International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics最新文献

Janitorial services are an essential part to keep workplaces functional. Janitors consider the job labor intensive, and that workload is increasing in recent years. The most impacted body parts are hand/wrist, shoulder, and back in this population. This paper reports a compendium of physical ergonomics exposure assessment using three observational methods. The composite Strain Index (COSI) for hand/wrist, Manual Task Risk Assessment (ManTRA) for shoulder, and Recommended Cumulative Recovery Allowance (RCRA) for shoulder and back, were chosen for their capability to capture the complex and dynamic nature of all tasks performed in a janitorial job. Forty-six unique cleaning task-location-tool combinations received assessments, and the risk scores from the three methods are compiled into a compendium. This information can help practitioners to estimate the risk for a job, or designers to plan jobs for a team of janitors so the risks can be mitigated with careful task assignments.

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a mainstream commercial technology with multiple sensory channels, including advanced user interfaces (human-computer). However, the number of users complaining of VR motion sickness (MS) has been rapidly increasing. In this study, VR MS was investigated using subjective questionnaires: simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ), virtual reality sickness questionnaire (VRSQ), and fast motion sickness scale (FMS) and objective physiological methods: electrodermal activity (EDA). To track VR MS based on symptoms, a model was constructed by applying a polynomial regression method. In addition, this study attempted to determine whether there are differences in MS according to the degree of immersion in a VR environment. Twenty participants (10 males and 10 females) were exposed to a dynamic VR environment through a simple operation method using a head-mounted display (HMD). The coefficients of determination of the objective measurement components were high before and after the rest. In particular, both the SSQ and VRSQ were highest for disorientation, that is, dizziness disorder and difficulty concentrating. This suggests that the timing of the EDA signal data extraction with respect to the rest may be critical. In addition, subjects placed in an immersive VR environment performed the experiment in an unstable and dynamic posture; accordingly, the VR MS score was higher for subjects who participated in the experiment in a more dynamic position. Therefore, we confirmed the possibility of a significant association between VR sickness and postural stability. This study demonstrates the possibility of tracking MS in a dynamic VR environment according to intervals and symptoms using EDA signals, and the stability of posture should be considered in immersed VR environments.

Relevance to industry: The findings here provide insights into the model of tracking motion sickness using the EDA signal to prevent or reduce VR motion sickness. The EDA signal model can benefit the design or development of an immersive VR environment.

This study aimed to verify the direct and indirect influence of risk factors on the symptoms of WMSDs in the thigh, leg, and foot among workers in the inner regions of Brazil. Research tested a structural equation model (SEM) that describes hypothetical relationships between risk factors and WMSDs. Questionnaires were used to collect data on sociodemographic, occupational, biomechanical, and psychosocial factors, and pain symptoms about 420 workers. The results showed that different factors directly affect the thigh, leg, and foot. Maintaining the lower limbs in uncomfortable positions increases the chances of developing WMSDs in the thigh (β = 0.219; p-value <0.001), leg (β = 0.223; p-value <0.001), and foot (β = 0.158; p-value <0.01). Most psychosocial factors attenuate psychosocial stress, which in turn directly alleviates WMSD symptoms in the thigh (β = −0.502; p-value <0.001), leg (β = −0.315; p-value <0.01), and foot (β = −0.246; p-value <0.01). Factors were also found to uniquely affect aspects such as “another job” (β = −0.246; p-value <0.01) in the leg and effort (β = 0.146; p-value <0.05) in the foot. It was concluded that multiple factors influence the development of WMSDs in the lower limbs. These findings contribute to the existing knowledge on the causes of WMSDs and can help improve working conditions for the population under study. Therefore, managers and health, ergonomics, and occupational safety professionals can use the findings to develop more precise strategies to reduce the impacts of WMSDs on workers.

Irrelevant background sounds have been proven to decrease efficiency while working, while the perception may be different when people actively listen to pleasant background sounds at work. This study aims to investigate the cognitive workload in irrelevant speech-based information communication (live streaming, white noise, movie, songs, and quiet environment) with visual distractions under different reading tasks (familiar and unfamiliar reading material) using NASA-TLX and eye-tracking metrics. The results showed the main effect of irrelevant speech-based information type on NASA-TLX was not significant. Participants tended to show a higher preference for quiet-based information and the live-based information was the opposite. Revisits and fixation duration had a similar trend for a small window and movie-based information had the most revisits and fixation duration and white noise was the opposite. The results of this experiment will contribute to helping improve the pleasure perception while working and make communication information more efficient.

Addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) is imperative to achieving health equity.

The field of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) has started to consider SDOH in influencing patient work, but has not yet extensively encompassed SDOH in patient work system models. Using transportation access to maternal health services as a case study, this research sought to enhance the patient work system framework to include sub-factors specific to SDOH. Following a model of community-based participatory research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 individuals who were pregnant within the last five years, identified as low-income, and identified as having one or more racial or ethnic minoritized identities. Thirty-three secondary themes and 28 tertiary themes were derived inductively under the deductive framework of the consolidated patient work system. Unique sub-factors of the patient work system were identified, expanding our current understanding of the dimensionalities of the patient work system. Sub-factors were mostly expanded in the domains of the physical and organizational environments. HF/E researchers and practitioners, in partnership with other disciplines and communities, should expand work system models to purposefully incorporate a range of work system factors that stem from SDOH. Extending these models produces a holistic view of systems, providing a better foundation to align design interventions with the contextual realities of marginalized populations who experience health inequities.

In order for human factors professionals to develop technologies and tools that can benefit all, research studies must have a diverse participant population that reflects the user population. In this article, the authors discuss barriers to participation and strategies to increase recruitment and promote retention throughout the research process. Case studies are also shared to portray both how the barriers can negatively impact a study if ignored and how they have been successfully overcome. Finally, strategies synthesized from the literature and the article are combined and presented to support future research studies.

Combining virtual reality (VR) with rehabilitation robots has the potential to enhance rehabilitation training and neural functional recovery. However, there is limited research on designing VR scenes and evaluating the impact of such systems on participants' cognitive and experiential aspects when using rehabilitation robots. This study aimed to examine the effects of different gaming modes (first-person perspective and third-person perspective) and robot involvement on participants' motivation, experience, task load, and engagement. Thirty-two participants underwent gait rehabilitation training, providing feedback on their experiences after each condition. The findings revealed that the first-person perspective mode increased motivation, experience, task performance, and engagement. On the other hand, robot-assisted participation improved motivation but decreased the overall experience. These results indicate that the first-person perspective mode takes precedence over the third-person perspective mode in terms of embodied gaming and the development of rehabilitation tasks.

Introduction

The disproportionate distribution of healthcare resources in the U.S. leads to an annual estimated 68,000 critically-ill newborns transported to regional centers for intensive care. As described in the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) 3.0 framework, patients with limited access to healthcare experience multiple healthcare settings in their journey to specialty care. Little is known about community resources for transported neonatal patients in the Pacific Northwest region.

Methods

Transport data from January 2014–December 2019 identified referral zip codes for transfers to a regional neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Using the SEIPS 3.0 framework to explore the journey of families experiencing neonatal complications, we linked referral zip codes to data on healthcare and resource access including: Health Transportation Shortage Index (HTSI); US Census Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; public transportation availability; Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and number of Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Results

1834 neonatal transports from 75 zip codes were analyzed. Forty percent of patients were transferred from a HPSA, one-quarter from areas with limited public transit availability (28%) and household internet access (24%). Almost all infants transferred from a high HTSI area (96%) were transported by air.

Conclusion

Many patients were referred from communities with high poverty and limited services. Improving patient outcomes requires population and policy level recommendations and care coordination between healthcare organizations and community services. Considering the patient family perspective within the SEIPS 3.0 framework will ensure patient centered care and an inclusive experience for families transitioning through healthcare settings.