Search Results (50)

Introduction: Poorly designed safety job descriptions may have a negative impact on occupational safety and health (OSH) performance. Firstly, they limit the chances of hiring highly qualified safety professionals who are vital to the success of OSH management systems in organizations. Secondly, the relationship between the presence of qualified safety professionals and the safety culture (and performance) in an organization is reciprocal. Thirdly, the low quality of job descriptions limits exploring the proper competencies needed by safety professionals before they are hired. The safety professional is thus uncertain of what level of education or training and which skills they should attain. Objectives: The main goal of the study is to integrate the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) with importance–performance analysis (IPA) to evaluate job descriptions in multiple sectors. Results: The results of the study indicate that it is vital to clearly define job levels, the overall mission, key responsibilities, time-consuming tasks, required education/certifications, and necessary personal abilities in safety job descriptions. This clarity enhances recruitment, fairness, performance management, and succession planning. The organization can then attract and retain top talent, improve performance, foster a strong safety culture, create realistic job expectations, increase employee satisfaction and productivity, and ensure that competent individuals are hired, ultimately leading to a safer and more productive workplace. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study provide a robust framework that can and should be used as a guideline to professionalize job description development and enhance talent acquisition strategies. Full article

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence and key sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype in a large occupational cohort. Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype, defined as the simultaneous presence of elevated waist circumference and high triglyceride levels, are major predictors of cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality. Despite their clinical relevance, data on their distribution and determinants in large occupational populations remain limited. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 139,634 employed adults (56,352 women and 83,282 men) across Spain, based on standardized clinical evaluations and validated questionnaires assessing physical activity, diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, education, and occupational class. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations with MetS and HTGW. A longitudinal subsample of 40,431 individuals was followed over a 10-year period (2009–2019) to assess trends in metabolic risk phenotypes. Results: Male sex, older age, lower educational attainment, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were associated with a higher prevalence of both MetS and the HTGW phenotype. Physical inactivity, low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with increased risk. The HTGW phenotype proved useful in identifying high-risk individuals, with a steadily increasing prevalence over time. Conclusions: Sociodemographic disparities and modifiable lifestyle factors significantly influence the prevalence and progression of MetS and HTGW in the Spanish workforce. Preventive strategies should emphasize early workplace screening, promotion of healthy behaviors, and reduction in educational and socioeconomic inequalities to mitigate cardiometabolic risk. Full article

The Brazilian population in the United States is growing, and many Brazilian workers are employed in settings that may lack occupational health and safety (OHS) protections. In this study, we examined two domains of OHS (measured by the Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability Survey), namely, Workplace Hazards (potential dangers that may result in injury or illness) and Workplace Vulnerability (inadequate occupational health and safety resources), and described health and demographic characteristics associated with these conditions. Eligible participants were women aged 18 and over, born in Brazil, currently residing in the United States, and employed. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between July and August 2020. Recruitment occurred through community partnerships and social media. Multivariable models among n = 191 women revealed that greater exposure to Workplace Hazards was associated with employment in private household settings, including childcare and housecleaning (p < 0.001). The association between Workplace Vulnerability and jobs in private household services approached statistical significance (p = 0.07). Both Workplace Hazards and Workplace Vulnerability were associated with lower incomes and educational attainment, as well as having public insurance. Our findings suggest the need for stronger OHS protections and policies, particularly among those working in private household services, to ensure safer working conditions for Brazilian immigrant women. Full article

Introduction: The clinical syndrome of heart failure (HF) is progressive and disabling for patients who rely on their caregivers for help and support. The caregiving role is inducing major changes in the personal, social, and family life of caregivers and entails a heavy emotional and physical burden, which in turn negatively affects their quality of life (QoL). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the QoL of caregivers of patients with HF as well as the associated caregivers’ and patients’ characteristics. Material and Methods: The sample of the study included 340 caregivers along with their hospitalized patients. Data collection was performed by the method of the interview using the questionnaire “SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36)” to assess caregivers’ QoL. Results: Τhe physical QoL component of caregivers was found to be statistically significantly associated with the type of relationship with their patient (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.001), level of education (p = 0.001), occupation (p = 0.001), information about HF patients (p = 0.001), worry about finances (p = 0.001), and insecurity about the future (p = 0.001). The mental QoL component of caregivers was found to be statistically significantly associated with the type of relationship with their patient (p = 0.001), gender (p = 0.009), age (p = 0.001), level of education (p = 0.001), occupation (p = 0.001), frequency of visits to hospitalized patient (p = 0.001), information about HF (p = 0.029), anxiety about patients’ self-care (p = 0.001), worry about finances (p = 0.001), and insecurity about the future (p = 0.001). In terms of HF patient’s characteristics, the physical QoL component of caregivers was found to be statistically significantly associated with the patients’ age (p = 0.001), patients’ education level (p = 0.001), patients’ occupation (p = 0.006), patients’ family history of cardiac disease (p = 0.006), and patients’ self-reported symptom management before hospital admission (p = 0.022). The mental QoL component of caregivers was found to be statistically significantly associated with the patients’ education level (p = 0.020), the patients’ NYHA stage (p = 0.001), prior hospitalization (p = 0.001), the patients’ family history of cardiac disease (p = 0.012), and the patients’ self-reported symptom management before admission (p = 0.001). Conclusions: In-depth understanding factors affecting QoL in caregivers with HF may enhance plans and actions to attain healthcare goals among societies globally. Full article

Wealth and power have been recognized as being unequally concentrated within specific families. While research on social mobility has been limited to defined outcomes (e.g., occupation, income, and education) in specific contexts, the rise of big data has spurred broader network analysis. Using a comprehensive genealogical database of 30 million individuals in the Western Hemisphere, we analyzed how familial background, gender, and occupational domains influence the probability of individuals attaining “fame” in their lifetime. Individuals with famous parents are more likely to become famous themselves, especially males. Unexpectedly, we identified more than 10,000 famous individuals who are closely related, comprising 25.6% of all famous individuals in the entire dataset. While the underlying sample may have representativeness issues, the findings suggest that famous individuals are not isolated figures but often part of broader interconnected family networks. Full article

This paper investigated how parents’ informal work relates to their children’s academic performance. We interviewed the heads of households with 83 school-aged children in peri-urban Kathmandu to obtain information on parental occupation and child schooling. We also interviewed key informants and conducted focus group discussions to investigate the relationship between working parents’ job profiles and their impression of their child’s school achievement. Parent characteristics, such as work status (formal or informal), educational attainment, family size, and number of children, were recorded. The primary variable of interest was the children’s academic performance, measured as improved or otherwise compared to the previous year. Our analysis confirmed that parents in informal jobs spent more time with their school-going children than their counterparts in formal employment. We found that the parents in informal jobs were relatively more educated in the sample area. The existing literature concurs that parental support significantly influences children’s educational outcomes. Parents in informal jobs, while spending more time with their children, expressed pessimism regarding their children’s school performance and future opportunities. We also found that household wealth, past performance, school type, and the level of supporter education in the family played significant roles in shaping parental perceptions of the child’s school performance. At the same time, we found the nature of the parent’s job did not significantly determine the child’s school performance, ceteris paribus. Full article

The life stage between the ages of 30–45 years for women is critical, given the competing demands of occupational advancement, intimate partner relationships, and childcare responsibilities. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women in the US, which is experienced inequitably by race/ethnicity/nativity and socioeconomic status and is embedded within geographic contexts. The objective of the current study was to examine social inequities in pre-pregnancy risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We analyzed 16 years of geocoded natality data in Texas (N = 2,089,588 births between 2005 and 2020 to mothers aged 30–45 years) linked with census tract- and county-level data. Dependent variables included pre-pregnancy diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and smoking. Independent variables included individual-level race/ethnicity/nativity and educational attainment, tract-level poverty and racial/ethnic concentrations, and county-level urban/rural status, with controls for other sociodemographic characteristics and time trend. Two-level, random intercept hierarchical generalized logistic models were used to estimate associations and model fit. Significant social inequities at the individual-, tract-, and county-levels in each risk factor were found. For example, tract-level variables had substantial and significant association with the four CVD risk factors, ranging from 13% to 72% higher odds in adjusted models. For all four risk factors, the more rural the county of residence was, the higher the odds of having the risk factor (24% to 256% higher odds). Individual-level social inequalities by race/ethnicity/nativity (ORs ranging from 0.04 to 2.12) and education (ORs ranging from 1.25 to 5.20) were also observed. Enhancing our understanding of this important period of life may enable policy and interventions to better support women through this critical life stage. Full article

Background: There has yet to be an agreement on which specific socioeconomic status (SES) indicator most effectively reflects disparities in children’s diets. However, children from lower SES backgrounds are particularly vulnerable, as research in other countries indicates that their diets contain fewer fruits and vegetables and more sweetened beverages. This paper aims to evaluate the associations between dietary habits and various SES indicators (education, occupation, income, and household size) among a representative sample of children in Croatia aged 7–10. Methods: Parents of children were asked to complete a questionnaire that contained indicators of their children’s dietary habits and socioeconomic status (n = 5608). Associations between SES and children’s dietary habits were assessed using logistic regression models. Results: The mother and father’s educational attainment were strongly positively associated with breakfast consumption. Children of parents with a lower educational level consumed sweetened beverages, sweet snacks, and fast food slightly more often than children in families with a higher educational background. The mother’s education was inversely associated with vegetable and cereal consumption, while the father’s education was inversely associated with fruit and bakery product consumption. Meanwhile, household income per unit had a significant influence on the consumption of soft drinks and bakery products. Household size had a significant influence solely on sweet snack consumption. Conclusions: Each SES indicator showed an independent association with at least one particular dietary habit, except for the parent’s employment status. Full article

This paper evaluates the higher education (HE) admissions policy by examining the educational attainment gaps in state schools of young people from different socio-economic backgrounds in England. We analysed data for a cohort of 5192 state-educated young people from the large-scale nationally representative longitudinal Next Steps dataset from 2004 to 2015, linked to the robust administrative National Pupil Database (NPD) for England. The analytical methods used include effect sizes and correlations. The results show a clear pattern of the socio-economic stratification of young people’s educational attainment. Pupil deprivation is a key indicator which is consistently associated with lower educational attainment. While this is not surprising, our study also suggests that there are other factors besides the family backgrounds which are associated with young people’s educational outcomes. Pupils’ enjoyment of school, their educational aspirations, and their parent’s aspirations for their children are found to have a positive correlation with attainment at school, suggesting that educational aspirations and positive school experiences might contribute to a narrowing of deprivation-related gaps. As the analyses also suggest that young people who went to university and those in professional occupations consistently achieved higher academic performance than their peers, the findings have policy implications for improving social mobility. While it is not possible to alter parents’ socioeconomic backgrounds, raising children’s aspirations and making school enjoyable are amenable to policies and interventions. The common practice of using academic attainment as a selection criterion for admission to HE is likely to disadvantage children from low socioeconomic families, with implications for social mobility. The contextualised admission (CA) policy should lead to fairer approaches, which could be used for admissions to HE. Full article

Over the past decade, China has enacted forward-looking environmental policies that have significantly reduced air pollution. However, while there appears to be a synergy between economic development and improvements in air quality, regional imbalances in development and disparities in health risks underscore systemic challenges in environmental governance. This study employed a population-weighted exposure index to evaluate disparities in PM_2.5 exposure and its temporal and spatial trends, considering multidimensional socio-economic factors such as education, age, gender, occupation, and urban/rural backgrounds across 32 provinces and regions in China. The findings reveal that despite a notable decline in overall PM_2.5 concentrations between 2013 and 2020, improvements in air quality are uneven across regions, with less developed areas bearing a disproportionate burden of emission reductions. Urban centers exhibit lower exposure levels due to resource and industrial advantages, whereas towns experience higher risks of air pollution. Socio-economic disparities are evident, with increased exposure observed in high-pollution industries and among groups with lower educational attainment. Women are more likely to be exposed than men, and both the elderly and children face higher risks. To address these challenges, policies should focus on the economic development of underdeveloped regions, balance environmental protection with growth, prioritize heavily polluted areas and vulnerable populations, and promote the adoption of clean energy to mitigate pollution inequality. Full article

We used National Birth Defects Prevention Study data to investigate associations between working patterns shortly before and during pregnancy and gestational diabetes and pregnancy-related hypertension. We analyzed working patterns (multiple-job holders, job changers, single-job holders) during the three months before and during pregnancy for 8140 participants who delivered a live-born child without a birth defect. “Multiple-job holders” worked more than one job simultaneously, “job changers” worked more than one job with no overlap, and “single-job holders” (referent) worked one job. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate associations between working pattern and each outcome, adjusting for maternal age and educational attainment at delivery. We explored effect measure modification by household income, peak weekly working hours, and maternal race/ethnicity. Multiple-job holders had higher odds of gestational diabetes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–2.1) and pregnancy-related hypertension (aOR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0–2.2) compared with single-job holders. Multiple-job holders with a household income of more than 30,000 USD per year, 32–44 peak weekly working hours, and from racial/ethnic minority groups had higher odds of gestational diabetes compared with single-job holders in respective categories. Detailed occupational information is important for studies of occupation and maternal health. Full article

This study analyzes the structural transformations of the occupations of all off-farm rural laborers in China over the period 2007–2022. The changes in the rural labor market are mainly reflected in the decrease in the share of routine manual laborers from 66.59 percent to 52.77 percent, and the increases in the shares of non-routine cognitive and non-working laborers by 4.48 and 10.73 percentage points from 2007 to 2022, respectively. By adopting decomposition analysis, which improves the definition of occupational classification based on information on sub-sectors in industries and job contents using a dataset with a nationally representative sample covering 2000 rural households, the results show that both composition effect and propensity effect play important roles in the decrease in routine manual occupations; the composition effect dominates the changes in the non-routine cognitive occupation category, while the propensity effect is the main driver of the increasing trend in the non-working group. The economic model further illustrates the results of decomposition analysis. These findings imply that the government should further improve education in rural areas and pay greater attention to female and low-education-attainment groups among rural laborers. This study provides a reference for policies aimed at promoting the sustainable development of the rural labor market. Full article

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with functional impairment and poor quality of life (QoL) across multiple domains, such as social functioning, occupational and educational attainment, physical health, and overall life satisfaction and wellbeing. Yet, there is limited evidence for which PTSD symptom clusters may be more strongly associated with functional impairment and decreased QoL. We used a seven-factor model of PTSD (re-experiencing, avoidance, negative alterations, anhedonia, externalizing, dysphoric arousal, and anxious arousal) to predict QoL using a latent regression model in a sample (N = 537) of adult patients participating in exposure-based PTSD partial hospitalization programs (PHP). QoL was measured by the Quality-of-Life Satisfaction Questionnaire—Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF). Among posttraumatic symptoms, anhedonia emerged as the only significant predictor in the model (β = −8.60, SE = 3.02, p = 0.004), when controlling for depression scores. The overall model accounted for 40% of the variance in QoL. Depression was also significantly associated with QoL (β = −1.67, SE = 0.15, p < 0.001), controlling for PTSD symptoms. Our findings are congruent with prior research supporting the role of anhedonia and emotional numbing in functional impairment, yet differ in that other factors of PTSD (e.g., re-experiencing, avoidance, negative alterations) were not significant. Understanding which PTSD symptom clusters are more strongly associated with QoL may inform treatment approaches or allow clinicians to tailor treatments. We discuss implications for treatment and future research. Full article

The objective of this manuscript is to investigate the determinants influencing the selection of over-the-top (OTT) platforms as opposed to traditional television mediums—cable, Internet protocol television (IPTV), and satellite broadcasting—for the consumption of content such as television shows and films. Employing data extracted from the 2020 Media Panel comprising 423,851 observations garnered from personal media diaries, this study scrutinizes the impacts of individual attributes, environmental conditions, and temporal factors on platform choice. The findings reveal a temporal influence characterized by a “Friday effect” and a heightened preference for OTT platforms during early afternoon (12:00–16:00) and late-night hours (00:00–04:00). Notably, the likelihood of selecting OTT platforms is significantly augmented during the late-night period in comparison to other time frames. In relation to individual characteristics, variables such as male gender, younger age, higher educational attainment, and elevated income levels were positively correlated with a predilection for OTT platforms. Additionally, environmental variables such as possession of an unlimited data plan and ownership of a tablet personal computer also emerged as significant predictors for OTT preference. Furthermore, the presence of a beam projector during late-night hours and residing in a household with multiple occupants during afternoon hours also served as contributing factors for OTT utilization. In conclusion, the study offers critical insights for stakeholders in both traditional television and burgeoning OTT markets, providing data-driven recommendations for the strategic allocation of resources in consideration of day-of-week and time-of-day variables. Full article

Background: In China, the increasing concentration of ozone (O₃) has emerged as a significant air pollution issue, leading to adverse effects on public health, particularly the respiratory system. Despite the progress made in managing air pollution in China, it is crucial to address the problem of environmental O₃ pollution at present. Methods: The connection between O₃ exposure and respiratory mortality in Shenyang, China, from 2014 to 2018 was analyzed by a time-series generalized additive regression model (GAM) with quasi-Poisson regression. Additionally, the potential combined effects of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and O₃ were investigated using the synergy index (SI). Results: Our findings indicate that each 10 μg/m³ increase in O₃ at lag 2 days was associated with a maximum relative risk (RR) of 1.0150 (95% CI: 1.0098–1.0202) for respiratory mortality in the total population. For individuals aged ≥55 years, unmarried individuals, those engaged in indoor occupations, and those with low educational attainment, each 10 μg/m³ increase in O₃ at lag 07 days was linked to RR values of 1.0301 (95% CI: 1.0187–1.0417), 1.0437 (95% CI: 1.0266–1.0610), 1.0317 (95% CI: 1.0186–1.0450), and 1.0346 (95% CI: 1.0222–1.0471), respectively. Importantly, we discovered a synergistic effect of PM_2.5 and O₃, resulting in an SI of 2.372 on the occurrence of respiratory mortality. Conclusions: This study confirmed a positive association between O₃ exposure and respiratory mortality. Furthermore, it highlighted the interaction between O₃ and PM_2.5 in exacerbating respiratory deaths. Full article