Applied Ergonomics最新文献

Grocery warehouse workers continue to experience high rates of musculoskeletal disorders largely due to the repetitive lifting performed during the product selection and palletizing process. This project aimed to describe ergonomics practices that have been implemented within grocery distribution centers in the United States that could help reduce musculoskeletal disorders. Ninety-seven management personnel from 30 distribution centers were interviewed regarding ergonomics practices in place within their respective facilities. Through this process 44 ergonomics practices were identified. Thirteen practices address how the facility is set up. Two practices focused on options within the warehouse's computer management system. Six practices targeted order selector tools. Seven practices focused on things that can be done in full-case pick operations. Eight organizational practices were identified that could facilitate ergonomics efforts. And finally, eight practices focused on reducing exposures to ergonomic hazards in piece-pick operations. For each identified practice implementation data were obtained.

Objectives: This study investigated the impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) and holster positions on gait kinematics and discomfort in Brazilian police officers.

Methods: A crossover study included 20 active-duty police officers assessed two-dimensional kinematic and self-reported data. Three PPE use conditions (control, PPE + thigh holster, PPE + hip holster) were investigated during walking and sprint acceleration.

Results: PPE use increased stride length and gait speed in the weapon side compared to the free side during walking and reduced the stride length of the free side during sprint acceleration. PPE also increased back and knee discomfort during walking, with sprint acceleration proving more comfortable for the knee when using a thigh holster compared to a hip holster.

Conclusion: PPE significantly affects gait mechanics and discomfort, especially during sprinting. Holster placement is critical to officer mobility and comfort, emphasizing the need for ergonomic improvements in PPE design.

In the United States, about 5% of pediatric Emergency Department (ED) visits involve mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies, and EDs are often ill-equipped to provide timely, appropriate care, leading to prolonged stays and increased risks of trauma and harm for these children and their families. This study investigated technological barriers affecting safe and effective pediatric mental and behavioral healthcare in emergency departments through observational studies and semi-structured interviews with 55 medical professionals across four ED settings: pediatric MBH unit, pediatric ED, and adult ED. A total of 12 barrier themes were identified through the thematic analysis of the interviews relating to technology use that impacts the care of pediatric MBH patients. The major themes include issues due to limited electronic medical record data management, ineffective communication in the ED, and usability issues with ED technologies. Other concerns included inadequate infrastructure, absence of streamlined processes, unsafe and inefficient integration of technology, and lack of training. Challenges stemming from patients' reluctance to accept telepsychiatry further complicate providing effective care in these settings. Future research needs to focus on designing systems and solutions to eliminate the barriers, thereby supporting the caregiving process of pediatric MBH in EDs.

Clostridioides difficile infection is the most common healthcare-associated infection, causing almost half a million infections in the United States annually. Inappropriate antibiotic usage is a known risk factor. Antibiotic stewardship efforts aim to optimize prescribing. Evidence supports pre-prescription authorization as a highly effective intervention. A pre-prescription intervention for fluoroquinolone antibiotics via a computerized clinical decision support tool called a "best practice alert" (BPA) embedded in the patient's electronic health records has high potential for improving antibiotic stewardship. However, information is scant about the factors that might impact the uptake and effectiveness of this BPA and other similar evidence-based interventions when spread and adopted across multiple independent sites. Therefore, we utilized the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to understand the facilitators and barriers to the implementation process that influence clinical and implementation outcomes. In doing so, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 healthcare professionals across four hospitals. Our research team performed a qualitative analysis to understand the contextual factors influencing the implementation outcomes, such as acceptability and sustainability.

Takeaways: The following themes highlight the factors affecting the implementation of this healthcare innovation.

Intervention characteristics domain: Designing interventions that are customizable and low maintenance.

Inner setting domain: Maturity level of the Antibiotic Stewardship Program.

Individuals domain: Implementer's experience/attitudes in implementing healthcare innovations.

Outer setting domain: The ability to prioritize initiatives as the organization responds to unintended circumstances (e.g., COVID).

Process domain: Adapting implementation approaches and strategies as technology spreads.

Previous research suggests good automation etiquette can yield positive effects on user performance, trust, automation reliance, and user confidence - especially in personified or anthropomorphized technologies. The current study examined the impact of automation etiquette and task-criticality in non-personified technology. The study used a computer-based automation task to examine good and bad automation etiquette models and different domain-based task-criticality levels (between-subjects) that contained various stages of automation (stage 2 and stage 3) and automation reliability levels (60% and 80%) (within-subjects). The study found that bad automation etiquette can increase automation bias and automation reliance which improved performance in the most capable automation condition (stage 3; 80% reliable) but also heightened user subjective workload and decreased user self-confidence. The study also demonstrated task-criticality can be successfully manipulated through domain and instructions. Overall, automation etiquette influenced performance and user confidence more in highly capable automation (stage 3) and in a low-criticality task domain.