Esse estudo teve como objetivo apreender a qualidade de vida (QV) de trabalhadores de enfermagem acometidos por Distúrbios Osteomusculares Relacionados ao Trabalho (DORT) e construir possíveis estratégias para a melhoria da mesma. Investigamos a QV em trabalhadores de Enfermagem com DORT em membros superiores de um Hospital Universitário. O estudo, de caráter exploratório-descritivo e abordagem qualitativa, foi desenvolvido tendo como população os trabalhadores de enfermagem de um hospital público universitário, constituindo 11 mulheres e dois homens, portadores de DORT em membros superiores, representantes de todas as categorias de enfermagem e de diversas unidades assistenciais. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de entrevista individual e grupo focal. Após aprovação do projeto em Comitê de Ética, a coleta de dados foi iniciada através das entrevistas com os sujeitos eleitos. Foram realizadas, também, cinco sessões de grupo focal, no período de novembro a dezembro de 2011. Os resultados de caracterização mostram que a média de tempo de trabalho nesta instituição é de 19 anos, denotando extensa exposição a cargas fisiológicas; sete trabalhadores realizam, concomitantemente ao trabalho remunerado, afazeres domésticos integralmente e cinco deles parcialmente; as atividades de lazer são apenas ocasionais; a maioria dos sintomas refere-se a quadros dolorosos em ombros, o que acaba prejudicando também a realização de atividades básicas e cotidianas. Após o tratamento dos dados de caracterização, as falas foram submetidas à análise de conteúdo e permitiram apreender quatro categorias: existindo com dor, QV é não ter limitações, meu trabalho influenciando na minha QV e cuidando e sendo cuidado. Na primeira categoria, os relatos revelam a influência da dor na constituição do sujeito, em suas expectativas e sua relação com o quadro emocional. Com relação à qualidade de vida, evidenciamos que esta encontra-se prejudicada pela co-existência de dois aspectos, mencionados na segunda e terceira categorias: dor e consequentes limitações e inadequações na organização e processo de trabalho, sendo mencionados alguns fatores desfavoráveis do cotidiano laboral: excesso de tempo no local de trabalho, inadequação de equipamentos e organização e processos de trabalho inapropriados. Dessa forma, as falas dialogam com as definições de Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde e Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho, sendo essas indissociáveis do conceito de QV para esses trabalhadores, já que as percepções do valor atribuído à vida estão sob influência da dor e que inadequações no processo de trabalho alteram significativamente a QV. Na última categoria, verificou-se satisfação com o processo grupal, com crescente conscientização e mudanças no cuidado a si. Em especial, foram despertadas ações cruciais para controle de quadros crônicos de DORT: a atenção a si e às combinações de fatores pessoais, físicos, sociais e emocionais. Também foram observados o meio, com seus riscos e benefícios e simples estratégias de saúde, apreendidas e construídas coletivamente. Construiu-se, junto aos trabalhadores, um programa educativo onde foram oferecidas novas perspectivas para amenização de sintomas, bem como modificações comportamentais relacionadas a componentes posturais e ambientais, indo ao encontro de um dos princípios de Promoção da Saúde e abordando um dos pilares da QV para esse grupo. Conclui-se que a QV desses trabalhadores está intimamente relacionada à dor e ao trabalho. Compreendeu-se que há a necessidade de combinação de estratégias mutissetoriais, com responsabilização dos próprios indivíduos e existência de ações coletivas do sistema de saúde e da comunidade / This study aimed to capture the quality of life (QoL) of nursing workers affected by Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) and build strategies for its improvement. We investigated the QoL of nursing workers with upper limb disorders in a University Hospital. The study is exploratory and descriptive with qualitative approach and was developed with the nursing staff of a public hospital, constituted of 11 women and two men suffering from disorders in the upper limbs, representatives of all categories of nursing and several units. Data collection was conducted through individual interviews and focus groups. After project approval by the Ethics Committee, data collection began with interviews with the chosen subjects. Five focus group sessions were also carried out, from November to December in 2011. The sociodemographic results show that the average working time in this institution is 19 years, indicating extensive exposure to physiological loads; seven workers perform, concurrently with paid work, full housework and five of them partial; leisure activities are only occasional and the majority of symptoms refers to painful shoulders, which ultimately jeopardize the performance of basic activities of daily living. After treatment of the sociodemographic data, the reports were subjected to content analysis which raised four categories: existing with pain, QoL is having no limitations , my job influencing on my QoL and caring and being cared for. In the first category, the reports reveal the influence of pain in the constitution of the subject, their expectations and its relationship with the emotional picture. Regarding the quality of life, we found that it is hampered by the co-existence of two aspects mentioned in the second and third categories: pain and its resulting limitations and inadequacies in the work organization and process, and some unfavorable factors of daily work mentioned were: too much time at work, inappropriate equipment and improper work organization and processes. Thus, the speeches match with the definitions of Quality of Working Life and Health-Related Quality of Life, these being inseparable from the concept of QoL for these workers, since the perceptions of the value attributed to life are under the influence of pain and that inadequacies in the work process significantly alter QoL. In the latter category, there was satisfaction with the group process, with enhanced awareness and changes in their care. In particular, workers were sensitized to crucial ways to control chronic conditions of WMSDs: attention to themselves and to combinations of personal, physical, social and emotional aspects. Increased attention with the environment also happened, with recognition of its risks and benefits and the use of simple health strategies, learned and built collectively. It was built, along with the workers, an educational program where they were offered new prospects for alleviation of symptoms, as well as behavioral changes related to postural and environmental components, meeting one of the principles of Health Promotion and addressing one of the concepts of QoL for this group. In conclusion, QoL of these workers is closely related to pain and work. It was understood that there is a need for multiple combination of strategies, with accountability of the individuals themselves and the existence of collective actions of the health system and community

Work-related injuries are a persistent problem in the manufacturing industry. This research focuses on factors involved in the incidence, severity, and effective treatment of work-related injuries in a population of manufacturing workers. Data from a large Midwestern manufacturing facility were obtained with the aims of measuring the association between shift work and injury incidence, measuring the impact of injury reporting lag on injury severity, describing an intervention designed to provide expedited treatment to injured workers, and describing worker and injury characteristics associated with treatment success. Using injury and employment data from the Midwestern manufacturing facility for the years 2011 and 2012, we found that workers on second shift had a marginally significant increase in injury incidence compared to first shift workers. No differences were observed between third shift and first shift workers. Gender and job tenure were also found to be associated with increased injury rates. Job tenure was, in fact, a more significant predictor of injury than age. Using injury data from the years 2011 and 2012, we found that delayed injury reporting had a significant impact on injury severity. As the lag time increased between the date of injury and the injury report date, so too did the odds that the injury would lead to restricted work days. We did not, however, find the same association between reporting lag and lost work days. Injury type was a significant predictor of both restricted and lost days. Job tenure and body part injured were also predictors of lost days. Finally, we collected data from the years 2007-2009 on injured workers treated for musculoskeletal disorders through an intervention designed to reduce treatment lag time. The intervention, delivered by occupational health nurses and physical therapists, provided injured workers with a physical therapy visit within three days of reporting an injury. The intervention was designed to circumvent two barriers to timely care, the delay between the injury report date and the first occupational health physician visit, and the delay between the first physician visit and the first physical therapy visit. The most significant predictor of program discharge success was patient age. Older workers tended to have lower odds of being discharged to their baseline work duties compared to young workers. Overall, nearly two-thirds of the injured workers referred to the program were successfully discharged, regardless of gender, body part injured, cause of injury, or nature of injury. This project addresses the important issue of injuries in the manufacturing industry. We provide evidence on the factors associated with injury incidence and injury severity among workers in a large Midwestern manufacturing facility. We also show that workplace injury treatment interventions directed by occupational health nurses and physical therapists can be very effective in returning injured workers to their regular job duties. Our evidence suggests that future research and injury prevention efforts should focus on shift workers, low tenured workers, reducing delayed injury reporting, and reducing delayed injury treatment.

The psychological and physiological effects of work-related stress on law enforcement causes high morbidity and mortality rates and rates of alcoholism, substance abuse, domestic violence, and suicide higher than the national average. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to examine whether work-related stress experienced by child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child sexual abuse (CSA) investigators differ from that of other duty assigned subgroups. I used Karasek's job demands-control model as the theoretical framework for this study. I conducted the study within a medium sized law enforcement agency in eastern Washington State. The sample in the quantitative study consisted of 27 law enforcement officers from 17 duty-assigned subgroups who completed McCreary and Thompson's Operational Police Stress Survey (PSQ-Op) and Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Org). The sample in the qualitative study consisted of 7 law enforcement officers who answered 5 researcher developed questions during a telephone interview. Descriptive statistics, a Pearson's correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis of the PSQ-Op and PSQ-Org revealed no significant difference in reported work-related stress experienced within the duty-assigned subgroups, revealing no correlative difference of stress experienced by CSE and CSA investigators and the other duty assigned subgroups due to job demands and job control. Content analysis of the qualitative interviews revealed themes that supported the finding of the quantitative study. The findings of this study support the need for law enforcement leaders to take preemptive measures to mitigate the effects of work-related stress on all law enforcement officers.

Four hundred and eight casual relief teachers (CRTs) and 670 permanent teachers from government, independent, and Catholic primary schools and secondary schools in and around metropolitan Melbourne were surveyed using the researcher-developed Issues in Teaching Questionnaire (ITQ) in order to assess their attitudes, perceptions, and experiences in relation to 10 areas of concern including: job security, provisions and facilities, information and communication, lesson management, status, relationships with the school community, relationships with students, student management, job satisfaction, and job stress. These 10 areas of concern were derived from the literature regarding casual relief teaching, which comprised of various anecdotal, published, and unpublished sources. Classical test theory methods (e.g., Cronbach¡¦s ƒÑ and exploratory factor analysis) were used to determine the psychometric properties of the survey instrument, which indicated that the ITQ pos sessed excellent internal reliability and construct validity, and confirmed the existence of an ¡§in-class¡¨ factor and an ¡§out-of-class¡¨ factor. Using descriptive and multivariate inferential statistics, the responses of the CRTs and the permanent teachers were analysed. By comparison with the other group characteristics, employment status (i.e., CRT or permanent teacher) was the best predictor of scores on the ITQ. The CRTs reported significantly more positive attitudes, perceptions, and experiences regarding job stress (i.e., less job stress) compared with the permanent teachers, whereas the permanent teachers reported significantly more positive attitudes, perceptions, and experiences across all other areas of concern compared with the CRTs. When the responses of the CRTs and the permanent teachers were compared on a scale of magnitude (i.e., effect size), much larger effects were observed for the ¡§out-of-class¡¨ concerns (e.g., Information and Communication, Provisions and Facilities, Lesson Manageme nt, Relationships with the School Community, Status, Job Security, and Job Satisfaction subscales) compared with the ¡§in-class¡¨ concerns (e.g., Relationships with Students, Student Management, and Job Stress subscales). Although many parallels were found between the CRTs and the permanent teachers in terms of their general classroom concerns, substantial differences existed between the two groups in relation to their concerns in the wider school context. Of particular importance were the considerable differences between the CRTs and the permanent teachers in terms of their employment conditions, and how they are currently being accommodated in schools and integrated into school communities. In these regards, CRTs are not receiving professional parity with their permanent counterparts. Overall, the results of this study (a) provide evidence of a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of CRTs and permanent teachers across a range of school settings, (b) hi ghlight the importance of employment status (i.e., CRT or permanent teacher) as a predictor of the ITQ subscales compared with the other group characteristics, and (c) present comprehensive and convincing evidence on the similarities and differences between the teaching experiences of CRTs and permanent teachers.

<p>The main purpose of this thesis was to evaluate and test the Job Stress Survey (JSS, Spielberger, 1991; Spielberger & Vagg, 1999), a self-report instrument which assesses workplace stress. In the thesis a thorough evaluation is made of JSS scales and items, and the relations to health, particularly musculoskeletal complaints. The aim of Study I was to evaluate the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the JSS. The instrument was distributed to medical service personal and metal industry workers (n=1186). Factor analyses demonstrated a good resemblance between the present version and the American original version. The results also showed that the internal consistencies, as well as the test-retest reliabilities of the scales are high, and the concurrent validity are good. Study II examined work-related stress measured by JSS for the subgroups of gender, industry workers and medical service personnel, and special attention was given to the problem of differential item functioning (DIF) on these subgroups. The main findings were that both gender and occupation has a substantial impact on specific sources of work-related stress assessed by JSS scales and individual items. The result of the DIF analyses showed no item bias in the gender subgroup, but for the occupational subgroups there where items showing DIF in two of the scales. These items do not jeopardize the conclusions made on scale level since the number of items showing DIF are too few to make an impact on the overall result on the different scales. In Study III the relation between self-reported stress and health, particularly musculoskeletal problems were examined longitudinally in two metal industry factories. Results showed high levels of stress and musculoskeletal complaints in these factories and significant and strong relationships between the JSS scales and musculoskeletal, as well as psychosocial ratings. Lack of Organizational Support was found to be more related to musculoskeletal pain than Job Pressure. Longitudinal differences were found between the factories and between different types of musculoskeletal complaints. The general conclusions from the studies are that the present version of JSS shows a good resemblance with the American original, and that JSS is a useful instrument for studying relationships between stress and health.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka hinder och möjligheter människor upplever förbundet med avancemang. Attityden undersöktes utifrån områdena arbetsrelaterade behov, kön, familj, stöd, organisation samt personlighetsdrag. Studien utfördes genom ett frågeformulär som fylldes i av 93 anställda vid ett tillverkningsföretag. Resultatet visar att arbetsrelaterade behov, stöd samt familjesituationen påverkar attityden till avancemang. Höga värden för dessa förhållanden samvarierade med hög attityd till avancemang. Den bästa prediktorn visade sig vara uppfyllandet av de arbetsrelaterade behoven. Hinder upplevdes främst vara avsaknad av stöd och tro på den egna förmågan, avsaknad av mod samt prioritering av fritid. De vars personlighet inte tyder på en vilja att avancera upplevde fler interna hinder att avancera än övriga.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study was to examine what obstacles and possibilities connected with career development people experience. This was investigated from the factors: work- related needs, gender, family, support, organisation and personality. Data was collected through a self- report questionnaire that was handed out to 93 employees at a manufacture company. The result shows that work-related needs, support and the family situation have an influence on the attitude towards career development. High scores on these scales correlates with high attitude to career development. Results shows that the best predictor to career development was the fulfilling of work-related needs. Obstacles shows to be foremost the lack of support and low belief of the own capability, lack of courage and priority given to the spare time. Those, whose personality do not indicate any desire to develop their career, experienced more internal obstacle than others.</p>

It seems that for many people, spaces on the web are an integral part of their lives. This may include seeking out learning opportunities in online communities. There is plenty of buzz about these cyberspaces whether they are part of new social media configurations or commercialized product-related spaces cultivated by enterprises. It is important to explore how online spaces mayor may notcreate new locations of educational possibilities for workers. The subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, fusion of these technologies into work-learning practices warrants attention. This research project focuses on online communities as sites of learning, with an over-arching question of: How do self-employed workers experience informal work-related learning in an online community? Community can describe a gathering of people online that is organic and driven by a shared interest. These online spaces may also be purposefully nurtured by professional associations, workplaces, or businesses. This research project focuses on these spacesoutside the auspices of formal online courses. I draw on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore how work-learning is enacted in online communities and the implications of the intertwining of people and objects in multiple, fluid and distributed actor-networks. I also use the notion of legitimate peripheral participation from Situated Learning theory to explore how different possibilities for learning are shaped by locations and trajectories within a work practice and larger community of practitioners. Data was collected by interviewing 11 self-employed workers and then following the actors as objects of interest surfaced. This dissertation is a collection of five papers as well as introduction and conclusion chapters and a background chapter on ANT. Findings explore notions of online collectives shifting to more networked configurations, the complexity of work-learning practices unfolding in multiple spaces, contradictions between Web2.0 rhetoric and practices as different associations with knowledge and novel ways of knowing are enacted, and questions about the politics of technology that emerge from uncertainties around delegation, invisible practices, and necessary literacies. Given the need to pull objects out of the background and into critical inquiry, I also explored how a researcher interviews technology objects as participants in a study. / Adult Education

The main purpose of this thesis was to evaluate and test the Job Stress Survey (JSS, Spielberger, 1991; Spielberger &amp; Vagg, 1999), a self-report instrument which assesses workplace stress. In the thesis a thorough evaluation is made of JSS scales and items, and the relations to health, particularly musculoskeletal complaints. The aim of Study I was to evaluate the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the JSS. The instrument was distributed to medical service personal and metal industry workers (n=1186). Factor analyses demonstrated a good resemblance between the present version and the American original version. The results also showed that the internal consistencies, as well as the test-retest reliabilities of the scales are high, and the concurrent validity are good. Study II examined work-related stress measured by JSS for the subgroups of gender, industry workers and medical service personnel, and special attention was given to the problem of differential item functioning (DIF) on these subgroups. The main findings were that both gender and occupation has a substantial impact on specific sources of work-related stress assessed by JSS scales and individual items. The result of the DIF analyses showed no item bias in the gender subgroup, but for the occupational subgroups there where items showing DIF in two of the scales. These items do not jeopardize the conclusions made on scale level since the number of items showing DIF are too few to make an impact on the overall result on the different scales. In Study III the relation between self-reported stress and health, particularly musculoskeletal problems were examined longitudinally in two metal industry factories. Results showed high levels of stress and musculoskeletal complaints in these factories and significant and strong relationships between the JSS scales and musculoskeletal, as well as psychosocial ratings. Lack of Organizational Support was found to be more related to musculoskeletal pain than Job Pressure. Longitudinal differences were found between the factories and between different types of musculoskeletal complaints. The general conclusions from the studies are that the present version of JSS shows a good resemblance with the American original, and that JSS is a useful instrument for studying relationships between stress and health.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka hinder och möjligheter människor upplever förbundet med avancemang. Attityden undersöktes utifrån områdena arbetsrelaterade behov, kön, familj, stöd, organisation samt personlighetsdrag. Studien utfördes genom ett frågeformulär som fylldes i av 93 anställda vid ett tillverkningsföretag. Resultatet visar att arbetsrelaterade behov, stöd samt familjesituationen påverkar attityden till avancemang. Höga värden för dessa förhållanden samvarierade med hög attityd till avancemang. Den bästa prediktorn visade sig vara uppfyllandet av de arbetsrelaterade behoven. Hinder upplevdes främst vara avsaknad av stöd och tro på den egna förmågan, avsaknad av mod samt prioritering av fritid. De vars personlighet inte tyder på en vilja att avancera upplevde fler interna hinder att avancera än övriga. / The purpose of this study was to examine what obstacles and possibilities connected with career development people experience. This was investigated from the factors: work- related needs, gender, family, support, organisation and personality. Data was collected through a self- report questionnaire that was handed out to 93 employees at a manufacture company. The result shows that work-related needs, support and the family situation have an influence on the attitude towards career development. High scores on these scales correlates with high attitude to career development. Results shows that the best predictor to career development was the fulfilling of work-related needs. Obstacles shows to be foremost the lack of support and low belief of the own capability, lack of courage and priority given to the spare time. Those, whose personality do not indicate any desire to develop their career, experienced more internal obstacle than others.

People spend much of their timeat work and health is affected by how we experience our everyday work situation. Health in the workplace is important for public health and seems to improve the occupational health of theemployees. The pace of work and requirements have hasincreased at work and it's not equal accepted to have an obstacle that makesyour work capacity decreases. Despite this, there are health factors that enable us meet therequirements and can maintaingood health in the workplace. Theaim of the studywas to see if there has beena change in healthcare workers work-related health over time. The Method entailed analysis of the existing data materials researchersfrom Kristianstad University have developed through cross-sectional studies in hospitals insouthern Sweden during the fouroccasions between 2005-2009. The result shows thatthe reported work-related health has improved markedly over the years within the professional categories. By looking at thevarious health factors, there wasa opportunity to see if the factors affect the occupational groupsdifferent. Conclusion, based on the results, it can be shown thathealthcare workers work-related health has been positively affected by various health factorswhich have enhanced in the workplace. Health promotionis therefore important for thepositive development of the work-relatedhealth. / Människan tillbringar en stor del av livet på arbetet och hälsan påverkas av hur vi upplever vår vardagliga arbetssituation. Hälsa i arbetslivet är därför ett viktigt folkhälsomål som verkar för att förbättra den arbetsrelaterade hälsan hos anställda. Arbetstempot och kraven har ökat ute på arbetsplatserna och det är inte lika accepterat att ha något hinder som gör att din arbetsförmåga minskar. Det finns hälsofaktorer som gör att vi klarar av kraven och kan behålla en god hälsa i arbetslivet. Syftet med studien var att påvisa om det har skett en positiv eller negativ förändring i sjukvårdspersonalens arbetsrelaterade hälsa genom att studera vilka faktorer som har förändrats under en fyraårs period. Metoden innebar analys av befintligt datamaterial som forskare från Högskolan Kristianstad har tagit fram genom tvärsnittsstudier på två olika sjukhus i södra Sverige under fyra tillfällen mellan åren 2005-2009. Resultatet visar att den rapporterade arbetsrelaterade hälsan har förbättrats markant mellan åren inom yrkeskategorierna. Genom att titta på olika hälsofaktorer fanns det möjlighet att se om de olika faktorerna påverkar yrkesgrupperna olika. Slutsats, utifrån resultatet kan det visas att sjukvårdspersonalens arbetsrelaterade hälsa har påverkats positivt vilket relateras till olika hälsofaktorer har förbättrats på arbetsplatsen. Det hälsofrämjande arbetet är därmed viktigt för att kunna fortsätta få en positiv utveckling av den arbetsrelaterade hälsan.