Industrial Health最新文献

The study examines the role of collective bargaining in protecting workers from heat stress in Spain, a country that is particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures. Through an analysis of 596 collective sectoral bargaining agreements (CBAs) registered between 2020 and 2025, 14 heat action plans (HAPs), and 13 interviews with key actors, the integration of preventive measures into labor regulations is evaluated. Only 51 CBAs (8.6%) include preventive clauses that go beyond clothing measures and only 8 (1.3%) contained an adequate set of norms to address it in a more or less comprehensive manner. Company heat action plans, although more detailed and flexible, are highly heterogeneous and have limited coverage. Recent regulatory reforms in 2023 (RD-Law 4/2023) and 2024 (RD-Law 8/2024) require heat-specific measures and protocols for adverse weather events respectively, opening a window for strengthening prevention through sectoral and company agreements in the form of CBAs and HAPs. It is concluded that, despite some advanced examples, protection remains insufficient and uneven. The combination of a more precise legal framework, proactive collective bargaining and workers' participation regarding heat stress prevention is essential to avoid the exacerbation of health inequalities in an increasingly warmer climate, especially in sectors and companies with weak union presence.

This article presents a comparative analysis of how collective bargaining and social dialogue contribute to protecting European workers from the effects of high temperatures linked to climate change. The study focuses on five European countries-Spain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and Hungary-which together provide a comprehensive and nuanced overview of the current situation across Europe. The methodology is primarily qualitative, based on 11 case studies (covering both sectors and companies), 60 interviews with key informants, and an in-depth analysis of the existing legal framework for heatwave prevention in both public health and occupational safety and health (OSH) contexts. The study also includes a detailed review of collective agreements and other social dialogue tools-such as heat action plans and OSH catalogues-to assess the extent to which high temperatures are addressed in collective bargaining in the selected countries. The empirical evidence reveals that high temperatures are still only marginally addressed in European collective bargaining, and significant challenges remain. Nevertheless, the fieldwork also identified several initiatives which, despite their limitations, represent steps forward in worker protection and could serve as examples of good practice.

This study investigated perceptions of occupational safety and health (OSH) among foreign construction workers in South Korea and compared structural challenges with Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 77 workers using a 48-item questionnaire adapted from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA). Descriptive statistics identified items scoring below 4.0 on a 5-point Likert scale as areas of concern. Comparative analysis was conducted using secondary data on Japan's OSH system for foreign workers obtained through a literature review. Sixteen items (33.3%) scored below 4.0, indicating deficiencies in communication, participatory training, and practical rule applicability. In contrast, tangible measures such as PPE provision and basic safety knowledge were rated highly. Both countries exhibited common OSH barriers, including language difficulties, limited training effectiveness, underreporting of accidents, restricted healthcare access, and insufficient mental health support. Korea's Employment Permit System provides structured legal employment but restricts job mobility, while Japan's Technical Intern Training Program reveals greater institutional weaknesses and partial exclusion from labor law protection. Foreign workers in both countries remain passive recipients of safety measures due to hierarchical structures and cultural isolation. Strengthening multilingual communication, participatory education, and inclusive leadership is essential to promote a proactive, worker-centered OSH culture.

Participatory action-oriented training (PAOT) is a structured, worker-centered approach designed to improve workplace safety and health. However, its applicability across different contexts remains unclear. This scoping review aims to systematically analyze the existing literature on PAOT, focusing on its utilization with various populations, contexts, and methodological approaches. Using the population-concept-context (PCC) framework, this review defines the population as workers, community members, or managers participating in PAOT; the concept as PAOT; and the context: as workplaces, communities, agriculture, and healthcare settings. Literature, from January 2000 until onward, will be searched in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Korea Education and Research Information Sharing Service, Korean Studies Information Service System, DBpia, National Digital Science Digital Library, and Japan Medical Abstracts Society. Study selection will be performed independently by three reviewers and the overall review process will be presented transparently in a PRISMA-ScR flowchart. A comprehensive mapping of the PAOT applications will be conducted based on key variables such as study design, implementation context, training components of the action checklist, and improvement outcomes. Since the 1980s, PAOT has been applied in various sectors including small enterprises, agriculture, communities, and healthcare. This review will highlight trends and gaps to support future research and practice.

Activity-based workplaces have become increasingly prevalent in many organizations. However, research on their implementation regarding perceived productivity within the public sector remains limited. The study's purpose was to examine differences in perceived productivity, and perceived physical and psychosocial work environment factors, among public sector office employees in activity-based workplaces, in association with the amount of perceived concentration-demanding work. The study was conducted by two surveys responded during the spring 2024 by 450 respectively 320 employees in one Swedish municipality. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance, correlation- and regression analysis. The results indicate that employees with a high amount of perceived concentration-demanding tasks reported lower perceived productivity and experienced poorer perceived physical and psychosocial working environment. Notably, regression analyses revealed that particularly lack of privacy and dissatisfaction with work premises were significantly associated with lower perceived productivity. These findings underscore the importance of considering work task requirements when implementing public sector activity-based workplaces to mitigate potential productivity losses. Further qualitative and quantitative research is needed, particularly those with a longitudinal design, to increase knowledge about how different concentration-demanding work tasks are affected by work in activity-based workplaces.

This study aimed to explore women's health literacy components related to planned pregnancy and infertility treatment use. A nationwide internet survey was conducted in February 2018 among 2,596 Japanese female full-time workers aged 18-49. Of these, 1,262 women who had desired pregnancy were analyzed. Data included a health literacy scale, pregnancy timing, and infertility treatment access. Logistic regression analysis examined the associations. As the results, the high health literacy group was significantly associated with both achieving pregnancy at the desired time (odds ratio [OR]: 1.87) and accessing infertility treatment (OR: 1.78). Specifically, the subscale "knowledge about the female body" was significantly related to achieving pregnancy at the wanted time (OR: 1.91), and "sexual health discussion with partners" was associated with access to infertility treatment (OR: 2.79) (p<0.05). These findings suggest that improving female body knowledge and partner communication are key for reproductive health education and preconception care.

Mental disorders occur frequently in physicians owing to overwork and poor psychosocial work environment. This study aimed to investigate the circumstances, characteristics, and background factors affecting mental disorders in physicians. Basic data such as sex, age at onset, alive or dead, occupation, name of disease, industrial accident recognition factors, load factors other than working hours, and overtime hours (for 31 cases of mental disorders and suicides for 11 years from 2010-2020) were obtained from the Japan Research Center for Overwork-Related Disorders database. The results showed 13 cases of suicide (41.9%) and 21 cases of mood disorders (67.7%). As for the factors recognized as industrial accidents, "extreme long working hours" related to overwork accounted for 6 cases (20.7%), and "quantity and quality of work" accounted for 27 cases (93.1%). Furthermore, clinical residents comprised 14 cases (45.2%) of the 31 mental disorder cases and 7 cases (53.8%) of the 13 suicide cases. Therefore, measures to prevent overwork and suicide in clinical residents are urgently needed in the context of mental disorder in physicians.

Working in hospitals as healthcare workers is inherently stressful, which indirectly affects employees' adherence to procedures for infection prevention and control (IPC). While ample research exists on IPC practices, the majority neglects the psychosocial aspects of work, particularly job characteristics and safety-related organizational climates. This study utilized a two-wave multilevel panel study design with a 4-month interval, involving 379 participants across 23 critical care units in Malaysian hospitals. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources theory, we examined how job demands (i.e., workload, emotional demands, and job complexity) influence IPC practices and how three types of safety climate constructs-safety climate, psychosocial safety climate, and psychological climate-moderate the effects of job demands on IPC. Contrary to our predictions, none of the job demands were directly associated with IPC practices. However, we found that only the safety climate moderated the relationships between workload and job complexity with IPC practices. These findings suggest that each type of safety climate uniquely buffers the effects of specific job demands on IPC practices. Hospital management should implement tailored interventions to serve distinct functions in mitigating the impact of job demands on IPC adherence.

This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Japanese workers, focusing on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and different types of work (desk work, in-person work, physical labor, and unemployment), as well as various demographic factors. Using a web-based survey conducted in February 2021, we collected data from 19,941 workers aged 20-65 yr. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was used to measure workers' fear, with analysis focusing on the total score and two subfactors: emotional fear reactions (Factor 1) and symptomatic expressions of fear (Factor 2). The findings showed that fear of COVID-19 was significantly higher among unemployed individuals and those with serious mental illness, identifying these groups as particularly vulnerable. Our analysis also suggests that broad occupational categories, such as "physical labor", can mask the distinct risks faced by specific subgroups, including frontline care workers. The results suggest that intervention strategies tailored to the specific needs of these vulnerable groups should be developed to provide adequate support in a future pandemic, along with enhanced mental health services. By elucidating variations in fear levels across worker populations, this study contributes to the formulation of effective public health strategies in response to global health crises.