Preliminary assessment of rotating shiftwork risk in a 24-hours metal industry

Occupational fatigue and health of gas station workers: A review

BACKGROUND

Occupational health factors such as shift work, sleep, fatigue, and work environment jeopardise the health and safety of gas station workers. This calls for new research to investigate how the working environment and characteristics impact the occupational health of workers at gas stations. However, minimal research has been conducted in this field, especially those involving psychological and behavioural factors, occupational stress, and so forth.

OBJECTIVE

This review was performed to investigate the present condition of the occupational risk of gas station workers in this safety-critical position.

METHODS

Five databases (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed studies. Results were selected according to these criteria: studies on fatigue, shift work, sleep, and physical and mental health of gas station employees; published on or before November 11, 2021; papers in English.

RESULTS

Twenty studies were considered for the final analysis. The results showed that shift work at gas stations leads to psychological and physiological problems. The psychological consequences included anxiety, stress, and depression, while the physiological consequences included biochemical changes and lifestyle consequences.

CONCLUSION

Shift work and the specific working environment of gas station employees adversely affect their sleep, stress levels, physical and mental health, and turnover intention. This systematic review allowed us to consider the occupational risk factors that can lead to sickness or accidents and contribute to reducing these risk factors. Realistic countermeasures ought to be established and interventions must be explored to mitigate risks to life, property, and the environment in operating gas stations.

Assessing and managing the rotating shiftwork risk in 24-hours hospital wards: An empirical multicenter study

BACKGROUND: A growing body of literature has showed the need to minimize the impact of rotating shiftwork (RS) on health of shift-healthcare workers (HCWs). OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were: 1) assessing the occupational risk associated with RS program in HCWs employed in 24 hours hospital wards 2) testing the feasibility of the questionnaire used. METHODS: The Rotating Shiftwork Questionnaire (RSQ) was implemented to assess the RS risk (RSR); the analysis was addressed to: 1) Sentinel events (SE) and 2) Risk factors (RF). The RSQ was administered to the specialist nursing coordinators in eighteen hospitals in Italy with the aim to evaluate the RSR index among nurses in 24 hours hospital wards. RESULTS: Eighteen structures participated in the multicenter study, of which 12 (66.7%) were public. Concerning the Rotating Shiftwork Risk index, there are the 78.8% of observations in the intermediate zone, with RSR scores ranging from 14.1 and 16 and in the high score area (RSR > 26) in which there are 4 observations equal to the 21.2% of the total. The multivariate analysis showed that the only significant variable associated with RF score was the macro-area (for Northern regionsbeta = –0.651; p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: RSQ has been shown a feasible and applicable tool to analyze the RSR in healthcare sector through the detection of quantitative data involving indicators of the risk. The questionnaire allowed to identify improvement actions targeted at minimizing specific critical issues through strategic interventions focused on organizational environment.