Experience and Awareness of Health Managers, Administrators, and Workers on a Hearing Conservation Program in Korea: A Qualitative Study.

This study aims to evaluate the experience and awareness of a hearing conservation program to explore its activation plan. Three focus group discussions were conducted with five health managers, five labor supervisors, and five workers. A single in-depth interview was conducted with a health manager. Since hearing loss has a significant influence on the quality of life of workers, all participants recognized the importance of management. Although the need for hearing conservation programs was acknowledged, the participants had negative views about their effectiveness. Most health managers have not been able to demonstrate tangible results from their efforts to solve hearing problems, and they have been unable to demand that their employers actively invest resources and personnel in solving or preventing hearing problems. The participants in this study did not entirely understand the hearing conservation program, negative comments suggested that it is impossible to eliminate noise sources from the workplace, and measures for noise reduction would reduce work efficiency. This study can be supplied not only as a basis for reidentifying the real problems of the hearing conservation program but also for the tailored implementation method of future hearing conservation programs at each worksite.

Achievements, Problems, and Future Direction of the Quality Control Program for Special Periodic Health Examination Agencies in Republic of Korea.

The ultimate goal of the quality control program for special periodic health examination agencies is to diagnose the health condition of a worker correctly, based on accurate examination and analysis skills, leading to protect the worker's health. The quality control program on three areas, chemical analysis for biological monitoring since 1995, and pneumoconiosis, audiometric testing since 1996, has contributed to improve the reliability of occupational health screenings by improving the issues including standardization of testing methods, tools, diagnostic opinions, and reliability of analysis for biological monitoring. It has contributed to improving the reliability of occupational health monitoring by rectifying the following issues associated with previous monitoring: absence of standardized testing methods, testing tools that are not upgraded, mismatching diagnostic opinions, and unreliable results of biological specimen analysis. Nevertheless, there are issues in need of further improvement such as lack of expertise or the use of inappropriate method for health examination, and passive and unwilling participation in the quality control. We suggested solutions to these problems for each area of quality control program. Above all, it is essential to provide active support for health examiners to develop their expertise, while encouraging all the health screening agencies, employers, and workers to develop the desire to improve the system and to maintain the relevance.

Estimation of Lead Exposure Prevalence in Korean Population through Combining Multiple Experts' Judgment based on Objective Data Sources.

Objective: Estimating carcinogen exposure prevalence is important for preventing occupational cancers. To develop the Korean version of CARcinogen EXposure (CAREX), a carcinogen surveillance system used in many countries, we estimated lead exposure prevalence in the Korean working population. Methods: We used three Korean nationwide data sources to obtain objective database-derived prevalences of lead exposure across industries: airborne lead measurement data from the work environment measurement database (WEMD), blood lead measurement data from the special health examination database (SHED), and lead exposure prevalence computed using data from the work environment condition survey (WECS), which is a nationwide occupational exposure survey. We also asked a panel of 52 experts with ≥20 years of experience in industrial hygiene practice for their judgment about lead exposure prevalence across industries after they reviewed the database-derived prevalences computed from the three exposure databases. We developed and compared various estimation methods for combining the experts' judgments. The 2010 census was used as the reference population to estimate the number of lead-exposed workers in 228 industries by multiplying the exposure prevalence by the number of workers in each industry. Results: The database-derived prevalences of lead exposure in the 228 industries were calculated using data collected between 2009 and 2011 from the WEMD and SHED and from the 2009 WECS. From the various estimation methods assessed, the median values of experts' responses were selected as our estimates of lead exposure prevalence in each industry. As a result, it was estimated that 129,250 Korean workers were exposed to lead in 2010. Conclusions: Based on objective databases, we developed a method for estimating exposure prevalence for the CAREX system by combining experts' judgments. This work may offer an unbiased approach to the development process that accounts for the uncertainty in exposure.

The impact of long working hours on psychosocial stress response among white-collar workers.

This study examined the association between long working hours and psychosocial stress responses. In total, 1,122 white-collar workers from a company in Korea completed self-administered questionnaires following a lecture about the study aim, procedures, and confidentiality. Psychosocial stress responses were evaluated using the Psychosocial Well-being Index - Short Form (PWI-SF), and psychosocial working conditions were evaluated with the Korean Occupational Stress Scale - Short Form (KOSS-SF). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting for demographic variables and psychosocial working conditions to examine associations between long working hours and psychosocial stress responses. In comparison with the reference group, which worked 40-44 hours per week, the crude odds ratio (OR) of the respondents who worked 60 or more hours was 4.56 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.55-8.15) in terms of psychosocial stress responses. After adjusting for demographic variables, the adjusted OR of those working ≥60 hours was 5.61 (95% CI, 3.01-10.47). After adjusting for both demographic variables and psychosocial working conditions, the adjusted OR of those working ≥60 hours was 3.25 (95% CI, 1.56-6.79). This study found that long working hours are significantly related to psychosocial stress responses among white-collar workers in one Korean company.

The Effects of an Online Mind-Body Training Program on Stress, Coping Strategies, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience and Psychological State.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of an online mind-body training (MBT) program on participants' stress, anger, coping strategies, emotional intelligence, resilience, and positive and negative affect. Forty-two healthy women participated in an online MBT program for approximately 8-10 minutes a day for 8 weeks; a control group of 45 healthy women did not participate in the program. Self-report psychological questionnaires were administered before the beginning of the program and at 4 and 8 weeks following its onset. Data from the MBT group and the control group were compared using repeated measures ANOVA and Student's t-tests. Significant time x group interaction effects were found with respect to stress, coping strategies, anger, emotional intelligence, negative affect and resilience. These results demonstrate beneficial effects of the online MBT program and significant improvements in the psychological capabilities of participants compared with the control group. The effects of online MBT program were similar with those of the previous offline MBT in psychological aspects, suggesting further studies for neuroscientific evidence related stress and emotion of online MBT effects.

LATS-YAP/TAZ controls lineage specification by regulating TGFß signaling and Hnf4α expression during liver development.

The Hippo pathway regulates the self-renewal and differentiation of various adult stem cells, but its role in cell fate determination and differentiation during liver development remains unclear. Here we report that the Hippo pathway controls liver cell lineage specification and proliferation separately from Notch signalling, using mice and primary hepatoblasts with liver-specific knockout of Lats1 and Lats2 kinase, the direct upstream regulators of YAP and TAZ. During and after liver development, the activation of YAP/TAZ induced by loss of Lats1/2 forces hepatoblasts or hepatocytes to commit to the biliary epithelial cell (BEC) lineage. It increases BEC and fibroblast proliferation by up-regulating TGFß signalling, but suppresses hepatoblast to hepatocyte differentiation by repressing Hnf4α expression. Notably, oncogenic YAP/TAZ activation in hepatocytes induces massive p53-dependent cell senescence/death. Together, our results reveal that YAP/TAZ activity levels govern liver cell differentiation and proliferation in a context-dependent manner.

Case report of renal cell carcinoma in automobile manufacturing factory worker due to trichloroethylene exposure in Korea.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper was report first case of renal cell carcinoma developed in a worker who worked in an automobile manufacture line which handles trichloroethylene in Korea. CASE PRESENTATION: To clarify the relationship between the onset of renal cell carcinoma in 52-years old male worker and the exposure to trichloroethylene, document studies and work environment measurement were done. Past work environment exposure data were reviewed and medical history and surgery records of the worker were also reviewed. The patient had no personal risk factor related to renal cell carcinoma except for his smoking habit of quarter a pack per day for twenty years, and since trichloroethylene was not part of measurement criteria, past work environment risk assessment data could not verify the exposure. The exposure level is deduced by analyzing material exposure level of work environments which has similar processes in data from revised research of chemical exposure standard and work environment validity assessment. Evaluation Committee of Epidemiologic Survey decided that there are relevant relationship between the exposure and the disease, though we do not have exact data during that period, most experts agree that in every factories they used trichloroethylene without any direction. CONCLUSIONS: From the relevant medical history and the results of the usage of trichloroethylene in the relevant industries, and initial discovery of renal cell carcinoma at health inspection sonogram in 2001, it can be concluded that suggests significant causal relationship between the exposure to trichloroethylene and renal cell carcinoma onset, thus reporting it to be the first domestic case declared to be occupational disease.