1.Application strategy of the Principles and Guidelines for Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) Design and Management of Work Systems in China
Yuting TANG ; Min ZHANG ; Chuning HE
China Occupational Medicine 2023;50(1):79-84
To provide in-depth information and guidance on ergonomics, the International Labour Organization (ILO) had issued a series of conventions, recommendations, and resolutions on human factors/ergonomics (HFE) and had published HFE guides and toolkits. In 2021, the ILO and the International Ergonomics Association released an international guideline on HFE entitled Principles and Guidelines for Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) Design and Management of Work Systems (hereinafter referred to as the HEF Guidelines), aiming to improve the occupational safety, health, and the well-being of workers from the perspective of work system sustainability. There are currently 112 national health standards in China related to HFE, of which 79 (accounting for 71%) are equivalent to relevant standards from the International Organization for Standardization. Most of the recommended standards do not meet the applicability requirements of HFE for the Chinese workforce, as they are different from the national occupational health standard system. At present, China's HFE capability cannot meet the needs of the workforce, and there is still a gap between occupational diseases related to HFE included in the Occupational Disease List of China and those compared to the ILO. In the future, China needs to pay attention to the application of the HEF Guidelines, further improve the technical services for occupational health, include diseases caused by poor ergonomics in the national occupational disease list, strengthen the HFE standard system in the national occupational health standard system, actively promote the application of action-oriented HFE tools, enhance “human-machine coordination” and “person-job matching”, and focus on physical and cognitive HFE design to promote equality in workplace and reduce the occurrence of occupational and work-related diseases.
2.Workplace violence and its impact on occupational burnout among healthcare workers in an infectious disease hospital
Yuting TANG ; Min ZHANG ; Dongmei LIU ; Yiming HUANG ; Chuning HE ; Fuyuan WANG ; Hongli TANG
China Occupational Medicine 2023;50(5):578-584
{L-End}Objective To explore the impact of workplace violence (WPV) on occupational burnout among healthcare workers. {L-End}Methods A total of 675 healthcare workers from an infectious disease hospital were selected as the study subjects using typical sampling method. The Workplace Violence in the Healthsector Country Case Studies Research Instruments: Survey Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory 2-item were used to investigate the incidence of WPV and occupational burnout. {L-End}Results The incidence of WPV among the study subjects was 35.1%, with incidences of physical and psychological violence at 2.2% and 34.1%, respectively. The detection rates of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and occupational burnout were 25.9%, 12.6%, and 52.4%, respectively. The result of multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that experiencing psychological violence, having a bachelor or master degree or higher, and having more concerns about WPV were influencing factors for emotional exhaustion (all P<0.05). Knowing the reporting process for violent incidents and having more concerns about WPV were influencing factors for depersonalization (all P<0.05). Being in a minority ethnic group, having a bachelor, a master degree or higher, experiencing psychological violence, and having more concerns about WPV were influencing factors for occupational burnout (all P<0.05). {L-End}Conclusion WPV increases the risk of occupational burnout among healthcare workers. Effective measures should be implemented to reduce the incidence of WPV, decrease the level of occupational burnout, and promote the overall well-being of healthcare workers.