Environmental sanitation and hygiene of elderly workers in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

Introduction: Thailand will become a complete aged society in 2021 and a super-aged society in 2030, resulting in a high proportion of older people. Living environments, especially at home, play an essential health determinant for the elders. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study evaluated 319 households in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province according to the standard of housing sanitation for elders and assessed biological contamination in food, water, and indoor air in the homes. Results: The housing assessment results revealed some issues that are necessary to be improved, i.e., the wet and dry areas in bathrooms were not separated (89.4%), there was no anti-slip sheet in the bathrooms (97.2%), and handrails were not suitably installed (92.8%). The proportion of coliform bacteria contamination in the samples of elderly hand, dish, spoon, cooked rice, side dish, and drinking water was 78.4%, 82.1%, 88.3%, 93.4%, and 97.5%, respectively. The average total bacteria count in bedrooms and kitchens was 110 CFU/m3 and 148 CFU/m3, respectively. The average total fungi count was 82 CFU/m3 in bedrooms and 92 CFU/m3 in kitchens. Most indoor air quality parameters complied with the standards. Conclusions:  Significant health risks for the elderly workers while living at home were injuries due to slipping fall in the house, especially in the bathroom, as well as foodborne and waterborne diseases. The health risks should be communicated to the elders. Prevention of the risks should be performed by the cooperation of relevant government agencies and the older adults in the study area

Food Delivery Drivers’ Health Literacy Regarding COVID-19 Prevention and Protective Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Survey in Southern Thailand

BackgroundIn 2019, COVID-19 spread worldwide, causing a pandemic that has posed unprecedented challenges and pressure for health systems and economies. Food delivery services have become an important medium for consumer food purchases to limit human-to-human contact. Thus, delivery drivers are at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection at work. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have analyzed the dimensions of health literacy (HL) regarding COVID-19 prevention in this population. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the HL status toward COVID-19 prevention and its associated factors among food delivery drivers in southern Thailand. MethodsFollowing a cross-sectional survey from July to August 2021, Thai food delivery drivers in the upper-south and lower-south regions of southern Thailand were recruited to participate during the compulsory COVID-19 lockdown. An online structured questionnaire was administered verbally and recorded by the interviewer. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were used to explore independently associated factors. ResultsOf 401 drivers, 291 (72.6%) were men. The median age was 31 years (range 19-64 years). The median number of months working as a driver was 12 months, and the median number of working hours was 9 hours per day. The median number of daily food orders was 20, while the median daily income was Thai baht (THB) 600 (US $15.90). Social media (Facebook and Line) was a common source of health information. The most common information required was about the COVID-19 vaccine, medications, and treatment. Most drivers (285/401, 71.1%) had excellent HL levels regarding COVID-19 prevention. Only the practical application of information was statistically correlated with behavior (r=0.38, P<.001). Drivers in the lower south of Thailand were more likely to have excellent HL than other drivers (β=7.03, P<.001). Those who frequently accessed information through YouTube (β=–2.17, P=.01) and relatives (β=–4.19, P<.001) were less likely to have excellent HL levels. ConclusionsUnderstanding HL among food delivery drivers would be useful for planning effective interventions that target this population. Conventional health education through social media alone may not be effective at educating people about COVID-19 prevention. Information literacy skills could determine individuals’ HL and drivers’ behaviors

Work Ability, Work-Related Health, and Effort–Reward Imbalance: A Cross-Sectional Study among University Staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

During the COVID-19 pandemic, university policies and public health measures resulted in university staff facing hazardous work environments and psychological health problems. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the association between sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, work-related health, effort and reward imbalance (ERI), and work ability among university staff in southern Thailand. Data were collected using stratified random sampling of 381 participants between April and September 2022. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between the variables. The majority of the participants were female (63.5%) and aged below 45 years old (52%). Nearly 70% of the participants reported the absence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), while half of them were overweight, and 54.9% had an effort–reward ratio (ERR) greater than one. Most participants reported good-to-excellent work ability (82.4%). The probability of having poor-to-moderate work ability was higher among staff working from home (adj. OR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.6), those with NCDs (adj. OR = 3.5; 95% CI: 2.0, 6.4), those who followed poor health behaviors (adj. OR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.4, 4.9), and those who had an ERR greater than one (adj. OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.5, 5.6). In conclusion, the majority of university staff in southern Thailand had good-to-excellent work ability. Work ability was associated with the presence of NCDs, poor health behavior, working from home, and ERI. Therefore, universities should create suitable occupational health programs and resources to mitigate the negative effects of work conditions, including ERI, and promote healthy behaviors for their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and future disasters