Occupational Characteristics and Health Status of Vietnamese Male Migrant Workers in the Republic of Korea

Background@#The objective of this study is to identify the working conditions and health status of Vietnamese male migrant workers in Republic of Korea, in comparison to the Korean general population. @*Methods@#We conducted our survey through the Migrant People Center, and we received completed questionnaires from 87 male Vietnamese migrant workers. The questionnaire employed was identical to those used in the Korean Working Conditions Survey and the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The collected data from the Vietnamese migrant workers was then compared with the Korean reference population using indirect age-standardization. @*Results@#Vietnamese male workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of health problems including hearing problems (age-standardized prevalence ratio (aSPR) 13.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.07–20.4), skin problems (aSPR 13.49, 95% CI: 8.07–20.4), and low back pain (aSPR 8.40, 95% CI: 6.50–10.69). Elevated exposure to workplace hazards such as chemicals (aSPR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.51–3.51), organic solvents (aSPR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.44–3.28), handling of heavy objects (aSPR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.24–2.21), and high temperatures (aSPR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.46–2.57) was observed among them. Additionally, they faced a higher risk of no personal protective equipment (aSPR 2.53, 95% CI: 1.26–4.52) and a greater prevalence of unmet medical needs (aSPR 7.14, 95% CI: 4.74–10.32). @*Conclusion@#Our findings highlight the elevated workplace hazards, health problems, and unmet medical needs among Vietnamese male workers compared to the Korean reference population. These findings underscores the urgency for enhanced scrutiny over working conditions and protective equipment provision, coupled with efforts to improve healthcare accessibility and worker education.

The Comparison of Job Stress Factors, Psychosocial Stress and Their Association between Research and Manufacturing Workers in an Automobile Research and Developing Company / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the job stress factors, psychosocial stress and their associations in workers engaged in the research and development of vehicles, and according to job role. METHODS: We recruited 4,066 subjects from workers at a research and development center of an automobile company. A total of 2,764 workers answered the questionnaire about socio-demographic factors, health behaviors, work-related factors, subjective labor intensity, KOSS, and SF-PWI. The final analysis included 2,282 male manufacturing and research workers. Univariate analyses and multiple logistic analyses were conducted on the complete questionnaire data to compare the job stress factors, psychosocial stress and their associations between research and manufacturing workers. RESULTS: The adjusted Odds ratios comparing the high risk group to the low risk group regarding PWI group were 2.23(95%CI=1.63-3.04) in "Lack of rewards", 1.64(95%CI=1.20-2.24) in "Interpersonal conflict", 1.59(95%CI=1.15- 2.20) in "Organizational injustice", 1.58(95%CI=1.17-2.14) in "Occupational climate" and 1.43(95%CI=1.05-1.94) in "Job insecurity" among research workers, and 2.46(95%CI=1.59 -3.80) in "Lack of rewards" and 1.94(95%CI=1.17-3.22) in "Organizational injustice" among manufacturing workers. CONCLUSIONS: There are differences in job stress factors between research and manufacturing workers. Further studies and discussions based on quantitative methodology for seeking more fundamental causes of these differences are required to establish job stress intervention plans and policies.

Developing an Occupational Stress Scale for Korean Employees / 대한산업의학회지

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSES: Over the past three decades, numerous studies performed in Korea have reported that job stress is a determinant risk factor for chronic diseases and work disability. Every society has its own culture and occupational climate particular to their organizations, and hence experiences different occupational stress. An occupational stress measurement tool therefore needs to be developed to estimate it objectively. The purpose of this study is to develop and standardize the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) which is considered to be unique and specific occupational stressors in Korean employees. Subjects and METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Study for Development and Standardization of Occupational Stress (NSDSOS Project: 2002-2004). A total of 12,631 employees from a nationwide sample proportional to the Korean Standard Industrial Classification and the Korean Standard Occupational Classification were administered. The KOSS was developed for 2 years (2002- 2004). In the first year, we collected 255 items from the most popular job stress measurement tools such as JCQ, ERI, NIOSH and OSI, and 44 items derived from the a qualitative study (depth interview). Fortythree items of KOSS, in the second year, were retained for use in the final version of the KOSS by using Delphi and factor analysis. Items were scored using conventional 1-2-3-4 Likert scores for the response categories. RESULTS: We developed eight subscales by using factor analysis and validation process: physical environment (3 items), job demand (8 items), insufficient job control (5 items), interpersonal conflict (4 items), job insecurity (6 items), organizational system (7 items), lack of reward (6 items), and occupational climate (4 items). Together they explained 50.0% of total variance. Internal consistency alpha scores were ranged from 0.51 to 0.82. Twenty-four items of the short form of the KOSS (KOSS-SF) were also developed to estimate job stress in the work setting. Because the levels of the subscales of occupational stress were gender dependent, gender-specific standard norms for both the 43-item full version and the 24-item short form using a quartile for the subscales of KOSS were presented. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that KOSS might be an appropriate measurement scale to estimate occupational stress of Korean employees. Further and more detailed study needs to be conducted to improve the validity of this scale.