Abstract
Aims: To determine the relation between sick leave and selected exposure variables among women semiconductor workers.
Methods: This was a cross sectional survey of production workers from 18 semiconductor factories. Those selected had to be women, direct production operators up to the level of line leader, and Malaysian citizens. Sick leave and exposure to physical and chemical hazards were determined by self reporting. Three sick leave variables were used; number of sick leave days taken in the past year was the variable of interest in logistic regression models where the effects of age, marital status, work task, work schedule, work section, and duration of work in factory and work section were also explored.
Results: Marital status was strongly linked to the taking of sick leave. Age, work schedule, and duration of work in the factory were significant confounders only in certain cases. After adjusting for these confounders, chemical and physical exposures, with the exception of poor ventilation and smelling chemicals, showed no significant relation to the taking of sick leave within the past year. Work section was a good predictor for taking sick leave, as wafer polishing workers faced higher odds of taking sick leave for each of the three cut off points of seven days, three days, and not at all, while parts assembly workers also faced significantly higher odds of taking sick leave.
Conclusion: In Malaysia, the wafer fabrication factories only carry out a limited portion of the work processes, in particular, wafer polishing and the processes immediately prior to and following it. This study, in showing higher illness rates for workers in wafer polishing compared to semiconductor assembly, has implications for the governmental policy of encouraging the setting up of wafer fabrication plants with the full range of work processes.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (130.0 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Balcazar H., Denman C., Lara F. Factors associated with work-related accidents and sickness among maquiladora workers: the case of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Int J Health Serv. 1995;25(3):489–502. doi: 10.2190/6LYM-6FWN-9U2X-6BWV. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Brenner H., Ahern W. Sickness absence and early retirement on health grounds in the construction industry in Ireland. Occup Environ Med. 2000 Sep;57(9):615–620. doi: 10.1136/oem.57.9.615. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chan O. Y., Gan S. L., Yeo M. H. Study on the health of female electronics workers on 12 hour shifts. Occup Med (Lond) 1993 Aug;43(3):143–148. doi: 10.1093/occmed/43.3.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Eshøj P., Jepsen J. R., Nielsen C. V. Long-term sickness absence - risk indicators among occupationally active residents of a Danish county. Occup Med (Lond) 2001 Aug;51(5):347–353. doi: 10.1093/occmed/51.5.347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Feeney A., North F., Head J., Canner R., Marmot M. Socioeconomic and sex differentials in reason for sickness absence from the Whitehall II Study. Occup Environ Med. 1998 Feb;55(2):91–98. doi: 10.1136/oem.55.2.91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Guendelman S., Silberg M. J. The health consequences of maquiladora work: women on the US-Mexican border. Am J Public Health. 1993 Jan;83(1):37–44. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.1.37. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hoogendoorn W. E., Bongers P. M., de Vet H. C. W., Ariëns G. A. M., van Mechelen W., Bouter L. M. High physical work load and low job satisfaction increase the risk of sickness absence due to low back pain: results of a prospective cohort study. Occup Environ Med. 2002 May;59(5):323–328. doi: 10.1136/oem.59.5.323. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LaDou J., Rohm T. The international electronics industry. Int J Occup Environ Health. 1998 Jan-Mar;4(1):1–18. doi: 10.1179/oeh.1998.4.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Niedhammer I., Bugel I., Goldberg M., Leclerc A., Guéguen A. Psychosocial factors at work and sickness absence in the Gazel cohort: a prospective study. Occup Environ Med. 1998 Nov;55(11):735–741. doi: 10.1136/oem.55.11.735. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ritchie K. A., Macdonald E. B., Gilmour W. H., Murray K. J. Analysis of sickness absence among employees of four NHS trusts. Occup Environ Med. 1999 Oct;56(10):702–708. doi: 10.1136/oem.56.10.702. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith L., Folkard S., Tucker P., Macdonald I. Work shift duration: a review comparing eight hour and 12 hour shift systems. Occup Environ Med. 1998 Apr;55(4):217–229. doi: 10.1136/oem.55.4.217. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Verow P., Hargreaves C. Healthy workplace indicators: costing reasons for sickness absence within the UK National Health Service. Occup Med (Lond) 2000 May;50(4):251–257. doi: 10.1093/occmed/50.4.251. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Voss M., Floderus B., Diderichsen F. Physical, psychosocial, and organisational factors relative to sickness absence: a study based on Sweden Post. Occup Environ Med. 2001 Mar;58(3):178–184. doi: 10.1136/oem.58.3.178. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wright M. E. Long-term sickness absence in an NHS teaching hospital. Occup Med (Lond) 1997 Sep;47(7):401–406. doi: 10.1093/occmed/47.7.401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]