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Background: Mental workload (MW) and occupational fatigue (OF) are among the harmful factors in the working environment of the emergency nursing profession, which can be related to the quality of care provided and job stress (JS) in emergency nurses. Accordingly, this study investigates the relationship between MW, MF and JS in emergency nurses in 2023 in Ardabil, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by measuring OF, JS and MW of emergency nurses in hospitals of Ardabil Province, Iran. Information was collected through a checklist that recorded the demographic information in addition to the NASA task load index, JS by Orly and Giordano and the Swedish OF inventory questionnaires. The statistical analysis was conducted by the SPSS software, version 22. Results: The mean mental state of the participants was 16.7±3.6. Meanwhile, 40% of nurses had a high mental load. The mean condition of the OF was high (49.02±4.2; 23.2%). Regarding JS, 45.5%, 25.9% and 28.6% were the high, medium, and low levels, respectively. A direct and significant relationship was detected between MW, JS and OF (P<0.05). Conclusion: The mean MW, JS and OF among emergency nurses were high. Almost half and about a quarter of the emergency nurses are under JS and OF, respectively. Therefore, to improve emergency nurses' health conations, and productivity, and create safe conditions in emergencies, the control and management of this harmful occupational factor should be under continuous monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Several heat indices have been developed in industrial health, but each has its limitations. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to determine the validity and applicability of a temperature-humidity index, named Humidex compared with the Standard Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index (ISO 7243). METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the summer of 2019, in a tile factory in the west of Iran. 59 measurements were performed in 8 different workstations. Environmental parameters including natural wet bulb temperature (Tnw), dry bulb temperature (Ta), globe bulb temperature (Tg), and heat stress (WBGT) were measured. Humidex was calculated according to an equation. SPSS software (version 16) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: There was a high correlation between Humidex and WBGT in the estimation of heat stress (R=0.912, P<0.001). The Kappa Coefficient between Humidex and WBGT was 0.298, P=0.001. CONCLUSION: Humidex is highly correlated with WBGT. Humidex can be used instead of the WBGT index, especially in hot and humid environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) and ergonomic risk factors are very common in bakery workers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to (1) assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among bakers because they use automated machines or traditional baking, and (2) to determine the strategies to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in bakers. METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted from the beginning to February 4, 2022, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Mesh keywords and phrases were used to execute the search strategy. Information on MSDs and ergonomic risk factors in bakery workers was collected. Two reviewers worked independently on study selection, data extraction, and paper quality ranking. RESULTS: This study identified 14 papers from seven countries. Although the prevalence of MSDs in bakery workers has been studied, only a handful of them have been studied ergonomic risk factors, and the findings have been very limited. The association between different risk factors and MSDs seemed significant compared to many other occupational diseases. The traditional bread-baking system and lack of mechanization may increase the risk of MSDs in bakery workers. CONCLUSION: WRMSDs for bakery workers have been less studied than other occupational diseases. Our systematic review found several significant relations between the factors influencing the prevalence of MSDs. This study also showed the comparison of traditional and modern cooking systems with diseases of the upper limbs, shoulders, and back pain as possible fields for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Maternity wards are of the highly sensitive wards in hospital. Errors in midwifery tasks can lead to life threatening risks for the mother and infant and higher medical costs. The present study is an attempt to qualitatively and quantitatively assess human errors in midwife staff using preventive human error analysis and engineering approach. Methods: The study was carried out as a case study in the maternity ward of Shoushtar Women Hospital. The participants were selected through convenient sampling and seven midwifery experts took part in the study. The work process in maternity ward was categorized into four categories of admittance, pre-labor, labor, and post-labor and the tasks and sub-tasks were determined based on hierarchical task analysis (HTA). Afterwards, human errors were quantified using EA technique and then, using PHEA technique a description of error in each tasks and error control solutions were provided. Results: The results clarified that the highest risks of human errors were in the tasks like cervix check, serum therapy, infant's body check, preparing delivery equipment, and wearing personal protective equipment. Conclusion: Since, midwifery tasks are rule base and regulations and they are performed at a higher level of awareness and cognition, preventing errors entails continuous presence of a midwife next to patient's bed along with an assistant midwife and codification of an infant examination checklist. Programming empowerment education including safety education to midwives is also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSDs) are prevalent and costly diseases in military occupations. WRMSDs are prevalent and costly diseases in military occupations. We investigated the exposure to ergonomic risk factors and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among military personnel in the workplace., Method: We aimed to investigate MSDs by conducting electronic searches on Persian databases such as SID, MagIran, and IranMedex, and English databases like PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus. The search was not restricted by time and was conducted until Dec 20, 2021. Two researchers independently extracted the data, and the quality of the research was evaluated using the STROBE checklist. The results of different studies were merged and incorporated into the analysis using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) v3 software., Results: Eleven qualitative studies found that 92% of the respondents were men (83% to 96%). The mean age was 34.17 ± 0.16 yr, with a confidence interval (of 95% CI:33.85-34.48). The mean BMI was 25±0.39 with a confidence interval of 95% CI:24.28-25.84. The mean work record was 12.89±0.81 yr with a confidence interval of 95% CI:11.30-11.48. The highest outbreak of MSDs is in the knee at 38.1% (95%CI:32.1-44.4), 37.6% of the neck (95% CI:24.8-52.5), and 32.5% of the shoulder. (95%CI:22.5-44.3) was observed., Conclusion: The wide role of various dimensions of work tasks and repetitive tasks (such as lifting, moving or changing positions, standing for long periods, as well as improper postures) in causing WRMSDs. Additionally, the risk factor in the workplace has financial implications for the military organization. The reduction of physical and psychological demands, as well as the improvement of ergonomic standards in the workplace, should be addressed to decrease MSDs in military centers., (Copyright© 2024 Raei et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Ergonomics of schools and school furniture is one of the main issues in students' education. The proportion of school furniture to the anthropometric dimensions of students is one of the main ergonomic challenges in schools that affect students' health. This systematic review study aimed to examine the match between anthropometric measures and school furniture dimensions among Iranian students. A systematic review was carried out using databases to Google Scholar, SID, IRANDOC, PubMed, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect and specific keywords to find papers published before March 2020. The references of seminal studies were also used to extend the search scope. Totally, 11 studies entered the review. The results showed that there was no proportion between classroom furniture and students in schools under study. This lack of proportion was evident at different grades in both boys' and girls' schools. The results showed a lack of proportion between classroom furniture and Iranian students. There is a need to design and procure furniture based on the anthropometric dimensions of the society that will help to health promotion of students. An updated national anthropometric databank of Iranian students can be a step to solve the problem., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Journal of Education and Health Promotion.)