1.Associations of occupational stress and well-being with depressivesymptoms among couriers
Panqi XUE ; Yixin ZHANG ; Lifang ZHOU ; Fang WEI ; Xinglin FANG ; Hua ZOU
Journal of Preventive Medicine 2022;34(12):1201-1206
Objective:
To examine the associations of occupational stress and well-being with depressive symptoms among couriers.
Methods:
Four cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing and Taizhou were sampled from Zhejiang Province according to the economic development level, and couriers were randomly sampled from 40 service stations assigned by 25 mainstream express transportation corporations in these four cities. Participants' occupational stress, well-being and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Core Occupational Stress Scale (COSS), the World Health Organisation-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and Chinese version of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). In addition, the associations of participants' occupational stress and well-being with depressive symptoms were examined using hierarchical linear regression analysis.
Results:
A total of 1 302 questionnaires were allocated, and 1 136 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 87.25%. The participants included 839 males (73.86%), and 297 females (26.14%), and had a mean age of (33.34±8.17) years and a mean service length of (8.95±7.82) years. The detection rates of occupational stress, low well-being and depressive symptoms were 32.48%, 50.79%, and 31.87% among participants, respectively. After adjustment for educational level, income, marital status and smoking, hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that well-being (β=0.171), social support (β=-0.298), organization and reward (β=0.200), demand and effort dimensions of COSS (β=0.284) were statistically correlated with depressive symptoms (all P<0.001).
Conclusion
Occupational stress and low well-being may increase the risk of depressive symptoms among couriers.
2.Investigation of occupational health examination institutions in Zhejiang Province
YUAN Weiming ; XUE Panqi ; ZHOU Lifang ; ZOU Hua ; FANG Xinglin ; WEI Fang ; GAO Xiangjing
Journal of Preventive Medicine 2024;36(10):910-914
Objective:
To investigate the status of occupational health examination institutions in Zhejiang Province, so as to provide suggestions for quality control of occupational health examination institutions.
Methods:
The 312 occupational health examination institutions in Zhejiang Province that have completed filing before September 30, 2023 were selected. The comprehensive capability, service quality, technical capability, and information reporting status were surveyed and evaluated through on-site inspection and skill assessment.
Results:
There were 161 public hospitals (51.60%), 147 private organizations (47.12%), and 4 centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs)/ occupational disease prevention and control institutes (1.28%). The pass rates of comprehensive capability, service quality, technical capability and information reporting were 90.02%, 69.89%, 84.07% and 86.78%, respectively. Among the indicators of comprehensive capability, the compliance rate for staffing was the highest at 95.06%, while the qualification rate of quality control in occupational health examinations was the lowest at 84.83%. Among the indicators of service quality, the compliance rate of the physical examination report format was the highest at 95.83%, while the accuracy rate of the audiometry examination was the lowest at 76.60%. In terms of technical capabilities, the qualification rates for blood lead testing, pneumoconiosis reading, and audiogram diagnostic ability were 87.92%, 89.42% and 75.34%, respectively. In terms of information reporting, the qualification rates for reporting completeness, reporting timeliness, suspected occupational disease reporting timeliness, and reporting accuracy were 89.10%, 81.09%, 96.47% and 80.45%, respectively. Among the three types of institutions, private institutions had the lowest average qualification rates for comprehensive capability, service quality, and technical capability, which were 89.83%, 69.06% and 80.00%, respectively.
Conclusions
Public hospitals and private organizations were the main types of occupational health examination institutions in Zhejiang Province. However, there were deficiencies in quality control, audiogram examination and diagnosis, and the accuracy of information reporting among occupational health examination institutions.
3.Research progress on health effects associated with exposure to long working hours
Yixin ZHANG ; Panqi XUE ; Lifang ZHOU ; Fang WEI ; Xinglin FANG ; Hua ZOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2022;39(8):937-941
The phenomenon of workers working beyond standard working hours is called long working hours. In recent years, more and more relevant studies at home and abroad have shown the association between long working hours and adverse health effects of occupational populations, such as increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and various psychological conditions such as depression and occupational stress. However, the current research has not yet reached a consistent conclusion. The main reason is that the physiological and psychological effects of exposure to long working hours need to be explored in depth. Therefore, based on the relevant research progress at home and abroad, this article introduced the health effects of long working hours from both physical and psychological aspects, including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and job burnout, expounded related mechanisms involved, and indicated deficiencies in current research on long working hours and the next research directions.
4.Development and present situation of occupational health grading and classification supervision methods of employers in China
Fang WEI ; Meibian ZHANG ; Qiuliang XU ; Lifang ZHOU ; Panqi XUE ; Yixin ZHANG ; Xiaojun XU ; Xinglin FANG ; Yong HU ; Hua ZOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2023;40(6):613-618
In the face of a serious occupational disease prevention and control situation, the lack of efficient supervision and regulation methods has become a prominent contradiction. This paper reviewed the progress and application of occupational health grading and classification supervision methods for employers in China in recent years, and analyzed the characteristics and limitations of selected methods. The grading and classification supervision methods have gradually developed from considering only inherent health risk of occupational disease hazards, to considering both inherent attributes of occupational disease hazards and exposure duration. Some regional authorities introduced trial measures for grading and classification of occupational health supervision by embracing exposure level of an occupational disease hazard of interest, associated outcome severity, and occupational health management situation of targeted employers. In October 2022, the National Disease Control and Prevention Bureau issued the Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work of Occupational Health Classification Supervision and Law Enforcement, which further promoted the establishment of a differentiated occupational health supervision model. Grading and classification of occupational health supervision can improve the supervision efficiency of public health administration departments and promote employers to fulfill the main responsibility of occupational disease prevention and control.