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This study assessed the effects of redesigning clients' clothing on the physical work load and strain of personal helpers. Five women, aged 18-54 years, who helped persons with physical disabilities were measured at their worksites before and after development of the clothes worn by clients. The physical work load and strain of the helpers' dressing/undressing of clients were determined from their hand and back movements, work time, muscular activity, heart rate (HR), percentage of heart rate range (%HRR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). The muscular activity of the right (p = 0.05) and left (p = 0.02) trapezius muscles, HR (p = 0.03), and %HRR (p = 0.03) of the helpers were lower when the new outerwear was used in place of traditional outerwear. Four helpers reported lower perceived exertion, and three had shorter work time with the new outerwear. This study showed that redesigning clients' clothing can help reduce the physical work load and strain of personal helpers. Keywords: Physical disability; Dressing; Clothes; Ergonomics

Sit–stand workstations offer a potential strategy to reduce prolonged occupational sitting. This controlled intervention study examined the effects of an environmental intervention on occupational sedentary time, musculoskeletal comfort and work ability, and the usability of sit–stand workstations in office work via a self-reported questionnaire. The intervention group (n = 24) used sit–stand workstations during the 6-month intervention period, and the control group (n = 21) used traditional sitting workstations. The results showed that working at sit–stand workstations can reduce sitting time significantly compared to control workstations (−6.7% vs. 5.0%,p = .019), which is reallocated mostly to standing (r = −0.719,p < .001). Sit–stand workstations improved perceived musculoskeletal comfort in the neck and shoulders (p = .028), as well as work ability (p = .022). The majority of intervention subjects rated sit–stand workstation adjustability as good (83.3%), and 75.0% were satisfied with the workstation. About 41.7% of the intervention participants, who were exclusively female, used the sit–stand function on a daily basis. While the environmental change alone was effective, it is likely that promoting the daily use of sit–stand workstations with counselling would lead to even more substantial positive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Delivery truck drivers' work contains various physically and psychosocially demanding work situations. Fifteen drivers' and 8 other stakeholders' identifications of such work situations were examined by video analyses in this study. The identifications were analyzed in-depth by the researchers and compared with statistics on 3,507 accidents in the Finnish trucking industry. The aim was to determine what kind of identifications were made and to what degree the identifications coincided among the participants and with the accident statistics. The drivers' identifications differed from the statistics data. The statistics showed a significantly higher relative frequency of movement-related situations. However, the identifications also included risks for future workload-related musculoskeletal disorders. Most commonly, these were emphasized during manual materials handling. The participation of different interest groups seems to increase the amount of relevant information obtained. Nonetheless, the age of the evaluator seems not to affect the analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study compared the usability of pharmaceutical packages to determine the critical factors involved in packages with different opening mechanisms. Four packaging types (a bottle with a screw cap, a box with a pill plate, disposable plastic droppers with a container and a jar with a hinge cap) were evaluated by 45 women (nurses, older women and women with rheumatoid arthritis). Usability was evaluated for subjective measures related to the ease of opening and for objective measures related to the time needed to open the packaging, electrical muscular activity (electromyography, EMG) and ranges of motion of the upper extremities. Of the arthritic women, 13% were unable to open the screw-cap bottle, and 20% did not succeed in opening the plastic dropper packaging. Everyone else, except one older woman handling the plastic dropper packaging, managed to open all the packages. Regarding the ease of opening, the participants gave the plastic dropper packaging the lowest rating ( p < 0.001). The arthritic women used greater relative biomechanical strain while opening the screw cap bottle and the box with pill plate compared with the other participants ( p < 0.05), with the relative muscular strain in the forearm varying by 29-40% for the maximal EMG activity and the relative range of motion in the wrist being 70-90% of the maximal range of motion. These findings revealed both subjectively and objectively measured features on the usability of pharmaceutical packages. The comprehensibility of the opening mechanism and the ease of handling the package should be considered when user-friendly products are being created. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study that examines the ergonomics and usability of mobile workstation in health care's actual work situations. The study shows that the subjective judgments of physicians and nurses on the usability of mobile workstation make its design more valuable. It points out that this indicates the utilization of mobile technology, which helps increase treatment and diagnostic capabilities.