Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

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Introduction: One of the major problems in hospitals leading to high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among the health staff is associated with patients handling. This study was aimed to reduce musculoskeletal disorders using ergonomic intervention among Nahavand Alimoradian hospital staff.

Material and Methods: This study was conducted in four wards of 160-bed Nahavand Alimoradian hospital. The data collecting tool was Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. SPSS software was used for data analysis. The questionnaire was completed, before and after educational intervention, for 46 employees of the four wards which had the most complaints about musculoskeletal disorders. Training classes were held for the target group covering prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, proper techniques for patient handling and stretching exercises for low back pain prevention.

Results: The main results tended to be the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders especially in low back, shoulders and wrists of the employees. Low back pain was the most prevalent disorder among the personnel. The educational intervention had not significant effect on lessening the musculoskeletal disorders in hospital staff (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: At present, regarding enhancements in healthcare procedures, there is an urgent need to ergonomic intervention in the design of environment, tools and equipment concurrent with educational intervention. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE FA

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Introduction: While great efforts have been made to determine the quality of life in hospital staffs, few studies have been conducted to identify the effective factors on the quality of life of these employees. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between workload and quality of life in hospital personnel.

Material and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 200 staffs were selected randomly from two large hospitals of Tehran University of medical sciences (Imam Khomeini and Shariati hospitals). The data collecting tools were three questionnaires including demographic characteristics, quality of life (SF-36), and NASA-TLX workload. SPSS software (version 18.0) was used to analyze the data by descriptive statistics, and Pearson and Spearman correlation tests.

Results: Based on the findings of the study, the mean total scores of the quality of life and the workload were 50±18 and 69.7±13.9, respectively. The results revealed significant reduction in all dimensions of quality of life in nurses compared with laboratory and operating room staffs. Meanwhile the nurses’ workload scores were higher than the two aforementioned groups (p = 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant inverse relationship between workload and quality of life in hospital staffs (P=0.004, r = -.306).

Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the role of managers and supervisors in the implementation of efficient interventions for improving the quality of life and workload. Therefore, further researches are required to identify other factors that affect the quality of life and workload in hospital staffs. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE FA

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This before-after clinical trial investigated the effect of daylight on morning and night melatonin, subjective general health using GHQ questionnaire, sleepiness and alertness on elderly who lived in nursing houses. Nineteen nursing home residents participated voluntarily. They exposed to daylight from 9 to 10 A.M. and from 4 to 5 P.M. for 6 weeks. General health of all participants was evaluated using general health questionnaire (GHQ) as well. Also we used of KSS and VAS questionnaire foe assessment of sleepiness and alertness. Baseline morning and night melatonin levels were 25.39 (±19.75)pg/ml, and 40.3 (±21.55)pg/ml respectively. Daylight exposure significantly affected morning melatonin at 7:00 A.M. but had no significant effect on night melatonin at 8:00 P.M. Mean score of general health changed 36.31 to 29.89 (P=0.003). Karolinska sleepiness scale (KSS) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) showed increase sleepiness and decrease alertness from 3:00 to 7:00 A.M. Sleepiness decreased and alertness increased during 1:00 P.M and 20:00 P.M. Overall day light exposure may delay sleep phase and circadian rhythm problems in elderly people. Anxiety and insomnia could be improved with daylight exposure. Our findings suggest that elders should be exposed to scheduled daylight in morning and evening for prevention and improvement of mental disorders. Adequate light should be provided for elder’s homes and nursing house. We have proposed to further study with a larger sample size be done to assess effect of daylight on GHQ' subscales.

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Introduction: Three methods of OCRA Index, Strain Index and ACGIH HAL are proposed to assess risk factors of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. These methods are important in work environments to evaluate musculoskeletal disorders. Thus the aim of this study is to determine the correlation between the results of the above mentioned methods. Materials and Methods: In this cross - sectional study, a total of 150 job tasks studied in four industries . For each task, not only video taping was used to record the duration of a full cycle but also tasks were evaluated according to instructions. The correlation coefficient and the coefficient of agreement were analysed using SPSS16 and R software. Results: Correlation between the results of risk assessment methods OCRA and SI for right and left hand, were acceptable correlation (0.751) and (0.726) respectively. Also the result of agreement between the methods OCRA and HAL for right and left hands, were (0.526) and (0.595) respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that none of the two methods do not fully agree. One of the source of differences is the number and types of variables and their effects on the final score of the methods.

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Background and aim: the workers in Quarry and Stone Industries done frequently some duties including lifting and carrying of heavy loads and they are exposed to high risk of cumulative trauma disorders. The aim of this study was to comparing the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and risk of work postures in Quarry and Stone Industries workers. Material and methods: this cross-sectional and analytical study was done on 63 workers of Stone Industries and 46 workers of Quarries in Kermanshah. Data were collected using by Nordic standard questionnaire, Body map chart and REBA method. The gathered data was been analyzed by Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, Spearman and Pearson tests. P was 0.05. Results: The most prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in both Stone and Quarry industries was related to low back that was 54% and 39% respectively. Mean and standard deviation of final scores of REBA in Stone and Quarry workers were 9.06±1.45 and 4.6±1.18 respectively. Results shows that a significantly correlation between age, work history and BMI with musculoskeletal disorders in Stone Industries and between age and work history with this disorders in Quarries (P<0.05). Conclusion: the results shows that the risk level of REBA and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders of Stone Industries was more than Quarries in shoulder, wrist, hand, lumbar, femur, knee, leg and ankle.

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Introduction: Working with Visual Display Terminals (VDTs) can be associated with visual complaints particularly visual fatigue and symptoms including headache, disruption in continuing the work and ocular disorders. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of visual fatigue and its related risk factors in computer users of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was achieved on 260 computer users. The data were collected by Visual Fatigue, demographic and job questionnaires. For data analysis, Spearman, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used. Results: The mean (SD) age of the users was 36.74 (7.74) and daily working time with VDTs was 5.85 (2.28) hours. Visual fatigue score was 2.99 (1.97), so that 32.3% of computer users had severe eye fatigue. Meanwhile, 45.4, 21.9, 32.7 and 46.2 percentage of users suffered severely from eye strain, visual impairment, eye-surface disorder and extra-ocular problems. Visual fatigue incidence and its compliments were significantly increased with increasing of age, work experience and daily working hours with computer (p<0.05). Visual fatigue was higher in users wearing glasses than those not wearing glasses (p<0.001) and was lower in monitor to window angle of 90º than two other monitor to window positions of 0º (p=0.041) and 180º (p=0.036). Conclusion: The prevalence of visual fatigue among computer users was very high. Visual fatigue and its serious consequences can be prevented by applying the principles of ergonomics such as regular and short breaks, looking at distant objects, blinking regularly and reducing the direct and indirect glares.

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Introduction: Many calls already perform by cell phones that have need to radiation exposure by users. Because of health reasons and some doubts about effects, this study was conducted to determine the extent of the mobile phones radiations and self report symptoms of users. Material and Method: In this cross-sectional study, 80 available randomly users contain students and staffs of Hamadan University of medical sciences in 2012 were selected. Electro Smog meter TES-593 was used as radiation measurements tool. In order to assess health effects of mobile phones’ radiation, a self-administered survey questionnaire were used. Statistical analyses were performed using T-test, ANOVA and X2 tests by SPSS 11.5. Results: Results showed that the conversation mode had a highest level of electromagnetic indices in the studied cell phones. Compare means of power density that emitted from studied mobile phones had significantly difference (P=0.001). Relationship between exposure to the mobile phones radiation by symptoms of head-ache, anxiety and sleep disturb were significant (P=0.02, P=0.03, and P=0.002 respectively). Conclusion: Although, there is founding the relations between exposure to cell phones electromagnetic fields and some self-reported symptoms in line with same reports, These symptoms can not be absolutely attributed to the use of mobile phones. With these considerations it is recommended that for prevention of health risks from cell phones, safe type selection, control of call duration and frequency of use of these devices should be mentioned.

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Background: Psychosocial factors are present in most workplaces that could affect various aspects of workers’ health. Accordingly, psychosocial risks may lead to work related musculoskeletal disorders, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, effect on quality of working life, sickness absence, depression work injuries and accidents and various health problems. The aim of the present study was to assess work psychosocial problems and their association with non-fatal occupational accidents among Aghmary workers of Iranian drilling rigs. Methods: A cross-sectional study using the short version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) was carried out on a total sample of 270 employees working on Aghmary system in drilling rigs. History of non-fatal occupational accidents was assessed by self-report during one year prior to the study. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS 16.0. Results: The results showed that high work pace (OR=1.55), high emotional demands (OR=1.62), high influence at work (OR=1.5), low quality of leadership (OR=1.8), low social support (OR=1.87), high burnout (OR=1.72) and high threat of violence (OR=6.2) were significantly related to non-fatal occupational accident. Conclusions: This study revealed the significant association between occupational accident and some psychosocial dimensions and recommended the incorporation of psychosocial factors in preventive measures.

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Background: One of the main problems in the occupational workplace is musculoskeletal disorders. Quality of life is a multidimensional concept, including the ability of performance, health and mental statues that important factors such as physical, psychological, social relationships and personal attitude influence on quality of life .The aim of current study is assessment of impact of musculoskeletal disorders and physical activity on quality of life in automobile factory workers. Materials and Methods: In this study, from 453 automobile factory workers, 140 workers participated. In order to determine musculoskeletal disorders, quality of life and physical activity, Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire, quality of life questionnaire (SF 36) and physical activity questionnaire were used respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software with descriptive analysis and Pierson correlation analysis. Result: The results showed that the between physical function, activity limitation due to physical problems, bodily pain, vitality, public health and fatigue with musculoskeletal disorders were statistically significant correlation (P< 0.05). Between regular physical activity and musculoskeletal disorders and consequent with quality of life obtained significant correlation. Discussion: Physical activity (exercise) increases worker fitness and reduces probability risk of musculoskeletal disorders and increase quality of life.

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Background: Nurses’ Burnout can lead to increasing absenteeism and also decreasing energy and quality of service that 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 in 2013. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study 189 nurses were selected randomly. Data were collected by demographic questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The gathered data were analyzed by Pearson, Independent T-test and ANOVA in statistical level of p≤0.05. Results: Mean score of occupational burnout was 61.89. 39.2% nurses reported high emotional exhaustion, 37.6% high depersonalization and 73.5% of them had low personal accomplishment. There were statistical relationship 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 also 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. The causes may be high workload, unsafe and boring work environment and high stress. It can be increased the commitment, positive sense to work and personal accomplishment can be reinforced by correct management of human resources including the determination of duties and strategies according to nurses’ ability, new approaches for encouragement and motivation as well as running stress management workshops.

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Introduction: In an educational environment, the quality of vision is integral to educational progress. Creating visual comfort and increasing efficiency and the desire to study are among the benefits of adjusting the lighting in classrooms and preventing visual impairment in the students. The present study was conducted to evaluate the degree of internal lighting in girls' schools across Hamadan in 2006 and 2014 so as to help identify their potential problems.

Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in girls' schools across Hamadan on two different occasions –in 2006 and 2014. On each occasion, the average general and local lighting on the classroom blackboards were measured by the recommended methods of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America on non-sunny days using a Lux Meter and were then compared to the standard limits recommended in the Health and Safety Code of schools and by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. In addition to the degree of lighting, certain quality assessment criteria were assessed, including the lighting layout, lamp maintenance, contrast, internal surface cleaning, lighting system maintenance, type of lamps and technical suitability of the design.

Results: Taking the criteria for favorable lighting conditions into account, less than 25% of the sites examined had favorable lighting on both occasions in 2006, only 16% of the classes had favorable general lighting and in 2014, the degree of lighting fell to an unacceptable range in all classes and only 6% of the entire classroom were covered by a standard degree of local lighting on the blackboard. The results also show that surface reflection coefficients are within the desirable range.

Conclusion: The lack of favorable general and local lighting on the blackboard at schools in 2014 and its comparison with the results of the 2006 lighting assessment indicate that providing standard lighting is still a problem for schools. Improper lighting layouts and the use of incandescents or inappropriate light bulbs are among the major causes of poor lighting conditions in girls' school across Hamadan. 

     

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Introduction: Job involvement is defined as one’s psychological dependence on his/her job. Employees with high job involvement pay more attention to their job. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between teachers’ job involvement and demographic characteristics in Kermanshah (Iran) secondary schools during 2013.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 211 teachers (161 male and 50 female). Data were collected using the Job Involvement Scale. The collected data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient, independent t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.

Results: The teachers’ mean age and work experience were 32.21 and 8.49 years, respectively. Low, moderate, and high levels of job involvement were detected in 22.3%, 54.5%, and 23.2% of the teachers, respectively. Job involvement was significantly higher in married teachers than single subjects (p = 0.027). Moreover, teachers without a second job had higher job involvement than those with a second job (p = 0.006). There were no statistical correlations between job involvement and age, sex, work experience, or level of education.

Conclusion: The participating teachers generally had low-moderate levels of job involvement. Low salary, working multiple jobs, and low social prestige were mostly responsible for such low levels of job involvement. Therefore, increasing teachers’ salary, providing teachers with special facilities (e.g. low-interest loans), and developing a system for teachers’ promotion (similar to that existing for faculty members) can be effective in increasing job involvement among teachers

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Introduction: In recent years, compact fluorescent lamps have been more widely used across the country as a means of optimizing energy consumption. Given the health consequences of lighting sources, the present study was conducted to investigate the intensity of electromagnetic fields emitted by common compact fluorescent lamps.

Materials and Methods: The study examined 54 compact fluorescent lamp bulbs manufactured in local and international factories. The intensity of the electromagnetic fields emitted was measured at a very low frequency (VLF) and an extremely low frequency (ELF) using field measuring devices (Holaday HI 3603 and HI 3604 models). The data obtained were analyzed in SPSS.

Findings: The intensity of the emitted electric and magnetic fields decreased with the increase in their distance from the sources. At the reference point of 25 cm, the effective intensity of the electric field was 2.25 v/m at the very low frequency and 15.39 v/m at the extremely low frequency. The intensity of the magnetic fields was 0.47 mA/m at the very low frequency and 9.41 mA/m at the extremely low frequency. All the values were below the national exposure limits. There was a significant difference between the effective intensity of the electric and magnetic fields based on the lamps' manufacturers (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Although the intensities of the electromagnetic fields of the lamps were lower than the exposure limits, due to lack of conclusive evidence on the biological effects of fields, minimizing the public exposure to fields is essential. The use of standard-quality lamps is therefore highly recommended as a preventive measure.

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Introduction: Improving the quality of work life requires a certain organizational culture that supports creativity, autonomy, accountability, and employee participation. The present study investigated the relationship between organizational culture and employees’ quality of work life.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted in 2015. A total of 145 staff members of all deputies of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences were selected. Organizational culture and quality of work life were measured using previously designed self-administered questionnaires. Items of the questionnaires were scared on a Likert scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to analyze the data. All analyses were performed by SPSS.

Results: A moderate level of organizational culture was detected in this study (mean score = 3.04). Organizational culture and its components had significant positive correlations with quality of work life (r = 0.64; P = 0.001). Linear regression analysis confirmed the significant positive effects of organizational culture on quality of work life.

Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, modification of organizational culture and its components is necessary for improving personnel’s quality of work life, job satisfaction, and participation. Development of appropriate organizational culture can ensure higher quality of work life among university staff and enhance the quality and productivity of academic services.

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Abstract                                                                

Introduction: Job stress such as role ambiguity, a situation that arises from the interaction between people and jobs, reduces the performance and job satisfaction. Proactive people eliminate ambiguity in their jobs by behaviors such as innovation. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of proactive personality on job satisfaction and performance mediated by information seeking.

Methods: The statistical population of this survey consisted of the official staff and contractual personnel of Bid Boland gas refinery, from whom 260 were selected using the hierarchical random sampling method. The research design of this study was correlation, through structural equation modeling. The data collection tools were Role Ambiguity Scale, Proactive Behavior Questionnaire (Ashford and Black), Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (Brayfield & Rothe), and Job Performance Questionnaire (Paterson). The assessment of the proposed pattern was conducted through path analysis.

Results: The results supported the suitability of the relationship between the patterns and the collected data. The results revealed that proactive behavior mediated the effect of role ambiguity in job satisfaction and performance. All the routes in the research model were meaningful (P < 0.001) and the overall fit index [root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)] was 0.04, which represents an excellent fit pattern.

Conclusions: Proactive behavior eliminates uncertainty for employees and finally eliminates the negative effects of role ambiguity on job performance and satisfaction and leads to increased performance and satisfaction of employees.

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Introduction: Nominal noise reduction rate of the earmuff manufacturers can be different compared with the actual attenuation rate. The present study aimed to determine the actual noise reduction rate of common hearing protection devices using microphone in real ear method.

Materials and Methods: In this study, five brands of common earmuffs used in Iranian industries were investigated on 30 subjects under laboratory conditions. Noise reduction rates of earmuffs were measured based on the ISO 11904 standard, microphone in real ear method, using noise dosimeter (SVANTEK, SV 102 model) equipped with a microphone SV 25 model. The earmuffs comfort was also assessed by the developed questionnaire.

Results: The results showed that the real noise reduction rates of the earmuffs were between 49% to 86% of nominal reduction rates. Moreover, the actual insertion losses were much negligible at low noise frequencies. The performances of earmuffs based on manufacturers were not statistically different (Pv> 0.05). Based on subjects’ comfort scores, comfort of ear muffs were within the acceptable range. The noise reduction rates of the different earmuffs of each model were not statistically different as well (Pv > 0.05).

Conclusions: Irregular use of earmuff can reduce the real attenuation of earmuff to lower than the minimum rate acquired in this study. Proper training and adequate supervision on proper use of earmuff can affect earmuff fitting along with increasing of real noise attenuation.

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Introduction: Different studies around the world have shown that Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) are the causes of lost time, absenteeism, and disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and to evaluate their ergonomic risk factors and determine the effect of ergonomic intervention on awkward postures among workers of Saipa Diesel Truck manufacturing plants.
Methods: This interventional study (Before-after) was conducted on 130 workers of 2 largest truck-manufacturing plants in Iran. The prevalence rate of MSDs and ergonomic risk factors was assessed by valid and reliable translated Body Map Questionnaire (BM) and Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method, respectively.
Results: According to Body Map results, 87.5% of participants had MSDs at least in one of their eleven body regions during the previous year, before study. The highest prevalence rate of MSDs was observed in lower back (51.5%) and foot area (18.5%). Chi square test revealed that the prevalence rate of MSDs was higher among those with higher QEC risk level (P < 0.001). Results also indicated the significant effect of ergonomic interventions on reducing the prevalence rate of MSDs and QEC risk level (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: This study showed that the prevalence rate of MSDs and QEC risk levels among workers was significantly high. Therefore, it can be mentioned that the need for early ergonomic interventions is felt in all industrial units of these truck-manufacturing plants.

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Introduction: Lighting affects many non-visual functions such as Circadian rhythm, alertness, core body temperature, hormone secretion and sleep. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lighting on human cognitive and mental performance.
Methods: In this systematic review, databases including ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, PubMed and Science Direct were searched to access the relevant studies. The search was performed using the keywords "Lighting" and "Illumination" and "Cognitive Performance", "Mental Performance", "Memory ", "Attention", and "Concentration" by title, keyword and abstracts of articles published in mentioned databases from 2010 to 2016.
Results: Lighting affects human cognitive performance in three areas of psycho-cognitive (visual comfort, visual perception, color recognition, identification of symbols, attention, working memory, learning, reaction time and brain function), biocognitive area (alertness, mood, vitality, subjective feelings, motivation, well-being and quality of sleep) and mental workload (amount of workload, psychological stress, and mental fatigue). The best light to regulate cognitive, biological (circadian rhythm) and mental processes is bright daylight in the morning with a short wavelength (wavelength 420-480 nm) and high intensity (1000lx).
Conclusions: Lighting design in addition to providing comfort and visual needs should provide the non-visual and cognitive needs such as attention, alertness, mood, sleep quality and decrease mental fatigue and eventually well-bing.

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