The purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting occupational health nurses' provision of smoking cessation services. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire distributed to 254 occupational health nurses in Thailand. Analysis by structural equation modeling revealed that self-efficacy directly and positively influenced smoking cessation services, and mediated the relationship between workplace factors, nurse factors, and smoking cessation services. The final model had good fit to the data, accounting for 20.4% and 38.0% of the variance in self-efficacy and smoking cessation services, respectively. The findings show that self-efficacy is a mediator that influences provision of smoking cessation services by occupational health nurses. Interventions to enhance nurses' self-efficacy in providing smoking cessation services are expected to promote provision of smoking cessation services to workers.

English version of the 23-item ERIQ was translated and back-translated. Content validity was examined by five experts and face validity was examined by twelve key informants before being tested for construct validity with 828 workers from six garment factories. Predictive validity was assessed through the relationship between the ERI constructs and p s y c h o l o g i c a l h e a l t h o u t c o m e s i n c l u d i n g psychosomatic symptoms, state of anxiety, depression, and job satisfaction. The internal consistency of the Thai ERIQ was tested using the first survey (n=828), and test-retest stability was examined 2 to 4 wk later with a subsample (n=408). The results show that 2% of workers reported effort-reward imbalance (ERI ratio≥1). The Thai ERIQ has good content validity with a Content Validity Index of 0.95. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the effort, reward, and overcommitment scales were 0.77, 0.81, and 0.66, respectively. The 2-4 wk stability of these three constructs was moderate (r=0.496-0.576, p<0.001). Overall, the factorial validity was demonstrated as the best model fit, with high values of the goodness-of-fit indices, using confirmatory factor analysis, indicating accordance with the theoretical constructs of the ERI model. Logistic regression analyses supported significant associations of reward with all psychological health outcomes (p<0.05). The findings suggest that the Thai ERIQ has adequate reliability and validity to investigate the psychosocial work environment. The Thai ERIQ can be applied to the Thai working population, particularly industrial manufacturing workers. (J Occup Health 2008; 50: 480-491)

INTRODUCTION Smoking inside the home affects the health of both the smoker and family members via secondhand exposure. This research examined the impact of a community participation program on creating smoke-free homes in a suburban community in Thanyaburi district, Pathumthani province in Thailand. METHODS The study involved families, with a smoker in the home, that were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups each containing 27 families. The intervention group was administered with the community participation program for smoke-free homes for 5 sessions during the 6-month period of study. The program included providing information on secondhand smoking and harms, knowledge about quitting smoking and healthcare support, practice skills, campaigns in the community, visiting and encouraging, and reflecting and evaluation. The control group was normally treated by the community committee and health volunteers. Data collection was undertaken at baseline and at 6 months after implementation by an interview with questionnaires. RESULTS Our results show that after the implementation, the intervention group reported significantly higher mean score on skills in negotiating with smokers for a smoking-ban inside home and mean score on emotional support for nonsmoking inside the home than those at baseline and those of the control group. The proportion having smoking ban home rules in the intervention group was significantly higher than at baseline and that of the control group (92.6% vs 18.5%). The proportion of smoke-free homes was higher in the intervention than in the control group (75% vs 0%). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that community participation programs for smoke-free home may be effective in raising awareness on the impact of secondhand smoke among family members and in working together to manage smoke-free home environments. The program may be applicable for further development within communities to achieve smoke-free homes.

Insight into International Occupational Health N ational development with emphasis on the industrial sector in Thailand has contributed to the migration of the rural population to urban areas to work in industrial and service sectors. Although Thailand is an agricultural country by nature, it is moving toward industrialization. Thus, Thailand is increasingly facing work related health problems. Rapid industrialization and the movement of people from the rural areas to the cities have resulted in an immediate need for action to conserve the health of workers and to ensure their safety. This article focuses on the worker population, legislation, and occupational health nursing with the aim to increase the understanding of colleagues in other countries about the factors influencing occupational health nursing services in Thailand, one of the newly industrialized countries in Asia.

We examined professional quality of life (ProQOL) and organizational climate among 122 postretired university academics from 19 universities, who were randomly selected from all 4 regions in Thailand. Participants completed measures of ProQOL, work ability, organizational climate, and psychological morbidity. Results indicated that the mean score for compassion satisfaction (CS) was 42.4, for burnout (BO) was 29.7, and for secondary traumatic stress (STS) was 20.3, whereas the proportions of participants with high levels of CS, BO, and STS were 21.3%, 28.7%, and 16.4%, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis results revealed that younger age (60–65 years), excellent work ability, and an organizational climate of warmth and standards were significantly associated with CS; no psychological distress and lack of responsibility were significantly associated with BO; and lack of responsibility was significantly associated with STS. These results may help health managers at universities to improve ProQOL among their retired workforce.