Objectives: 1) To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of working and retired employees aged 55 years and older; 2) To determine the proportion with visual and hearing impairments in participants with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); and 3) To determine the association between quality of life in participants with T2DM and visual and hearing impairments.

Methods: The study utilized a cross-sectional study design - data derived from the findings of the UP Wellness Initiative for Seniors and Elders (UPWISE) Program. The participants were working and retired university employees age 55 years and above residing in urban and rural-urban (rurban) communities. Stratified random sampling was utilized according to working status and sex. Visual and hearing impairments, and the presence of T2DM were assessed using a multidisciplinary diagnostic process, the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).

Results: A total of 301 participants agreed to participate and completed the CGA. The mean age of the participants was 64.8 (±6.3), and 51.2% belonged to the young-old subgroup. There was an almost equal proportion of males and females while there were more working (53.8%) than the retired (46.2%). There were 17.6% of participants with T2DM and of them, 47.2% with visual impairment (VI) alone, 7.5% hearing impairment (HI) alone, and 37.7% with dual sensory impairments (DSI). Good quality of life was reported by 100% of T2DM participants with HI, 80% with VI, and 72.3% with DSI. There was no significant association between quality of life and vision and hearing impairments. On the other hand, a significant association was identified between T2DM and DSI (p-value, 0.001).

Conclusion: T2DM and vision and hearing impairments are prevalent among the two academic communities. Visual impairment was more common than hearing impairment. Participants diagnosed with T2DM and having a visual, hearing, or dual sensory impairments reported good quality of life.

Key Words: sensory, geriatric assessments, retired, employees, quality of life, diabetes mellitus

groups, but the medical expenses of firefighters were much higher than those of government officials and police officers.]]>
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Drug Costs ; Fees and Charges ; Firefighters ; Health Expenditures ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; International Classification of Diseases ; Korea ; Mental Disorders ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Myocardial Ischemia ; National Health Programs ; Occupational Groups ; Outpatients ; Police ; Prevalence ; Stomach Neoplasms

Background: Hypertension is the most common reason for consultation at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center Employees’ Health Services (CVMC EHS) Clinic. No local study has been done to investigate the risk factors of hypertension among the employees, purposely for health promotion and specific prevention activities against hypertension Objective: To determine the hypertension-related risk factors among employees of Cagayan Valley Medical Center, Tuguegarao City Methodology: The study was conducted at the CVMC EHS Clinic of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, utilizing the Annual Physical Examination records, with the Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Assessment Form of all employees satisfying the inclusion criteria, who came in for Annual Physical Examination from August 2017 to July 2018. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the collected data Results: Majority of the employees who had their Annual Physical Examination have hypertension (62.96%). Most of them were adults with ages ranging from 40 to 60 years old (73.91%), male (73.69%), and married (73.26%). As to socio-economic profile, most hypertensives were college graduate (96.87%) and with annual family income of Php 250,000 – 480,000 (74.52%). Clinical profile of hypertensive employees revealed a family history of hypertension (57.79%) and with obesity (47.36%). Risk factors noted to be common among the hypertensive employees are low physical activity (95.65%), family history of hypertension (85%), lack or insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables (60.87%) and frequent alcohol consumption (30.43%). Obesity and elevated lipid profile showed high prevalence among the hypertensive with 47.36% and 54.35%, respectively Conclusion The high prevalence of hypertension and its related risk factors among the regular employees of CVMC is of great concern. These underscore the need for urgent public health interventions to encourage changes in lifestyle pattern to promote health and prevent diseases
Hypertension ; Risk Factors ; Occupational Groups

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak broadly affected not only the physical but also the psychological wellbeing of the people. However, few studies have been conducted concerning its psychological impact specifically on employees from the academe. Objectives: To determine the psychological responses and coping styles of employees of the School of Health Sciences at the University of the Philippines - Manila during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study sought to determine the association between participants' socio-demographic characteristics and their psychological responses, and between participants' psychological responses and their coping styles used. Methodology: We employed a cross-sectional design and self-selection or volunteer sampling to recruit 46 academics and support staff employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected in April 2020. Psychological responses were determined with the 10-item Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale. Coping styles were assessed with the short-form Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Likelihood ratio chisquare tests and Spearman rho tests were conducted to test the hypotheses. Statistical significance was determined at p < .05. Results: The majority of participants reported low levels of psychological distress in the early stage of the pandemic (n=44; 95.65%). We found a statistically significant relationship between psychological responses and coping styles characterized by rumination (rs = 0.454; P = 0.002) and catastrophizing (rs = 0.408; P = 0.005). Conclusions Our study confirmed the significance of psychological responses during the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated a specific association with coping styles characterized by rumination and catastrophizing but are unsuitably less adaptive. Hence, the application of less adaptive techniques when psychologically distressed from the pandemic need to be corrected or modified.
COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Occupational Groups

BACKGROUND: We investigated somatization symptoms experienced by dental hygienists due to stress from emotional labor. Our aim was to provide basic research data that could be useful in the development of efficient stress management schemes for this occupational group. METHODS: We analyzed data collected from 208 dental hygienists working in Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. To measure the level and intensity of emotional labor among research participants, we used the Korean Emotional Labor Questionnaire. We used the Somatization Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) to measure the level of somatization symptoms among participants. RESULTS: On analyzing the level of emotional labor and somatization symptoms according to general characteristics, participants aged 23~25 years showed high scores for stress due to emotional labor (p<0.05). Working 5 days per week, subjective health status, and organizational support and protection systems were found to correlate with the level of stress due to emotional labor (p<0.05). In the analysis of correlations between emotional labor and somatization symptoms, scoring high across all domains of emotional labor was associated with scoring high for somatization symptoms in the subdomains of emotional labor. When emotional labor and demographical variables were used as independent variables, having higher scores for emotional labor and having poor subjective health status were found to be associated with having higher levels of somatization symptoms (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that working at night and organizational support and protection systems were correlated with emotional labor and somatization symptoms. Measures must be taken at the organizational level to reduce emotional labor and somatization symptoms.
Dental Hygienists ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Korea ; Occupational Groups

These days, medical practice tends to be highly specialized and divided into qualified medical personnel, including nurses. Recent amendments of medical law show the change of the nurse's role in medical practice. Traditionally, nursing has been an aid work to doctor's practices and is one of the core parts of medical practices. Nurses are a skilled occupational group and individuals are trained and licensed as professionals during their educational courses under government supervision. Because all of the nursing practices cannot be directed or recognized by doctors and nurses are building their own expertise as healthcare providers, they can be held accountable in medical malpractice. In the past, from the perspective of legal responsibility, the nurse was only regarded as an assistant to a doctor; hence, a nurse's malpractice was concluded as a supervising doctor's liability. In the case of medical malpractice caused by nurses, the range of responsibility will be different, depending on the scope of the work carried out by nurse and whether it was supervised by a doctor. Therefore, further discussion is needed regarding the scope of independent nursing practice in order to distribute the legal liability. The authors reviewed ten cases of precedents of medical dispute, examined the events in-depth, and analyzed the court rulings determining the legal responsibility of a doctor or nurse.
Dissent and Disputes ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Liability, Legal ; Malpractice ; Nurse's Role ; Nursing ; Occupational Groups ; Organization and Administration

OBJECTIVES: Occupational injuries are known to be the main adverse outcome of occupational accidents. The purpose of the current study was to identify control strategies to reduce the severity of occupational injuries in the mining industry using Bayesian network (BN) analysis.METHODS: The BN structure was created using a focus group technique. Data on 425 mining accidents was collected, and the required information was extracted. The expectation-maximization algorithm was used to estimate the conditional probability tables. Belief updating was used to determine which factors had the greatest effect on severity of accidents.RESULTS: Based on sensitivity analyses of the BN, training, type of accident, and activity type of workers were the most important factors influencing the severity of accidents. Of individual factors, workers' experience had the strongest influence on the severity of accidents.CONCLUSIONS: Among the examined factors, safety training was the most important factor influencing the severity of accidents. Organizations may be able to reduce the severity of occupational injuries by holding safety training courses prepared based on the activity type of workers.
Accidents, Occupational ; Bayes Theorem ; Focus Groups ; Mining ; Occupational Injuries

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine health problems experienced by workers in special employment relationships (WSER) and identify coping strategies used when such problems occur.METHODS: This qualitative study used the focus group interview method. Thirteen study participants included five home-visit tutors, five insurance salespersons, and three credit card recruiters. The interviews were conducted from November 2018 through January 2019, with each occupational group interview lasting about 2 hours. Analysis based on phenomenological research was independently performed by two researchers.RESULTS: Most participants had common health problems involving vocal cord symptoms, and stress related to emotional labor and traffic accidents. The unique health problems included cystitis, musculoskeletal, and digestive symptoms in home-visit tutors; reduced vision and hearing in insurance salespersons; and mental distress in credit card recruiters. There was no protection system for their health coverage, and the company emphasized their self-employed status to avoid taking responsibility for them. Twelve participants did not purchase occupational accident insurance owing to both not having adequate information and economic burden concerning premium status.CONCLUSION: WSER experienced both physical and mental health problems. These problems were caused by their unstable employment status, and the social security system for their coverage being non-functioning.
Accidents, Occupational ; Accidents, Traffic ; Cystitis ; Employment ; Focus Groups ; Hearing ; Humans ; Insurance ; Mental Health ; Methods ; Occupational Groups ; Occupational Health ; Qualitative Research ; Social Security ; Vision, Low ; Vocal Cords

BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity is well known to increase benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). However, only few studies have been conducted on the relationship between occupational physical activity and BPH. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between occupational physical activities and BPH in South Korea.METHODS: The study subjects included 4,102 workers who visited the health promotion center at Ulsan University Hospital and underwent transrectal ultrasonography between January 2016 and December 2017. The subjects were divided into two groups according to occupational physical activity (manual or non-manual workers). BPH was defined as a prostate volume of >25 mL. We performed a multivariate regression analysis to investigate the associations between the occupational groups and BPH. In addition, we divided the subgroups according to age and body mass index and analyzed the relationship between occupational physical activities and BPH in each subgroup.RESULTS: The risk of BPH was significantly higher in the non-manual workers than in the manual workers. This result was consistent after adjusting for other risk factors of BPH (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.51). Likewise, in the subgroup analysis according to age and body mass index, the non-manual workers had higher BPH risk than the manual workers.CONCLUSION: The risk of BPH was significantly higher in the non-manual workers than in the manual workers. To prevent BPH, more attention should be paid to the physical activities and education of non-manual workers.
Body Mass Index ; Education ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Korea ; Motor Activity ; Occupational Groups ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Risk Factors ; Ulsan ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Hand injuries caused by chain saws, electric saws, and hand grinders range from simple lacerations to tendon injuries, fractures, and even amputations. This study aimed to understand the distribution of various types of hand and upper extremity injuries caused by power tools, in order to help prevent them, by investigating the incidence and cause of power tool injuries treated over a 4-year period at a single institution in Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of patients who visited a single institution for power tool-induced injuries from 2011 to 2014. The distribution of sex, age, injured body part, type of injury, and mechanism of injury sustained by patients who received hand and upper extremity injuries from using an engine saw, electric saw, or hand grinder was evaluated. RESULTS: Among 594 subjects who were injured by power tools, 261 cases were hand and upper extremity injuries. The average age was 53.2 years. Tendon injury was the most common type of injury. An electric saw was the most common type of power tool used. More injuries occurred in non-occupational settings than in occupational settings. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, power tool-induced hand and upper extremity injuries were mostly caused by direct contact with electric saw blades. More injuries occurred due to non-occupational use of these tools, but the ratios of amputations and structural injuries were similar in the non-occupational and occupational groups.
Amputation ; Arm Injuries ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Hand Injuries ; Hand ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Lacerations ; Medical Records ; Occupational Groups ; Tendon Injuries ; Upper Extremity