Heart Disease and Occupational Risk Factors in the Canadian Population: An Exploratory Study Using the Canadian Community Health Survey

Nowrouzi-Kia, Behdin,Li, Anson K.C.,Nguyen, Christine,Casole, Jennifer Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2018 Safety and health at work Vol.9 No.2

Background: The objective of this study is to find temporal trends in the associations between cardiovascular disease and occupational risk factors in the context of the Canadian population. Methods: Population data were analyzed from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collected between 2001 and 2014 for trends over time between heart disease and various occupational risk factors: hours worked, physical exertion at work, and occupation type (management/arts/education, business/finance, sales/services, trades/transportations, and primary industry/processing). Results: We found no significant difference in the average number of hours worked/wk between individuals who report having heart disease in all years of data except in 2011 ($F_{1,96}=7.02$, p = 0.009) and 2012 ($F_{1,96}=8.86$, p = 0.004). We also found a significant difference in the degree of physical exertion at work in 2001 ($F_{1,79}=7.45$, p = 0.008). There were statistically significant results of occupation type on self-reported heart disease from 2003 to 2014. Conclusion: Canadian data from the CCHS do not exhibit a trend toward an association between heart disease and the number of hours worked/wk. There is an association between heart disease and physical exertion at work, but the trend is inconsistent. The data indicate a trend toward an association between heart disease and occupation type, but further analysis is required to determine which occupation type may be associated with heart disease.

Workplace System Factors of Obstetric Nurses in Northeastern Ontario, Canada: Using a Work Disability Prevention Approach

Nowrouzi, Behdin,Lightfoot, Nancy,Carter, Lorraine,Larivere, Michel,Rukholm, Ellen,Belanger-Gardner, Diane Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.4

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship nursing personal and workplace system factors (work disability) and work ability index scores in Ontario, Canada. Methods: A total of 111 registered nurses were randomly selected from the total number of registered nurses on staff in the labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum areas of four northeastern Ontario hospitals. Using a stratified random design approach, 51 participants were randomly selected in four northeastern Ontario cities. Results: A total of 51 (45.9% response rate) online questionnaires were returned and another 60 (54.1% response rate) were completed using the paper format. The obstetric workforce in northeastern Ontario was predominately female (94.6%) with a mean age of 41.9 (standard deviation = 10.2). In the personal systems model, three variables: marital status (p = 0.025), respondent ethnicity (p = 0.026), and mean number of patients per shift (p = 0.049) were significantly contributed to the variance in work ability scores. In the workplace system model, job and career satisfaction (p = 0.026) had a positive influence on work ability scores, while work absenteeism (p = 0.023) demonstrated an inverse relationship with work ability scores. In the combined model, all the predictors were significantly related to work ability scores. Conclusion: Work ability is closely related to job and career satisfaction, and perceived control at work among obstetric nursing. In order to improve work ability, nurses need to work in environments that support them and allow them to be engaged in the decision-making processes.

Workplace System Factors of Obstetric Nurses in Northeastern Ontario, Canada: Using a Work Disability Prevention Approach

Behdin Nowrouzi,Nancy Lightfoot,Lorraine Carter,Michel Larivère,Ellen Rukholm,Diane Belanger-Gardner 한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.4

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship nursing personal and workplace system factors (work disability) and work ability index scores in Ontario, Canada. Methods: A total of 111 registered nurses were randomly selected from the total number of registered nurses on staff in the labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum areas of four northeastern Ontario hospitals. Using a stratified random design approach, 51 participants were randomly selected in four northeastern Ontario cities. Results: A total of 51 (45.9% response rate) online questionnaires were returned and another 60 (54.1% response rate) were completed using the paper format. The obstetric workforce in northeastern Ontario was predominately female (94.6%) with a mean age of 41.9 (standard deviation ¼ 10.2). In the personal systems model, three variables: marital status (p ¼ 0.025), respondent ethnicity (p ¼ 0.026), and mean number of patients per shift (p ¼ 0.049) were significantly contributed to the variance in work ability scores. In the workplace system model, job and career satisfaction (p ¼ 0.026) had a positive influence on work ability scores, while work absenteeism (p ¼ 0.023) demonstrated an inverse relationship with work ability scores. In the combined model, all the predictors were significantly related to work ability scores. Conclusion: Work ability is closely related to job and career satisfaction, and perceived control at work among obstetric nursing. In order to improve work ability, nurses need to work in environments that support them and allow them to be engaged in the decision-making processes.

Heart Disease and Occupational Risk Factors in the Canadian Population: An Exploratory Study Using the Canadian Community Health Survey

Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia,Anson K.C. Li,Christine Nguyen,Jennifer Casole 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2018 Safety and health at work Vol.9 No.2

Background: The objective of this study is to find temporal trends in the associations between cardiovascular disease and occupational risk factors in the context of the Canadian population. Methods: Population data were analyzed from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collected between 2001 and 2014 for trends over time between heart disease and various occupational risk factors: hours worked, physical exertion at work, and occupation type (management/arts/education, business/finance, sales/services, trades/transportations, and primary industry/processing). Results: We found no significant difference in the average number of hours worked/wk between individuals who report having heart disease in all years of data except in 2011 (F1,96 ¼ 7.02, p ¼ 0.009) and 2012 (F1,96 ¼ 8.86, p ¼ 0.004). We also found a significant difference in the degree of physical exertion at work in 2001 (F1,79 ¼ 7.45, p ¼ 0.008). There were statistically significant results of occupation type on self-reported heart disease from 2003 to 2014. Conclusion: Canadian data from the CCHS do not exhibit a trend toward an association between heart disease and the number of hours worked/wk. There is an association between heart disease and physical exertion at work, but the trend is inconsistent. The data indicate a trend toward an association between heart disease and occupation type, but further analysis is required to determine which occupation type may be associated with heart disease.

Erratum to "Obesity as a Possible Risk Factor For Lost-Time Injury In Registered Nurses: A Literature Review" [Saf Health Work 6 (1) (2015) 1-8]

Jordan, Gillian,Nowrouzi-Kia, Behnam,Gohar, Basem,Nowrouzi, Behdin Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.2

Obesity as a Possible Risk Factor for Lost-time Injury in Registered Nurses: A Literature Review

Jordan, Gillian,Nowrouzi-Kia, Behnam,Gohar, Basem,Nowrouzi, Behdin Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.1

Time-loss injuries are still a major occurrence in Canada, injuring thousands of Canadian workers each year. With obesity rates on the rise across the country, as well as around the world, it is important that the possible effects of obesity in the workplace be fully understood, especially those effects linked to lost-time injuries. The aim of this paper was to evaluate predictors of workplace lost-time injuries and how they may be related to obesity or high body mass index by examining factors associated with lost-time injuries in the health care sector, a well-studied industry with the highest number of reported time loss injuries in Canada. A literature review focusing on lost-time injuries in Registered Nurses (RNs) was conducted using the keywords and terms: lost time injury, workers' compensation, occupational injury, workplace injury, injury, injuries, work, workplace, occupational, nurse, registered nurse, RN, health care, predictors, risk factors, risk, risks, cause, causes, obese, obesity, and body mass index. Data on predictors or factors associated with lost-time injuries in RNs were gathered and organized using Loisel's Work Disability Prevention Management Model and extrapolated upon using existing literature surrounding obesity in the Canadian workplace.

Indoor air quality and ventilation requirement in residential buildings: A case study of Tehran, Iran

Ataei, Abtin,Nowrouzi, Ali,Choi, Jun-Ki Techno-Press 2015 Advances in environmental research Vol.4 No.3

The ventilation system is a key device to ensure both healthful indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort in buildings. The ventilation system should make the IAQ meet the standards such as ASHRAE 62. This study deals with a new approach to modeling the ventilation and IAQ requirement in residential buildings. In that approach, Elite software is used to calculate the air supply volume, and CONTAM model as a multi-zone and contaminant dispersal model is employed to estimate the contaminants' concentrations. Amongst various contaminants existing in the residential buildings, two main contaminates of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and carbon monoxide (CO) were considered. CO and $CO_2$ are generated mainly from combustion sources such as gas cooking and heating oven. In addition to the mentioned sources, $CO_2$ is generated from occupants' respirations. To show how that approach works, a sample house with the area of $80m^2$ located in Tehran was considered as an illustrative case study. The results showed that $CO_2$ concentration in the winter was higher than the acceptable level. Therefore, the air change rate (ACH) of 4.2 was required to lower the $CO_2$ concentration below the air quality threshold in the living room, and in the bedrooms, the rate of ventilation volume should be 11.2 ACH.

English as a Second Language Learners and Teachers’ Conceptions of Language Assessment

Vahid Nimehchisalem,Edmund Foo Sze Kai,Sara Nowrouzi 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.4

Currently, ministries of education in some developing countries, such as Malaysia and Iran, are planning to transform their often-centralized tests to school-based assessment. This is good news but before making any changes, one must ask if stakeholders in such communities are ready for any changes. The objective of this study was to compare the conceptions of assessments of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and students. Qualitative methods were used to collect the data using a questionnaire with open-ended tasks developed, validated, piloted and refined by the researchers. The data were analyzed through inductive and deductive thematic analysis approaches. The results also indicated that both students and teachers frequently view assessment as tests and scores, and yet there were differences between their conceptions. For example, while teachers were more concerned with standards and validity, themes such as cheating emerged from students’ data. Assessment was also found to be stimulator of both adaptive behavior (such as an instrumental motivator) and maladaptive behavior (such as cheating) among students. These results offer remarkable implications for language learning, teaching, and testing for education policy-makers in developing countries.

Synthesis of Evidence to Support EMS Personnel's Mental Health During Disease Outbreaks: A Scoping Review

Du Bronson B.,Rezvani Sara,Bigelow Philip,Nowrouzi-Kia Behdin,Boscart Veronique M.,Yung Marcus,Yazdani Amin 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2022 Safety and health at work Vol.13 No.4

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are at high risk for adverse mental health outcomes during disease outbreaks. To support the development of evidence-informed mitigation strategies, we conducted a scoping review to identify the extent of research pertaining to EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks and summarized key factors associated with mental health outcomes. We systematically searched three databases for articles containing keywords within three concepts: EMS personnel, disease outbreaks, and mental health. We screened and retained original peer-reviewed articles that discussed, in English, EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks. Where inferential statistics were reported, the associations between individual and work-related factors and mental health outcomes were synthesized. Twenty-five articles were eligible for data extraction. Our findings suggest that many of the contributing factors for adverse mental health outcomes are related to inadequacies in fulfilling EMS personnel's basic safety and informational needs. In preparation for future disease outbreaks, resources should be prioritized toward ensuring adequate provisions of personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control training. This scoping review serves as a launching pad for further research and intervention development.

Demographic, Lifestyle, and Physical Health Predictors of Sickness Absenteeism in Nursing: A Meta-Analysis

Gohar Basem,Larivière Michel,Lightfoot Nancy,Larivière Céline,Wenghofer Elizabeth,Nowrouzi-kia Behdin 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2021 Safety and health at work Vol.12 No.4

Background: Sickness absenteeism is an area of concern in nursing and is more concerning given the recent impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare. This study is one of two meta-analyses that examined sickness absenteeism in nursing. In this study, we examined demographic, lifestyle, and physical health predictors. Methods: We reviewed five databases (CINAHL, ProQuest Allied, ProQuest database theses, PsycINFO, and PubMed) for our search. We registered the systematic review (CRD de-identified) and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Additionally, we used the Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome Tool to improve our searches. Results: Following quality testing, 17 articles were used for quantitative synthesis. Female employees were at higher risks of sickness absenteeism than their male counterparts (OR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.33-2.25). Nursing staff who rated their health as poor had a greater likelihood of experiencing sickness absence (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.19-1.60). Also, previous sick leave predicted future leaves (OR = 3.35; 95% CI: 1.37-8.19). Moreover, experiencing musculoskeletal pain (OR = 2.41 95% CI: 1.77-3.27) increased the likelihood of sickness absence with greater odds when it is a back pain (OR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.66-5.62). Increased age, physical activity, and sleep were not associated with sick leave. Conclusion: Several variables were statistically associated with the occurrence of sickness absenteeism. One primary concern is the limited research in this area despite alarming rates of sick leave in healthcare. More research is required to identify predictors of sickness absence, and thereby, implement preventative measures.