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Fulltext Prevalence and psychosocial characteristics of job strain in laboratory technicians in Ministry of Health hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia

Aziah, B.D., Rusli, B.N., Winn, T., Naing, L.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2005;5(2):39-44.
MyJurnal

A cross-sectional study of 71 laboratory technicians in Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) Hospitals (response rate 89.9%) was conducted from September ZOO1 till February 2002. Seven MOH Hospitals in Kelantan were chosen. Karase job Content — Questionnaire (Malay Version) was used as research instrument in this study. There were five scales in the questionnaire; two scales were used to dehne job strain - decision latitude and psychological demands. Results showed that the majority of laboratory technicians in MOH Hospitah were classified as passive. However, the proportion of high strain group was the second highest after passive group. The percentage of laboratory technicians in MOH Hospitals which was classified as having a high job strain was 26.8%. The “high strain" group scored significantly higher for hazardous conditions, toxic exposures, total psychological stressors, total physical hazard, and total physical stressors as compared to the “non»high strain” group. Laboratory technicians in “high strain" group had significantly younger in age (18-34 years) group (42.1%) compared to those in “non·high strain" group (7.7%) and shorter total duration of employment (yr) ( 15 .3 x 6.8) compared to those in “non»high strain" group (19.2 x 6.7). We therefore conclude that less experienced and higher psychosocial factors at work experiencing higher job strain compared to those who were more experienced and less psychosocial factors.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel
Fulltext Review of knowledge, attitude, and practice among laboratory workers towards occupational safety and health

Nayef Shabbab Almutairi, Shamsul Bahri Bin Md Tamrin, Ng Yee Guan, Vivien How

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(1):297-303.
MyJurnal

Laboratory workers exposed to diverse occupational exposures to accidents. Evidently, extant, yet very limited em- pirical underpinnings suggest that knowledge, practices and awareness of safety precautions are uncharacteristically poor among laboratory workers. As such, their demonstration of safety-related attitudes and practices have remained questionable. This paper, thus presents a systematic search of the literature on laboratory workers’ safety-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Specifically, literature published between 2007 and 2017 that characteristically attempted to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices among laboratory workers on Occupational Safety and Health were reviewed. Evidently, results from the review indicate poor knowledge, attitude and practice among the laboratory workers. It is critical that strategies be put in place by the management of the health facilities to institute and undertake activities in the form of training, improved safety management practices, organizational commitment and improved safety culture.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel
Guidelines on safe laboratory practice (version 1/2004)

College of Pathologists, Academy of Medicine of, Malaysia

Malays J Pathol, 2005 Jun;27(1):71-2.
PMID: 16676698
Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel/education*
Fulltext Prevalence and associated factors of job-related depression in laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) Hospitals in Kelantan

Aziah BD, Rusli BN, Winn T, Naing L, Tengku MA

Med J Malaysia, 2004 Jun;59(2):268-78.
PMID: 15559179

Karasek's job strain model postulates that workers chronically exposed to adverse psychosocial work environment (high strain job)--high psychological job demands and low job control, including poor social support, increased physical demand and hazardous work condition--will eventually develop both physical illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and psychological disorders such as depression. In order to determine the prevalence and associated factors of job-related depression, a cross-sectional study was conducted among laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) Hospitals in Kelantan between September 2001 and February 2002. One hundred and two laboratory technicians in HUSM and 79 laboratory technicians in 7 KKM Hospitals were selected; 84/102 (82.4%) in HUSM and 71/79 (89.9%) in KKM Hospitals responded. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires of the validated Malay version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) originally developed by Robert Karasek. Results indicated that the prevalence of high job strain in laboratory technicians in HUSM and KKM hospitals was 33.3% (28/84) and 26.8% (19/71), respectively (p>0.05). Significantly higher proportion (59.5%) (50/84) of laboratory technicians in HUSM compared to those in KKM Hospitals (39.4%) (28/71) (p = 0.016) experienced job-related depression. Significant associated factors of job-related depression were low social support (HUSM: adjusted OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.2-18.8; KKM: adjusted OR 14.8, 95%CI 2.4-89.3), high psychological demand (HUSM: adjusted OR 3.0, 95%CI 1.0-8.8), and low decision authority (KKM: adjusted OR 9.7, 95%CI 1.0-91.1). We conclude that strengthening the social support network (supervisors' and coworkers' support), reducing psychological job demand, and increasing decision-making authority of laboratory technicians may go a long way towards reducing job-related depression.

Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel/psychology*
Risk factors of job-related depression in laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) hospitals in Kelantan

Aziah BD, Rusli BN, Winn T, Naing L, Tengku MA

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2004 Jun;35(2):468-75.
PMID: 15691158

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the risk factors of job-related depression in laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) Hospitals in Kelantan, between September 2001 and February 2002. One hundred and two laboratory technicians from HUSM and 79 from KKM Hospitals were selected and 84 (82.4%) from HUSM and 71 (89.9%) from KKM Hospitals were recruited as study subjects. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire using the validated Malay version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), originally developed by Robert Karasek. The results indicated significant associations between the risk factors of job-related depression, and low social support, and high psychological demands (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.1-8.8) in laboratory technicians in HUSM. However, for laboratory technicians in KKM Hospitals, the significant association was between job-related depression, and low social support and low decision authority (OR 9.7, 95% CI 1.1-91.1). Low social support was highly associated with job-related depression in laboratory technicians in HUSM and KKM Hospitals. We, therefore, conclude that low social support positively predicted depression in laboratory technicians in HUSM and KKM Hospitals. In addition, high psychological demands also significantly predicted depression in laboratory technicians in HUSM; however, for laboratory technicians in KKM Hospitals, low decision authority was the significant predictor of depression.

Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel/classification; Medical Laboratory Personnel/psychology*
Fulltext Prevalence and associated factors of stress in dental healthcare workers of a higher institution of learning in Kelantan

Rusli, B.N., Edimansyah, B.A., Naing, L.

Archives of Orofacial Sciences, 2006;1(1):51-56.
MyJurnal

Several studies on job stress have been conducted among nurses, teachers, clerks, lecturers, laboratory technicians, petroleum and automotive workers and the calculated prevalences ranged from 20-35%; associated factors identified include high job demand, low job control and poor social support. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of stress in dental healthcare workers of an institution of higher learning in Kelantan. A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and associated factors of stress in 54 dental healthcare workers of an institution of higher learning in Kelantan [response rate of 63.5 percent] was conducted in March 2006. The Malay version of the validated Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire were used as research instruments in this study. Informed consents were obtained from all participants. The prevalence of stress was 22.2%. One (1.9%) staff member experienced severe stress whilst 20.4% experienced mild to moderate stress. After controlling for age, sex, marital status and duration of work, psychological job demand (adj. b 0.61, 95% CI 0.21, 1.00, p=0.003), toxic exposures (adj. b 1.41, 95% CI 0.47, 2.35, p=0.004) and overtime work (adj. b 5.67, 95% CI - 1.18, 10.16, p=0.015) were directly associated with reported stress in dental healthcare workers. High psychological job demand, increased toxic exposures at work and increased overtime work were significantly associated with stress in dental healthcare workers. These findings can be used to guide preventive measures to reduce stress in dental healthcare settings.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel
Fulltext Prevalence and risk factors of job strain among laboratory technicians in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

Aziah BD, Rusli BN, Winn T, Naing L, Tengku MA

Singapore Med J, 2004 Apr;45(4):170-5.
PMID: 15094986

Several sources of job stress exist. Some of these stressors are intrinsic to the job, while some are related to psychosocial and other factors.

Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel*
Fulltext Prevalence of Near-miss Events of Transfusion Practice and Its Associated Factors amongst House Officers in a Teaching Hospital

Noor NHM, Joibe KF, Hasan MN

Oman Med J, 2021 Mar;36(2):e249.
PMID: 33898061 DOI: 10.5001/omj.2021.55

Objectives: A near miss in transfusion practice is defined as a deviation from standard procedures discovered before transfusion and can lead to a transfusion error. Information on near-miss events provides pivotal data on areas of improvement to prevent actual errors in the future. Our study sought to determine the prevalence and rate of near-miss events and their associated factors amongst house officers (HO) in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Methods: The initial part of this study is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving data collection from all requests sent for group, screen, and hold (GSH) and group and cross match (GXM) tests from 2011 to 2017. The association between sociodemographic, workplace, and experience factors with near-miss events amongst HO was analyzed with a case-control study using logistic regression.
Results: We reported 83 near-miss events with a prevalence of 0.034% (95% confidence interval 0.027-0.042). The rate of near-miss events was one in every 2916 requests. The mean reporting rate was 11.9 events per year. Clinical near miss predominated at 89.2% compared to 10.8% laboratory near miss. Mislabeled events (33.7%) were more than miscollected events (10.8%). HO were implicated with most events (83.1%). Most events were predominantly in the medical and obstetrics and gynecology wards amounting to 31.3% each. We found a significant association between the ages of HO with near-miss events.
Conclusions: The prevalence of near-miss events in our hospital was relatively low. Our study has shown areas for improvement include improving sampling practices in clinical areas, adequate training of laboratory technicians, and providing proper transfusion education. Interventions such as encouraging compliance to guidelines and training in clinical and laboratory areas to minimize the risk of mistransfusion should be considered.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel
Fulltext Prevalence and related factors of depression among healthcare personnel at primary healthcare centers

Eusof Izzudin MP, Al–Bedri A, Subramaniam V, Matthews P, Cheong AT

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2018;14(Special 2):32-36.
MyJurnal

Depressive disorders are common. As compared to the general population, healthcare personnel are hypothesized to have an above than average risk to develop this condition. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of this condition and its contributing factors amongst primary healthcare personnel.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by universally sampling 179 primary healthcare personnel at nine primary healthcare centers across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in May 2015. Depressive symptoms were screened using self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) questionnaire. Socio-demographic and work profile data were also assessed.
Results: 92.7% of the 179 personnel agreed to participate. Near half of the respondents were staff nurses (49%), followed by doctors (22%), assistant medical officers (10%), attendants (10%) and the remaining were pharmacists, dieticians, and laboratory technicians (9%). Depression was found to be present in 38% of the participants with one-third found to have moderate to severe depression. Bivariate analysis show that males (p=0.043), assistant medical officers (p=0.048), and working more than 10 hours per day (p=0.019) are significant risk factors. Further analysis by logistic regression shows that working more than 10 hours per day increases the odds of depression by 3.1 (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.1-8.7, p=0.03).
Conclusions: A high prevalence of depression was found within the healthcare personnel population at the primary healthcare centres studied. Being a male, employed as an assistant medical officer, and, prolonged hours at the workplace is a significant risk factor for depression.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel
Fulltext Management of accidental laboratory exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. mallei

Peacock SJ, Schweizer HP, Dance DA, Smith TL, Gee JE, Wuthiekanun V, et al.

Emerg Infect Dis, 2008 Jul;14(7):e2.
PMID: 18598617 DOI: 10.3201/eid1407.071501

The gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei is a saprophyte and the cause of melioidosis. Natural infection is most commonly reported in northeast Thailand and northern Australia but also occurs in other parts of Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Melioidosis develops after bacterial inoculation or inhalation, often in relation to occupational exposure in areas where the disease is endemic. Clinical infection has a peak incidence between the fourth and fifth decades; with diabetes mellitus, excess alcohol consumption, chronic renal failure, and chronic lung disease acting as independent risk factors. Most affected adults ( approximately 80%) in northeast Thailand, northern Australia, and Malaysia have >/=1 underlying diseases. Symptoms of melioidosis may be exhibited many years after exposure, commonly in association with an alteration in immune status. Manifestations of disease are extremely broad ranging and form a spectrum from rapidly life-threatening sepsis to chronic low-grade infection. A common clinical picture is that of sepsis associated with bacterial dissemination to distant sites, frequently causing concomitant pneumonia and liver and splenic abscesses. Infection may also occur in bone, joints, skin, soft tissue, or the prostate. The clinical symptoms of melioidosis mimic those of many other diseases; thus, differentiating between melioidosis and other acute and chronic bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, is often impossible. Confirmation of the diagnosis relies on good practices for specimen collection, laboratory culture, and isolation of B. pseudomallei. The overall mortality rate of infected persons is 50% in northeast Thailand (35% in children) and 19% in Australia.

Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel
A survey of scientists' awareness of and attitudes to the use of human blood products and alternatives in human assisted reproductive technology

Peirce K, Roberts P, Ali J, Coombes J, Matson P

Hum Fertil (Camb), 2018 Sep;21(3):174-182.
PMID: 28589740 DOI: 10.1080/14647273.2017.1334131

Scientists working in assisted reproduction [members of Scientists in Reproductive Technology (SIRT) Australia, and subscribers of the online forums EmbryoMail and Quartec] were invited to complete an online questionnaire on the use of human blood products in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). A total of 260 started the questionnaire, with 208 (80%) completing it. A total of 62% of respondents had worked in human ART ≥8 years and 68% had post-graduate qualifications. The majority (82%) reported using products of animal or human origin, with 75% knowing why protein was added to culture media and 41% not worried by this. Almost half (49%) of respondents were unaware of regulations surrounding the use of human blood products in health care and 70% were unaware of adverse events involving human blood products in human ART. Most respondents (70%) indicated that they were not concerned about infections such as hepatitis, but agents such as prions were a cause for concern (57%). A total of 57% of respondents were unaware of alternatives, but 77% would use a suitable alternative. Using blood products in human ART is surrounded by a lack of awareness, often independent of respondents' qualifications or experience. A better understanding of these products and possible alternatives is required if informed decisions about their suitability are to be made.

Matched MeSH terms: Medical Laboratory Personnel/education
Fulltext Agents of change: The role of healthcare workers in the prevention of nosocomial and occupational tuberculosis

Nathavitharana RR, Bond P, Dramowski A, Kotze K, Lederer P, Oxley I, et al.

Presse Med, 2017 Mar;46(2 Pt 2):e53-e62.
PMID: 28256382 DOI: 10.1016/j.lpm.2017.01.014

Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a central role in global tuberculosis (TB) elimination efforts but their contributions are undermined by occupational TB. HCWs have higher rates of latent and active TB than the general population due to persistent occupational TB exposure, particularly in settings where there is a high prevalence of undiagnosed TB in healthcare facilities and TB infection control (TB-IC) programmes are absent or poorly implemented. Occupational health programmes in high TB burden settings are often weak or non-existent and thus data that record the extent of the increased risk of occupational TB globally are scarce. HCWs represent a limited resource in high TB burden settings and occupational TB can lead to workforce attrition. Stigma plays a role in delayed diagnosis, poor treatment outcomes and impaired well-being in HCWs who develop TB. Ensuring the prioritization and implementation of TB-IC interventions and occupational health programmes, which include robust monitoring and evaluation, is critical to reduce nosocomial TB transmission to patients and HCWs. The provision of preventive therapy for HCWs with latent TB infection (LTBI) can also prevent progression to active TB. Unlike other patient groups, HCWs are in a unique position to serve as agents of change to raise awareness, advocate for necessary resource allocation and implement TB-IC interventions, with appropriate support from dedicated TB-IC officers at the facility and national TB programme level. Students and community health workers (CHWs) must be engaged and involved in these efforts. Nosocomial TB transmission is an urgent public health problem and adopting rights-based approaches can be helpful. However, these efforts cannot succeed without increased political will, supportive legal frameworks and financial investments to support HCWs in efforts to decrease TB transmission.

Matched MeSH terms: Laboratory Personnel

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