Assessing the multidimensional comfort of earplugs in virtual industrial noise environments.

Earplugs' comfort is primarily evaluated through cost-effective laboratory evaluations, yet these evaluations often inadequately capture the multidimensional comfort aspects due to design limitations that do not replicate real-world conditions. This paper introduces a novel laboratory method for comprehensive assessment of the multidimensional comfort aspects of earplugs, combining questionnaire-based evaluations and objective perceptual tests within virtual industrial sound environments replicating in-situ noise exposure. Objective perceptual results confirm that the sound environment affect participants' ability to detect alarms in a noisy environment and comprehend speech-in-noise while wearing earplugs.

Reliability of an extended version of the 3m™ Eargage tool to assess earcanal size and assist earplug selection.

Objective: Evaluate the ability of an extended version of the 3 M Eargage to estimate the earcanal size and assess the likelihood that a particular earplug can fit an individual's earcanal, ultimately serving as a tool for selecting earplugs in the field.

Design: Earcanal morphology, assessed through earcanal earmolds scans, is compared to earcanal size assessed with the extended eargage (EE) via box plots and Pearson linear correlations coefficients. Relations between attenuation measured on participants (for 6 different earplugs) and their earcanal size assessed with the EE are established via comparison tests.

Validation of the Return-to-Work Obstacles and Self-Efficacy Scale for Women on Sick Leave Due to Breast Cancer (ROSES-BC).

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. Approximately 40% of BC survivors are diagnosed during the peak years of their professional career. Women face numerous obstacles when returning to work (RTW) after BC.

Can psychological capital promote safety behaviours? A systematic review.

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a relevant issue for many systems and stakeholders. This systematic literature review aims to expand knowledge on this topic starting from the integrated safety model (ISM) and to evaluate the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) on safety behaviours (SBs) (i.e.

Adaptation and validation of the cardiovascular version of the Return-to-Work Obstacles and Self-Efficacy Scale (ROSES-CVD) to the Italian context.

Purpose: Effective cardiac rehabilitation interventions must provide adequate support to overcome psychosocial return-to-work (RTW) barriers. No validated instrument is available for this aim for cardiovascular patients. The Return-to-work Obstacles and Self-Efficacy Scale (ROSES) measures RTW obstacles workers perceive and the self-efficacy for overcoming them through 46 items and ten dimensions.

Towards a Holistic Model Explaining Hearing Protection Device Use among Workers.

Offering hearing protection devices (HPDs) to workers exposed to hazardous noise is a noise control strategy often used to prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, HPDs are used incorrectly and inconsistently, which explains their limited efficiency. Numerous models based on social cognition theories identify the significant factors associated with inconsistent HPD use and aim to improve HPD training programs and to increase HPD use.

Assessing the comfort of earplugs: development and validation of the French version of the COPROD questionnaire.

Earplugs are a common form of protection for workers exposed to hazardous noise levels. Their comfort directly impacts the effective protection by influencing their consistent and correct use. Nevertheless, comfort definition may vary according to the studies.

A Systematic Search and Review of Questionnaires Measuring Individual psychosocial Factors Predicting Return to Work After Musculoskeletal and Common Mental Disorders.

Purpose Individual psychosocial factors are crucial in the return to work (RTW) process of workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and common mental disorders (CMDs). However, the quality and validity of the questionnaires used to measure these factors have rarely been investigated. The present systematic search and literature review aims at identifying, categorizing, and evaluating the questionnaires (measurement tools) used to measure individual psychosocial factors related to the perception of the personal condition and motivation to RTW that are predictive of successful RTW among workers with MSDs or CMDs.

Tools Appraisal of Organizational Factors Associated with Return-to-Work in Workers on Sick Leave Due to Musculoskeletal and Common Mental Disorders: A Systematic Search and Review.

Purpose The objective of this study was to identify organizational factors that are predictive of return-to-work (RTW) among workers with musculoskeletal (MSD) and common mental disorders (CMD), and to subsequently catalogue and characterize the questionnaires (tools) used to measure them. Methods A systematic search on PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO library databases and grey literature was conducted. First, a list of organizational factors predictive of RTW for the two populations considered was built.

A critical review of the literature on comfort of hearing protection devices: analysis of the comfort measurement variability.

. This article proposes a comprehensive literature review of past works addressing hearing protection device (HPD) comfort with the aim of identifying the main sources of variability in comfort evaluation. .

A critical review of the literature on comfort of hearing protection devices: definition of comfort and identification of its main attributes for earplug types.

This article presents a comprehensive literature review of past works addressing Hearing Protection Devices (HPD) comfort and to put them into perspective regarding a proposed holistic multidimensional construct of HPD comfort. Literature review. Documents were hand searched and Internet searched using "PubMed", "Web of Science", "Google Scholar", "ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Professional", "Scopus" or "Google" search engines.

How does returning to work after retirement influence older workers' health? A scoping review protocol.

Introduction: The return to the labour market after retirement is an increasing phenomenon in the North American population. It is the subject of a growing number of studies, whose conclusions seem inconsistent. As returning to working life after retirement is not neutral for individuals, the aim of this article is to present the protocol of a scoping review about its effects on older workers' health.

The effect of wearing a lumbar belt on biomechanical and psychological outcomes related to maximal flexion-extension motion and manual material handling.

Workers with low back pain (LBP) may benefit from wearing a lumbar belt (LB), but the biomechanical and psychological mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Two types of flexible LB (extensible and non-extensible) were compared to a control condition (no LB) regarding pain-related (pain, fear of pain and catastrophizing) and biomechanical (range of motion - ROM) outcomes related to two tasks: maximal trunk flexion-extension and manual material handling. Healthy controls and participants with LBP were tested.

[Return to Work Strategies of Employees who Experienced Depression: Employers and HR's Perspectives].

Major depression is one of the leading causes of work disability across the world. In Canada, the lifetime prevalence of depression varies from 10 to 12%. Depression impacts not only the employee who is often stigmatized and can lose his professional identity, but also has consequences on colleagues and supervisors in organizations.

How Can Supervisors Contribute to the Return to Work of Employees Who have Experienced Depression?

Background In Western countries, work disability due to depression is a widespread problem that generates enormous costs. Objective The goal of this study was to determine the types and prevalence of supervisor contributions during the different phases of the return-to-work (RTW) process (before and during the sick-leave absence, and during the RTW preparations) of employees diagnosed with depression. Moreover, we sought to determine which contributions actually facilitate employees' RTW, and to identify the work accommodations most frequently implemented by supervisors at the actual time of their employee's RTW.

Common Psychosocial Factors Predicting Return to Work After Common Mental Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Cancers: A Review of Reviews Supporting a Cross-Disease Approach.

Purpose This systematic review aimed at identifying the common psychosocial factors that facilitate or hinder the return to work (RTW) after a sick leave due to common mental disorders (CMDs), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), or cancers (CAs). Methods We conducted a review of reviews searching 13 databases from 1994 to 2016 for peer-reviewed, quantitative, cohort studies investigating factors influencing RTW after a CMD, CVD, or CA. Then, for each disease we identified additional cohort studies published after the date of the latest review included.

Development of the Return-to-Work Obstacles and Self-Efficacy Scale (ROSES) and Validation with Workers Suffering from a Common Mental Disorder or Musculoskeletal Disorder.

Introduction Common mental disorders (CMDs) and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) lead the list of causes for work absence in several countries. Current research is starting to look at workers on sick leave as a single population, regardless of the nature of the disease or accident. The purpose of this study is to report the validation of the Return to Work Obstacles and Self-Efficacy Scale (ROSES) for people with MSDs and CMDs, based on the disability paradigm.

Factors perceived by employees regarding their sick leave due to depression.

Purpose: Depression is a leading factor of work disability throughout the world. However, a paucity of studies investigated factors related to the development of depression in the workplace prior to sick leave. This qualitative study aims to describe the factors related to the onset of depression at work prior to sick leave.

Union perceptions of factors related to the return to work of employees with depression.

Purpose: Between 30 and 60% of the societal cost of depression is due to losses related to decreased work productivity. To date, only a few studies have focused on union perspectives related to factors influencing the return-to-work of employees absent due to depression, despite evidence of the importance of these perspectives. The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of union perspectives on the factors surrounding the return-to-work of employees who were absent from work due to depression.

Psychosocial well-being construct in people with severe mental disorders enrolled in supported employment programs.

The main purpose of this prospective study is to validate the construct of psychosocial well-being (PSWB) for people with severe mental disorders enrolled in Supported Employment (SE) programs. This paper also aims to assess the impact of job acquisition on PSWB after obtaining competitive employment. A two-phase study approach was used and 231 individuals with severe mental disorders enrolled in SE programs who took part in both phases.

Validation of the Karasek-Job Content Questionnaire to measure job strain in Vietnam.

The objective of this study was to validate the Karasek-Job Content Questionnaire in Vietnamese. A translation/back-translation of the questionnaire was performed prior to its administration to 344 health personnel in Vietnam. Several psychometric properties of the Vietnamese version of the Karasek-Job Content Questionnaire were assessed.

The predictors of absenteeism due to psychological disability: a longitudinal study in the education sector.

Background: Being absent from work because of a psychological disability is costly for both individuals and organizations and frequent in employees working in the field of education. Absenteeism from work has been mostly studied as an organizational withdrawal behavior related to negative factors.

Objective: The purpose of this longitudinal study is to define the predictors of absenteeism due to psychological disability by taking into account resources, such as Self-determined work motivation and Subjective well-being, as well as symptoms of Psychological distress.