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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: Teachers can be at risk of exposure to psychosocial hazards. Improving workplace safety for teachers, within a ‘systems thinking’ context, should begin with understanding the work. OBJECTIVE: While much is known about what teachers do, little is known about how teachers conceptualize ‘work’. Knowing how teachers conceptualize ‘work’ provides a reference point for exploring attitudes towards work health and safety. METHODS: The paper presents a review of the literature, an overview of heuristic methodology describing and interpreting the lived experience of teachers as workers, and analysis of teachers’ accounts of work. The heuristic approach allowed…the author to compare their lived experiences and perceptions as a teacher with the lived experience of teachers in the NSW school system. RESULTS: Teaching is work that is both rewarding and hazardous. It is argued that teachers draw on battle motifs, perceive a need for safety within a workplace context, and have an ability to conduct personal risk assessments. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the study provided direction for the second phase of the project that is aimed at exploring the ways in which teachers conceptualize psychosocial work- related hazards and the extent to which they are visible in teaching practice and policy.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: As cement industries have remarkably affected the economy of producer’s countries, one of the main concerns of these industries is to prevent accidents and related costs. OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates the relationship between the safety climate and safety performance with the moderating role of safety knowledge and the mediating role of safety motivation in the cement industry. METHODS: Data were collected from 230 Iranian employees of the cement industry using a safety climate and performance questionnaire. The relationships between variables and analysis of the collected data were tested using structural equation modeling.…RESULTS: The results indicated that the safety climate had a positive effect on safety performance in the cement industry. Moreover, management’s commitment to safety was positively or negatively related to the social support and production pressure. There was either a positive and negative relationship between social support and production pressure of safety knowledge and safety motivation, respectively. CONCLUSION: The integrative model suggested that it was important to promote the safety knowledge at all organizational levels to develop spontaneous activities and raise safety in the intended organization.
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Keywords: Safety knowledge, safety behaviors, management’s commitment, safety motivation, social support
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Work attention in employees with schizophrenia is a significant issue in vocational rehabilitation. Background music is very popular in workplaces, and according to some investigations, can help increase attention at work if utilized appropriately. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the influence of background music tempo on attention performance in employees with chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) study was performed to test the attention of 240 participants with chronic schizophrenia under four conditions, namely no music, fast tempo, slow tempo and white noise. RESULTS: Employees with schizophrenia achieved higher attention scores under…background music than in a no-music environment. Additionally, slow-tempo music produced higher attention scores than fast-tempo music. CONCLUSIONS: Observational results indicate that slow-tempo background music is more desirable than fast-tempo background music in a work environment involving schizophrenic individuals.
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Keywords: Background music, schizophrenia, work attention, tempo
Abstract: BACKGROUND: While professional musicians may have a high incidence of musculoskeletal pain, there are few studies on the performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) in visual artists. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and probable risk factors of PRMD in visual artists. METHODS: The study population comprised the students and academics of fine arts faculty. The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires were used to evaluate posture and pain, respectively. RESULTS: The study included 197 participants (140 women, 57 men). The mean REBA score was 5.2. The sculptors who worked in marble…sculpting had the highest REBA scores. Of the participants, 88.8% reported musculoskeletal pain. The pain severity of 64.0% of the participants was 3 (very uncomfortable with a reduction in activity) and/or 4 (pain interferes with the ability to work). The PRMD prevalence was 64.0%, and significantly higher in women than in men (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Musculoskeletal pain in visual artists is extremely prevalent. Mean REBA score of 5.2 corresponds to a medium risk assessment accompanied by guidance to “further investigate, change soon.” The policy makers in fine arts faculties who are responsible for student and employee health should prioritize strategies to prevent and manage musculoskeletal pain.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Occupational incidents and accidents are still commonplace in the contemporary workplace, despite increased understandings of safety. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to yield new insights into safety-related thinking, decisions and behaviours through the application of an institutional logics perspective. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews with twenty-two managers in a railroad construction and maintenance organisation were conducted, in which a variety of topics related to occupational safety and management were discussed. RESULTS: The results illustrate that an institutional logics perspective provides useful insights into the different logics of the market, profession, and corporation in the occupational safety…context. Furthermore, the results demonstrate contradictory viewpoints, so-called complexity, between these three logics and subsequent management approaches. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that viewing occupational safety through the lens of institutional logics leads to a better understanding of safety and reveals various rationales for safety attitudes and behaviours that otherwise may have been dismissed as irrational. Understanding and possessing the discourse of logics can help managers and safety professionals with analysis and prevention of accidents.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Previously, a stretching regimen was designed for manual material handling (MMH) of gas cylinders as a potential ergonomic solution for reducing occupational injury. No studies have made use of objective process measures, such as muscle activation levels, for evaluation of effects of stretching programs. OBJECTIVE: Examine acute effects of stretching on muscle activation levels and driver perceived level of exertion in gas cylinder handling during simulated delivery operations. METHODS: A within-subject experiment was conducted with eight male participants being subjected randomly to two conditions over a two-day period: stretching before delivery trials and no stretching.…Surface electromyography and the Borg CR-10 scale for perceived exertion were used. RESULTS: Generally, results were variable among muscle responses. The extensor muscle bundle in the forearm was found to show a significant decrease (p = 0.0464) in activation level because of stretching. The anterior deltoid and trapezius significantly increased (p < .0001) the EMG activation level with stretching. Also counter to expectations, participants rated perceived exertion significantly higher (p = 0.0423) for trials preceded by stretching. CONCLUSIONS: This research indicates a muscle stretching regimen in advance of MMH activities has mixed effects on activation levels across muscles. It is possible that effects are attributable to body posture positions, or manner of muscle use, during actual work activities. Findings indicate that stretching prior to work activity does have an impact on specific muscle activation.
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Keywords: Surface electromyography, stretching program, manual material handling
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Students remain in a sedentary position inside classrooms for 60% to 80% of their school day. As such, research has associated students’ prolonged seated posture on school furniture with their discomfort and musculoskeletal pain. The correlation between the shape of the seat surface and the zones of the body making contact with these surfaces constitutes an essential factor in determining comfort-enhancing seat design. OBJECTIVE: This study’s primary aim lies in contrasting the standard, current school chair against two seat prototypes, both designed and built from digital models, comparing seat-user pressure distribution and contact area during students’ performance…of different school tasks. METHODS: Participants (n = 13), ages 7 to 19, performed school tasks sitting on three different chairs’ seat surfaces during the test: the current seat used in schools and two seat prototypes, each designed based on body anatomy. The seats were evaluated through a force-sensing array pressure-mapping system. RESULTS: The measurements from designed seat prototypes provide a better distribution of pressures and greater contact area with the students’ anatomical areas (buttocks and thighs) than the seat currently used in the specified schools. The improvement in pressure values and contact area as seen in the second designed seat prototype is due to its inclination angle and contact with students’ sacral zone. CONCLUSIONS: This research work found that a seat’s shape based on human anatomical features (buttocks and thighs), compared to a completely flat seat, creates a higher reduction of body pressures and an increase in the body contact area, with the intent to increase comfort and reduce musculoskeletal pain.
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Keywords: School furniture, pressure measurement, seat surface shape, design, comfort
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Increased genu recurvatum (GR) angle is a risk factor for knee injury. Identification of factors causing GR is important for the prevention and rehabilitation of GR. Few studies have investigated the association between muscle strength and GR. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between GR angle and hip and knee muscle strength in standing workers METHODS: The participants in this study were 110 healthy volunteers (59 male, 51 female) who performed standing work in a theme park. The GR angle, muscle strength, and strength ratio of the lower extremities were measured to determine their associations with…GR. The GR angle was measured using a Smart KEMA motion sensor, and muscle strength was assessed using a Smart KEMA strength sensor. Stepwise multiple regression models were used to investigate which muscles contributed most to the extent of the GR angle. RESULTS: Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the decreased hip external rotator to hip internal rotator ratio, increased knee extensor to knee flexor ratio, and young age were associated with an increased GR angle. CONCLUSIONS: Many factors are known to increase the GR angle. However, this study investigated the roles of only hip and knee muscle strength. The results suggest that muscle strength ratios are more important than the weakness of any muscle.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: For maternal and infant benefits, cradle, cross-cradle and football hold positions have been recommended and widely utilized by mothers during breastfeeding (BF) tasks. There is paucity of data on the biomechanical costs of these BF positions. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the trunk lean angles and electromyographic (EMG) activities of the trunk muscles during these BF positions. METHODS: In this experimental study, 25 nulliparous females carried a 6-kg weighing infant, while simulating BF tasks in each of the three BF hold positions for five minutes respectively. During each task, forward and lateral trunk lean angles were…measured with a single inclinometer. Activities of the right and left erector spinae (ES) and external oblique (EO) muscles were also measured via surface electromyography. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze data at a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Cross-cradle position resulted in significantly higher anterior trunk lean and right ES and EO muscle activities. Conversely, cradle position significantly elicited highest activities in the left ES and EO muscles. Left trunk lean angles were highest during the football position. CONCLUSION: Football BF position may pose less risk of BF-related musculoskeletal disorders in nursing mothers, as compared to the cradle and cross-cradle BF positions.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Semi-precious stone mining may cause occupational lung disease. The impact of inhaling silica on workers’ exercise capacity has only been partially studied. OBJECTIVES: To study lung function, exercise capacity, and identify factors associated with functional impairment. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 193 current miners from Ametista do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, medical and occupational data were collected. The diagnosis of silicosis was established by the history of dust exposure and chest radiographic findings. All workers performed a spirometry and a 6-minute walk test (6MWT). RESULTS: Of the sample 51 (26.4%)…had silicosis. Time working in mine was 14.7±8.7 years. Spirometry showed a normal, restrictive or obstructive ventilatory pattern in 75.1 %, 13 % and 9.3 % of the workers, respectively. The diagnosis of silicosis and length of time working in mining negatively affected lung function, although exercise capacity was preserved. In the multivariate analysis, time working in mining, diagnosis of silicosis and education remained significant for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 ; r = 0.60; r 2 = 0.36; p < 0.001) and age and height for distance in 6MWT (r = 0.66; r 2 = 0.43; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show impaired lung function and preserved exercise capacity in current mineworkers exposed to silica. Length of time working in mining, presence of silicosis and lower education were factors associated with reduced lung function.
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Keywords: Pneumoconiosis, silicosis, exercise, 6-minute walk test
