Objective: To get insight into the current practice of noise reduction effect of workers as they wore hearing protectors in different domestic enterprises and the possible affected factors. Methods: From October 2020 to April 2021, using a random sampling method, 1197 workers exposed to noise in petrochemical factories, textile factories, and parts manufacturing factories were selected as the study subjects. The noise reduction effect of hearing protectors worn by workers in daily use was tested using a hearing protector suitability testing system. The personal sound attenuation level (PAR) was compared among workers in three enterprises, Targeted intervention and repetitive testing were conducted for workers who did not meet the noise reduction effect required by the enterprise, and the changes in PAR of workers before and after the intervention were compared. The comparison of baseline PARs between two or more groups was performed using the Mann Whitney test, the comparison of baseline PARs with post intervention PARs was performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank sum test, and the comparison of qualitative data between two or more groups was performed using the Chi square test. Results: The median baseline PAR for all workers was 15 dB. Men, age<30 years old, education level at or above college level, working experience of 5 to 15 years, and those who used hearing protectors for 5 to 15 years had higher PARs, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). The median difference in baseline PAR among workers from three enterprises was statistically significant (H=175.06, P<0.01). The median PAR of subjects who did not pass the baseline increased from 3 dB to 21 dB after intervention (Z=-27.92, P<0.01) . Conclusion: Some workers wearing hearing protectors do not meet the required PAR, and low PARs may be related to incorrect wearing methods and incorrect selection of hearing protectors. As a tool for testing, training, and assisting in selection, the hearing protector suitability testing system is of great significance for worker hearing protection.
Male ; Humans ; Adult ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/prevention & control* ; Ear Protective Devices ; Noise, Occupational/prevention & control* ; Hearing ; Audiometry

Decontamination ; Disinfection ; Manikins ; Protective Clothing ; Personal Protective Equipment ; Health Personnel

Humans ; Protective Clothing

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current situation of virus exposure risk incidents of nurses against corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, and to provide reference evidence for nursing managers to protect nursing staff who were working in the isolation ward. METHODS: In the study, 308 nursing staff against COVID-19 working in the isolation ward in Wuhan were conveniently selected to participate in the investigation. The designed questionnaires including 7 kinds of protective exposure risk events were made by the team of researchers on the basis of literature review and interview with the nurses in Wuhan. All the participants recalled their working experience in the status of dressing in personal protective equipment and filled in the questionnaires online by WeChat according to the same instruction. RESULTS: The questionnaires were filled in validly by a total of 304 nursing staff, of whom 88.8% received emergency training on the prevention and dealing measurement of exposure risk events. The incidence of shoe cover contamination, falling off or torn was relatively high, about 53.6%. Due to the protection of gloves, the incidence of hand or skin contamination was relatively low, about 14.1%. The most nervousness of protective exposure risk event for nurses was N95 mask contamination, falling off or shifting, with a score of 8.2±2.3, showing a higher psychiatric burden. Single factor analysis found that the number of days in Wuhan was different, the number of the types of protective risk events occurred was different (χ²=14.562, P=0.024), orderly multivariate Logistic regression found that men were the independent protective factor for the number of the types of protective exposure risk events that occurred (P=0.019). CONCLUSION Protective exposure risk events may occur in the work of nursing staff working in the isolation ward in Wuhan. It is necessary to guide nurses to prevent the occurrence of protective exposure risk events and effectively deal with them, so as to prevent virus exposure and reduce psycholo-gical burden.
Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; China ; Coronavirus Infections/transmission* ; Ear Protective Devices ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Exposure/prevention & control* ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Pneumonia, Viral/transmission* ; Risk Factors ; SARS-CoV-2

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of music intervention on environmental stress and sleep quality in liver transplant patients who are receiving care in one-person isolation rooms of an ICU. METHODS: The study was a quasi-experimental design pre-and-post nonequivalent control group. Participants were 37 patients (18 in the experimental group and 19 in the control group) who, after receiving liver transplant, were hospitalized in one-person isolation rooms of the ICU. The study covered patients admitted between August 2016 and December 2017. Earplugs and sleep shades were provided as ordinary care to both experimental and control groups, and music intervention was provided to the experimental group three times a day for 30 minutes each from the first day of hospitalization. RESULTS: The first hypothesis, “The experimental group who received music intervention will experience a lower environmental stress level than the control group” was supported (Z=−3.212, p<.001). The second hypothesis, “The experimental group who received music intervention will experience a higher sleep quality than the control group” was also supported (t=3.715, p=.001). CONCLUSION: Findings show that music intervention is an effective nursing intervention to reduce environmental stress and improve sleep quality in liver transplant patients in the ICU.
Ear Protective Devices ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver ; Music Therapy ; Music ; Nursing

protective clothing. Multiple bullae were initially noted. On the next day, fluctuation in bullae and purulent discharge were observed, and central eschar change was noted. On the 18th day after the burn, escharectomy and full-thickness skin graft were performed. Therefore, workers who use dichloromethane should wear protective clothing at workplaces. If exposed to the chemical, the worker should be instructed to do a quick wash and visit the hospital.]]>
Burns ; Burns, Chemical ; Hand ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Male ; Methylene Chloride ; Paint ; Protective Clothing ; Skin ; Skin Transplantation ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of occupational hazards and personal protective equipment use among dental hygienists (DHs).METHODS: A total of 271 self-administered questionnaires were obtained from 280 DHs working at dental hospitals or clinics in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea.RESULTS: The occupational hazards included work involving dust (94.1%), volatile substances (86.0%), noise (97.0%), and light-curing units (96.7%). The proportion of dental hygiene tasks that participants perceived as harmful were 42.4%, 51.7%, 9.2%, and 31.4% in the same order as above. The proportion of participants who used dust-proof masks during work involving dust was 1.1%. Those who wore gas-proof masks and gloves for work using volatile substances were 0.7% and 31.2%, respectively. Participants who used goggles for work involving light-curing units were 31.0%. None of the participants used ear plugs for work involving noise. A total of 22.9% of the participants recognized the Material Safety Data Sheet, while 79.7% had never been educated about harmful work environments.CONCLUSION: When compared to exposure status and perception of occupational hazards, the level of protective equipment use was very low. Extra measures to increase DHs’ use of personal protective equipment are necessary.
Daegu ; Dental Hygienists ; Dust ; Ear ; Eye Protective Devices ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Masks ; Material Safety Data Sheets ; Noise ; Occupations ; Oral Hygiene ; Personal Protective Equipment

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ability to localize a sound source is one of the binaural hearing benefits in a horizontal plane based on interaural time difference and interaural intensity difference. Unilateral or bilateral asymmetric hearing loss will affect binaural hearing and lead to sound locating errors. In this cross sectional analytical descriptive study, the localization error was investigated when participants turned their heads to the sound source with closed eyes and after simulating unilateral hearing loss by placing earplugs inside the right ear canal. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross sectional analytical descriptive study was carried out on 30 right-handed adults, 22 female and 8 male (average: 25 years, standard deviation: 3.16). They were selected with the available random access method. Horizontal localization was evaluated with five speakers located at 0, ±30, and ±60 degree azimuths at a 1-meter distance from the examinee. Narrow-band noise signals were delivered at 35 dB SL in two “without earplug” and “with earplug” situations and the results were compared. The study was performed between September and December 2016 in Tehran, Iran. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in localization errors between the “with earplug” and “without earplug” situations. The localization differences were greater for left-side speakers (-30 and -60 degrees) compared with right-side speakers (+30 and +60 degrees). The differences were more apparent at 4,000 and 6,000 Hz, which confirmed the effect of unilateral simulated hearing loss on interaural latency differences. CONCLUSIONS: Simulating hearing loss by using an earplug in one ear (right) increased localization errors at all frequencies. The errors increased at higher frequencies.
Adult ; Ear ; Ear Canal ; Ear Protective Devices ; Female ; Head ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Unilateral ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Methods ; Noise

BACKGROUND: The understanding of the relationship between risk perception, knowledge, and protective behaviors could play a major role in occupational risk control and management. Research exploring how workers perceive, recognize, and react to risks in different occupational settings is scarce in Thailand. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of noise-related risk perceptions and knowledge to the use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) among sawmill workers in Thailand. METHODS: Sawmill workers (n = 540) from four factories in Trang, Southern Thailand, participated in a questionnaire interview from December 2015 to January 2016. Descriptive statistics and linear regression models were used to explore the risk factors related to HPD use. Path diagram analysis was demonstrated and used to evaluate associations. RESULTS: Risk perception was significantly correlated with HPD use (p < 0.01), HPD training (p = 0.01), and the number of years of work experience (p = 0.03). Sawmill workers were likely to use HPDs based on their risk perception and HPD training. However, HPD training was inversely correlated with age and the number of years of work experience. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the importance of risk perceptions and knowledge, and these factors should be emphasized in the design and implementation of any personal safety intervention program for sawmill workers.
Ear Protective Devices ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Risk Factors ; Rubber* ; Thailand ; Wood*

BACKGROUND: The zoonotic disease Q fever is caused by Coxiella burnetii and usually affects high-risk human populations. We conducted a serological survey of dairy cattle farmers in Korea to determine seroreactivity and identify risk factors for C. burnetii infection. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 1,824 of 7,219 dairy cattle farms (25.3%) in the study region. The selected dairy cattle farmers visited the nearest public health centers or branches with completed questionnaires. Serum samples from the farmers were tested using an indirect immunofluorescence assay to detect phase II C. burnetii immunoglobulin (Ig) G or M antibodies. RESULTS: A total of 1,222 dairy cattle farmers from 784 dairy cattle farms (43.0%) participated in this study, and 11.0% (134/1,222) exhibited seroreactivity, defined as a phase II antigen IgG or IgM titer ≥ 1:16. In the multivariate analysis, male sex, residence in Gyeonggi Province, a larger herd size, and ocular/oral contact with birth products during calf delivery were significantly associated with a higher risk of C. burnetii infection. Furthermore, the risk was significantly lower among farmers who always wore protective gloves while cleaning cattle excretion, compared to those who sometimes or rarely wore protective gloves. CONCLUSION: Dairy cattle farmers should exercise caution by avoiding ocular/oral contact with birth products during calf delivery and by using protective equipment (including gloves).
Agriculture ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Cattle* ; Coxiella burnetii* ; Coxiella* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Farmers* ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Gloves, Protective ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins ; Korea* ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Parturition ; Public Health ; Q Fever* ; Risk Factors* ; Serologic Tests ; Zoonoses