Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item “We just keep pushing through”: a mixed-method study on musculoskeletal discomfort and mental well-being among nurses in resource-limited settings(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025-12-01) Patangia B; Srinivasan PM; Lee MCCBackground: Nurses in under-resourced settings frequently report high levels of musculoskeletal (MSK) discomfort, which significantly affects their mental well-being. While workplace strain is well documented, the combined impact of physical burden and institutional neglect remains underexplored in these environments. Aim: The study aims to examine the prevalence of MSK discomfort and its association with psychological well-being among nurses in under-resourced healthcare environments in Northeast India, and to explore the experiential and structural factors contributing to these occupational health risks. Methods: A sequential mixed-methods study design was employed, following an explanatory approach. The study commenced with a survey to gather quantitative data. Quantitative data were collected from 216 nurses using the Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (Extended-NMQ) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, the results of which informed the development of subsequent interview questions. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with 11 nurses to capture experiential and structural factors. This structure enabled deeper contextual understanding and facilitated triangulation across data types. Results: Among the participants, 47.2% reported experiencing lower back pain, followed by discomfort in the knees (27.3%) and upper back (25%). Higher levels of MSK discomfort were significantly associated with employment in the public sector and more than ten years of work experience. A strong negative correlation was observed between MSK discomfort and mental well-being. Thematic analysis revealed key stressors: physical depletion, emotional exhaustion, organizational apathy, and limited healthcare access. In response to these challenges, nurses often relied on self-management due to insufficient institutional support. Triangulated findings underscored how structural deficiencies intensified both physical and psychological strain among nurses. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for evidence-based occupational health interventions to address ergonomic, psychosocial, and institutional challenges, particularly in low-resource healthcare settings, to safeguard the well-being of frontline nursing staff. This study offers novel understanding from a high-need yet under-researched geographic context, namely the northeastern states of India, bridging empirical gaps in MSK health literature through the integration of experiential and structural factors. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.Item Chemicals, noise and occupational hearing health in South Africa: A mapping study(AOSIS, 2020-03-10) Pillay MBackground: Chemical exposure leading to ototoxicity is a fresh challenge for occupational healthcare in South Africa. Objectives: The critical question is: ‘what is known about occupational ototoxic chemicals with or without noise exposure in South Africa?’ Method: This qualitative, mapping study was completed with published (peer-reviewed) and grey literature from 1979-2019. Data was analysed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses: extension for Scoping Reviews and the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section subcommittee on Mapping the Literature of Nursing and Allied Health (adapted). Numerical analysis of article type was completed, but the primary focus was on capturing patterns/trends using thematic analysis and ideology critique. Results: The African Journal of Disability, African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, South African Medical Journal, The South African Journal of Communication Disorders [SAJCD] and Health SA Gesondheid) were included with the SAJCD containing one relevant item and seventeen other items were analysed. Research focusses on the mining sector (gold) in Gauteng, and ototoxic medication (tuberculosis and/or human immunodeficiency virus) take precedence. In KwaZulu-Natal, the focus is on commerce and industry across formal and informal sectors. There are no governmental policies that refer to chemical ototoxicity. Occupational hearing loss is configured exclusively on the meme that noise exposure is the only toxin. Conclusion: Chemical exposures are only just beginning to be recognised as ototoxic in South Africa. Hearing conservation programmes should always serve the workers’ interests and never bow down to the econometric interests of employers.Item Cancer incidence in agricultural workers: Findings from an international consortium of agricultural cohort studies (AGRICOH).(Elsevier Ltd, 2021-12) Togawa K; Leon ME; Lebailly P; Beane Freeman LE; Nordby K-C; Baldi I; MacFarlane E; Shin A; Park S; Greenlee RT; Sigsgaard T; Basinas I; Hofmann JN; Kjaerheim K; Douwes J; Denholm R; Ferro G; Sim MR; Kromhout H; Schüz JBACKGROUND: Agricultural work can expose workers to potentially hazardous agents including known and suspected carcinogens. This study aimed to evaluate cancer incidence in male and female agricultural workers in an international consortium, AGRICOH, relative to their respective general populations. METHODS: The analysis included eight cohorts that were linked to their respective cancer registries: France (AGRICAN: n = 128,101), the US (AHS: n = 51,165, MESA: n = 2,177), Norway (CNAP: n = 43,834), Australia (2 cohorts combined, Australian Pesticide Exposed Workers: n = 12,215 and Victorian Grain Farmers: n = 919), Republic of Korea (KMCC: n = 8,432), and Denmark (SUS: n = 1,899). For various cancer sites and all cancers combined, standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each cohort using national or regional rates as reference rates and were combined by random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: During nearly 2,800,000 person-years, a total of 23,188 cancers were observed. Elevated risks were observed for melanoma of the skin (number of cohorts = 3, meta-SIR = 1.18, CI: 1.01-1.38) and multiple myeloma (n = 4, meta-SIR = 1.27, CI: 1.04-1.54) in women and prostate cancer (n = 6, meta-SIR = 1.06, CI: 1.01-1.12), compared to the general population. In contrast, a deficit was observed for the incidence of several cancers, including cancers of the bladder, breast (female), colorectum, esophagus, larynx, lung, and pancreas and all cancers combined (n = 7, meta-SIR for all cancers combined = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.77-0.90). The direction of risk was largely consistent across cohorts although we observed large between-cohort variations in SIR for cancers of the liver and lung in men and women, and stomach, colorectum, and skin in men. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that agricultural workers have a lower risk of various cancers and an elevated risk of prostate cancer, multiple myeloma (female), and melanoma of skin (female) compared to the general population. Those differences and the between-cohort variations may be due to underlying differences in risk factors and warrant further investigation of agricultural exposures.