Identification and classification of factors affecting the non-use of safety harness at height among construction workers in Tehran.

INTRODUCTION: The accident of falling from a height is high among construction workers. Construction workers do not use harnesses. Thus, the present study was conducted to identify the factors affecting the non-use of harnesses among construction workers in Tehran, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study was conducted by interviewing professors and construction workers in order to identify factors affecting the non-use of harness. Factors influencing the non-use of safety harnesses were identified from the workers' point of view. The obtained data were classified and coded using MAXQDA 10 software. After that, the most essential, effective and powerful factors were identified using the degree and intersectionality of social network analysis. RESULTS: According to the interview results, 27 factors were determined as factors affecting the non-use of harnesses by construction workers and divided into four main groups. The four groups were harness design, management factors, harness comfort, and attitudinal factors. Based on the results of the degree centrality, the non-ergonomic design and attitude of the harness inefficiency were identified as the most influential and powerful factors. The betweenness indicator also showed that the non-ergonomic design could mediate other factors in the non-use of the harness. CONCLUSION: The findings showed that by considering various factors such as considering more comfort in the design of the ergonomic harness, it produced a better product. Also, the use of safety harnesses by workers increases.

Determination and prioritization of factors affecting the occurrence of needle stick injuries among healthcare workers using techniques of Delphi and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP).

INTRODUCTION: Needlestick injuries (NSIs) are a major hazard in the workplace for healthcare workers. To prevent these injuries, it is essential to determine the important factors affecting the occurrence of them. This study aimed to identify, classify and prioritize these factors using techniques of Delphi and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2022. Firstly, the factors affecting the occurrence of needlestick injuries were identified by the literature review. Moreover, the Delphi technique was used to identify the factors. 20 experts (physicians, nurses, and occupational health experts) participated in the steps of the Delphi method. Then, these factors were grouped into six groups. In the next step, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) was applied to prioritize the factors. For this purpose, the pairwise comparison questionnaire was designed and filled out by 20 experts. Finally, data were analyzed using MATLAB software (version 2018a). RESULTS: 42 factors (31 factors extracted from the literature review and 11 factors obtained from the Delphi technique) were identified in this study. These factors were categorized into six groups. Based on the results, the relative weight of non-demographic personal factors, tool and technology factors, job factors, organizational factors, demographic personal factors, and environmental factors were computed by 0.200, 0.185, 0.184, 0.157, 0.142, and 0.133, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results determined the importance of the factors affecting the occurrence of needlestick injuries. These findings can be useful for planning preventive measures.

Design and psychometric analysis of the safety harness usability and comfort assessment tool (SH UCAT).

Purpose: The present study aimed to design a quantitative tool to evaluate the comfort and usability of working at height safety harnesses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in both qualitative and quantitative sections in 2022. The research steps included field interviews, an expert panel, and compiling the questionnaires for assessing the comfort and usability of the harness. The items of tools were designed based on the qualitative part of the research and review of the literature. The face and content validity of the instrument were assessed. Its reliability was also evaluated using the test-retest method. Results: Two tools were developed including a comfort questionnaire with 13 questions and a usability questionnaire with 10 questions. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of these instruments were 0.83 and 0.79, respectively. Additionally, the content and face validity indices were 0.97 and 3.89 for the comfort questionnaire and 0.991 and 4 for the usability questionnaire, respectively. Conclusions: The designed tools showed appropriate validity and reliability and could be used to evaluate the comfort and usability of safety harnesses. On the other hand, the criteria used in the designed tools could be employed in user-centered harness designs.