Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey

Background: It has been suggested that inappropriate working conditions and unsafe environments at construction sites, longer working hours, and inadequate workplaces adversely affect the health behaviors of workers. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of <a title="Le...

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Main Authors: Nilgun Ulutasdemir, Meryem Kilic, Özge Zeki, Fatma Begendi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2015-12-01
Series:Annals of Global Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1489
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author Nilgun Ulutasdemir
Meryem Kilic
Özge Zeki
Fatma Begendi
author_facet Nilgun Ulutasdemir
Meryem Kilic
Özge Zeki
Fatma Begendi
author_sort Nilgun Ulutasdemir
collection DOAJ
description Background: It has been suggested that inappropriate working conditions and unsafe environments at construction sites, longer working hours, and inadequate workplaces adversely affect the health behaviors of workers. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of <a title="Learn more about Occupational Health" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/occupational-health">occupational health</a> and safety (OHS) practices on healthy lifestyle behaviors of workers employed at a construction site of a private company in Gaziantep, Turkey. Methods: The sampling size of this descriptive study consisted of 400 employees working at the construction site between December 2014 and January 2015. In all, 341 employees still working or participating in the study during the period of this questionnaire study were included in the sampling. Data from the survey were derived from responses to questions regarding sociodemographic characteristics, OHS applications, health state, and working conditions, as well as to the questions in on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale (HLBS), under direct surveillance. Findings: Male workers with a mean age of 30.61 ± 8.68 years constituted the study population. Of the workers, 41.9% had a primary school education. The majority received professional and OHS training (65.7% and 79.2%, respectively). Although 83.9% reported using personal protective equipment (PPE), only 2.1% said they had experienced an occupational accident. Total mean score of HLBS scale was 116.91 ± 25.62 points. Workers who had positive thoughts about their jobs demonstrated healthy lifestyle behaviors ('P' = .0001). A positive direct correlation was detected between the training the workers received and the use of PPE ('P' = .0001). In all, 38.1% of the workers reported experiencing work stress at the time of the study. Mean HLBS scores of those experiencing work stress were lower than the scores for workers not experiencing stress ('P' < .05). Conclusion: Receiving OHS and professional training and using of PPE favorably affect healthy lifestyle behaviors.
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spelling doaj.art-0a2dd66e94ab4f799e2b8f80861ae3eb2022-12-21T23:37:01ZengUbiquity PressAnnals of Global Health2214-99962015-12-0181450351110.1016/j.aogh.2015.08.0181392Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in TurkeyNilgun Ulutasdemir0Meryem Kilic1Özge Zeki2Fatma Begendi3Zirve University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Gaziantep, TurkeyKilis 7 Aralık University Vocational School of Health Services, Department of First and Emergency Aid, Kilis, TurkeyZirve University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep, TurkeyGaziantep University Hospital of Medical Faculty, Department of Eye Diseases, Gaziantep, TurkeyBackground: It has been suggested that inappropriate working conditions and unsafe environments at construction sites, longer working hours, and inadequate workplaces adversely affect the health behaviors of workers. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of <a title="Learn more about Occupational Health" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/occupational-health">occupational health</a> and safety (OHS) practices on healthy lifestyle behaviors of workers employed at a construction site of a private company in Gaziantep, Turkey. Methods: The sampling size of this descriptive study consisted of 400 employees working at the construction site between December 2014 and January 2015. In all, 341 employees still working or participating in the study during the period of this questionnaire study were included in the sampling. Data from the survey were derived from responses to questions regarding sociodemographic characteristics, OHS applications, health state, and working conditions, as well as to the questions in on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale (HLBS), under direct surveillance. Findings: Male workers with a mean age of 30.61 ± 8.68 years constituted the study population. Of the workers, 41.9% had a primary school education. The majority received professional and OHS training (65.7% and 79.2%, respectively). Although 83.9% reported using personal protective equipment (PPE), only 2.1% said they had experienced an occupational accident. Total mean score of HLBS scale was 116.91 ± 25.62 points. Workers who had positive thoughts about their jobs demonstrated healthy lifestyle behaviors ('P' = .0001). A positive direct correlation was detected between the training the workers received and the use of PPE ('P' = .0001). In all, 38.1% of the workers reported experiencing work stress at the time of the study. Mean HLBS scores of those experiencing work stress were lower than the scores for workers not experiencing stress ('P' < .05). Conclusion: Receiving OHS and professional training and using of PPE favorably affect healthy lifestyle behaviors.https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1489healthy lifestyleoccupational health and safetyworkerswork stress
spellingShingle Nilgun Ulutasdemir
Meryem Kilic
Özge Zeki
Fatma Begendi
Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
Annals of Global Health
healthy lifestyle
occupational health and safety
workers
work stress
title Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
title_full Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
title_fullStr Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
title_short Effects of Occupational Health and Safety on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Workers Employed in a Private Company in Turkey
title_sort effects of occupational health and safety on healthy lifestyle behaviors of workers employed in a private company in turkey
topic healthy lifestyle
occupational health and safety
workers
work stress
url https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1489
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