Work - Volume 74, issue 2

Authors: García-Remeseiro, Tania | Gutiérrez-Sánchez, Águeda | Taboada-Iglesias, Yaiza | Alonso-Fernández, Diego

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal pain represents a major public health problem. Workers who use visual display terminals (VDT) have suffered an increase in neck pain in recent decades. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical activity (PA), sitting time, posture, and neck disability in a population of employed adults who use a computer at work. METHODS: In this descriptive-correlational study, 88 workers with a mean age of 48.31 years participated. All of the participants filled out the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and Neck Disability Index (NDI). The …postural situation was also assessed with Posture Assessment Software (PAS/SAPO). RESULTS: A significant and inverse relationship was observed between the habit of PA practice and the Body Mass Index (BMI). A total of 59.1% of the participants have a moderate PA index. There was a statistically significant relationship between the NDI and the time that workers spend sitting in a workday. A significance level of p ≤0.05 was established for all the statistical analyses. CONCLUSION: The increase in sitting time produces an increase in neck disability among workers and there are no significant differences between the level of PA and the cervical angles analyzed. The promotion of leisure-time PA and the reduction of prolonged uninterrupted sitting time at work could be one of the means to reduce musculoskeletal morbidity in the working population. Show more

Keywords: Exercise, posture, neck pain, sedentary time, computer terminals

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-205194

Citation: Work, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 733-742, 2023

Authors: Mahmood, Nabeel | Qin, Rongjun | Butalia, Tarunjit | Manasrah, Maram

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: One of the main problems that may put people’s safety in danger is the lack of real-time detection, evaluation, and recognition of predictable safety risks. Current real-time risk identification solutions are limited to proximity sensing, which lack providing the exposed person with risk-specific information in real-time. Combined values of concurrently presented risks are either unrecognized or underestimated. OBJECTIVE: This study goes beyond the proximity sensing state-of-the-art by envisioning, planning, designing, developing, assembling, and examining an automated intelligent real-time risk (AIR) assessment system. METHODS: A holistic safety assessment approach is followed to include identification, prioritization, detection, …evaluation, and control at risk exposure time. Multi-sensor technologies based on RFID are integrated with a risk assessment intelligent system. System prototype is developed and examined to prove the concept for on-foot building construction workers. RESULTS: The evaluation of AIR assessment system’s performance proved its validity, significance, simplicity, representation, accuracy, precision, and timeliness. The reliability of providing quantitative proximity values of risk can be limited due to the signal attenuation; however, it can be reliable in providing risk proximity in a subjective linguistic fashion (Near/Far). CONCLUSION: The main contributions of the AIR assessment system are that the mobile wearable device can provide a linguistic meaningful risk assessment resultant value, the value represents the combined evaluation of concurrently presented risks, and can be sound delivered to the exposed person in real-time of exposure. Therefore, AIR system can be used as an effective prognostic risk assessment tool that can empower workers with real-time recognition and measurability of risk exposure. Show more

Keywords: Real-time assessment, concurrent safety risks, RFID multi-sensors, static dynamic risks, linguistic values, risk rose, fuzzy fault tree analysis

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-210011

Citation: Work, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 743-760, 2023

Authors: Oggioni, Barbara Passos | Duarte, Francisco José de Castro Moura | Abraçado, Mateus Pereira | Béguin, Pascal

Article Type: Correction

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-223652

Citation: Work, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 761-761, 2023