[Correlation between occupational health literacy and depression symptoms among workers in shoemaking industry]

Objective: To analyze the relationship between occupational health literacy (OHL) and depressive symptoms among frontline workers in the shoemaking industry. Methods: From July to September 2022, a stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 843 frontline workers from the shoemaking industry in Guangdong Province as the study subjects. The Occupational Health Literacy Questionnaire for National Key Populations and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to investigate OHL and depressive symptoms. Spearman correlation analysis and logistic regression model were used to analyze the correlation. Results: The overall OHL level of the subjects was 50.3% (424/843). The levels of the four dimensions-occupational health legal knowledge, basic knowledge of occupational health protection, basic skills of occupational health protection, and healthy working styles and behaviors-were 44.4% (374/843), 77.0% (649/843), 29.5% (249/843), and 66.0% (556/843), respectively. The detection rate of depressive symptoms was 56.6% (477/843) ; mild, moderate, moderate to severe, and severe depressive symptoms were detected in 414, 44, 12, and 7 individuals, with detection rates of 49.1%, 5.2%, 1.4%, and 0.8%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that OHL was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that OHL was a factor associated with depressive symptoms (OR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.35-0.72, P<0.01) ; the dimensions of occupational health legal knowledge (OR= 0.39, 95%CI: 0.31-0.63, P<0.01) and basic skills of occupational health protection (OR=0.42, 95%CI: 0.29-0.62, P<0.01) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: There is a correlation between OHL and depressive symptoms among frontline workers in the shoemaking industry. Improving OHL, especially legal knowledge and basic skills, may help reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.