BACKGROUND: The sleep quality of subway drivers who work in the dark underground with an rotating shift system is generally poor, which can degrade the quality of a worker's life. This study examined the relationship between the sleep quality of subway worker and shift work by comparing three shift systems (rotating shift system, a three day shift system, and no-shift system). METHOD: Questionnaires including The short form of the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire (PSQI), the worker's age, gender, job type, accident, near miss and shift system were given to a total of 1010 workers. The results of 759 qualified questionnaires (75.15 %) were analyzed using the SPSS (ver 12.0) program. RESULT: The highest level of job stress was found among those working a rotating shift system followed by three shift system and no-shift system. The mean sleep quality score in the rotating shift workers was 5.1 (SD+/-3.2), which was greater than the sleep symptom score (5). 34.8% of rotating shift workers suffered from sleep symptoms. The sleep quality score by shift-work was significantly different. High job demand, strong external locus control, the experience of a near miss or an accident in the workplace during previous year has an adverse affect on the sleep quality. The sleep quality improved in case of a change into a no-shift system or a strong internal locus control. CONCLUSION: A rotating shift system is more harmful to the quality of sleep in subway workers than a 3 shift system or no-shift system. In addition, job stress, personality, near miss and the experience of an accident affect the sleep quality of subway workers.
Questionnaires ; Railroads

No abstract available.
Depression ; Railroads

No abstract available.
Disaster Medicine* ; Disasters* ; Railroads*

Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; Railroads

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of newly developed 3- dimensional virtual reality (VR) program for assessing the post-stroke cognitive dysfunction. METHOD: Thirty five post-stroke patients and twenty normal healthy subjects were recruited in this study, and post-stroke patients were classified into three groups according to the severity of cognitive dysfunction. We developed three dimensional virtual reality program to assess the cognitive function with virtual subway environment from taking a subway to arriving at one's destination. The total score, number of success and cue were obtained during completing virtual tasks. We investigated the test-retest reliability, and the parameters of the 3-dimensional VR program were compared with Korean Mini-mental status examination. RESULTS: All parameters of the VR program were significantly correlated with MMSE score (p<0.01), and showed the significant difference between patient subgroups and control group (p<0.05). The test-retest reliability of the VR program was significantly high (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Three dimensional virtual reality program may be helpful to assess the cognitive function in patients with stroke.
Cues ; Humans ; Railroads ; Stroke

The rapid development of high-speed railway in China has proposed higher requests for the comfort level of high-speed trains. However, there is no internationally unified evaluation criterion for high-speed train comfort currently, which therefore substantially affects the comparability and standardization of research results for high-speed train comfort. This paper systematically reviews the research literature about evaluation indicators and standards related to high-speed train comfort, and finds that there is currently no unified definition, evaluation indicators, as well as evaluation criterion for high-speed train comfort. Most current evaluation criteria are based on a single indicator. Some indicators are simultaneously developed by different apartments and differ between each other, and there is no comprehensive indicator or criteria for high-speed train comfort, restricting the comparison of high-speed train comfort across regions. It is recommended that the administrative department of high-speed railroad in China should organize experts to establish a unified definition of high-speed train comfort, comprehensive evaluation indicators and relevant judgment criteria for high-speed train comfort, in face of the rapid development and globalization of high-speed trains.
China ; Railroads ; Reference Standards

Data Collection ; Humans ; Lung ; Occupational Exposure ; Railroads

PURPOSE: This study compared the effectiveness and ease of operation of two different training methods, response sequence based training (RBST) and chest compression first training (CCFT), for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). METHODS: Eighty-five railroad workers were divided into two groups: those who applied the usual CPR training method (response sequence based training, 44 people) and those who applied our CPR training method (chest compression first training, 41 people). The objective skill performances were evaluated by using a mannequin (JAMY-IV RECO, Kyotokagaku, Japan). RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in CPR performance and artificial ventilation success rate between the RSBT group and the CCFT group. However, the artificial compression success rate and compression depth of the CCFT group compared to the RSBT group was statistically higher (p=0.006, 0.001). In addition, the wrong-hand-position rate of the RSBT group compared to the CCFT group was statistically higher (p=0.000). Furthermore, instructor satisfaction with practical training operations in the CCFT group compared to the RSBT group was statistically higher (p=0.001) and instructors reported that students were focused and easily capable of performing the CCFT training method. CONCLUSION: The chest compression first training method is easy to perform and not too complex to operate, making it effective in student performance and instruction. More effective CPR training is expected based on this method.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Education ; Humans ; Manikins ; Methods* ; Railroads ; Teaching ; Thorax ; Ventilation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although mass transit systems are convenient and efficient for urban people, little attention has been paid to the potential hearing hazard from their noise. The purpose of the current study was to measure and analyze levels of subway interior noise at peak commuter times and to provide information about commuters' daily dose of noise exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To measure the subway interior noise, nine subway lines inside Seoul (i.e., lines 1-9) and six lines surrounding the capital city area (i.e., Central, Bundang, Sinbundang, Incheon, Gyeongui, and Gyeongchun) were chosen. The noise was measured and recorded by a sound level meter for two-hour periods in the morning and evening. RESULTS: 1) In the LZeq analysis, the average noise level of all 15 lines was 72.78 dB; the maximum and minimum noise levels were 78.34 and 62.46 dB, respectively. The average noise level of the nine lines inside Seoul was 73.45 dB, which was 1.68-dB louder than that of the six lines surrounding the capital city area. 2) Based on the LZeq analysis of 33 measured frequencies, 12.5 Hz was the highest frequency and 20,000 Hz was the lowest. 3) There was no remarkable difference in the level of subway interior noise between morning and evening peak commuter times. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the level of subway interior noise was not loud enough for commuters to incur noise-induced hearing loss. Regardless, environmental noise control efforts in the subway system might be needed for commuters who take a subway every day.
Hearing ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced ; Incheon ; Noise* ; Railroads* ; Seoul

PURPOSE: To understand the meaning of the lived experience with Person under train (PUT) for train or subway operators. METHODS: The study was built on hermeneutic phenomenological themes from individual interviews of present-day train or subway operators in South Korea. Eight participants were selected to participate in the study. All qualitative data were analyzed using the heuristic guides of Van Manen. RESULTS: Four fundamental lifeworld themes and eight sub themes emerged in the findings. The first theme of spatiality had‘the place pressed by the darkness’ and ‘the train drags me there’. The second theme, corporeality had ‘a foreboding fear’, and ‘debris of death that gets stuck in the whole body’. The temporality theme had‘distorted time in chaos’, and ‘memory trapped in time’. Finally the last existential theme of relationality had ‘intrapersonal encounter’ and ‘resentment and guilt’. CONCLUSION: The four existential lifeworld themes provided a framework for in-depth investigation of the operator's “lived experience.” This leads to clear understanding of effects of PUT experience on related individuals. The findings imply that specific active nursing intervention strategies are necessary in order to treat affected train operators, and to prevent further issues in their work and private life.
Hermeneutics ; Heuristics ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing ; Psychological Trauma ; Qualitative Research ; Railroads