be effective in reducing this factor

Evaluation of Dermal Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Using DREAM Method in Production of Bituminous Waterproofing

Background: Research has shown that dermal exposure to multi-ring aromatic compounds can lead to skin and systemic absorption of these materials. Due to the low vapor pressure of these materials, the main cause of occupations exposure in certain occupations is skin contact. The production of bitumen products due to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) in the bitumen of the production line has a health hazard. It is noteworthy that skin rashes with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in this industry can cause skin problems in the workplace. This study evaluates skin exposure to these compounds in the ISO-industry using DREAM method. Methods: In this study, we evaluated 120 different workers in different groups of four waterproofing plants with aromatic hydrocarbons. In the DREAM method, five types of skin exposures including distributing exposure, transitional exposure, displacement exposure, probable exposure, and actual exposure are assessed and calculated using tables and software. Results: The highest transmission and distribution exposure was found to be 28.81 (19.5) and 9.1 (4.86), respectively, in the manufacturing jobs and bitumen ponds. Displacement exposure was observed only in roll-up and labeling groups. The areas of the hand and shoulder were more likely to be exposed than other parts of the body. The probable and real exposure to the head and arm was lower than elsewhere. In all occupations, the most important exposure to the skin was transmission and distribution exposure. Conclusion: DREAM method can be used to assess skin exposures. In this study, the actual and probable skin exposure levels were approximately the same, indicating a lack of proper skin protection in the workforce. Unhealthy behaviors, non-use of personal equipment and inappropriate connection are the causes of this finding. &nbsp

The Effect of Exposure to Respirable Dust on Blood Parameters of Workers in a Tile and Ceramic Industryin, Yazd

Introduction: The relationship between elevated level of gas and particulate pollutants with increased mortality resulting from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases has been presented in epidemiological studies. Although the principal mechanisms of diseases are still unknown, inflammatory and homeostatic processes have been known to be related to this issue. Accordingly, this study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the relationship between exposure to respirable particulates and blood parameters of workers in a tile and ceramic industry in Yazd Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 80 healthy workers who were exposed to mineral particulates participated. To determine the concentration of respirable particulates, sampling was performed on the respiratory area based on NIOSH_0600 method, and the blood parameters were measured using standard method. Results: The mean concentration of respirable dust was 2.55 mg/m3, which is lower than standard limit (3 mg/m3). To determine the relationship between the concentration of respirable dust and blood parameters, robust regression test was used and this concentration was significantly and positively correlated with WBC. There was also a significant and negative relationship between MCH and respirable dust in the crude model. Conclusion: Exposure of individuals to respirable dust within a level of 0.05-82.84 mg/m3 has been followed by elevated WBC. As a significant number of people work in tile and ceramic industry and are exposed to high levels of pollutants and are also susceptible to different diseases, change to improve the work and preventive measures are essential