Purchase individual online access for 1 year to this journal.
Price: EUR 250.00
ISSN 1051-9815 (P)
ISSN 1875-9270 (E)
Impact Factor 2024: 1.7
WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary, international journal which publishes high quality peer-reviewed manuscripts covering the entire scope of the occupation of work. The journal's subtitle has been deliberately laid out: The first goal is the prevention of illness, injury, and disability. When this goal is not achievable, the attention focuses on assessment to design client-centered intervention, rehabilitation, treatment, or controls that use scientific evidence to support best practice.
WORK occasionally publishes thematic issues, but in general, issues cover a wide range of topics such as ergonomic considerations with children, youth and students, the challenges facing an aging workforce, workplace violence, injury management, performing artists, ergonomic product evaluations, and the awareness of the political, cultural, and environmental determinants of health related to work.
Dr. Karen Jacobs, the founding editor, and her editorial board especially encourage the publication of research studies, clinical practice, case study reports, as well as personal narratives and critical reflections of lived work experiences (autoethnographic/autobiographic scholarship),
Sounding Board commentaries and
Speaking of Research articles which provide the foundation for better understanding research to facilitate knowledge dissemination.
Narrative Reflections on Occupational Transitions, a new column, is for persons who have successfully transitioned into, between, or out of occupations to tell their stories in a narrative form. With an internationally renowned editorial board,
WORK maintains high standards in the evaluation and publication of manuscripts. All manuscripts are reviewed expeditiously and published in a timely manner.
WORK prides itself on being an author-friendly journal.
WORK celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2015.
*WORK is affiliated with the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT)* *WORK is endorsed by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA)* *WORK gives out the yearly Cheryl Bennett Best Paper Award*
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to introduce the Website “Encontros sobre a vida, a saúde e o trabalho nas escolas públicas” (Encounters of life, health and work in public schools). It was designed viewing to contribute to the generation of changes regarding the meanings attributed to work done by all professionals acting in Brazilian public schools, in their relationship to health. We have tried to create a space conducive to reflection and invention of different ways of action towards the struggle for health of the protagonists of the school units. We present the Website’s different ambients, such as the…one for availability of Training materials, Discussion Forums and the Observatory of facts and events related to the topic. We point out the analysis of a dialogue between the Formaction Program in Health, Gender and Work at Schools. Through the displaying of dialogs that mobilized the training participants we observed a process of collective analysis of the situations that occur at meetings, allowing other interpretation possibilities by the different parties. In the case focused, a nursery assistant (male), in the dialogue, is forced to review his description of the activity, initially, portrayed as simple.
Show more
Keywords: Public school, occupational health, gender, work activity, training
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0105-4661
Citation: Work,
vol. 41, no. Supplement 1, pp. 4661-4668, 2012
Abstract: A surgeon’s work environment and working conditions are often harsher than those of an industrial worker. Accepted principles and regulations of ergonomics in manufacturing are largely ignored or absent in the medical/surgical domain. Examples include poor surgical tool handle design, awkward and stressful surgical postures, and prolonged standing without breaks and without a foot mat. In these and other areas, there are documented "best practices" for industrial hygiene and ergonomics that are not yet widely accepted for surgery. There is support in the literature for innovations in surgical ergonomics, yet adoption is not widespread. In the absence of these ergonomic…principles, surgical repetitive strain injuries in minimally invasive surgery are reaching epidemic levels. As ergonomists, it falls upon us to understand why current solutions have not been widely adopted within this domain, and to derive solutions to the unique challenges of surgery.
Show more
Abstract: A taxonomy was developed a) to describe surgical procedures with sufficient detail to review differences among surgeons, b) to examine the relationship between individual technique and outcomes, c) to enable surgeons to standardize technique around best practices and d) to identify clinical-evidence-based key points of teaching and assessment for surgical training. Sixty-seven microvascular anastomoses were recorded through video cameras mounted in the dissecting microscope. A hierarchical task analysis was used to decompose the observed procedures into successive levels of detail. The results were then presented to individual and small groups of microvascular surgeons to help define steps and step attributes…necessary to describe a procedure so that other surgeons can perform the procedure exactly the same way. Coincidently, it was found that because the surgeons’ attention is confined to a very small field of view in which they can see only the veins and arteries and the ends of their instruments, they often have difficulty communicating with others in the operating room. Analyses of selected cases using the proposed taxonomy shows how subtle details are revealed that may affect outcomes, and indicate specific training needs. By comparing different methods and outcomes, it should be possible to identify best practices for given conditions.
Show more
Keywords: Surgery, methods, taxonomy, standardization, task analysis, training
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0108-4673
Citation: Work,
vol. 41, no. Supplement 1, pp. 4673-4679, 2012
Abstract: Gastroenterologists are at increased risk for developing recurrent thumb, hand, and elbow pain due to colonoscopy procedures. We evaluated forearm muscle loads and wrist postures during routine colonoscopy (N=12 gastroenterologists) to understand distal upper extremity musculoskeletal risk factors associated with the 4 different subtasks of colonoscopy. Bilateral forearm extensor carpi radialis (ECR) and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) surface electromyography and bilateral wrist postures were recorded continuously. The mean duration of colonoscopy was 24.2 (±12.1) minutes and was dominated by the withdrawal subtask [13.7 (± 8.8) min] followed by right colon insertion [5.8 (± 4.8) min], left colon insertion [3.5 (±…3.1) min], and retroflexion [1.2 (± 2.1) min]. Median (APDF50) and peak (APDF90) left forearm muscle activity was significantly greater than right forearm muscle activity across all subtasks. Median and peak ECR muscle activity was significantly greater during the left and right colon insertion subtasks compared to retroflexion. Both wrists were predominantly in wrist extension during all phases of colonoscopy. The left forearm muscle activity was higher than right forearm activity due to differences in wrist posture and grip force. The risk factors for the left hand may be reduced with alternative designs and support mechanisms for the colonoscope head.
Show more
Abstract: Surgical technique evolved from traditional open surgery to laparoscopic surgery, offering patients reduced pain and quick recovery. Recently, a new approach called natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has emerged. In NOTES, procedures may be transvaginal, transgastric, or transrectal or transesophageal. NOTES procedures present new ergonomic challenges to surgeons due to visualization and tissue manipulation challenges. An ergonomic analysis of NOTES cholecystectomy was conducted. As there is currently no standardization for performing NOTES, this analysis presents the results as a case study. Results showed NOTES procedures impose unique limitations on the surgeon’s ability to perform surgical tasks autonomously, requiring collaboration…and coordination amongst the surgical team members.
Show more
Abstract: The placement of nasogastric (NG) tubes is known to be prone to error and may lead to serious issues for patient safety and wellbeing. In some instances these have been catastrophic and resulted in the death of the patient. This study sought to explore the potential risks associated with this procedure through the use of systematic prospective risk assessment. The research team used the Prospective Hazard Analysis (PHA) toolkit developed by Ward et al (2010) . The study has shown a wide number of risks that cover equipment design, work organisation, and training issues. The link between equipment design and…training provides an important example of the need for a systematic approach to reducing errors and improving resilience in this aspect of healthcare.
Show more
Abstract: Endotracheal Intubation (ETI) is an airway procedure commonly used to secure the airway for a variety of medical conditions. Proficiency in ETI procedures requires significant clinical experience and insufficient data currently exists describing the physical ergonomics of successful direct laryngoscopy. The research objectives of this study were to examine how ETI time, error and practitioner biomechanics varied among clinical experience levels and hospital bed heights. The participant population included novice and expert personnel, differentiated by their exposure to ETI procedures. Participants used a standard laryngoscope and blade to perform ETI trials on an airway manikin trainer at predesigned hospital bed…heights. Participants were evaluated based on ETI time and accuracy, as well as wrist postures and muscle utilization. Hospital bed height did not affect task completion time, error rates or muscle utilization. Expert participants exhibited less ulnar deviation and forearm supination during task trials, as well as a higher utilization of the bicep brachii and anterior deltoid muscles. Expert grasped instrumentation differently, requiring less wrist manipulation required to achieve ideal instrument positions. By encouraging ergonomic best-practices in hand and arm postures during ETI training, the opportunity exists to improve patient safety and reduce the learning curve associated with ETI procedures.
Show more
Abstract: In France, there are strict laws in place to ensure that people with disabilities have access to, and can remain in employment. In this context, many businesses have “group agreements”, to support and fund in-house actions in this area. For the last five years, as part of our work as consultant ergonomists, we have carried out over fifty ergonomics interventions for one of our clients to adapt the working environment for persons with disabilities. This paper presents an analysis of our practices to adapt working environment for employees with disabilities by means of a review of these different interventions. This…analysis of practices specifically focuses on an issue we consider to be of vital importance: how to get past the concept of an impairment which can be compensated for with technical solutions, a concept in which both French legislation, and the practices of certain professionals working in the field of occupational disability are firmly rooted, and move towards a developmental approach, with the aim of designing an “enabling environment” [2-4,13].
Show more
Keywords: Review of practices, Persons with disabilities, Developmental approach, Enabling environment
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0021-4699
Citation: Work,
vol. 41, no. Supplement 1, pp. 4699-4708, 2012
Abstract: The customization of a secretary workstation at a drama school was the objective of this case study. The investigation involved a 25-year-old illiterate woman with intellectual disabilities and low vision that had been been attending, for over 12 years, a state school for people with disabilities. The customization process, operationalized after a diagnosis was made, focused on environmental rearrangements, with the purpose of meeting the physical and social demands of the workstation. The results of this research are configured in an ergonomic analysis of work associated with an inventory of social skills, applied to people living directly with the participant.…Preliminary evaluations indicated the degree of adjustment of labor demands to the personal characteristics of the participant in the customized job.
Show more
Keywords: people with disabilities, customization job, social skills
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0022-4709
Citation: Work,
vol. 41, no. Supplement 1, pp. 4709-4715, 2012
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the results of the evaluation of the job of bricklayer in the construction industry to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform this function and what adjustments are needed. The methods and techniques used in the field study were: direct observation of the activities and the environment, interviews with bricklayers on building sites, a video and photographic record of tasks being carried out to analyze the job of bricklayer, software resources were used. This study set out the disabilities most commonly caused by work accidents in the civil construction…industry and simulated the conditions of the individuals to determine whether they could perform the activities of this function and what adaptations are needed. It was observed that workers with hearing impairments could perform activities without any change in the workplace and individuals who had had a leg or foot amputated need to use appropriate prostheses to perform the activities of the function. Thus, it was shown that the activity of professionals with experience in Ergonomics is essential since, by the activity of gathering data and analysing the physical, cognitive and organizational requirements of jobs and by collecting data on and analysing the functional capabilities of the worker with a disability, adaptations to jobs can be adequately defined.
Show more
Keywords: Ergonomics, Person with a disability, Inclusion at work, Civil Construction
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0023-4716
Citation: Work,
vol. 41, no. Supplement 1, pp. 4716-4721, 2012
