Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

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Introduction: The psychological health is important factor in productivity of workforce and this parameter is effective on maximum aerobic capacity. This study was conducted to investigation of association between of psychological health and maximum aerobic capacity and determination of effective factors on general health in male workers of industrial sector of Shiraz city.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 500 male workers employed in Shiraz city industries participated voluntarily (age range= 20 to 59 years). The demographic questionnaire (including demographic/occupational and anthropometric (height, weight and BMI) and physiological (maximum aerobic capacity) characteristics) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used as data collecting tools. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including T-test and Pearson Correlation by SPSS software (Version 16.0).

Results: Mean (standard deviation) of total score of general health and maximum aerobic capacity of workers were 17.00 (9.99) and 35.95 (7.39) ml.kg-1.min-1, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed significant association between job tenure, BMI, marital status, educational level and shift working with general health. Also, the results showed that there was significantly association between "anxiety and insomnia" subscale and total score of general health with maximum aerobic capacity.

Conclusion: General health was significantly associated with maximum aerobic capacity, job tenure, BMI, marital status, educational level and shift working in studied workers. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE FA

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Introduction: Job stress can influence job turnover in organizations. Little data is available on job stress dimensions and their relationship to job turnover among Iranian nurses. The aims of this study were investigating job stress dimensions and examining their relationship to job change intention among nurses. 

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 385 randomly selected nurses from hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences participated. The Persian version of Job Content Questionnaire (P-JCQ) and demographic questionnaires were used for data collection. Using SPSS (version 11.5) software, descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test were applied for data analysis.

Results: The means (SD) of decision latitude, psychological job demands, social support, physical job demands and job insecurity were found to be 58.15 (6.50), 38.19 (5.14), 22.67 (3.67), 16.03 (2.58) and 7.74 (3.85), respectively. The results revealed that decision latitude and social support dimensions had low levels, but psychological and physical job demands as well as job insecurity dimensions had high levels among the study subjects. The findings showed that 56.4% of the subjects intended to change their jobs. The mean score of all job stress dimensions had significant relationship with job turnover.

Conclusion: The majority of subjects were exposed to high levels of job stress and most of nurses intended to change their jobs. Based on the results, any interventional program for minimizing job turnover should focus on reducing job insecurity and physical job demands as well as increasing decision latitudes and social support among nurses Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE FA

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Introduction: Regarding to the competing and increasing competitions in organization and markets, paying attention to manpower and his quality of work life have progressively become important. This study was conducted with the objective of investigating of quality of working life and determination of its related factors in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) staff. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 218 employees of SUMS participated voluntarily. A questionnaire consisted of two parts was used as data collecting tool. In the first part, demographic and occupational characteristics, and in the second part questions about the quality of working life were included. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including Pearson Correlation, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U by SPSS software (Version 16.0). Results: Mean and standard deviation scores for the quality of working life of staff were 127.51±16.61. The results showed that there were associations between gender and income with quality of work life score (p<0.05), such that the quality of work life scores of women and high-income individuals were higher than those of men and lower- income staff. Age, job tenure, marital status, number of children, level of education, type of employment and job unit had no association with quality of work life score. Discussion: In this study, quality of work life had association with gender and income level of staff.

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Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injury and disability in the developed and industrially developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and evaluate the risk of these disorders among welders of a steel manufacturing industry.

 

Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was achieved on all 243 welders employed in a steel manufacturing industry. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to study the prevalence of MSDs. Meanwhile, QEC technique was employed to evaluate the risk of exposure to these disorders. For data analysis, central statistical indices, T-test and Chi-square test were used.

 

Results: The results suggested the highest prevalence of symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in low back, trunk and knees, respectively. QEC technique showed a high and very high risk of exposure to MSDs in 64.6 % of welders.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the prevalence of WMSDs in welders under study was high. Based on the obtained results, the most significant ergonomic problems in welders were found to be awkward postures, manual material handling and back bending and twisting. Furthermore, the results suggested that QEC can present reliable findings in evaluating the risk level of exposure to WMSDs. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA

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Introduction: The maximum aerobic capacity (VO2-max) can be used to assess the cardio-respiratory condition and fit the physiological characteristics of workers to the work. This study was conducted to determine the correlation between the two methods of estimating the maximum aerobic capacity and its affecting factors among students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 104 students (54 males and 50 females) participated voluntarily (age ranged from 18 to 28 years). The subjects were assessed by step test according to Åstrand and ACSM protocols. The data collecting tool was a questionnaire including separate sections of demographic (age, sex, etc.), anthropometric (height, weight and BMI) and physiological (VO2-max) characteristics.

Results: The results revealed that the maximum aerobic capacity estimated from Åstrand and ACSM protocols were 3.21 (0.825) and 3.13 (0.707) l.min-1, respectively. Pearson correlation test showed high correlation between estimated maximum aerobic capacity via two protocols of Åstrand and ACSM (r=0.958). Meanwhile, there were significant associations among maximum aerobic capacity with weight, height, BMI and the number of hours of exercise per week.

Conclusion: The two methods for estimating the maximum aerobic capacity (Åstrand and ACSM) were highly correlated. Variables such as weight, height, BMI, and number of hours of exercise per week can be named as effective factors on VO2-m Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA

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Introduction: In the orthotic and prosthetic workshops, awkward postures, repetitive and continuously movements etc. are the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This study was conducted with the objective of ergonomic assessment of working conditions in these workshops.

Material and Methods: In this study all employed personnel of linorthotic and prosthetic production centers in Shiraz city participated (n=42).Data were collected using Nordic Musculoskeletal disorders Questionnaire (NMQ) and Ergonomic Risk Factor checklist (ERF)for assessment of working conditions .Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (Ver. 16).

Results: The means (SD) of age and job tenure (years) in employees studied were 37.26 (10.21) and 12.8 (9.39), respectively .The most prevalent MSDs symptoms were reported in lower back (42.9%), shoulder (40.5%) and knee (40.5%).Working condition assessment by ERF check list revealed that the means core of upper and lower region of body and also mean of total score were higher than acceptable limit (more than 7)..

Conclusion: In working conditions improvement, corrective measures and MSDs risk factors control in studied workers should be noted to risk factors in low back, shoulder and knee. The results of this study showed that ergonomic problems in orthotics and prosthetics clinics was related to "custom shoe making", "grinding and finishing", "filling plaster cast" and "positive cast rectification" tasks and ergonomic interventions to decrees and/or eliminate of awkward working posture needed corrections.

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Introduction: Manual load lifting is the most common and most stressful activity in manual handling of loads that imposes the highest possible amount of biomechanical pressure on the body, particularly on the spine. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to estimate the mechanical force exerted on the lower back in workers responsible for manual load lifting.

Material and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 workers responsible for manual load lifting activities in 7 industrial settings in the city of Shiraz. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used for determining the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and the 3DSSPP software was used to estimate the forces exerted on the lower back during load lifting. Data were then analyzed in SPSS-19.Findings: The results showed that lower back problems constitute the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder (68.3%). Evaluations conducted in 3DSSPP showed that in 17.5% of the cases, compressive forces, and in 10.8% of the cases, shearing forces exerted on the L5-S1 disc were higher in the workers than the permissible levels. There were no significant differences between the rate of the prevalence of lower back pain at different levels of compressive and shearing forces exerted on the disc (p>0/05).

Results: This finding might indicate the limitations of the method used in this study for conducting a comprehensive assessment of loads exerted on the spine.

Conclusion: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, in particular lower back pain, was estimated to be high among the subjects studied. The risk levels of compressive and shearing forces exceeded the permissible amount in a low percentage of the workers studied. The 3DSSPP software might have certain limitations in the assessment of the pressure exerted on the spine.

 

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Introduction: Perceived work-related fatigue is an important issue since it may adversely impact workers’ performance. Additionally, workers’ fatigue is known as a main cause of occupational accidents in workplaces. Considering the consequences of perceived work-related fatigue, assessing fatigue at workplace is critical to work-related fatigue risk management. Therefore, this study assessed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI-20) among Iranian employees.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 501 employees of two petrochemical companies were selected by simple sampling method. The Persian version of SOFI-20 was developed using forward and backward translation processes and used to collect the required data. The validity and reliability of the translated inventory were examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, respectively.

Results: Assuming that some items of the Persian version of the SOFI-20 were correlated, the confirmatory factor analysis was repeated to achieve better fitness. The results of CFA revealed an acceptable fit for the Persian version of SOFI-20. The total Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for the SOFI-20 was 0.95. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for different dimensions of the SOFI-20 were found to range from 0.690 to 0.887.

Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the Persian version of the SOFI-20 was acceptable for assessing the dimensions of work-related fatigue among Iranian employees.

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Introduction: There is a dearth of information available on psychological job demands and control in the job (decision latitude) and their relationship with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Iranian nurses. The present study was conducted to investigate psychological job demands and control in the job and their relationship with the prevalence of MSD symptoms among nurses in hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). 

Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 385 nurses at SUMS hospitals selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected using the Persian version of the Job Content Questionnaire (P-JCQ), the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and a demographic questionnaire. The data obtained were then analyzed in SPSS-11.5 using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

Results: The mean (SD) of the different dimensions of psychological job demands and control in the job were calculated as 38.19 (5.14) and 58.15 (6.50). The results revealed psychological job demands to be high and control in the job to be low. A total of 29.1% of the nurses suffered from a high job strain (a high demand and low control). Regression modeling showed that the chance of suffering from lower extremity disorders among the nurses placed in the cells indicating a high job strain cell was 2.35 times higher than those placed in the cells indicating a low job strain.

Conclusion: The demand-control model placed the majority of the nurses in the cells indicating a high job strain. Any interventional program designed for preventing MSDs among nurses should focus on increasing their control and changing their job conditions from a high strain condition to a low strain or active one.

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Introduction: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are among the major causes of work-related disability in healthcare workers (HCW). One of the main causes of WDSDs is patient handling. This study aimed to identify hazardous conditions related to patient handling in hospital environments.

Material and Methods: Patient handling activities were evaluated in 23 wards of three hospitals in Shiraz, Iran. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the required data through interviews with at least 23 HCW. Number of patient transfers per shift, patients’ ability to move to/from bed/stretcher, type and rate of personnel injuries, and necessity of transfer assist devices were surveyed.

Results: Over five manual patient transfers per shift were performed in 70% of the wards. More than 70% of the patients were completely or relatively unable to cooperate in their own transfer. In more than 80% of the wards, the staff involved in patient handling activities suffered from various WMSDs, mainly low back pain (48.78%). Almost all (95%) participants believed that transfer assist devices were necessary and helpful and could be beneficial to not only the patients, but also the HCW and the hospital.

Conclusion: Patients in most hospital wards need help when moving to/from bed/stretcher. Patient handling is generally performed manually by HCW. The high prevalence rate of WMSDs in the participating HCW highlighted the necessity of an ergonomic intervention, e.g. the use of transfer assist devices, for patient handling.

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Introduction: Sleep disorder is very common among employees and is considered as one of the crucial health problems. Sleep disorders have a negative impact on job performance. The present study was regarding the relationship of sleep quality, sleepiness and sickness absence.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 employees of a gas company through random sampling. The study data were collected using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient were applied for data analysis.

Results: While 43.2% of the participants enjoyed satisfactory sleep quality, 56.8% had unsatisfactory sleep quality. Statistical tests indicated a significant difference in sickness absence of the personnel with good and poor sleep qualities (P = 0.0001). Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ = 0.777) indicated a statistically significant correlation between sleepiness index and sickness absence (P = 0.0001).

Conclusions: The results showed a strong positive correlation in sleep quality, sleepiness index of the personnel and sickness absence; i.e. along with decline in sleep quality and incline in sleepiness, the personnel’s sickness absence increased.

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Introduction: Psychosocial factors and fatigue are significant factors in nurses’ performance. Since the relationship between psychosocial factors and fatigue has been rarely studied, the aim of this study was investigating the relationship between psychosocial work factors and fatigue among nurses.
Method: In this cross-sectional study, 270 nurses from hospitals of Urmia University of Medical Sciences randomly participated. The Job Content Questionnaire and Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory were used for data collection. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Structural Equation Modeling were used for data analysis.
Results: The mean (SD) of control was 66.32 (7.36), psychological job demand 35.47 (3.68), social support 22.31 (2.64), physical job demand 15.22 (2.18), and job insecurity 8.72 (4.06). Control and social support dimensions had low levels. Moreover, psychological and physical job demand had high levels, which indicates a high stress level. According to the results, psychological and physical job demand had a significant relationship with all dimensions of fatigue (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The majority of nurses were exposed to high levels of job stress. Among psychosocial factors, physical demand was identified as the most effective factor on fatigue. Any comprehensive interventional program regarding psychosocial work factor in order to reduce job stress and fatigue can improve health care quality and also prevent medical errors.
 

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