Optimizing aged care environments to promote resident functional mobility and reduce staff injury risk.

This study aimed to evaluate the suitability and usability of the Pro-Mobility patient/person handling assessment tool (ProMob) within residential aged care. Physiological changes associated with ageing influence an older person's ability to perform functional mobility tasks such as transferring from furniture and walking. Strategies that improve capability and/or reduce the physical demands of the task have the potential to promote an older person's mobility, independence and wellbeing.

Novel Soft Haptic Biofeedback-Pilot Study on Postural Balance and Proprioception.

Sensory feedback is critical in proprioception and balance to orchestrate muscles to perform targeted motion(s). Biofeedback plays a significant role in substituting such sensory data when sensory functions of an individual are reduced or lost such as neurological disorders including stroke causing loss of sensory and motor functions requires compensation of both motor and sensory functions. Biofeedback substitution can be in the form of several means: mechanical, electrical, chemical and/or combination.

Perspectives and Experiences of Smartphone Overuse among University Students in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Analysis.

Smartphone overuse and addiction is a growing concern worldwide. However, there are limited studies about smartphone addiction and its impacts on university students in Saudi Arabia. This qualitative study aimed to elicit students' and university staff's perspectives and experiences about smartphone overuse/addiction in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia.

Smartphone Addiction Prevalence and Its Association on Academic Performance, Physical Health, and Mental Well-Being among University Students in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia.

Smartphone use can lead to smartphone addiction, which is a growing concern worldwide. However, there are limited studies about smartphone addiction and its impacts on university students in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to fill this gap.

A Wearable Biofeedback Device to Increase Gait Swing Time Could Have Positive Effects on Gait among Older Adults.

Older adults walk with a shorter stride length, reduced hip range of motion (ROM) and higher cadence. These are signs of reductions in walking ability. This study investigated whether using a wireless smart insole system that monitored and provided biofeedback to encourage an extension of swing time could increase stride length and hip flexion, while reducing the cadence.

Impact of Public Seating Design on Mobility and Independence of Older Adults.

Mobility and independence of older adults are influenced by age-related capabilities and limitations, as well as environmental factors such as non-optimum design of public seating (e.g., inappropriate seat height, angle, and compressibility as well as armrests).

Effects of Wearable Devices with Biofeedback on Biomechanical Performance of Running-A Systematic Review.

This present review includes a systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published between March 2009 and March 2020 that evaluated the effects of wearable devices with biofeedback on the biomechanics of running. The included articles did not focus on physiological and metabolic metrics. Articles with patients, animals, orthoses, exoskeletons and virtual reality were not included.

Musculoskeletal disorders in aged care workers: a systematic review of contributing factors and interventions.

Background: There is limited evidence on contributing factors and effective interventions for musculoskeletal injuries in aged care workers.

Purpose: To systematically review the factors that contribute to musculoskeletal disorder risk amongst workers in the aged care industry, and to undertake a qualitative comparison of the interventions designed and implemented to prevent injury within this workforce.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Medline, and PubMed.

Is teaching work? A heuristic study of the views of teachers.

Background: Teachers can be at risk of exposure to psychosocial hazards. Improving workplace safety for teachers, within a 'systems thinking' context, should begin with understanding the work.

Objective: While much is known about what teachers do, little is known about how teachers conceptualize 'work'.

The Physical Work Environment and Sleep: A Latent Class Analysis.

Objective: To investigate the relationships between the physical work environment and sleep using a person-centered approach.

Methods: A total of 542 Australian employees aged 18 to 60 years completed a survey assessing exposure to physical work environment stressors (eg, noise, poor air quality, and hazardous manual tasks), sleep timing and sleep quality, and relevant covariates.

Results: Latent class analysis (LCA) revealed three physical work environment classes: Infrequent exposure (51%); Occasional Exposure (31%); and Regular Exposure (18%).

Manual Handling in Aged Care: Impact of Environment-related Interventions on Mobility.

The manual handling of people (MHP) is known to be associated with high incidence of musculoskeletal disorders for aged care staff. Environment-related MHP interventions, such as appropriate seated heights to aid sit-to-stand transfers, can reduce staff injury while improving the patient's mobility. Promoting patient mobility within the manual handling interaction is an endorsed MHP risk control intervention strategy.