Predictive power of work situation awareness by work overload and job stress among workers: implication for occupational health

Backgrounds: Situation awareness is an important factor in industrial accidents. Improving situation awareness may help to prevent occupational accidents. Determination of factors influencing situation awareness will help to plan and take measures for betterment of working condition and development of a safer workplace. In this study, we examined the role of work overload and job stress in predicting work situation awareness among workers

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A sample consisting of 180 employees in National Petrochemical Company in 2014 was selected using stratified random sampling method; the participants filled out the questionnaires containing questions on demography characteristics, work situation awareness of Sneddon, Mearns and Flin [2013], work overload of Beehr, Walsh and Taber [1976], and job stress scale of Cohen and colleagues [1983].The data were analyzed by SPSS software using coefficient correlation and stepwise regression. Statistical differences were considered significant at P<0.001

Results: The results showed that there were internal correlation among work overload, job stress and work situation awareness. Also, the results of stepwise regression analysis revealed that work overload and job stress significantly predicted, respectively, almost 11% and 35% of variances of work situation awareness among workers

Conclusion: Work overload and job stress are two main factors for predicting work situation awareness. To improve workplace safety, interventional measures should focus on enhancing the situation awareness via workload and job stress reduction

[Predicting quality of life on the basis of type d personality in patients with irritable bowel syndrome]

Quality of life is a main outcome in psychosomatic disorders. Several psychological factors are mentioned for predicting the quality of life in patients who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between type D personality and quality of life in patients with IBS. This study enrolled 90 [52 women] IBS patients who referred to the gastroenterology clinics of Imam Khomeini and Laleh hospitals from September to December 2012. We used the Type D Personality and IBS Quality of Life questionnaires to evaluate patients. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multi-variable regression models. Overall, 61% of patients were H. pylori positive. The mean anti-Thyroid peroxidase level in the H. pylori positive group We observed a relationship between type D personality and quality of life in patients with IBS [r=0.504, p<0.01]. The results showed a 26% variation in quality of life predicted by type D personality [p<0.01, R[2]=0.26]. According to the results, type D personality is one of the predictors of quality of life in patients with IBS. Therefore, it is important to consider psychological factors when choosing the appropriate treatment for IBS patients.