Background: burnout syndrome is a serious and growing problem among medical staff. Its adverse outcomes not only affect health-care providers’ health, but also extend to their patients, resulting in bad-quality care. The COVID-19 pandemic puts frontline health-care providers at greater risk of psychological stress and burnout syndrome. Objectives: this study aimed to identify the levels of burnout among health-care professionals currently working at Assiut University hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: the current study adopted an online cross-sectional design using the SurveyMonkey® website for data collection. A total of 201 physicians were included and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale was used to assess the three burnout syndrome dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Results: about one-third, two-thirds, and one-quarter of the respondents had high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, respectively. Younger, resident, and single physicians reported higher burnout scores. The personal accomplishment score was significantly higher among males. Those working more than eight hours/day and dealing with COVID-19 patients had significantly higher scores. Conclusion: during the COVID-19 pandemic, a high prevalence of burnout was recorded among physicians. Age, job title, working duration, and working hours/day were significant predictors for burnout syndrome subscale results. Preventive and interventive programs should be applied in health-care organizations during pandemics.

Introduction: Despite global efforts to contain the illness, COVID-19 continues to have severe health, life, and economic repercussions; thus, maintaining vaccine development is mandatory. Different directions concerning COVID-19 vaccines have emerged as a result of the vaccine’s unpredictability. Aims: To study the determinants of the attitudes of healthcare workers (HCWs) to receiving or refusing to receive the vaccine. Methods: The current study adopted an interviewed questionnaire between June and August 2021. A total of 341 HCWs currently working at Assiut University hospitals offered to receive the vaccine were included. Results: Only half of the HCWs (42%) accepted the COVID-19 vaccine. The most common reason that motivated the HCWs was being more susceptible than others to infection (71.8%). On other hand, the common reasons for refusing included: previously contracted the virus (64.8%); did not have time (58.8%); warned by a doctor not to take it (53.8%). Nearly one-third of nonaccepting HCWs depended on television, the Internet, and friends who refused the vaccine for information (p < 0.05). In the final multivariate regression model, there were six significant predictors: sex, job category, chronic disease, being vaccinated for influenza, and using Assiut University hospital staff and the Ministry of Health as sources of information (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Misinformation and negative conceptions are still barriers against achieving the desired rate of vaccination, especially for vulnerable groups such as HCWs.

To study the predictors of respiratory diseases in workers in high and low exposure areas in cement factories. METHODS: Cross sectional study was done including 86 workers recruited from main 4 departments: 32 technicians, 23 workers,17 supervisors , 10 engineers and 4 drivers. All subjects filled a structured questionnaire (including occupational history, allergic and respiratory symptoms, physical activity and job stress scores and nutritional habits) and anthropometric measurements, pulmonary function test results were recorded.

Introduction: Stress is one of the most important work-related psychological health problems. Occupational stress is defined as harmful physical and emotional responses incurred in work environment. Recently, researches focused more on the impact of the psychosocial work environment on health more than physical hazards in the workplace. As a lot of economic problems can result from mental problems among workers such as raising absenteeism, decrease productivity, expensive treatment and labor compensation claims. Aim of work: To study the stress condition among workers in a cement factory in Upper Egypt, and to detect vulnerable workers for stress. Materials and methods:A cross-sectional study was performed included 86 workers from main four departments (quarry, production, packing and maintenance). Pre-designed questionnaire was answered, including personal and occupational histories and specific questions to assess stress; extracted from Job Stress Questionnaire (JSQ), which was created in a study specially made by Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Persons with a total score for physical stress response of 25 points or more are considered to have physical stress response. Results: The current study showed that nearly half of the studied group was current smokers, 22 % worked as farmers in their weekend, 95 % of workers were categorized in low physical job stress response. The mean of job stress score of all studied workers was 14.9 ±4.8, recording highest score 32 and lowest score 11. However, when comparing the job stress difference among workers according to different characteristic; there was statistically significant relationship between job stress and department distribution, duration of exposure, presence of respiratory complains and residency (p< 0.05).Conclusion: Nearly most of the studied workers (95 %) were categorized among low job stress group. However the most vulnerable groups for stress were maintenance workers, workers with respiratory complains, workers with high duration of exposure "more than 20 years", workers resident in urban areas, and supervisors.