WORK: A Journal of Prevention,Assessment & Rehabilitation

Over the past few months, there has been a significant increase in mortality and morbidity due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Less attention has been paid to stigmatism, psychological well-being, hope, and religiosity, and how these may impact a patient’s recovery.

This study aimed to detect the difference in religiosity, hope, self-stigma, and psychological well-being (PWB) due to demographic variables (age, education level, social status, and level of income). Additionally, the research sought to test the mediation role of religiosity and hope in the relationship between self-stigma and psychological well-being among COVID-19 patients.

A random sample of 426 COVID-19 patients answered an online questionnaire that contained four scales (Religiosity, Hope, stigma, and PWB). The data collected from the study participants were analyzed quantitatively by using One-way ANOVA, Exploratory Factor Analysis EFA, Confirmatory Factor Analysis CFA, and Structural Equation Model (IBM SPSS statistics 21, and Amos v.25).

The current results showed statistically significant differences due to age in hope and well-being, in favor of the sample members belonging to the age group from 30 years old and over old, while there were no differences in religiosity and stigma due to age. There were no differences due to education level in religiosity, hope, stigma, and well-being. Results showed statistically significant differences in well-being in favor of the married group, while there were no differences in religiosity, hope, and stigma due to social status. Regarding the effect of income level in the study variables, the results showed no differences due to religiosity, hope, stigma, and well-being. Moreover, the findings found that both religiosity and hope play a mediating role.

Religiosity and hope play a mediating role in the relationship between stigma associated with COVID-19 and psychological well-being. These results indicate several strategies to reduce the adverse effects of the stigma associated with COVID-19 and increase well-being among COVID-19 patients.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that have symptoms ranging from the common cold to severe respiratory syndromes.

The purpose of this study is to provide appropriate strategies to raise knowledge and health behavior of students of the University of Medical Sciences to prevent COVID-19.

This study was conducted as a cross-sectional and descriptive study, and the online questionnaire was used by random sampling. Our sample size was 360 subjects and the statistical population was the students of the University of Medical Sciences. We used the nonparametric test (Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U) and (Chi-Square & t-test) for statistical analysis.

The test results were statistically significant for students’ health behavior (p < 0.01, df –99). The knowledge of women was higher than men (F = 5.32, p < 0.02).

The results show that the Ministry of Health has acted well in promoting students’ knowledge and health-promoting behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that such research be conducted in the public statistical population.

Most research on burnout has focused on its antecedents, correlates, and consequences. However, little empirical attention has been paid to what constitutes successful rehabilitation after burnout, especially among young employees.

The present study empirically examined resources supporting successful rehabilitation after burnout among young employees (between 18 and 35 years of age) from a salutogenic perspective.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used as a methodological framework to explain the experiences of young employees underlying their rehabilitation after burnout.

The analysis showed that the rehabilitation process comprises four phases: 1) facing the crisis; 2) addressing the root causes; 3) seizing and achieving the opportunity; and 4) staying at work. Essential overarching resources facilitating successful recovery after burnout included receiving social support from family, friends, and colleagues, as well as having a feeling of control over the rehabilitation process. Participants learned to be aware of potential pitfalls that could trigger burnout symptoms, while having confidence in their ability to prevent burnout from reoccurring. These continuous learning processes were experienced as a prerequisite to remain at work.

Receiving social support and experiencing a feeling of control over the rehabilitation process appear to be key resources in facilitating a stable, meaningful return to work after burnout.

Beyond the health-enhancing effects, work also has the potential of causing or worsening different health conditions in the same individual. However, research on within-worker aggregation of work-related health problems is scarce.

To describe the history and aggregation of work-related health problems in a population-based sample of women.

A total of 4330 women were asked whether they had ever had “a physical or mental health problem that was caused or made worse by your work”. The aggregation of work-related health problems was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis.

Five groups were identified. Factor 1 included all items on musculoskeletal disorders - lower socioeconomic position, higher BMI, smokers and history of occupational accidents. Factor 2 included mental disorders together with headache and/or eyestrain - higher socioeconomic position. Factor 3 included the other disorders item with some loading from digestive disorders - older and public sector workers. Factor 4 included respiratory disorders - lower socioeconomic position and history of occupational accidents. Factor 5 included hearing and ear problems - blue-collar workers.

There was a relevant aggregation of work-related health problems, which may inform the selection of specific components for interventions that aim to improve women’s work-related health.

Worldwide ageing and thus, workforce ageing, is a concern for both developed and developing nations.

The aim of the current research was to determine, through a systematic literature review, the effects of age in three dimensions that are often used to define or assess productivity at work.

PICO framework was used to generate search strategies, inclusion criteria and terms. Scopus and PubMed databases were used. Peer-reviewed journal papers written in English and published (or in press) between January 2014 and December 2018 were included.

After filtering through inclusion criteria, 74 papers were included in the review. Considering productivity, 41%of the findings showed no differences between younger and older workers, 31%report better productivity of younger workers and 28%reported that older workers had better productivity than younger workers. Performance was better in older workers (58%), presenteeism generally showed no significant differences between age groups (61%). Absenteeism was the only outcome where younger workers outperformed older workers (43%).

Overall, there was no difference in productivity between older and younger workers. Older workers performed better than younger workers, but had more absenteeism, while presenteeism showed no differences. As ageing has come to workplaces, holistic approaches addressing total health are suggested to overcome the worldwide workforce ageing phenomenon.

Vibration therapy (VT) causes an increase in motor unit activation tendency, an involuntary recruitment of earlier sedentary motor units, which increases the muscle fiber force generating capacity and muscle performance.

To evaluate the effect of vibratory massage therapy at 23 Hz and 35 Hz on grip strength, endurance, and forearm muscle performance (in terms of EMG activity).

Ten healthy and right-handed men participated voluntarily in this study. The experiment was characterized by the measurement of MVC (maximal voluntary contraction) grip strength and grip endurance time at 50%MVC, accompanied by the corresponding measurement of the EMG signals of the muscles viz., flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS); flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU); extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB); and extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) in supine posture.

MANCOVA results showed significant effects of VT frequency on endurance time (p < 0.001); but no significant effect on the grip strength (p = 0.161) and muscle performance (in terms of EMG activities of the forearm muscles). However, VT improves the MVC grip strength and grip endurance time (better at 35 Hz). The Pearson correlation was significant between: weight, palm length, palm circumference, and forearm length with MVC grip strength; and the palm length with the endurance time. In addition, the palm length, palm circumference, and forearm circumference generally serve to better predict MVC grip strength and grip endurance time.

Vibration therapy at 35 Hz for 10 minutes on the forearms had a significant positive effect on the neuromuscular performance to enhance muscle performance of upper extermitites and can be used as the optimal range to study the effect of VT. Findings may be used to prepare guidelines for VT in rehabilitation, healthcare, sports, and medical for therapists.

Excessive use of smartphones may be associated with behavioral and physical health changes and might cause musculoskeletal alterations in the head and neck region.

To evaluate the prevalence of smartphone addiction in college students and its correlation with symptoms of head and neck pain and masticatory and trapezius muscle activity while resting, before and after smartphone use.

Twenty university students participated in the study. They answered the Smartphone Addiction Scale and the Fonseca Anamnestic Index. Next, the participants were seated and prepared for electromyography through the placement of surface electrodes on the masseter, temporal, and trapezius muscles. Rest condition data were collected for 10 seconds before and after 30 minutes of smartphone use.

The results showed that 35% of the evaluated individuals were classified as smartphone addicted and 35% reported no head or neck pain in the previous 30 days. There was no association between smartphone use and head and neck pain. In the electromyography, there was an increase in RMS values after smartphone use in the right and left masseter muscles and the left trapezius.

College students presented a high prevalence of smartphone addiction and head and neck pain, but these were not statistically associated. There was a change in muscle activity only in the right trapezius muscles before and after 30 minutes of smartphone use. These findings are contrary to the current belief that the use of smartphones correlates with pain in the neck region and changes in the electrical muscle activity, leading to fatigue in the cervical muscles.

With the growth the food service industry and associated high injury and illness rates, there is a need to assess workplace factors that contribute to injury prevention.

The objective of this report is to describe the development, application, and utility of a new instrument to evaluate ergonomics and safety for food service workers.

Starting with a similar tool developed for use in healthcare, a new tool was designed through a collaborative, participatory process with the stakeholders from a collaborating food service company. The new instrument enables the identification and assessment of key safety and health factors through a focused walkthrough of the physical work environment, and structured interviews exploring the organizational work environment. The researchers applied the instrument at 10 of the partnering company’s worksites.

The instrument identified factors related to both the physical work environment and organizational and contextual environment (e.g., vendor-client relationships) impacting worker safety and health.

Modern assessment approaches should address both the physical and organizational aspects of the work environment, and consider the context complexities in which the worksites and the industry operate.

Prescribing patient care providers regularly experience insufficient sleep, putting them at increased risk of committing occupational injuries, accidents, and errors and developing chronic health conditions.

Identify antecedents to short sleep (≤6-hours sleep in 24-hour period) in the understudied population of hospital-based Advanced Practice Providers (APPs).

Using an ethnographic research design, data included APP and key stakeholder interviews, hospital observations, and relevant documents. Interview data were analyzed using modified constant comparative method.

Nine APPs were interviewed, revealing four themes: Social/Family Obligations and Value of Connectivity, Community Value of Sleep, Organizational Value of Sleep, and Individual Biology and How the Body Values Sleep. APP decisions to prioritize sleep are based on an interplay of societal, professional, organizational, and personal values. Triangulated data verified results, except regarding how APP sleep deficit can lead to mood disturbances and the lack sleep consideration in patient care error reporting.

Findings demonstrate the importance of consistency in messaging, action, and policy when promoting occupational sleep health among healthcare workers. Implications include instituting worker sleep education, leadership modeling healthy sleep habits, and inclusion of sleep in root cause analyses. Additional consideration includes evaluating the influence of nursing culture on nurse practitioners’ sleep habits.

Research has suggested that balance ability contributes to musculoskeletal injury (MSKI) rates in firefighters. Though the Y-Balance Test (YBT) can predict injury, it is unclear what physical measures inform YBT performance in firefighters. Thus, there is a lack of knowledge regarding best practice for improving balance in firefighters.

To evaluate the relationship between the YBT and fitness measures, including body composition, aerobic capacity, functional total-body power, upper and lower-body strength, and movement efficiency, among firefighters.

Dynamic balance (YBT), body mass index (BMI), body-fat percentage (BF%), fat free mass (FFM), aerobic capacity (VO_2max), stair climb (SC), upper (1RM_bench) and lower-body (1RM_squat) strength, and Fusionetics™ Movement Efficiency Screen (ME) measures were collected among 35 firefighter recruits. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine relationships between YBT and the performance measures.

Dynamic balance ability in firefighter recruits is significantly (p < 0.05) related to BMI, lower-body strength, and movement quality, but not with aerobic capacity, stair climb performance, and upper body strength.

Greater YBT performance in firefighter recruits is associated with lower BMI, greater functional movement, and greater lower-body strength. Future research is warranted to incorporate these elements into balance training programs for firefighter recruits.

Although using forklifts in industrial sites contributes to productivity, many workers have been injured or killed owing to industrial accidents caused by forklifts.

This study analyzed the characteristics of forklift accidents by employment type and work process, thereby identifying the factors contributing to industrial accidents and providing recommendations to prevent accidents.

Data on 1,061 industrial forklift accidents occurring in 2018 collected from the national injury insurance compensation database were analyzed. In addition to analyzing the accident characteristics, this study performed a risk assessment per forklift work process.

Many accidents were associated with older workers, those employed for < 6 months, and workplaces with ≤49 workers. The risk was the highest for accidents involving caught-in objects in the loading/unloading step and collision accidents in the forward- and backward-driving steps.

Measures are needed to prevent industrial forklift accidents. First, forklift and worker movement routes must be strictly separated or controlled by a work supervisor. It is necessary to secure a time margin for workers to avoid collapsing cargo by using an appropriate tool/jig during loading/unloading. Second, guidance, inspection, and support are needed to promote employers’ safety and health awareness in workplaces with < 50 workers. Lastly, intensive education and training concerning health and safety is required for workers with less than six months of experience.

Youth, unemployment and poverty confirm a set of situations that are often inseparable. An example of this is the case of young people from the Andean coca areas.

To develop and validate a psychological test that can be used as a predictor of adequate police performance for use in police force recruitment.

The study comprised a sample of 713 young people, who were selected to join a pre-police training program designed to allow them to subsequently join the Peruvian police force. A new 200-item instrument, called Nemesis, was created. Derogatis’ SCL-90 test was administered to determine the validity of the new instrument. The suitability of the items for the future questionnaire was determined through factor analysis, which reduced the questionnaire to 14 items. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the items on the scale could predict possible admittance into the police training academy.

A statistical regression analysis showed that the global percentage of correct predictions exceeded chance by almost 15%. Based on this analysis, the scale was determined to be valid.

The proposed objective of verifying the psychometric properties of the Nemesis scale was fulfilled, as the scale has adequate reliability and validity.

High knee flexion postures are often adopted in occupational settings and may lead to increased risk of knee osteoarthritis. Pattern recognition algorithms using wireless electromyographic (EMG) signals may be capable of detecting and quantifying occupational exposures throughout a working day.

To develop a k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) algorithm for the classification of eight high knee flexion activities frequently observed in childcare.

EMG signals from eight lower limb muscles were recorded for 30 participants, signals were decomposed into time- and frequency-domain features, and used to develop a kNN classification algorithm. Features were reduced to a combination of ten time-domain features from 8 muscles using neighborhood component analysis, in order to most effectively identify the postures of interest.

The final classifier was capable of accurately identifying 80.1%of high knee flexion postures based on novel data from participants included in the training dataset, yet only achieved 18.4%accuracy when predicting postures based on novel subject data.

EMG based classification of high flexion postures may be possible within occupational settings when the model is first trained on sample data from a given individual. The developed algorithm may provide quantitative measures leading to a greater understanding of occupation specific postural requirements.

The study aimed to assess the interactive effects of industrial noise type, level and frequency characteristics on hand motor skills using the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test and the Hand Tool Dexterity Test.

A total of ten nonsmoking male volunteers with normal hearing and vision were selected for this study. The study followed a full 3×3×2 factorial design. Independent variables were noise type (steady, intermittent and fluctuating), noise level (75, 85 and 95 dBA) and frequency characteristics (“roar” <2000 Hz and “hiss” >2000 Hz).

For Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test, the lowest speed is related to steady hiss noise at 75 dBA and the highest speed is related to fluctuating roar noise at 95 dBA. The speed is being significantly affected by the frequency characteristic (P = 0.041) and noise type (P = 0.025). The effect of hiss noise on speed is greater than roar noise (P = 0.038). There is a significant difference (P = 0.035) between continuous noise and fluctuating noise. For the Hand Tool Dexterity Test, the lowest speed is related to fluctuating hiss noise at 95 dBA and the highest speed is related to steady roar noise at 95 dBA. The speed is being significantly affected by the frequency characteristic (P = 0.002), noise type (P = 0.0001) and noise level (P = 0.005). The effect of hiss noise on response variable to be greater than roar noise (P = 0.008). There is a significant difference (P = 0.0001) between steady noise and the two other types of noise, and also there is a significant difference between 75 dBA and 85 dBA level (P = 0.003).

The results showed that on hand motor skills, speed response was influenced by three characteristics: the type of noise, frequency characteristics and noise level. Also, the effect of the hiss noise was more than the roar noise.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can result from occupational exposures and poses a considerable burden to workers, their families, workplaces and to society in general.

Our objective was to conduct a rapid review of the literature to answer the question: “Which occupations have exposures that may lead to a PTSD diagnosis?”

A rapid review was conducted in six steps: review question development, literature search, study selection (inclusion/exclusion), study characterization, data extraction, and data synthesis.

The search identified 3428 unique references which were reviewed to find 16 relevant studies in 23 articles. The articles revealed associations between PTSD and rescue workers (police, firefighters, etc.), health care professionals, transit drivers, and bank employees which seem well supported by the literature. Some studies also suggest potential associations with PTSD and construction and extraction, electricians, manufacturing, installation, maintenance and repair, transportation and material moving, and clerical workers.

A rapid review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature of PTSD prevalence or treatment suggests many occupations have exposures that could be associated with PTSD. Occupational traumatic events were most often associated with PTSD diagnosis. More research is needed to better understand the association between occupation and PTSD.

Small and medium sized enterprises are yet uncharted territory in terms of presenteeism. In addition, the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and Siegrist’s Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) models are proposed to predict stress-related health problems, but not for sickness behaviors such as presenteeism.

This study aims to examine the relationships between psychosocial risk factors, presenteeism, mental and physical health in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study also examines the moderating effect of company size on these associations.

To test the association between psychosocial risks, presenteeism, and health, only people working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of between 2 and 199 employees were included in the sample, giving a total of 2,525 SME employees surveyed. To test the differences in exposure to psychosocial risk and presenteeism, and the moderating impact of size on the relationship between psychosocial risks, presenteeism, and health, we took the original sample (4608) of the EQCOTESST.

The results confirm the associations between job demands, social support and effort-reward imbalance, and presenteeism. Also, the associations between presenteeism and health problems in SMEs’ context. Multi-group analyses show that the business’s size does not moderate the strength of the relationships between psychosocial risks, presenteeism and health.

The current study highlights that SMEs are somehow protected from certain psychosocial constraints such as high job demands, and low social support, but are more exposed to others such as effort-reward imbalance.

Open plan or open space office has become increasingly popular but those who promote the concept seldom refer to health studies or workers’ perceptions of a change in office layout towards an open space arrangement.

To review the literature on open plan or open space office layouts in terms of facilities management (FM) with users’ perceptions in mind and to obtain opinions of users of open space offices for a better appreciation of the FM issues.

A literature search of research papers from 2007 in journals using the keywords “open plan office” and “open space office” plus “health”, first in the titles then in the text, was carried out. Thirty-two of those papers, accessible by the authors’ institutions, were consulted together with 5 other works in the Harvard Business Review. The review consulted but excluded papers and reports published or sponsored by commercial firms that were in favour of open space layouts. Case studies were conducted by face to face meetings in confidence with workers in the middle managements of twelve Hong Kong organisations known as friends to two of the authors. Problems as seen by staff are reported and discussed.

The literature review reveals that apart from writing that promotes the use of an open plan office layout, a host of scientific works point to the problems of perceived dissatisfaction with such a layout, the nature of the dissatisfaction tending to depend on the actual design. Most workers interviewed disliked the new style open plan layouts, which points to the necessity of consulting workers when such changes are contemplated, as well as monitoring the results of the change once it is in place whether against workers’ wishes or with their support. There is a need for a number of facility arrangements in making a change to open plan that ensures that worker needs for proper lighting, privacy, and indoor health will be met.

If the aim of a change to an open plan arrangement is to promote collegial communications in office, the study sheds light on the extent to which such arrangements may not in practice be suitable for achieving the aim. It follows that further, more specifically sociological studies of workers’ job satisfaction and emotional health in open plan office settings would be worth doing.

This study investigates work-related musculoskeletal disorders risk estimation by frequently as used as ergonomic methods in the field.

To identify the difference in risk estimation by an in-house observational method and a self-reported questionnaire, and to evaluate the complementary aspects of these methods.

A sample of 15 operators who worked on the assembly workstations was selected from a truck manufacturing plant. The risk assessment of these workstations (28 scenarios) was performed by the observational method and the self-reported questionnaire. The agreement between both methods to identify risk situations was measured with the weighted Kappa coefficient.

The observational method and the self-reported questionnaire deployed on the same activity estimated different risk situations.

This analysis does not reveal that one tool is more powerful than the other one, but shows the probability of different risk estimation. The complementary effect of each method might be considered for further investigation concerning musculoskeletal risk factors.

Work and family life are the two basic components of the individuals’ life and each one affects the other.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between occupational stress, mental health and marital satisfaction among Iranian nurses.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 randomly selected nurses. The 35 items hospital stress scale, Enrich Marital Satisfaction questionnaire and Scl-25 mental health questionnaire were used. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t-test and analysis of variance and regression analysis were used.

Inverse correlations were observed between the scores of job stress and mental health (r = –0.468, p = 0.001) and marital satisfaction (r = –0.517, p = 0.001). More than 0.74% of variation in marital satisfaction is explained by the components of occupational stress.

The results revealed that occupational stress plays a decisive role in nurses’ marital satisfaction and mental health. Due to the destructive effects of occupational stress on the people’s mental health, interpersonal relationships and on their efficacy in their job, establishment of some counseling services for nurses to be used by them periodically or by need, can help them to manage their stress level and better management of their family life problems. Moreover, in-service courses or workshops on stress management may help nurses to possess appropriate knowledge and skills on stress management.

A worker’s work habits can affect their health, both physically and psychologically. Negative results have been associated with work demands (stress, anxiety and depression).

In the present research we carried out a predictive study of work addiction by applying three questionnaires on depression and anxiety.

In this study, the participants were 332 workers, obtained through non-probabilistic sampling. The FACTOR (version 7.2) and SPSS 23.0 programs were used.

The results of the correlation analysis show both positive and negative associations with the variables studied. We conclude that work addiction variables can predict anxiety and depression because we found that two variables predict 18.3% of depression and 20.3% of anxiety, which are feelings generated by work and excessive work.

It can be concluded that feelings generated by work and excessive work predict anxiety and depression, thus the present research helps to broaden knowledge on work addiction, promoting a healthy lifestyle and prevent absenteeism.

Airplane de-icing technicians work from either an open-basket or closed-basket.

The objective of this study is to identify the tasks that have an influence on the physical fatigue of open-basket aircraft de-icing technicians.

In a Canadian airport during the winter of 2016–2017, a field study was conducted in which the heart rate of 12 volunteer participants was collected. The data was analyzed along with the 22 tasks that make up the activity of open-basket aircraft de-icing. For each participant, the mean absolute cardiac cost per task was compared. The evolution of the cardiac signal based on the resting heart rate and steady state limit was also characterized.

According to the cumulative results fatigue occurs for periodic tasks as well as double tasks. More precisely, the most physically fatiguing tasks are spraying de-icing and anti-icing fluids, moving the basket and truck, as well as tactile control and de-icing quality control at ground level.

Similar studies would need to be conducted in other aircraft de-icing facilities to improve the generalization of the results.

Self-control is an important factor in predicting employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, but previous studies have not examined the internal mechanism by which self-control affects organizational citizenship behavior.

The current study aimed to explore the relationship between self-control and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior and to test the mediating effects of vocational delay of gratification and job satisfaction.

Participants were 474 full-time employees (187 male, 287 female) from different companies in South China. They answered online self-report questionnaires that assessed self-control, vocational delay of gratification, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior. Path analyses were conducted and a bootstrap technique was used to judge the significance of the mediation.

The results showed that high self-control employees were more willing to engage in citizenship behavior that benefitted their organizations and colleagues, and the chain mediating effect of vocational delay of gratification and job satisfaction between self-control and organizational citizenship behavior was significant.

These findings provide insights to management regarding the mechanism to promote and maintain employees’ pro-organizational behavior.

To address the quality of life of patients in Permanent Vegetative or Minimally Conscious States, the occupational health of those around them must also be taken into account.

By analyzing how the available scientific literature has addressed this issue, this study seeks to better understand how caring for these patients affects healthcare professionals’ psychological and health status.

We identified and selected 15 publications from both Anglophone and Francophone databases, i.e., Cairn, Francis, HAL, PsycINFO, PubMed, ResearchGate and ScienceDirect.

The reviewed publications and studies highlight the difficulties healthcare professionals face with regard to the relationship with patients and their families. Two studies in particular suggest that the difficulties these professionals experience daily can lead to burnout. Other potential burnout factors include the healthcare profession category, the work environment, lack of training and the time spent working with this specific group of patients.

Our literature review highlights the institutional and personal resources that may prevent these occupational risks. It also provides avenues for future research.