@article { author = {A., Abou Elmaati and M, Ismail and G, Hosny}, title = {ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS IN SIDI KRIR POWER STATION}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {131-145}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.756}, abstract = {Introduction: Electrical industry is one of the main sources of exposure to physical hazards affecting environmental quality. Concern for a clean working environment for industrial workers is based on the fact that improved air quality leads to high productivity and human welfare for workers. This means that the efforts to improve the working environment have positive impacts on workers, concerned company, and the economy as a whole, and vice versa. Objective: to assess some of the environmental physical occupational health hazards: noise, heat stress and light intensity in Sidi Krir Power Station. Results: Result outcomes represented guides to contour maps of the potentially hazardous areas in the company for the selected physical hazards and to set up recommendations for corrective actions to improve and develop the performance of safety department. Conclusion and Recommendation: The current study concluded that environmental health and safety measures for physical occupational hazards among workers in Sidi Krir Power station can be managed and safely promoted, for better work environment..}, keywords = {Occupational health & safety,Physical hazards, Sidi Krir, working environment}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_756.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_756_20b7446ba9c76353e6caa9a02a5a5917.pdf} } @article { author = {MA, Al-Batanony and MM, Shebl}, title = {147 CHALLENGES FACING TEACHING OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN MENOUFIYA FACULTY OF MEDICINE AS A COMMUNITY ORIENTED SCHOOL}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {147-162}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.757}, abstract = {Introduction: The department of Public Health and Community Medicine (PHCM) in Menoufiya Faculty of Medicine, Egypt serves over 400 undergraduate students and around 5 post graduate students yearly. The department also provides teaching courses to Ministry of Health and Population, Faculty of Nursing, Institute of Nursing, School of Nursing, Faculty of Education as well as Environmental Research Institute. Aim of the work: Studying the challenges facing teaching Occupational and Environmental Health in Menoufiya Faculty of Medicine, Egypt as a community oriented school. Material and Methods: Teaching Occupational and Environmental health is divided into: teaching under graduate students and teaching post graduate students. The researchers tried to touch some challenges facing teaching Occupational and Environmental health in a practical way in depth. Results: Challenges facing teaching Occupational and Environmental Health are divided into: Logistic challenges; like inadequate infrastructure efficiency from the stands, internet access and library services, absence of an outpatient clinic or inpatient ward for occupational and environmental health for student training and shortage of financial support to purchased modern occupational health teaching resources and aids. Organizational challenges; like shortage in the number of qualified staff, assistant staff members and lab technicians in relation to  the steady increase in the number of students, limited curriculum time for teaching Occupational and Environmental Health, lacking of student interest, unavailable weekly transportation for the occupational field study and inability of the student to evaluate staff member performance in teaching. Conclusion and Recommendations: It was obvious that Occupational and Environmental Health teaching in Menoufiya Faculty of Medicine, Egypt faces a lot of challenges. Although there are challenges but a solution of every challenge can help in achievement of this branch more and more. Future survey research on the students of Menoufiya Faculty of Medicine, Egypt about Occupational and Environmental Health teaching may help in overcoming these challenges. .}, keywords = {challenges,teaching,Occupational and Environmental Health,Faculty of Medicine,Menoufiya University}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_757.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_757_1d469ca0ef0bd2d2737cd078fc77dd40.pdf} } @article { author = {M., El Tayeb and NM, Abdo}, title = {PREVALENCE OF OCCUPATIONAL VOICE DISORDERS AMONG PHYSICIANS OF PRIVATE CLINICS AT MATARYIA DISTRICT, CAIRO}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {163-175}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.758}, abstract = {Introduction: Physicians use their voice in their occupation for almost the same length of time per day as professional voice users, e.g., teachers . In addition, they are also exposed to respiratory tract infections(RTI) that can cause voice problems. Aim of the work: To compare the voice disorders between private clinics’ physicians and laboratory (lab) physicians at Mataryia district, Cairo city, through the following objectives: 1- to identify the prevalence of voice problems among both groups. 2- To find out the most common voice disorders. 3- To assess the main risk factors of voice disorders. Materials and Methods: a comparative cross sectional study was implemented. The study covered the period from March to October 2012 at the Mataryia district, Cairo city. All participants have been subjected to the survey form that was used consisted of 31 questions to get information about age, gender, duration of employment, voice disorders, causes of voice disorders, daily vocal load, vocal habits, allergies, typical and atypical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GER), sufficient hydration and smoking.Results: The total prevalence of voice disorders was significantly higher among private clinics’ physicians (55.6%) than lab physicians (28.9%). 34.3% of private clinics’ physicians complained voice disorders during training. Effort to talk and affecting communication were the most reported symptoms with significantly higher frequency among clinics’ physicians (100%). Female gender speaks loudly, shouts frequently, frequent throat clearing, symptoms of gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), smoking, allergy and insufficient hydration represented the most important risk factors for clinics’ physicians with frequent voice disorders.  Conclusion and Recommendations: The prevalence of voice disorders was higher among clinics’ physicians more than lab physicians. Based on the findings, the following recommendations can be suggested: 1- health education about correct vocal technique, vocal hygiene, and additional information about diseases causing voice disorders should be included in the postgraduate medical education. 2- Increase the number of researches focus on voice problems among physicians. 3- Increase the number of physician to decrease the work load and making rest during voice problem easier. 4- Use handouts and posters to help in communication with the patients. .}, keywords = {Voice disorders,Private clinics,Physicians,Egypt}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_758.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_758_59fd71e557a5d059aad67fb99d3afa23.pdf} } @article { author = {M., El tehewy and EL, EL Okda and J, Mohamed and N, Essam}, title = {USE OF ABBREVIATIONS IN MEDICAL PRACTICE IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN EGYPT}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {177-190}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.759}, abstract = {Background: Regardless of their convenience, medical abbreviations have been responsible for serious errors and deaths. Look-alike abbreviations or symbols, throughout the healthcare literature, are widespread examples of common errors. These problems involve numbers as well as letters. Objectives: To identify used abbreviations in medical records in surgical departments in El-demerdash hospital and to assess comprehension level of abbreviations written in medical records by medical and paramedical staff. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was done to review 400 medical records in surgical departments in El-demerdash hospital for identification of used abbreviations. Three hundred healthcare professionals in Eldemerdash hospital were inquired to identify the meaning of the top (5%) frequently used abbreviations in a self-administered questionnaire. Results: More than 900 different abbreviations were identified in the studied sample. Most of them (56%)were used in documenting history and physical examination followed by lab report (20.6%).When medical dictionary was used to identify meaning of the most frequently used abbreviations (top 10%) only (18.4%) of these abbreviations were identified. Meanings of abbreviations were obtained from five general surgery consultants. There were different abbreviations used for a single meaning and different meanings given to a single abbreviation. The factors that significantly affected the number of used abbreviations were length of stay, condition at discharge and department where the patient was staying. The most frequently used abbreviations (top5%) were circulated in a questionnaire to assess the comprehension of these abbreviations among El-demerdash staff. In general, there was poor understanding of the abbreviations used in medical records. Only 3 out of 34 abbreviations were interpreted correctly by more than (50%) of the study sample. Paramedical staff showed lower comprehension level than medical staff. Other factors significantly affected comprehension level of abbreviations include years of experience and last certificate obtained by the participant. Conclusion: The study showed that medical abbreviations are widely used in a non-standardized way in medical records of Eldemerdash hospital. The majority of healthcare professionals had poor understanding of commonly used abbreviations which affects communication during patient care and may lead to medical errors.}, keywords = {missed}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_759.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_759_b57e0ea40a24fccbef9acc533ab0c91d.pdf} } @article { author = {MY, Elssayed and HM, Hassan and G, Hosny}, title = {ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL LEVEL OF AWARENESS FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN SIDI KERIR PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {191-203}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.760}, abstract = {Introduction: Humans are daily exposed to different kinds of dangerous exposures. Occupationally, workers are at higher risk to different hazards depending on the type of industry. Workers in petroleum and petrochemical industries are exposed to many occupational hazards like noise, different types of chemicals, ionizing radiation and infra-red radiation etc. High level of awareness for health and safety is very important issue for workers in petrochemical industries. Aim of work: to assess the occupational exposures and level of awareness for health and safety in Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company. Materials and Methods : Site survey and analysis for the target company and review of the production process were performed to assess the occupational exposures and level of awareness for health and safety among workers. The study was performed utilizing a questionnaire sheet for awareness assessment. The results revealed that workers are at high risk for exposure to noise and chemicals but at low risk for exposure to ionizing radiation and infra-red radiation. However, the level of awareness for health and safety among workers was shown to be at high level. Conclusion: The current results raised recommendations and needs to improve communication between safety management committee and workers and to emphasize the role of training courses to ensure better safety communication and involvement of all workers in top safety management of the company. }, keywords = {Occupational health & safety,Safety awareness,Sedi Kirir Company,Petrochemical industry,training courses}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_760.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_760_56780b8d7c2272331fd716036190e60a.pdf} } @article { author = {A., Arafa and M, Afify}, title = {EFFECT OF SHIFT WORK ON BODY MASS INDEX AND OTHER BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {205-214}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.761}, abstract = {Introduction: Shift work is associated with increased incidence of obesity and other features of the metabolic syndrome. Health problems in shift workers are caused by several factors, one of these factors is the stress hormone cortisol. Aim of the work: to assess the association between night shift work and the changes in body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose, lipid (total cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides) levels, cortisol hormone secretion, uric acid blood level and salivary cortisol level. Materials & Methods: this study was conducted on 160 male security personnel, their age ranging from 35 to 40 years in Cairo . Regarding the work schedule 80 subjects worked daytime for 8 hours, whereas 80 individuals worked only night shift for 12 hour with one day off, for at least continuous 5 years. Results: the results showed no significant difference between night shift and day workers as regard age and working years. As regard body mass index (BMI) there was highly significant difference (<0.001) between night and day workers. There was no significant difference between night and day shift workers as regard total cholesterol level, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose (P< 0.05) where as there is a significant difference between night and day shift workers as regard HDL –cholesterol (P<0.05) and a highly significant difference between night and day shift workers as regard uric acid blood level (P<0.001).A significant difference was detected in salivary cortisol levels among night shift workers where the salivary cortisol level is higher in the evening than in the morning, also there is a significant difference in salivary cortisol level among day shift workers where the salivary cortisol level is higher in the morning than in the evening (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest an association between long-term shift work and increased body mass index, elevation cortisol level, HDL–cholesterol, fasting blood glucose and uric acid level. Further studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms involved and the complex behavioral and social adaptations experienced by night-shift workers. Regular screening health programs should be done to maintain the health of shift workers.}, keywords = {missed}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_761.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_761_a078b74494f6b140082a80c5ec6aa983.pdf} } @article { author = {GA, Abo El-Ata}, title = {DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND EGYPTIAN OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES’ LISTS - REVIEW}, journal = {Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine}, volume = {36}, number = {2}, pages = {215-237}, year = {2012}, publisher = {The Egyptian Society of Industrial Medicine}, issn = {1110-1881}, eissn = {2357-058X}, doi = {10.21608/ejom.2012.762}, abstract = {An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalent in a given group of workers than in the general population, or in other worker populations.The present review study aims at eliciting development of the occupational diseases concepts and lists in Egypt and internationally, in order to anticipate the future trends in enhancing the supportive activities targeting healthcare activities of the Egyptian workers. The historical and present situation of occupational diseases are carefully reviewed and discussed, emphasizing the foot prints of related conceptions in Egypt and ILO.Future ambitions are expressed by the current study. Adopt the ILO list as well as its future amendments. In addition, re-formatting the schedule, in a similar way the ILO list is organized in three categories of occupational diseases: 1) Diseases caused by agents (chemical, physical, biological) ; 2) Diseases of target organ systems (respiratory, skin and mucous membranes, musculoskeletal, liver, kidney, endocrine, etc.) ; and 3) Occupational cancer. Restructure the basic occupational health services (BOHS) to insure provision of comprehensive and continuous benefits for every worker in his workplace. A series of guidelines and codes of practice should be issued to facilitate adoption of BOHS with detailed required procedures.The study recommended continued improving the Egyptian schedule, with establishment of proper guidelines and codes of practice to lead surveillance of the worker’s health and the workplace, an important item in basic occupational health services (BOHS). }, keywords = {Occupational Diseases,List,Schedule,ILO,Egypt}, url = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_762.html}, eprint = {https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_762_4265b495dc90ce66ac5c88eaa506dab4.pdf} }