Journal Reviews
Journal Reviews
Kuijer PPFM, Vasser B, Kemper HCG. Job rotation as a factor in reducing physical workload at a refuse collecting department. Ergonomics 1999; 42:1,167-1,178.
Rotating workers among job tasks and positions can reduce the overall workload on employees in physically demanding jobs, say these researchers from The Netherlands. They studied garbage collection workers in a municipality. Before the study, the workers were assigned to static positions as a street sweeper, garbage collector, or driver, usually as a result of seniority on the job.
After the introduction of the rotation system, 16 participating workers were allowed to alternate between two of the three possible jobs during the day. The physical workload on the workers was determined by measuring the perceived load, energetic load and postural load during a full working day. The job rotation resulted in a significant decrease of the perceived load and energetic load, and a slight decrease in the postural load.
The researchers conclude that, from an occupational health perspective, rotation is better than allowing workers to move from one strenuous job to another and then take the comparatively easy job of driver. They say that "it is not unreasonable to assume that the same amount of work performed while working according to a rotation scheme might result in an overall lower physical workload of the employees compared with the same amount of work performed according to a non-rotation scheme."
Mannix LK, Solomon GD, Kippes CM, et al. Impact of headache education program in the workplace. American Academy of Neurology 1999; 53:868-871.
A workplace headache education program can significantly improve the quality of life for workers suffering from headaches, according to researchers from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The study involved workers at eight work sites. Employers had requested education for the work force on headache management, but the researchers established that there had been no such education prior to the study. There were 492 employees participating in the study. They all completed questionnaires and evaluations of their headache experiences, and then they participated in a commercially available headache education program.
The program described migraine and tension-type headaches and provided management advice. A physician presented the information in a slide show and was available to answer questions. Participants received 10 handouts to take home. Follow-up with the participants revealed that, one month after the program, a significantly higher percentage of participants used non-medication techniques for managing headaches. Test scores measuring pain and reduced functioning due to headache also improved for the test group.
"This study clearly shows that a brief, standardized work site headache education program can significantly improve health-related quality of life, decrease headache-related disability, and promote the use of self-management techniques," the researchers conclude. "These improvements are greatest in those domains most relevant to employment — the physical and emotional aspects of health that affect one’s ability to perform duties."
Moffett JK, Torgerson D, Bell-Syer S, et al. Randomized controlled trial of exercise for low back pain: clinical outcomes, costs, and preferences. BMJ 1999; 319:279-283.
An exercise class can be more clinically effective in managing low back pain than traditional management by a general practitioner, according to researchers from the United Kingdom. The exercise class in the study was more effective even it was not the patient’s first choice for managing his or her back pain.
The researchers studied 187 patients aged 18 to 60 with low back pain of four weeks to six months’ duration. They randomly assigned the patients to a series of exercise classes led by a physiotherapist or a traditional regimen of care from a general practitioner.
The physician encouraged the patients to do back strengthening exercises on their own, but those in the exercise classes actually participated in the exercise program with the physiotherapist present. The classes included strengthening and stretching exercises, relaxation techniques, and education about back care. There were eight one-hour classes over a four-week period.
Six weeks after beginning the therapy, those attending the exercise classes improved only marginally more than the other group. But at six months and one year into the therapy, the exercise group showed significantly greater improvement in their disability questionnaire scores and significantly less back pain.
The exercise group also reported only 378 days off of work (cumulative for the whole group) in the preceding year, compared to 607 for the group receiving more conventional treatment. The exercise group also used fewer health care resources.
"This information may be useful to clinicians in that it suggests that exercise classes are effective even in patients who are not highly motivated," the researchers say. "Our exercise program did not seem to influence the intensity of pain, but did affect the participants’ ability to cope with the pain in the short term and even more so in the longer term. It used a cognitive behavior model, shifting the emphasis away from a disease model to a model of normal human behavior, and with minimal extra training, a physiotherapist can run it."
Buller DB, Morrill C, Taren D, et al. Randomized trial testing the effect of peer education at increasing fruit and vegetable intake. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999; 91:1,491-1,500.
A workplace nutrition education program can be successful in getting employees to eat their fruits and veggies, according to this study. The researchers found that the education program had lasting results.
To study the effects of a work site education program, the researchers collected dietary information on 2,091 blue collar workers and then enrolled them in an 18-month nutrition education program.
The main message of the program was that most people need to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables, with an emphasis on recommendations from the National Cancer Institute that all Americans eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day to reduce their cancer risk. Most of the information was delivered through office mail, promotions set up in the cafeteria, and guest speakers.
On average, the workers consumed about one more serving of fruits and vegetables per day when measured eight months into the program. The effect continued for six months after the conclusion of the program, which suggested to the researchers that the improved dietary habits might last for a much longer period.
"Peer education appears to be an effective means of achieving an increase in fruit and vegetable intake among lower socioeconomic, multicultural adult employees," they say. "Peer education can be applied in many circumstances, including the work environment, where informal groups of individuals are present and significantly influence the behavior of their members."
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