Work-A Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation最新文献

BackgroundReceiving work accommodations is associated with job retention among women at high-risk of job loss during cancer treatment. However, there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes an accommodation. Understanding accommodations relevant to cancer is essential to creating inclusive patient-centered interventions.ObjectiveWe aimed to better understand patient perceptions of work accommodations relevant to cancer diagnosis and treatment.MethodsAs part of a survey pilot, we interviewed a diverse cohort of women undergoing treatment for stage 0-III breast cancer at five New York City cancer centers. We asked participants to list examples of what they considered to be work accommodations when completing the survey. Content analysis was used to describe accommodation types listed. Associations between participant characteristics and accommodation types were explored using significance tests.ResultsSixty-one women (79% non-White race/ethnicity; 41% employed in service, manufacturing, or transportation industries) described nine accommodation types. Accommodations included leave time, schedule flexibility, social support, benefits, employer expectations, working from home, job security, physical accommodations, and confidentiality; 63% described more than one accommodation type. Women from groups at high risk of job loss described accommodation types not commonly assessed in cancer-employment research including job security (non-White race/ethnicity, less educated) and social support (low self-efficacy in approaching employers).ConclusionsWork accommodations provided to women during breast cancer treatment vary. A multi-item instrument is needed to assess accommodations relevant to cancer. Women at high risk of job loss (non-White, less education) consider novel accommodations and therefore must be included in instrument development.

Background: Digital Health is a field of study that lies at the intersection of health and digital technologies that create new methods and opportunities for healthcare provision. However, it requires debates regarding workers whose activities will be transformed. Objective: To collect and analyze evidence on the effects of digital health on work processes and the mental health of workers in this area. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review across databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO, PsyArxi, Web of Science, and Scopus), resulting in 1130 records. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final sample consisted of 15 articles reviewed by two researchers. Results: The review underscores the need to understand the relationship between productivity, job satisfaction, and professional performance in digital health. The research emphasizes the importance of considering the long-term impacts of digital technologies and proposes an integrated approach to managing and implementing these innovations in the healthcare domain. The assessment of physical and mental workload emerges as a frequently used tool to measure the impact of technology on healthcare professionals and their activities. Conclusions: Studies have shown that the impact of digital health can positively and negatively affect mental health and work processes in the health field. These factors can significantly influence variables such as stress levels, job satisfaction, and the onset of burnout.

BackgroundThe Incident Command System is a critical framework for coordinating emergency response; however, large-scale disasters often expose operational, structural, and communication gaps. Understanding how Emergency Medical Services personnel navigate these challenges is essential to strengthening disaster readiness and improving coordinated field operations.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the challenges faced by prehospital Emergency Medical Services personnel in adapting to the Incident Command System during the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes.MethodsA qualitative phenomenological design was employed to investigate the lived experiences of Emergency Medical Services professionals who participated in disaster response operations. Twenty participants were recruited through purposive sampling from the Paramedic and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine Association. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams between March and May 2024. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis following Braun and Clarke's six-phase framework, supported by MAXQDA 2020 software.ResultsSeven major themes were identified: absence of a pre-incident plan, communication breakdown, inadequate scene safety, lack of inter-agency coordination, resource insufficiency, challenges in disaster triage, and inefficiencies in patient transport. These findings highlight systemic and organizational weaknesses that hindered Emergency Medical Services professionals adaptation to the Incident Command System.ConclusionFindings demonstrate that fragmented command structures, disrupted communication, and insufficient logistical planning impeded effective Emergency Medical Services coordination under chaotic disaster conditions. Strengthening scenario-based Incident Command System training, communication infrastructure, and inter-agency governance mechanisms is essential to improve Emergency Medical Services adaptability and resilience in future large-scale emergencies.

BackgroundDementia is a major public health concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries. While structured exercise benefits cognition, occupational physical activity may not.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between lifetime occupational physical demand and cognitive impairment among older adults in Brazil.MethodsCross-sectional baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) were analyzed (n = 9412). An algorithm was used to estimate the number of participants aged 60+ (n = 5432) with dementia and participants reported the physical demand of the job held for most of their life. Logistic regression models estimated the impact of physical demand on dementia status.ResultsAfter exclusions, 4924 participants were analyzed. Compared with 'never worked', intense physical effort was associated with higher odds of dementia (OR 2.52; p = 0.013). Other categories showed no associations. On sensitivity analyses using 'intense physical effort' as reference, lower demand categories were associated with less dementia, and this effect was only present among women.ConclusionIntense occupational physical demand was associated with greater odds of dementia. Given the cross-sectional design, reverse causation and residual confounding (such as job control) may explain these findings. Occupational physical activity differs from leisure-time exercise in psychosocial context, suggesting this association is unlikely to reflect physical effort alone and may instead be driven by unmeasured psychosocial job characteristics frequently linked with physical jobs. Therefore, solely reducing physical demands is insufficient without addressing job control and stress. Findings highlight the need for occupational health interventions addressing psychosocial risks in physically demanding jobs.

BackgroundCompared to their non-athlete peers, collegiate athletes undergo stressors from both university and sport environments. Unique to collegiate athletes, these stressors often overlap, causing greater opportunities for distress with the COVID-19 pandemic deepening discomfort and uncertainty. Assessing resilience and coping skills during the COVID-19 pandemic could improve future collegiate programs' abilities to boost athletes' capacity to withstand these challenges.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper was to investigate the presence of coping and resilience and to determine the relationship between different types of coping and resilience in collegiate athletes.MethodsDivision 1 collegiate athletes (N = 56) completed online questionnaires including demographic information, the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Brief COPE.ResultsHigher resilience scores were associated with using higher levels of active coping and acceptance (p < 0.01), and lower levels of behavioral disengagement (p < 0.05). Athlete resilience was predicted by older age and higher use of active/adaptive coping skills, accounting for 42.2% of the variance (R² = 0.4224. p = 0.0000).ConclusionsThis research extends previous research on the relationship between resilience and coping in high performance populations (e.g., U.S. military) supporting the association of increased use of adaptive coping skills with higher resilience. Age was also found to be a significant predictor of resilience in this collegiate athlete population, suggesting noteworthy growth in capacity for change over each year in the athlete experience competing for their university. Future programming should utilize these findings in collegiate athlete training to boost athlete resilience.

BackgroundPotential functional user needs have become more valuable and difficult to satisfy as the problem of homogenization of intelligent cockpit (IC) functions has intensified.ObjectiveTo address the mismatch between IC market offerings and user demands for personalized functions, this study constructed an empirically validated functional hierarchy model for IC design optimization.MethodsThirty-one functional requirements were identified by combining with data on shortcomings in market-installed IC functions through comprehensive analyses of 31 IC products and data collected via web crawlers along with semi-structured interviews with 12 automotive ergonomics experts (mean experience = 11.5 years). These requirements were reduced to five key categories using principal component analysis with orthogonal rotation by varimax rotation (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure = 0.922, Bartlett's sphericity p < 0.001). Functional weights were evaluated via the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with a consistency ratio (CR < 0.1).ResultsThe intelligent interconnection mode emerged as the highest-priority category (global weight = 0.4225), with head unit functions significantly outperforming other functions (M = 0.1573, p < 0.01). Despite high consumer demand, the sentinel mode showed a low installation rate (20%) in the Chinese market. The phone-vehicle interconnectivity mode was considered the least essential (priority number 5).ConclusionThe model quantified functional priorities using human-centered metrics, reconciling technical feasibility with user expectations.

BackgroundThe effectiveness of a flexi work culture is contingent upon organizational and contextual conditions, including work design, team dynamics, career concerns, and supervisory support. Prior research remains fragmented and context-dependent, frequently noting inconsistent policy utilization and variation in flexibility practices. In the insurance sector, robust empirical evidence linking flexible work culture to employee outcomes across sociodemographic contexts remains limited, underscoring the need for systematic investigation.ObjectiveThis study examines the impact of supervisor and career support within a flexi-work culture on job performance, while also investigating demographic variations in employees' perceptions of support in India's insurance sector.MethodAn exploratory, cross-sectional quantitative design was employed. Data were collected from 283 employees of IRDA-listed insurance firms using a structured online questionnaire, which employed validated scales from¹ and.² Analyses were performed using SPSS v26 and SmartPLS 4, employing t-tests, ANOVA, MANOVA, and PLS-SEM to test hypotheses and validate the model.ResultsSupervisor support showed a strong positive impact on job performance (β = 0.66, p < 0.05), while career support exhibited a weak negative relationship (β = -0.054). Demographic analysis revealed significant variations in perceived support based on gender, marital status, age, experience, and family structure. Flexitime and co-working emerged as the most preferred flexible options.ConclusionSupervisor support is a critical determinant of job performance in flexible work settings, whereas career support plays a limited short-term role. The findings extend the Work-Home Culture Model and Stress-Buffering Theory by integrating both support types into a unified FWC framework. Practically, insurance organizations should prioritize supervisor-driven initiatives and tailor flexible options to workforce demographics to enhance performance and retention.

BackgroundRepetitive hand movements during mobile device use, such as texting and typing, may lead to cumulative stress on hand structures and result in musculoskeletal conditions with potential surgical relevance. The increasing ubiquity of smartphone use raises concern for the development of overuse injuries, particularly among younger individuals and high-frequency users.ObjectiveTo systematically review and characterize surgically relevant hand and wrist pathologies associated with mobile phone use.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of Embase, PubMed, and Scopus using terms related to mobile device use (e.g., "texting," "smartphone") and hand conditions requiring or potentially requiring surgical intervention (e.g., "de Quervain," "trigger thumb"). Studies were included if they reported hand or wrist injuries in mobile device users with surgical implications. Studies unrelated to hand anatomy or lacking relevance to surgical pathology were excluded. Abstract and full-text screening were followed by data extraction.ResultsOf 588 articles initially identified, 42 met inclusion criteria, representing over 67,000 individuals. The mean age across studies was 24.6 years. The most commonly reported surgically relevant conditions included de Quervain's tenosynovitis (n=9), carpal tunnel syndrome (n=6), tendinitis (n=4), and trigger finger (n=1). Across studies, increased mobile phone use was associated with a higher risk of developing these pathologies.ConclusionsAs mobile device usage continues to rise, recognition of surgically relevant hand injuries is essential. Preventive strategies and ergonomic interventions may reduce the burden of these injuries, particularly in younger and high-use populations.

BackgroundChild labor remains a significant issue globally and in Turkey, while the occupational risk faced by child laborers has been ignored.ObjectiveThis study aims to provide a comprehensive examination of occupational accidents, occupational diseases, permanent incapacity, and fatal accidents among child laborers in Turkey, focusing on the effects of national occupational health and safety law and age-specific differences in accident incidence.MethodsA retrospective observational analysis was conducted using official Social Security Institution datasets. Incidence rates of occupational accidents (IR_OA), occupational diseases (IR_OD), permanent incapacity (IR_PI), and fatal accidents (IR_FA) were calculated. The before law (2003-2012) and after law (2013-2024) outcomes were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The age differences analysis was examined using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and segmented regression analysis was used to assess trends after the law.ResultsSignificant differences were observed in IR_OA (p = 0.003) and IR_FA (p = 0.004) between the periods before and after the law. Segmented regression further indicated that the legislation was associated with a significant after the law trend in IR_OA (p = 0.002). Occupational accidents also differed by age (p = 0.001), with the highest risk among 17-year-old child laborers and a progressive increase across age groups.ConclusionsThe findings show that legislative reforms have altered the distribution of occupational accidents among child laborers. Yet, the continuing rise in accident rates indicates that regulations alone are insufficient. Enhancing child labor safety requires coordinated social policies and age-sensitive preventive measures.

BackgroundLittle is known about confirming that an employment environment is truly inclusive and accessible for people with visual impairments (low vision and blindness). Advocacy, policy development, and decades-long calls for inclusive practice have aimed to address the high unemployment rates among those with visual impairments. A one-size-fits-all, inclusive approach that focuses on preparing people with visual impairment (PVI) for employment has been the practice. Yet, job acquisition (54% employment rate) and retention remain challenging.ObjectiveThis study explored the aspect([s) of the employment environment readiness to support the inclusion of people with visual impairment.MethodsWe employed a co-creation approach to gather insights from employees with visual impairment and employment domain experts through twelve virtual interviews and four focus groups (Zoom). The transcripts from the recorded sessions were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe findings highlight three main themes critical to workplace preparedness: willingness, education and experience, and collaboration. Sub-themes include support, leadership, and resource allocation, among others. Effective preparedness depends on addressing knowledge and practice gaps, fostering collaboration, being vulnerable in seeking necessary help, and clear communication. Generally, intangible factors (non-physical) were deemed more important than tangible ones (e.g., assistive devices).ConclusionAssessing and prioritizing workplace readiness is crucial for creating sustainable employment opportunities for individuals with vision impairment. The factors described in this study can inform the development of assessment tools that support both organizations and policymakers. Enhancing data collection for evidence-based policymaking and enforcing compliance checks to promote workplace inclusivity for people with vision impairment.***This manuscript is based in part, on one of the author's dissertations.