Quality of Work Life (QWL) can affect health and safety of individuals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QWL among surgeons and investigate its association with musculoskeletal complaints. This cross-sectional study was conducted among surgeons working in hospitals located in Zahedan, Iran. QWL was assessed using the Walton's 35-item questionnaire and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used for assessing musculoskeletal complaints. The effects of age, gender, BMI, working hours, and working posture were adjusted. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions and independent T-test were employed for analyzing data. Seventy-four surgeons participated in this study. They were mostly male (60.8%) and married (73.00%) with the mean age of 37.9 years (±5.3) and the mean experience of 7 years (±4.23). Most of them (87.8%) had a moderate level of QWL and 90.6% of them had musculoskeletal complaints in at least one part of their body. "Development of human capacities" and "the total life space" had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. QWL was a significant predictor of pain and discomfort complaints in the neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows and legs. Alongside improving workstations and tools used by surgeons, interventions aimed at promoting QWL may be necessary to reduce musculoskeletal complaints among them.

Objective:This study aims to investigate loss of hearing among drivers in Zahedan, southeastern Iran.Patients and Methods:This study carried out on a total of 1836 drivers in Zahedan in 2013. Loss of hearing in both ears was measured at 250, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hertz. The demographic variables, blood parameter and anthropometric data were recorded through interview and examinations. Data were analyzed in Stata.12 software using paired t-tests, McNemar test and Multiple Logistic Regression.Results:The mean age was 38.2±9.8 years. The highest mean hearing thresholds in the right and left ears were 25.7±9.1 and 27.7±9.1, respectively at 250 Hz. There was significant difference between left and right ears hearing threshold at all frequencies (P<0.001), and the highest difference occurred at 250 Hz. Hearing threshold in the left ear was greater than in the right ear at all frequencies. Hearing threshold was correlated to marital status, type of license, and vehicle, smoking, age, and driving history at all frequencies (P<0.01), and also significantly correlated to blood sugar and cholesterol levels at 250 and 500 Hz in both left and right ears (P<0.01).Conclusion:In conclusion, high levels of noise increase hearing threshold with greatest damage to the left ear. Therefore, drivers should be periodically examined for ear damage in accordance to variables affecting loss of hearing. Moreover, drivers must be educated about usage of appropriate ear-plugs during driving, especially for the left ear.

Received: September 2015, Accepted: November 2015 Background: Safety culture and attitude form an integral part of organizations' cultures and their improved levels are influential in the prevention of occupational accidents and injuries. The present study was conducted to assess the safety culture and attitude of workers in the mining industry in Iran. Materials and Methods:The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 workers employed in GolGohar Mine in Southeast Iran. Data were collected using a standard safety culture questionnaire, and then, analyzed in SPSS software using ANOVA, independent t-test, and the linear regression model. Results: Participants' mean age and mean length of work experience were 38.13 ± 7.11 and 9.95 ± 4.84 years, respectively. The level of education was found to be significantly related to management commitment (P = 0.003) and training (P = 0.001). Age was found to be significantly related to management commitment (P = 0.044), exchange of information (P = 0.020), and training (P = 0.047). In addition, work experience was found to be significantly related to training (P = 0.010) and safety prioritization (P = 0.002). However, employment and marital status had no significant relationships with the culture of safety (P > 0.050). Participants had experienced no occupational accidents during the course of their work. Conclusions:The present study showed the effectiveness of the level of education, age, and work experience in promoting the culture of safety. Adopting measures to increase the employment of better educated individuals, providing safety training prior to recruitment, and using more experienced workers' recommendations can promote the culture of safety in the organization and reduce occupational accidents.

Bank employees are at risk of musculoskeletal problems because of the physical and mental requirements of the job. Studies show that more than 60 percent of bank employees have been directly or indirectly involved in many factors, such as personal characteristics, conditions and workstations, stress and repetitive movements. The aim of this study was to evaluate the RULA and OCRA methods of risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in the bank staff. This study was carried out in order to assess the physical status of 80 the bank employees using two methods: RULA and OCRA. According to the results, the average score RULA and OCRA are 4.13±1.14 and 0.300±0.088, respectively. Statistically significant t -tests show differences between RULA and OCRA assessment methods. The RULA scores for the three age groups were also not significantly different, as they also apply to the OCRA score. Though, there are similarities between the two methods especially in assessment of repetitive motion in upper limb, but OCRA method propose as appropriate method to MSDs risk evaluate, so is not recommended to use two method instead of each other.

Background and Purpose: Job stress is an important psychological factor. Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most common causes of disability in industrialized and developing countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess job stress and its relationship with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in office workers of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Materials and Methods:A total of 234 office workers from Zahedan University of Medical Sciences were selected by census sampling. Data were collected using the Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards Indicator Tool and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. Pearson's correlation coefficients, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and chi-square tests were performed to analyze the data. Results:The mean age and work experience of the participants were 35.25 ± 8.37 and 9.20 ± 2.64 years, respectively. The mean stress scores of men and women were 95.6 ± 13.1 and 95.2 ± 14.8, respectively. Stress showed a significant relationship with pain intensity in the middle and lower back, shoulders, and wrists. It was also significantly related with the frequency of pain in the neck, upper back, middle back, lower back, (left) shoulder, and both wrists (P ≤ 0.050). Conclusion:There were significant relationships between stress and pain in different parts of the body among office workers. In fact, high levels of stress were associated with musculoskeletal disorders and pain in different limbs of the subjects. Hence, stress reduction programs should be implemented to control the levels of stress and the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders among the studied workers.

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