Iranian Journal of Ergonomics
Year:2018 | Volume:6 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:11

Introduction: Establishing order depends on different arrangements in many aspects of lif. The fulfillment of order should be along with good policy and developed strategic principles, at the micro level and with the correct, firm and prudence legislation in the institutions and governance. Forensic ergonomics is one of the fields that helps this aim. Today it has become more widely used due to the creation of legal problems in the field of accidents and injuries. Therefore, this study reviews articles about forensic ergonomics and the effect of ideology on it. Materials & Methods: This is a review study. The English articles published in Pubmed, Scopus, and Google scholar were chosen using keywords such as “ forensic ergonomics” and “ forensic human factor” without time limit; at least 3 articles were eligible. Results: In the review section, the results showed that there is an agreement in the definition of forensic ergonomics, but there are very few studies. The results also showed that the use of forensic ergonomics is increasing, and the prospect of this area is positive. In the analytical section, the results also indicated that the review and suggestions for the creation of laws in the field of accidents should be assigned to the judicial system, not the executive or legislative system. Conclusion: In order to progress in the field of legal ergonomics and to prevent the impact of ideology and politics on legislation, there is a need for further introduction and training of experts in this field and paying attention to the rational and scientific principles.

Introduction: People with different ages especially children and teenagers spend most of their free time using electronic entertainments The purpose of this research was studying the relationship between “ upper body posture” and physical activity, mental aspects and the use of electronic entertainments. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 160 female students aged 7-12 years old, from 17th district of Tehran were chosen. Tools for collecting information was short-form physical activity measure questionnaire (IPAQ), personal information questionnaire consisting of questions about the amount of time using electronic entertainments, Revised Children’ s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) and children’ s depression inventory (CDI) by Maria Kovacs. Photogrammetric method was applied for measuring forward head and rounded shoulder angle, and a flexible ruler for measuring kyphosis angle. A linear regression test with a %95 level of certainty was used for analysing collected information (P <0. 05). Results: There is a meaningful relationship between depression and anxiety with students’ forward head angle, and depression and electronic entertainments with kyphosis angle (P<0. 05). But no meaningful relationship was observed between rounded shoulder angle and mental aspects and physical activity. Conclusion: A close relationship between psychological factors and upper body posture in female primary school students from Tehran was observed and this issue should be considered while designing preventive and corrective programs.

Introduction: Many organizational, social, and personal factors can affect safety performance of employees. Personal commitment to safety is another factor in this regard to which has been paid less attention in previous studies. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the role of this factor in shaping safety performance of employees. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 302 workers from several small manufacturing industries in several provinces located in the center of Iran. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. In order to determine the role of personal commitment to safety, several hypotheses were defined. According to them, personal commitment to safety can mediate the effect of organizational factors on safety performance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for examining the hypotheses. Results: The model demonstrated that personal commitment to safety has significant direct effect on safety performance. Management commitment to safety is the main factor affecting personal commitment to safety (P<0. 01, path coefficient= 0. 257). Supportive environment was another important factor in this regard (P<0. 01, path coefficient= 0. 175). In contrast, safety training had no significant effect on personal commitment to safety (P=0. 328), demonstrating its poor designing. Conclusion: Personal commitment to safety can be promoted by improving organization and social factors, such as management commitment to safety and supportive environment, which in turn would result in improvement of safety performance.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders are major problems among hospital staff. One of the most important reasons for these disorders are patient handling tasks and psychosocial stressors. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial stressors caused by patients handling among nurse aids. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 56 nurse aids of Fasa University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The data were collected via Nordic questionnaire, MAPO index checklist and job content questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables and the Chisquare test for analyzing the data. Results: The results showed that the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was in the lower back (71. 4%) and the least in the thigh and neck area (46. 4%). The results of MAPO index for risk of musculoskeletal disorders showed that 9 out of 12 sections (63. 2%) were in the 2nd level. Also, the average score of the dimensions of the psychological job demands and the physical job demands are high and the average score of social support is low, which indicates high stress. Also, the physical job demands (P=0. 035), social support (P=0. 002) and job insecurity (P=0. 001) were related to the levels of MAPO risks. Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, the prevalence of lower back pain is high and nurse aids experience many psychosocial stressors in their job life. So the training of ergonomic principles and the use of auxiliary equipment during the transport of patients, as well as the reduction of stressors such as the psychological and physical job demand and the lack of social support and job insecurity by authorities, the risk of musculoskeletal disorders can be reduced.

Introduction: working with computer for long duration, static condition, and poor posture may lead to musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to assess an educational and ergonomic intervention on improving work procedure among computer users in office work in 2016. Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was carried out on 28 employees of administrative staff of Damghan Velayat Hospital. In order to determine the level of ergonomic risk, the physical status of patients was evaluated before and 6 months after intervention using ROSA method. The ergonomic principles were also used to increase the staff’ s awareness. Finally, one-way analysis of variance and independent t-test were used to analyze the statistical data. Results: Prior to the implementation of the educational intervention program, the most important risk factors were in the neck (P=0. 009), elbows (P=0. 019) and shoulders (P=0. 031), respectively. After the intervention, this level of risk was reduced in the organs, which was a significant change. There were also other variables; age (P=0. 028), gender (P=0. 015), BMI (P=0. 040), education level (P=0. 047) and job experience (P=0. 025). They had a significant effect on the final score of ROSA. Conclusion: The results indicated the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic risk level by ROSA method which requires ergonomic intervention in the design of the environment, tools and equipment along with educational intervention.

Introduction: One of the factors affecting carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the lack of coordination and appropriateness of these tools. Designing a handy tool helps with a better performance, befitting and less fatigue. In this study, anthropometric data on the hands (right and left) of women and men were collected. Materials & Methods: This research was descriptive and 576 people participated in this study; 10 anthropometric measurements of the hand according to the principles of measurement of Pheasant were measured by digital caliper under the same conditions. The measured anthropometric dimensions were the length of the hands and palms, the width of the hands and palms, the length of the fingers (m1-m2-m3-m4-m5) and the maximum power grip. Descriptive indices such as percentile 5, 50 and 95, maximum and minimum, mean and standard deviation were calculated using SPSS software. Results: 290 women and 286 men participated in this study. Mean and standard deviation of age was (40. 58 ± 9. 95), height (1. 66 ± 1. 14) and BMI (26. 85 ± 4. 50). 90. 8% were right handed and (9. 2%) were left handed. The mean difference in length of hand, palm length, hand width, thumb length, middle finger length, small finger length, maximum power grip of women and men were statistically significant (P<0. 01). All dimensions of the hand in men were larger than women. Conclusion: Anthropometric dimensions are influenced by factors such as gender, age, genetics, and even type of nutrition, occupation, and other factors. The size of the dimensions of the hands of women and men are different. Anthropometric database of two communities should be used to design handheld devices that are commonly used by both women and men. The findings can be used to design and redesign any hand tools and improve the convenience of users.

Introduction: Regular physical activity plays an important role in the prevention of low back pain, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, depression and early death. Also, work ability is related to the interactions between physical and mental ability, working conditions, employee efficiency, and employee health status. In this research, the relationship between work ability and the level of physical activity is investigated. Materials & Methods: This study was descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional, which was conducted among 120 office workers and operatives. Physical activity and work ability index were measured using physical activity questionnaire and Iranian version of work ability index. Data analysis was performed using SPSS20 and (P <0. 05) was considered significant. Results: In this study, gardeners and office workers respectively, had the highest and lowest levels of physical activity with the mean of 4206. 09 and 3567. 58. However, work ability almost was the same in all groups. Also, Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there was no significant relationship between work ability index and physical activity. Conclusion: According to the results, the work ability index of subjects was good and physical activity was high. Also, there was no significant relationship between work ability index and physical activity, thus making plans to promote the work ability index should be a priority in the intervention program.

Introduction: In the modern industrial world, the health of the employees in different Occupations can be influenced by the interaction of various risk factors. So, the purpose of present study was to assess and analyze the relationship between the factors including shift work, job stress, job satisfaction and health in a petrochemical industry. Materials & Methods: The present study was conducted using analytical and cross-sectional method. The statistical population was all employees of a petrochemical company (4000 people). Using the Cochran formula, a sample of 360 individuals were selected using simple random sampling method. Data was collected using a high reliability integrated questionnaire (Cronbach’ s alpha = 0. 83). Data was analyzed using SPSS22. 0. Results: The analytical results of relationship between shift work, occupational stress, occupational satisfaction and health showed that all hypotheses in the conceptual model were approved and there was a significant relationship between these factors (P<0. 001). Also, the results showed that, in addition to the direct effect of shift work on health, due to the effect on occupational stress and occupational satisfaction, it was indirectly related to health (P <0. 001). Conclusion: The findings indicated that shift work as a direct factor and as a mediator and indirect factor through impact on factors such as occupational satisfaction and stress can affect the health of employees. Therefore, considering this organizational phenomenon and its redesign or its change can play an important role in increasing the level of occupational health and motivation as well as organizational productivity.