Teamwork and Safety Climate in Homecare: A Mixed Method Study.

A rapidly changing homecare service sector implies difficulties to control safety and health risks for staff and to guarantee standardised deliveries of services to recipients. This study aimed to describe staff perceptions of safety climate and practices in homecare service teams, and suggestions for improvements. A second aim was to identify if and how the appraisals of safety climate were related to individual perceptions of safety, mental strain and adverse events/injury.

Perceptions of health and risk management among home care workers in Sweden.

Background: Municipal home care workers provide high-quality services to an increasing proportion of elderly people living in private homes. The work environments and working conditions of these workers vary to a great extent, implying rapid priority-making among both employers and employees to ensure that the work can be performed in a safe way.

Objectives: This study aims to examine home care workers' perceptions of health, risks, working conditions, and risk management within their organization.

Health-promoting educational interventions: a one-year follow-up study.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse the effects of health-promoting educational interventions among employees in a municipality in Sweden.

Methods: A randomized controlled educational intervention study was performed with 340 employees. Supervisors and workplace champions took part in two separate educational programmes with focus on health promotion.

Identifying work ability promoting factors for home care aides and assistant nurses.

Background: In workplace health promotion, all potential resources needs to be taken into consideration, not only factors relating to the absence of injury and the physical health of the workers, but also psychological aspects. A dynamic balance between the resources of the individual employees and the demands of work is an important prerequisite. In the home care services, there is a noticeable trend towards increased psychosocial strain on employees at work.

Effects of work ability and health promoting interventions for women with musculoskeletal symptoms: a 9-month prospective study.

Background: Women working in the public human service sector in 'overstrained' situations run the risk of musculoskeletal symptoms and long-term sick leave. In order to maintain the level of health and work ability and strengthen the potential resources for health, it is important that employees gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their health--a process associated with the concept of self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of a self-efficacy intervention and an ergonomic education intervention for women with musculoskeletal symptoms, employed in the public sector.

Appraised leadership styles, psychosocial work factors, and musculoskeletal pain among public employees.

Objectives: The main aim of this study was to explore the associations between appraised leadership styles, psychosocial work factors and musculoskeletal pain among subordinates in four different public service sectors from an epidemiological perspective.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted; data from 2,403 public sector employees in subordinate positions (86% women) were analysed. The appraised leadership styles were measured through items from a modified version of the CPE questionnaire (C change, P production/structure, E employee/relation).

Educational background: different processes and consequences on health and physical and mental exposures among women and men.

Objective: To compare health and exposures at work and at home of women and men with the same educational background.

Methods: The study group consisted of 3831 individuals, grouped into three educational categories based on length of education. Category 1, which represents 9-year compulsory school; Category 2, which includes 3-year upper secondary school, i.

Self-reported musculoskeletal pain and working conditions among employees in the Swedish public sector.

Musculoskeletal disorders constitute a considerable public health problem, often resulting in sickness absence, particularly in public sector employees. Increased knowledge on how this is related to individual and work-related factors is required. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between self-reported musculoskeletal pain and the following factors: physical and psychosocial work conditions, lifestyle, psychosomatic symptoms and sick leave.

Awkward work postures: association with occupational gender segregation.

Background: Segregation of men and women into different jobs is often cited as one of the most plausible explanations for gender differences in exposure and musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods: Direct measurements of sitting, arm, and trunk postures were taken with two different technical instruments on 156 subjects (78 matched pairs of one female and one male worker) over one full workday in diverse labor markets.

Results: Exposure differences between workers were strongly associated with vertical occupational segregation (measured as level of status/authority).

Do work technique and musculoskeletal symptoms differ between men and women performing the same type of work tasks?

Musculoskeletal disorders are more common among women than among men. When comparing the difference between men and women in the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, methodological problems arise as men and women seldom perform the same type of activities, neither at work nor at home. The main objective of this cross-sectional case study was to compare work technique and self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms between men and women performing the same type of work tasks within a metal industry.

Excessive physical demands in modern worklife and characteristics of work and living conditions of persons at risk.

Objectives: This study attempted to identify work and leisure-time conditions and life-style factors associated with excess metabolic levels (metabolic demands exceeding one-third of a person's aerobic capacity) at work among men and women.

Methods: The study focused upon psychological, ergonomic, and physically loading factors and chemical and physical environmental conditions. Data were obtained through self-reports, interviews, workplace analyses, technical measurements, and observations.

From canteen to lunch box: ergonomic demands in distribution of portion-packed hot food.

Unlabelled: The present case-study, which is rather small in number of subjects but has a broad perspective, is part of a larger investigation designed to initiate development processes in working life in one specific region in Sweden. This study may serve as an example of ergonomic fieldwork with a gender perspective.

Aim: The overall aim was to examine the physical and psychosocial working conditions among a group of female hot food distributors, and to relate these conditions to other traditionally heavy work within the same working unit, as well as to suggest improvements.

Physical demands in working life and individual physical capacity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the excess of metabolic level (metabolic demands in work exceeding one-third of the individual's aerobic capacity) of working men and women today and to describe the population whose metabolic level is exceeded. A second aim was to explore how externally assessed metabolic demands match with the physical function and capacity of working men and women in jobs with the lowest and the highest demands. The aerobic power of each individual (94 men and 94 women) was estimated from heart rate and workload in sub-maximal tests from dynamic legwork on a cycle ergometer.

Validity of a self-administered questionnaire for assessing physical work loads in a general population.

The aim of the study was to evaluate eight questions concerning physical loads, used in public health questionnaires. Working women and men (203) completed a self-administered questionnaire twice, following a test-retest method. The questions were also validated with a structured interview.

Influence of laptop computer design and working position on physical exposure variables.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of two laptop designs (with or without palm rest) and two work situations (on desk or lap) on neck and upper limb posture, muscle activity and productivity.

Design And Methods: Eight healthy subjects performed a standardized typing task of 15 min duration. During the last 5 min of each test, the neck, upper arm and trunk postures were captured by a three-dimensional video system, wrist motion was measured by a biaxial electrogoniometer and muscle activity of four neck and upper limb muscles was recorded.

A process for the development, specification and evaluation of VDU work tables.

Development, specification and evaluation of a work table, suitable for VDU work with a mouse, was carried out in collaboration with furniture manufacturers, employees and an employer in a Research and Development Company. Ten VDU-operators expressed their ideas for improvements at their present workstations and the company and the researchers made a preliminary version of workstation specification to the furniture manufacturers. The three different furniture manufacturers set up four test stations with prototype tables, which were evaluated by 39 subjects using comfort ratings.

[Avoid the mouse-trap! Musculoskeletal injuries can be reduced by placing the mouse within shoulder space].

Somewhat more than 50 per cent of computer operators complain of problems in the neck, shoulders or arms. A possible source of such problems may be manipulation of the mouse. Women are more susceptible than men, possibly due to their smaller physical size and muscle power.

Computer mouse position as a determinant of posture, muscular load and perceived exertion.

Objectives: This study concerned the influence of 6 positions of the computer mouse on the work table on posture, muscular load, and perceived exertion during text editing.

Methods: An optoelectronic 3-dimensional motion analysis system was used to register the postures of 10 men and 10 women using video display units. Muscular load was also registered (with electromyography), as was perceived exertion (with rating scales).

Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Computer-assisted Design (CAD) Operators and Evaluation of a Self-assessment Questionnaire.

A self-administered questionnaire with questions related to the physical workload at video display units (VDUs) was tested for intra- and intermethod reliability among 36 men and 64 women working with research and documentation. The results showed an acceptable test-retest agreement. The answers to three questions were validated by direct measurements: the locations of keyboard and mouse on the table, and the distance between elbow and keyboard heights when working.

Can cardiovascular load in ergonomic epidemiology be estimated by self-report? Stockholm MUSIC 1 Study Group.

In ergonomic epidemiology exposure to local loads as well as cardiovascular load may contribute to general and local fatigue and musculoskeletal disease. Self-reported exposure is often the only feasible method in large population studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospectively self-reported physical activity and perceived exertion as estimates of cardiovascular load during occupational work.

A portable ergonomic observation method (PEO) for computerized on-line recording of postures and manual handling.

A new portable ergonomic observation method (PEO) is presented. It is applicable to most professions and work tasks and requires only moderate human resources for data collection and analysis. Observations are made in real time directly at the workplace using a portable personal or hand-held computer, and data are accessible for immediate analysis and presentation.

Direct measurements and systematic observations of physical workload among medical secretaries, furniture removers and male and female reference populations.

The aim of this investigation was to collect quantitative information about the occurrence of manual materials handling and working postures in working life. Direct technical recordings and systematic observations by trained ergonomists were used throughout a whole working day on 12 male furniture removers, 13 female medical secretaries, 27 males and 45 females randomly sampled from the working population in the Stockholm area. A quantitative job exposure profile was obtained by weighting together exposure data obtained by observation of tasks occurring during a normal working week.

Variation in upper limb posture and movement during word processing with and without mouse use.

Work postures and movements of the upper limb were analysed for 12 'mouse' operators and 12 'non-mouse' computer operators employed in word-processing work. Measurements were carried out during correction of a given text. 'Mouse' operators spent 64% of the working time with the operative wrist deviating more than 15 degrees towards the ulnar side, while 'non-mouse' operators spent 96% of the time with the corresponding wrist in neutral position towards radial deviation.

Validity of self-reported exposures to work postures and manual materials handling. Stockholm MUSIC I Study Group.

Exposure data from self-administered questionnaires on manual materials handling and work postures were validated in relation to direct measurements and systematic observations on 39 men and 58 women representing 45 different occupations. The agreement was tested at a dichotomous level and, when possible, with quantification of duration or frequency. At the dichotomous level the agreement was "acceptable" for nine variables concerning work postures and the handling of loads weighing > 5 kg.