Open AccessChanges in Health Habits of Female Shift Workers
Author(s) -
Kaneko Shinya,
Maeda Takafumi,
Sasaki Akihiko,
Sato Akihiko,
Tanaka Kazuko,
Kobayashi Toshio,
Tanaka Masatoshi,
Fukushima Tetsuhito
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.46.192
Subject(s) - shift work , work shift , medicine , hygiene , work (physics) , gerontology , health care , environmental health , demography , psychiatry , sociology , pathology , economic growth , mechanical engineering , operations management , engineering , economics
Changes in Health Habits of Female Shift Workers: Shin‐ya Kaneko, et al. Department of Hygiene & Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University —This paper examines the effects of shift work on the lifestyles of female factory workers. As an indicator of healthy lifestyle habits, we used a scoring system (referred to below as the ‘health score’) based on Lester Breslow's health habits. The ‘health score’ of the women was higher than that of the men, but the shift workers’ score was lower than that of the non‐shift workers (p<0.01). In addition, the score of workers who had changed from non‐shift work to double‐shift work was remarkably low (p<0.01). These results suggest that, while the female shift workers manage to maintain relatively healthy lifestyles in comparison with the males, they have more difficulty maintaining these habits than do female workers who do not perform shift work. It can be concluded that, in addition to heightening women's consciousness of their own health, surrounding entities such as the work environment, the home, and the community in general need to pay due care to Japan's female shift workers.