Iranian Journal of Ergonomics
Year:2014 | Volume:2 | Issue:2|Papers Count:13

Introduction: Patient manual handling is one of the major risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the mechanical force on low back of staff responsible for patient manual handling and to examine the effect of patient manual handling by two people on the level forces exerted on HCWs low back.Material and Methods: The study participants were 10 healthcare workers doing patient manual handling individually and by two people. To determine the posture of these people, we filmed them both from front and side, and force plate was used to determine the weight of the patient handling by HCWs. 3DSSPP was used to estimate the forces exerted on their low back during patient manual handling.Results: Among the four studied tasks, the maximum compression forces exerted on discs L4/L5 and L5/S1 were 3591±863 and 3342±827, respectively when the patient was seated on wheelchair. The maximum shear force exerted on the discs L4/L5 and L5/S1 were 252±122 and 432±36 N, respectively when patient was seated on bed. No significant difference was found in the average forces exerted on low back except seating patient on wheelchair (P>0.05).Conclusion: Comparison of exerted force on disks with recommended limits revealed that only the task of placing patient on wheelchair exceeded the NIOSH recommended weight limit. Patient manual handling by two people in most tasks of this study did not create significant difference. Therefore, there is a need for ergonomic intervention including bed design, bed appropriate stabilization, and training to reduce force on low back of healthcare workers.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders are amongst the most common occupational injuries. Prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders is of great importance among workers and has been considered as one of the national priorities in many countries.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed as an intervention in a chicken slaughterhouse. To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, Cornell questionnaire was used. By identifying tasks that musculoskeletal disorders are common among them, posture evaluation was conducted proportional to risk level tasks. After, engineering and management measures were performed. Given that most tasks were manual handling and carrying, the KIM methods were used to evaluate posture before and after the intervention.Results: Cornell questionnaire showed that the highest risk level belonged to neck, shoulders, back, arms and waist. Furthermore, according to KIM method, throwing box and picking up ice with four scores in risk level, decreased to 2 after the intervention were estimated as highest level of risk. Improvement obtained for all interventions had an average of 46.37%. McNemar's revealed significant difference between the results obtained before and after the intervention.Conclusion: ergonomic problems have undesirable effects on employee health and productivity. In this study, engineering and management interventions could significantly reduce the amount of corrective measures to improve work conditions in different parts of the company.

Introduction: Extensive development of written interactions in the current world of technology in one hand, and noticeable dominance of English language in this milieu on the other hand, has led to inadequate utilization of Farsi language even amongst native speakers. Lack of experimental data regarding legibility and readability of printed and electronic texts related to this language has been the main theory behind the current research, which was designed to evaluate correlations between typography and reading performance.Materials and Methods: Eighty-four Persian speaking university students, without any specific visual impairments participated in the study. Frequently used Farsi fonts, edited in equal pixel areas and sizes, were evaluated through legibility and readability tests. Word detection and word search techniques were considered for each test. All trails were designed within similar visual interaction conditions to avoid any background biases.Results: Statistical analyses revealed correlations between typography and readying performance in Farsi (compared to English). Amongst six frequently used fonts studied, legibility was significantly higher in Yekan (t(83)=-2.649, p=0.012). Likewise, readability was significantly smoother in Zar font (t(83)=-2.194, p=0.037).Conclusion: The current approach towards classification of Persian fonts confirms the outcomes of the present study. Fonts frequently used for development of body of the texts usually have higher legibility, and types used for presentation purposes mainly possess higher readability.

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of six- week aerobic step training on cardiovascular fitness, body composition, flexibility, leg anaerobic power and quality of life of Isfahan University female students in academic year of 2011-2012.Materials and Methods: Thirty-one female students of Isfahan University were randomly assigned to experimental group (N=16, mean age of 27±2, weight 58.34±6.27, height 1.61±4) and control group (N=15, mean age of 25 ±1, weight 54.7±7.32, height 1.61±6). Pre-test and post-test measurements included cardiovascular fitness, body composition, flexibility, leg anaerobic power and quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate to effects of aerobic training as intervention (P<0.05).Results: There was a significant increase in cardiovascular fitness (p=0.001) and there was a significant decrease in body composition (p=0.046). There was no significant increase in flexibility (p=0.109) and leg anaerobic power (p=0.180). There was a significant increase in total score of quality of life (p=0.00).Conclusion: A six-week aerobic step training improved quality of life, cardiovascular fitness and body composition.

Introduction: Safety signs are considered as visual intermediates for message transmission, which play a crucial role in reducing accidents particularly in petrochemical industries. These signs are effective if designed in compliance with ergonomic principles and based on human factors and cognitive design features. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the psychological effects of safety signs in transmitting message given their design features in a petrochemical industry.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional study was performed on 100 employees in Mahshahr Petrochemical Complex. A-two part questionnaire was used to collect data; the first part about demographic information and the second part about designing features of signs (familiarity, concreteness, simplicity, meaningfulness and semantic closeness).Results: Cognitive design features included familiarity and semantic closeness with a mean of 49.15 and 66.78, respectively. Factors of work experience, age, and academic level had no significant effect on guessing the meaning of signs (p> 0.05).Conclusion: There was no significant association between cognitive features of signs and message transmission. Message transmission of safety signs was affected by other features rather than their design. Therefore, to improve individuals’ awareness about familiarity with particular meaning of signs, ergonomic design of safety signs together with proper training are proposed.

Introduction: One of the relatively common accidents in work place environments is slips, trips and falls (STF), which can cause back injuries, sprains and strains, bruises, contusions, fractures, tears and even death. The aim of this study was to assess slip risk in different sections of a hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed using Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Slip Assessment Tool (SAT). Prevalence of slip accidents was investigated using a questionnaire among 178 hospital staffs. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-20 software. Roughness coefficient was measured using Roughness Meter TQC-SP1560.Results: Slip risk level in five sections of outside stairs, surgery, ICU and emergency admission was significant. The maximum and minimum slip risk levels were related to stairs and physiotherapy section, respectively. The prevalence of slips was reported 47.2% by healthcare workers.Conclusion: Surface contamination as well as method and frequency of surface cleaning were the most important effective factors on slip risk in the studied hospital.

Introduction: Heat exposure is one of the harmful factors at work environments. Workers in high temperature environments are susceptible to heat strain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of Iranian cooling vests containing phase change material in hot and humid conditions of the Persian Gulf.Materials and Methods: This interventional study was performed on six staff of oil tanker ship's engine room in summer of 2013. The Heat Strain Score Index (HSSI), oral temperature and blood pressure were measured with and without wearing cooling vest for two hours. Data was analyzed using paired T-test.Results: The mean oral temperature was 36.98±0.22oC (without cooling vest) and 36.68±0.68oC (cooling vest) at 30th minutes in heat exposure. The mean oral temperature was 37.06±0.25oC (without cooling vest) and 36.78±0.16oC (cooling vest) at 60th minutes in heat exposure (p=0.042). Besides, HSSI was 12.72±3.03 without cooling vest and 8.65±2.9 with cooling vest (p=0.039).Conclusion: Cooling vests with phase change material packs reduced heat strain (oral temperature and perceptual heat) in hot and humid climates of the Persian Gulf.

Introduction: Burnout among nurses can increase absenteeism and decrease energy and quality of services provided by them. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of occupational burnout and its related factors among nurses of a hospital in Kermanshah city, Iran, in 2013.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study, 189 nurses were selected randomly. Data was collected by demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Gathered data was analyzed by Pearson, Independent T-test and ANOVA in statistical level of p ≤ 0.05.Results: The mean score of occupational burnout was 61.89. In total, 39.2% of nurses reported high emotional exhaustion, 37.6% high depersonalization and 73.5% of them had low personal accomplishment. There were statistical associations between emotional exhaustion with employment status (p=0.015) and educational degree (p=0.041), between depersonalization with employment status (p=0.022) and working shift (p=0.023), and between personal accomplishment with age (p=0.010), working experience (p=0.002) and shift working (p=0.045).Conclusion: The level of nurses’ occupational burnout was average to high. This might be due to high workload, unsafe and boring work environment and high stress. Commitment, positive sense to work and personal accomplishment can be reinforced by correct management of human resources including determination of duties and strategies according to nurses’ ability, new approaches for encouragement and motivation as well as running stress management workshops.