Data trends show that climate is changing and several researches have shown the adverse effects of climate change to human health. This review presents how climate change affects human health. Climate change can influence the nature and severity of climate-related natural disasters such as flooding and drought, hence, increasing the rate of mortality and morbidity among human population. Climate change can also increase the likelihood of infection in humans by way of affecting the transmission of infectious diseases. Climate-induced food insecurity is also one of the consequences of climate change and this may eventually result in malnutrition and famine. There are both direct and indirect consequences of climate change to human health. First, the direct health impacts such as injuries and deaths associated with climate-induced natural disasters, and second, the indirect health impacts such as food insecurity, contaminated source of water, and increased incidence of diseases.

Human ; Climate ; Climate Change ; Disasters ; Droughts ; Floods ; Food Supply ; Incidence ; Morbidity ; Starvation ; Water ; Health ; Environmental Health

OBJECTIVE. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and incidence of occupational injuries in the Philippines.

METHODS. Data were collected from various agencies, namely, Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Labor Force Survey of National Statistics Office, Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) under Department of Health (DOH), Overseas Employment Statistics (OES) of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and International Labor Organization (ILO). Hospital-based data and surveys were also used in this study.

RESULTS. The study revealed about 358,000 fatal and 337 million non-fatal occupational accidents occurring around the world. In the Philippines, there were 22,65 cases of occupational injury in 2003 and 47,235 cases in 2007. The manufacturing industries registered the highest number of cases. The reported cases of occupational injury resulted in 178 deaths in 2000 and 116 deaths in 2007. As for the frequency rate of injury, it was estimated to occur at six injury cases per 500 full-time workers. In the following years, the frequency rate of injury declined to 4.07 in 2003, and further declined to 2.79 in 2007. Superficial injuries and open wounds were the most common type of injury in 2000, 2003 and 2007. Acute poisoning and infections rapidly increased by 2.39 times from 2003 to 2007. Other serious injuries reported were burns, corrosions, scalds, and frostbites, with 2,065 cases reported in 2007. In 2007, 1839 cases of fracture were reported. Based on hospital records, a total of 9,521 injury cases were reported in 2007. In 2007, 1,839 cases of fracture were reported. Based on hospital records, a total of 9,521 injury cases were reported for the first quarter of 2010 at 77 government and private hospitals in the country. Most injuries were sustained on the road (44.4%) and work-related injuries were reported at 7.8%.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. The data showed that occupational injury is prevalent and presents a problem in the country. It is suggested that data collection on occupational injuries be performed on a national scale, and3not merely through the random collection of data for small, medium and large industries. Data on occupational safety and health should also include the agricultural sector, the informal sector, and small enterprises.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Occupational Injuries ; Accidents, Occupational ; Incidence ; Occupational Health ; Prevalence ; Corrosion ; Philippines ; Informal Sector ; Polyoxyethyleneamine ; Hospital Records ; Trauma Centers ; Industry ; Burns ; Frostbite ; Manufacturing Industry ; Employment ; Hospitals, Private

OBJECTIVES: This study looked into the state of occupational health and safety in the country. Specifically, the objectives were 1) to show to current condition of workers, both local and migrant, in terms of their workplace conditions and hazard exposures; and 2) to present occupational diseases and illnesses in various industries and occupational groupings in the Philippines.

METHODS: Data were gathered using documentary research targeting agencies that deal with occupational safety and health in the Philippines in terms of occupational diseases, injuries, and accidents, and existing occupational health and safety policies.

RESULTS: The study revealed occupational hazards and health and safety conditions in various industries, occupational settings, and job groupings such as in the industrial sector, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, fishing, and cement manufacturing. It also looked into small-scale and informal industries such as tanning, laundry work, and pyrotechnics manufacture. Special segments of the labor force including women workers, child laborers and migrant workers were also covered.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: In all these sectors and industries, the stdy found attendant occupational diseases and injuries from occupational hazards. In general, OSH in the Philippines requires further improvements in data collection, coverage of industries and occupational sectors, and dissemination to both public and private sectors.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Occupational Health ; Workplace ; Transients And Migrants ; Private Sector ; Philippines ; Occupational Injuries ; Occupational Diseases ; Mining ; Industry ; Accidents ; Agriculture

Introduction. With the growing number of females employed as factory workers, it is important to look into the phenomenon of burnout and related organizational climate affecting these workers.

Objectives. The objectives of the study were: 1) to determine the effect of organizational climate on burnout among female factory workers; and 2) to look into the association between burnout as well as illnesses, injuries, hazard exposures and organizational climate factors.

Methods. The secondary data used for this study was from a cross-sectional study involving 344 female factory workers. This paper is a continuing analysis of the previous paper of the same author which focused on establishing indices for burnout. This paper proceeds with correlation analysis between burnout and associated organizational factors, illnesses, and injuries in the workplace.

Results. There was a total of 344 female respondents with mean age of 26 (SD=5.02), and majority were single (69.21%). Burnout score was significantly positively correlated with all experienced workplace accidents. Female workers getting wounded due to sharp objects has a strong positive relationship with burnout score. Eye infection, dust inhalation, electrical accidents, and getting caught in machine parts have a moderate positive relationship with burnout score. Meanwhile, for illnesses, the following have a weak positive relationship with burnout - headache, cough and colds, genitourinary infections and bodyache. Organizational Climate Factors such as Autonomy on Quality, Physical Work Content, and Personal Worker Perception Index were significant factors to increasing the relative risk for more sickness experienced among the female workers. Strong positive relationship existed with burnout score and excessive noise in workplace. Dust, intoxicating odors, and high temperatures have a moderately strong positive relationship. Organizational factors significant in predicting burnout were Autonomy on Quality, Skilled Work Content, Physical Work Content, Hazardous Work Content, Health, Safety, and Compensation, and Upskilling and Training Index. Results also showed that a higher autonomy on speed, how much work was done, and how work was done decreases probability of burnout. Linear regression showed that Burnout was also associated with workplace accidents, self-reported illnesses, and hazard exposures as independent variables.

Conclusion. This study has come up with correlational analysis between burnout and organizational factors, as well as with illnesses, injuries and hazard exposures in the occupational setting. This is a significant study as basis for policy and program formulation by industries concerned as well as the government.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to present the data on the frequency and severity of natural disasters in the Philippines, the common diseases in affected communities after a natural disaster, the immediate health effects after a natural disaster and the preceding environmental risk factors, as well as evaluation scheme for pre- and post- disaster management in the Philippines.

METHODS: Data were gathered from local and international agencies dealing with epidemics diseases and health emergencies related to natural disasters. Critical analysis was done in order to come up with an evaluation scheme on both ex ante risk reduction, and ex post disaster response.

RESULTS: The study showed that there are immediate adverse health effects of natural disasters. Drought brings about protein malnutrition; earthquakes can cause crush injuries; and fires can cause poor air quality. The study showed that the most common communicable diseases arisng from disasters and emergencies include diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, measles, and malaria. In the international scene, cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, measles, meningitis, tetanus, diarrhea, leptospirosis, acute respiratory syndrome, coccidiomycosis, and malaria were reported to be the major epidemics after certain types of natural disaster.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: There are several recommendations proposed in this study for disaster management such as integration of permanent LGU disaster risk management, better coordination among agencies involved in disaster management, strengthened vertical and horizontal integration of disaster risk reduction plans, creation of an overall framework that integrates environmental issues with disaster management strategies, documentation, evaluation and replication of successful local disaster prevention and management strategies, and coordination with health units, and economic development units. The Philippines is challenged to come up with and implement a comprehensive disaster preparedness and mitigation measures for disasters and epidemics.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Earthquakes ; Cholera ; Hepatitis A ; Tetanus ; Emergencies ; Droughts ; Risk Factors ; Economic Development ; Philippines ; Disasters ; Communicable Diseases ; Measles ; Malaria ; Meningitis ; Risk Management ; International Agencies ; Diarrhea ; Leptospirosis ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Documentation ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Crush Injuries ; Malnutrition ; Air Pollution

Philippines ; Accidents ; Organizations

Introduction. The ever-increasing global road traffic accidents is caused by several risk factors: human factors, vehicle factors, and road environmental factors. In the Philippines, 12,000 road users die annually due to road crashes and almost one-third are alcohol-related crashes.

Objectives. This study aims to investigate the effects of suspected alcohol intoxication on the severity of injuries among drivers and passengers in a major urban region in the Philippines using the Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS) of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority from 2005 to 2020.

Methods. The Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS) was used to determine the data on trends and association for alcohol-related road crashes, while descriptive and inferential statistics such as logistic and multinomial regression were used to determine trends and associations.

Results. Suspected alcohol intoxication road crash cases in Metro Manila have decreased from 45 cases in 2005 to 31 cases in 2020. The year 2011 recorded the highest cases of alcohol-suspected road crashes. The years 2010, 2011, and 2012 recorded the highest number of driver's death while 2005, 2006, 2014, and 2019 recorded higher deaths for passengers. Cars and motorcycles are the most commonly involved vehicles in alcohol-suspected road crashes, while Quezon City (n=307) and Marikina City (n=267) are the common places of incidence for drunk-driving accidents. On the other hand, alcohol intoxication increases the risk of driver's death (OR=9.16; 95% CI [5.388-15.574]) and injury (OR=5.22; 95% CI [4.487-6.074]). While intoxicated, hitting an object (OR = 12.557; 95% CI [1.478-106.694]) and truck collisions (OR=7.176; 96% CI [1.261-40.817]) can increase the risk for driver's death. Meanwhile, side swipe (OR=2.330; 95% CI [1.029-5.277]) and angle impact (OR= 7.972; 95% CI [1.804-35.227]), increase the odds for driver injuries.

Conclusion. Suspected alcohol intoxication road crashes can be prevented; however, a collaborative effort is needed. The government is responsible for road safety education as well as effectively enforcing road safety-related laws, while the road users shall use the roadways responsibly.

Introduction: Deaths due to occupation are estimated to be around 2.3 million globally. These deaths may be accounted for as accidents and injuries related to workplaces. The latter is a common problem, especially in developing countries where manual and hazardous tasks are prevalent. Objective: The study aimed to provide an updated and detailed information on the current statistics and trends of occupational injuries in the Philippines. Methods: The data on occupational injuries and related injuries from 2011 to 2017 (latest data) were based on a systematic and comprehensive review of literature from different national and international sources, including scholarly journals, peer-reviewed articles, national surveys by Philippine Statistics Authority, the hospital-based recording data: Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (ONEISS) by the Department of Health and other reliable electronic data related to occupational injury. The latest statistics are 2017, although data were published in 2018 and 2019. Results: This study obtained from the national statistics showed that there is generally a decreasing trend of occupation injuries from 2011 (46,655 cases) to 2017 (38,235 cases). However, the occupational injuries generally increased from 2011 (48,975 cases) to 2015 (20,961 cases). The most affected sector was the manufacturing industry consistently from 2011 to 2017. With regards to workdays lost, the most common cause from 2011 to 2017 is temporary incapacity. Superficial injuries and open wounds were the most common, resulting in workdays lost consistently from 2013 to 2017. For the hospital data, the top causes of occupational injuries were vehicular accidents. Open wound/lacerations, abrasions, and contusion were the most common types of injuries for the same year range. Moreover, the 20-59 years old, the working-age population, were the common victims of these injuries. Occupational injuries were also prevalent across all industry groups, including informal occupations such as workers engaged in transportation, construction, mining, and agriculture and fisheries industries. Conclusion Occupational injuries and accidents are global problems, most especially for developing countries. This study suggests that better focus should be given to workers as they are productive members of society.
Occupational Injuries ; Accidents, Occupational ; Occupational Diseases

Introduction: With the growing number of females employed as factory workers, it is important to look into the phenomenon of burnout and related organizational climate affecting these workers. Objectives: The study's objectives were: 1) to come up with the indices of burnout among Filipino female factory workers and; 2) to come up with indices of organizational climate components of job autonomy, the content of the job, and nature of management through exploratory factor analysis. Methods: The secondary data used for this study were from a cross-sectional study involving 344 female factory workers. The indicators of the organizational climate were derived through exploratory factor analysis of items in the dataset. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to reduce the variables into a fewer set of “Component Variables.” The technique explored the relationship of each indicator and then grouped them according to which component they were highly correlated. Using the factor loadings as weights, the index score was generated. The organizational climate indices were derived from the factor loading scores. Burnout Score was derived from respondents’ answers on nine items relating to burnout. The organizational climate indexes were also generated using factor analysis with these components- job autonomy, content of the job, and nature of management. Cronbach alpha was generated for all the items under each index to show the internal consistency and scale reliability. Results: There were 344 female respondents with a mean age of 26 (SD=5.02), and the majority were single (69.21%). Nine items were measured with the lowest average response “work is boring” (0.259 ± .560) for burnout indices. The highest mean answer for the item “work requires new skills or upskilling regularly” at 1.619 ± .762, suggesting that most respondents were required to upskill regularly. “Salary is not enough to meet worker’s needs” also has a high average response, suggesting that most respondents felt that their salary was insufficient to sustain their daily needs. The total burnout score indicates that workers experienced moderate burnout. The indices for burnout have good internal consistency and scale reliability (Cronbach alpha= 0.712). The organizational climate was grouped into Indexes through factor analysis, namely, Autonomy on Quality Index, Autonomy on Rest Index, Skilled work content Index, Physical work content Index, Hazardous work content Index, Health, Safety, and Compensation Index, and Training Index. Autonomy on Quality Index has a mean of 66.877 ± 31.934, suggesting that the autonomy on quality for respondents was moderately high, while Autonomy on Rest Index was 24.159 ± 30.788, suggesting that respondents have low autonomy on rest. The skilled work content index was high at an average of 70.801 ± 22.87, while physical work content and hazardous work content index were low at 29.398 and 25.377, respectively. Health, Safety, and Compensation index average was very low at 8.891 ± 8.524. Conclusion This study came up with indices of burnout unique to female factory workers. The indexes were boredom/boring work, repetitious tasks, fast-paced work, work pressure, not sufficient compensation, work-home conflicts, upskilling, physically tiring, mentally tiring, and salary is not sufficient to meet basic needs. This study also came up with the indexes of organizational climate relating to job autonomy, content of job, and nature of management. The several items under each of these components were subjected to Factor Analysis to come up with indexes of organizational climate. Thus, the contribution of this study is coming up with a burnout index unique to the Filipino factory worker, not just based on subjective expert opinion, but data-driven and statistically derived.
Burnout, Psychological

Introduction: Pesticides are widely used in the agricultural sector to increase production by cutting down costs and improving the quality of produce. However, these chemicals come with serious health effects when an individual is exposed to large quantities at once, or low quantities over time. Objectives: The objective of the study is to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of farmers, as well as investigate the correlation among knowledge, attitude, and practice variables. Methods: This research study used a cross-sectional design. Samples were drawn based on a multistage sampling of 387 agricultural workers. The target site was in Southern Philippines and the sample was selected using multi-stage sampling from the identified municipalities. Survey questionnaires were given to the respondents to measure knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) on pesticide exposure among farmers. The data were encoded using SPSS 13.0. The statistics used were both descriptive and inferential. Correlation analysis was used to study the relationship among knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Results: The results showed that farmers used pesticides in their farms on an average of 2.31 days per week (SD 2.13). The respondents reported that they were exposed to pesticides for about 3.46 months per cropping season (SD: 2.76), as well as from 3.34 (SD 5.92) cropping seasons per year. The mean score of the respondents on the knowledge aspect of the questionnaire was 5.91 out of 10 items (SD 3.28). The average score on practices on pesticide use among respondents was 3.37 (SD 1.75) with 8 items to evaluate practices. Lastly, the mean score on attitude on pesticide use among respondents was 5.34 (SD 3.31) over 12 items. Analysis showed a moderate correlation between knowledge and attitude with Pearson’s r = 0.651 (P <0.0001), also a moderate correlation between knowledge and practices at r = 0.521 (P <0.0001), and a moderate correlation between practices and attitudes at r = 0.443 (P <0.0001). Factor analysis revealed three components for items within practices and attitudes and two for items within knowledge. Conclusion Pesticide use in the Philippines continues to present various challenges in terms of its safety to humans and the environment. Farmers do not have adequate knowledge of pesticides and their proper management from use to disposal. They need to improve knowledge, encourage a healthy and safe attitude and correct practices on the hazards from pesticides, as well as its proper usage and handling. It is recommended that capacity building and training for farmers are initiated to address inadequacies in their knowledge, attitudes and practices.
Knowledge ; Attitude ; Farmers