Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

Introduction: According to the effectiveness and low cost of prevention, ergonomic assessment methods as a means to predict the potential occurrence of injury are being used. The aim of the present research was the assessment of validity and reliability of researcher-made ergonomic assessment test for freestyle wrestling skills.

Methods: In this research, according to the jobs ergonomic evaluation tests and wrestling pathology research, an ergonomic evaluation test for wrestling skills (WSEAtest) was designed. Content and face validity were proved by using the opinions of sports biomechanics and pathology experts, as well as physicians, physiotherapists, trainers and wrestlers of Freestyle national team. Furthermore, the test was performed on three skills in two different days by five examiners, using Kinovea software 0.8.15; also, intra- and inter-tester reliability were calculated. After the reliability and validity approval, WSEAtest was performed on video records of four selected skills of Iranian freestyle wrestlers in London 2012 Olympic games.

Results: The injury exposure in various parts of body, traumatic factors related to collisions and loads, and athlete and environment conditions were consistent with wrestling pathological research and confirmed the validity of the test results.

Conclusions: WSEAtest has acceptable validity and reliability; trainers, specialists, and sports therapists can use this test to assess traumatic factors and identify priorities for training and corrective exercises in different wrestling levels, and in various ages.

Background and Objectives: Using appropriate methods for ergonomic risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders has an important role in controlling these risks and providing workforce health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of applying WERA method to assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders through its correlation with the results of QEC.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 72 employees of workshop sections of a modern brick industry. Data were collected using a Nordic questionnaire to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the past 12 months and WERA and QEC methods to ergonomic risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18.
Results: The prevalence of back, shoulder, neck and wrist disorders were 41.7%, 20.8%, 16.7% and 33.3%, respectively. Results of WERA showed that 88.9% of subjects had medium action level and 11.1% had high action level. In QEC method, 6.9% of subjects had exposure level ‘one’, 20.8% of subjects had exposure level ‘two’, 48.6% of subjects had exposure level ‘three’, and 23.7% of subjects had exposure level ‘four’. The correlation between QEC total score and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was (r=0.67, P=0.038). The correlation coefficient between the final scores of the two methods was (r=0.53, P=0.021).
Conclusion: Examination of the correlation between the mean scores of the two methods indicated a moderate correlation between them. Correlation between prevalence of disorders and QEC and WERA scores showed that QEC results were more consistent with Nordic results and it can be said that QEC method was more suitable for ergonomic assessment of musculoskeletal disorders risk for different tasks in this study.

Background and Aim: A good work environment is a place where one can feel relaxed and focused. In the field of environmental psychology, color is one of the environmental factors that greatly influence human perception and behavior. The purpose of this systematic review study was to investigate the effect of color on work environment.
Methods: This article is a systematic review study. Full-text and English-language articles published in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar were searched using the following keywords: Color perception, color ergonomics, color psychology, color effect, mental health and Workplace. The search was without time limit, and 45 eligible articles were reviewed.
Results: Initially, 262 articles were identified from different databases. Among them, 93 articles met the criteria for entering the study. After that, 48 articles were removed from the study due to lack of experimental studies and 45 articles were selected for final review. A total of 18 studies focused on color priority, 25 studies on mood and emotions, 6 studies on health outcomes, and 19 studies on the effect of workplace color on work-related outcomes. The results showed that color has a significant effect on emotions (eg mood), well-being (eg stress, comfort, well-being) and performance (eg productivity, creativity).
Conclusion: Workplace color should be considered as one of the main ways to promote the (mental and physical) health of individuals.