Identifying the most important occupational diseases in the construction industry: case study of building industry in Iran

Analysis of the research subjects and hot topics of occupational diseases through the Web of Science from 1975 to 2021

A variety of studies have been conducted in Occupational diseases (ODs) and this makes it difficult for researchers to identify new areas of study. Therefore, the present study was conducted by examining Web of Science data to identify hot topics and research topics on ODs. This is a scientometric study performed using CiteSpace and Gephi software for statistical analysis. The published article in Web of Sciences was searched using the keywords "Occupational disease^*" OR "Occupational illness^*" OR "Industrial disease^*" OR "Industrial illness^*". Finally, the countries and institutions and their cooperation, the most important and main topics discussed, and the path of future progress in ODs was analyzed. Preliminary results of the study show that out of 5,947 articles. The results of important journals showed that the American Journal of Industrial Medicine with 233 articles (6.02%), Oxford Occupational Medicine, and International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health with 86 (2.22%), and 83 (2.15%), respectively. The two producing countries are the United States and Germany, which published 628 and 419 articles, respectively. The results of hot topics showed occupational exposures, epidemiology, mental health, and respiratory diseases were the most important keywords used in these 45 years. It can be concluded that Germany, with its current development trend in the coming years, will surpass the United States based on the number of articles and gain the first rank. Also, future studies can be conducted on respiratory diseases as the most important ODs and health care work as the most important job during the past years.

Measurement of Barriers to Perform Periodic Examinations: Development and Psychometric Properties Scale

PURPOSE

Due to recent changes in workplace risks, it is required to investigate the motivations of employees and employers for occupational examination performance. The present study aims to develop a self-report scale to overcome prior methodological defects and evaluate barriers of performing periodic examinations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted on 200 participants, including employers, occupational health inspectors, occupational physicians, and occupational health experts working in the industrial sector, aged 25-70. The subjects supplied sociodemographic information and completed the experimental version of the instrument.

RESULTS

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) provided evidence for a five-factor model, including knowledge, quality, law, capability, and service, with 62.68% variance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) proved stability rates of both models (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.062, comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) incremental fit index (IFI), normed fit index (NFI), and relative fit index (RFI) were 0.92, 0.906, 0.921, 0.835, and 0.808, respectively). The scale also revealed appropriate levels of reliability (α = 0.916 and composite reliability (CR) >0.7) and validity (average variance extracted > 0.5).

CONCLUSION

The psychometric characteristics of the scale demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. This study developed this valid instrument allowing to be used by health decision-makers for assessing barriers of performing periodic examinations.