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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: BACKGROUND: Machinery safety issues are a challenge facing manufacturers who are supposed to create and provide products in a better and faster way. In spite of their construction and technological advance, they still contribute to many potential hazards for operators and those nearby. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate safety aspects of metal machinery offered for sale on Internet market according to compliance with minimum and fundamental requirements. METHODS: The study was carried out with the application of a checklist prepared on the basis of Directive 2006/42/EC and Directive 2009/104/EC and…regulations enforcing them into Polish law. RESULTS: On the basis of the study it was possible to reveal the safety aspects that were not met in practice. It appeared that in the case of minimum requirements the most relevant problems concerned information, signal and control elements, technology and machinery operations, whereas as far as fundamental aspects are concerned it was hard to assure safe work process. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the fact that more and more legal acts binding in the Member Countries of the European Union are being introduced to alleviate the phenomenon, these regulations are often not fulfilled.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: International standards based on the energy-equivalence principle predict a drastic deterioration of hearing protectors' noise attenuation if the protector is not worn for only brief time periods. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, studies in a laboratory setting were carried out to examine whether corresponding temporary threshold shifts (TTS) due to realistic noise exposures can be found. METHODS: Ten test subjects (Ss) were exposed to two reference exposures of 94 dB (A) for 1 h and 97 dB (A) for 1/2 h. Subsequently, they were exposed to noise of 106 dB (A) for 1/2 h on two…additional days. With the exception of a 3 3/4 min-period, in these tests the Ss wore hearing protectors with noise attenuation of 20 dB and 30 dB, respectively. The resulting noise exposure was energetically identical to the reference exposures as well as to 85 dB (A)/8 h. If the equal-energy rule - which is used in the standards to predict the protection losses - is indeed valid, all 4 tests should result in almost identical threshold shifts. RESULTS: The experimental results do not confirm, but rather contradict the predicted drastic deterioration in attenuation. Particularly, the hearing protector with a noise attenuation of 30 dB performs much better in real-life situations than the theoretical assessment indicates. CONLUSIONS: With minimally reduced wearing time of hearing protectors the protection losses which are prognosticated by national and international standards are not associated. Instead, the energy equivalence principle applied in the standards leads to heavy misjudgments.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Workplace noise exposure gains growing attention in high tech industry. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the noise effect on physiological and subjective responses in semiconductor manufacturing clean room environment. METHODS: Twenty subjects including 10 males and 10 females completed all phases of the experiment. Each subject was asked to participate in four treatment combinations of two noise intensities [65 dB(A) and 80 dB(A)] × two frequency levels [high and low]. For each treatment condition, the subject was exposed to the specified noise condition in a sound proof cabin for one hour. The physiological…measures included blood pressure and heart rate. The subjective measures included noise sensitivity, fatigue and annoyance. RESULTS: The ANOVA results indicate that long-time noise exposure caused significant increase in blood pressure (p< 0.001). Furthermore, the noise intensity by time interaction effect was found to be significant on annoyance and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that prolonged exposure to noise intensity at 80 dB(A) would result in a significant increase in physiological cost and subjective discomfort feeling. Thus, some countermeasures should be taken to reduce noise exposure and to promote health, and quality of working life.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Office workers are increasingly exposed to physical and psychosocial risk factors. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between environmental, physical and organizational working conditions and the physical and psychosocial well-being of a sample of private sector office workers. METHODS: Musculoskeletal pain was collected from a body map and the Disabilities of the Arms, Shoulders and Hands questionnaire. The short version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire enabled collecting information on six job related satisfaction and dissatisfaction subscales. A checklist for ergonomics in computer work guided the analysis of ergonomic factors and measurements were taken to…characterize environmental conditions. Association between exposures and outcomes was calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software. RESULTS: Significant moderate positive association was found between dissatisfaction with job psychological demands and musculoskeletal pain in the upper body (0.40; p= 0.05), as well as between postural ergonomic mismatches and dissatisfaction with job insecurity towards the future (0.42; p= 0.04). A significant moderate negative association (-0,47; p= 0.02) was found as well between satisfaction with job social support and with leadership quality and location of the work station in an open-plan office as opposed to smaller office rooms. CONCLUSIONS: The results show how raising awareness of the risk factors encountered in contemporary office work is still necessary to promote widespread improvement of working conditions, from both a physical and a psychosocial perspective.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Trunk muscles fatigue is one of the risk factors in workplaces and daily activities. Loads would be redistributed among active and passive tissues in a non-optimal manner in fatigue conditions. Therefore, a single tissue might be overloaded with minimal loads and as a result the risk of injury would increase. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this paper was to assess the electromyographic response of trunk extensor and abdominal muscles after trunk extensor muscles fatigue induced by cyclic lifting task. METHODS: This was an experimental study that twenty healthy women participated. For assessing automatic response…of trunk extensor and abdominal muscles before and after the fatigue task, electromyographic activities of 6 muscles: thorasic erector spine (TES), lumbar erector spine (LES), lumbar multifidus (LMF), transverse abdominis/ internal oblique (TrA/IO), rectus abdominis (RA) and external oblique (EO) were recorded in standing position with no load and symmetric axial loads equal to 25% of their body weights. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed that all the abdominal muscles activity decreased with axial loads after performing fatigue task but trunk extensor activity remained constant. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the current study indicated that muscle recruitment strategies changed with muscle fatigue and load bearing, therefore risks of tissue injury may increase in fatigue conditions.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Heart rate is an accurate and easy to use method to represent the energy expenditure during walking, based on physiological cost index (PCI). However, in some conditions the heart rate during walking does not reach to a steady state. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the energy expenditure by use of the PCI index. The total heart beat index (THBI) is a new method to solve the aforementioned problem. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research project was to find the sensitivity of both the physiological cost index (PCI) and total heart beat index (THBI).…METHOD: Fifteen normal subjects and ten patients with flatfoot disorder and twosubjects with spinal cord injury were recruited in this research project. The PCI and THBI indexes were determined by use of heart beats with respect to walking speed and total distance walked, respectively. RESULTS: The sensitivity of PCI was more than that of THBI index in the three groups of subjects. CONCLUSION: Although the PCI and THBI indexes are easy to use and reliable parameters to represent the energy expenditure during walking, their sensitivity is not high to detect the influence of some orthotic interventions, such as use of insoles or using shoes on energy expenditure during walking.
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Keywords: PCI, total heart beat, sensitivity, energy consumption, walking
Abstract: BACKGROUND: According to recent studies, the level of international interest in bridge employment, as return to work after retirement, has been growing. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the experiences of retired nurses in Iran with regard to making a decision about whether or not to seek bridge employment. METHODS: A qualitative study using a content analysis approach was conducted in an urban area of Iran. Semi-structured interviews were held with 20 Iranian male and female retired nurses chosen using purposive sampling. RESULTS: During the data analysis, two main themes were identified…as the participants' thoughts supporting the decision of seeking bridge employment. The first theme was entitled motivational factors with categories of ``serving the society,'' ``maintaining and promoting health,'' ``tendency toward flexible work,'' and ``maintaining the role and activity.'' The second theme was entitled forcing factors with categories of ``ardent desire to work (pluralistic ignorance)'' and ``financial need.'' CONCLUSIONS: While some Iranian retired nurses were not motivated to seek work for health reasons, most preferred to return to work after retirement. They were motivated to seek bridge employment out of a desire to serve the society, to promote their own physical and mental health, to continue to use their expertise and maintain the worker role, and because of financial needs and perceived societal expectations. Nurses seeking employment later in life tended to look for job flexibility and less stressful work. Therefore, the management of bridge employment by healthcare system authorities can be useful in making use of the invaluable experiences of retired nurses.
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Keywords: Work, bridge employment, bridge jobs, retirement, qualitative research
Abstract: BACKGROUND: In the case of workers with disabilities, family support is often essential to gain access to the labor market and achieve personal autonomy and financial independence, in addition to fostering job satisfaction and permanence in the organization. Moreover, the support offered by organizations is particularly valued by workers with disabilities, as the organizations that hire such people generally go to considerable lengths to ensure their adaptation and integration in the workplace, contributing to job satisfaction and permanence in the organization. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between organizational support and…family support with job satisfaction and intention to quit the organization among workers with disabilities employed in ordinary firms. METHODS: Our study surveyed 204 workers using a questionnaire, and we used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses to test these relationships. RESULTS: Our results show that organizational support is a significant explanatory factor in the levels of job satisfaction. Moreover, our results indicate that the participants perceived high levels of support from their families, facilitating the conciliation of work and family life. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have practical implications in order to improve full integration and normalization of workers with disabilities in ordinary jobs.
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Keywords: Workers with disabilities, perceived organizational support (POS), family support, job satisfaction, intention to quit
Abstract: BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the energy expenditure of workers in physical work tasks in order to determine if people of different ages and gender carry out repetitive activities according to the recommended limits of energy at work. OBJECTIVE: Exploring whether age is a significant factor to achieve industrial production rates and determine its possible consequences. METHODS: A laboratory experiment was conducted with people age 20 to 58 years split by gender into four age groups. Oxygen consumption and heart rate were measured as variables of response to the physical workloads. RESULTS: When…carrying out repetitive moderate load operations, women aged over 30 years exceeded the recommended energy expenditure (95% CI). For heavy activities, only men in the age groups 20-39 and 30-40 years could perform these tasks without exceeding the recommended oxygen consumption (95% CI). CONCLUSIONS: The industrial predetermined motion time systems do not take into account the effects of age and gender difference on energy production when obtaining cycle times in activities with significant aerobic loads. Manufacturing processes have specific standard times that might be inappropriate if they are performed by individuals who do not meet the standard energy production capacity.
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Keywords: Heart rate, aging, oxygen consumption, predetermined motion time systems, standard time
