Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

<p><font face="Arial"> <p align="left">The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors contributing to work-related musculoskeletal injuries amongst underground mine workers in Kitwe, Zambia.</p> </font></p>

A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was used to gather data with a self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 226 nurses. The study population included all registered nurses of Kabgayi District Hospital and Nyanza District Hospitals and their respective health centers. To be included, the nurses had to have suffered from WRLBP during the previous 6 months before data collection. The Nordic Back Pain Questionnaire, the Oswestry Disability Index and an open-ended questionnaire regarding perceived risk factors have been used. Descriptive statistics to summarize data and inferential statistics such as chi- square test to test the relationship between different variables of the study have been studied at 5% levels. Correlation coefficients in terms of cross-tabulation were also studied at 1% level of significance.

Yrket som sjuksköterska innebär ett stort ansvar för såväl patienternas omvårdnad som stöd till anhöriga. Arbetet kräver ofta full uppmärksamhet och engagemang. Syftet med studien var att undersöka orsaker till och konsekvenser av yrkesrelaterad fatigue hos sjuksköterskan. Studien genomfördes som en litteraturstudie där metoden bestod av granskning och analys av 19 vetenskapliga artiklar. Orsaker till och konsekvenser av fatigue som redovisades i artiklarna delades in i kategorier. Resultatet visade att den stora emotionella tyngden arbetet innebar var den främsta orsaken till sjuksköterskans yrkesrelaterade fatigue. Det framkom också att ett arbetsklimat med bristande stöd och förståelse från arbetskollegor och avdelningschef var starkt bidragande orsaker. Även skiftarbete visades bidra till fatigue. Både patienternas säkerhet och sjuksköterskans egen hälsa äventyrades när sjuksköterskans fatigue blev för uttalad. Vidare forskning behövs inom området för att få bättre kunskaper om hur orsakerna och konsekvenserna ska hanteras och motverkas. Forskning kan leda till utvecklandet av en handlingsplan för att förebygga yrkesrelaterad fatigue och därmed bidra till en säkrare sjukvård för patienter och sjuksköterskor.

Low-load repetitive work (LLRW) and mental load are important risk factors for the development of workrelated muscle pain. The link between these risk factors and the development of pain is still not understood, but stimulation of chemo-sensitive receptors in the muscle probably plays an important role. It has been suggested that sensitising substances may accumulate in the muscle during LLRW, especially when combined with mental load. The overall purpose of this thesis was to try to shed some light on the effects of LLRW on the concentration of sensitising substances (glutamate, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), norepinephrine (NE)) and on metabolism (lactate, pyruvate and oxygenation) in the trapezius muscle of healthy controls (CON) and subjects with trapezius myalgia (TM). A first step was to investigate whether females with TM exhibit higher absolute concentrations of glutamate and PGE2 in the affected muscle during rest. Using Microdialysis (MD) females with TM and asymptomatic controls were studied during four hours of rest. [Glutamate] and [PGE2] during rest did not differ between groups. A second step was to investigate, in a simulated occupational setting, the effects of LLRW on the concentration of sensitising substances and metabolism in the trapezius muscle of TM and CON, and whether increased work duration resulted in a progressive effect. Asymptomatic females were studied during baseline rest, 30 versus 60 min work and recovery, using MD and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Subjects with TM were studied during baseline rest, 30 min work and recovery. [Glutamate] and [lactate] increased in response to work, but not progressively with increased work duration. [Glutamate] was at all time points significantly lower in TM. [PGE2]and oxygenation remained unchanged during work for CON, while for TM oxygenation decreased significantly during work. In TM [pyruvate] increased during both work and recovery, and a significant interaction between groups was found for [pyruvate] during recovery; while moderately increased in CON it increased progressively in TM. The effects of LLRW with and without superimposed mental load on intramuscular [NE], muscle activity and oxygen saturation in the trapezius were also investigated and compared. Using MD, electromyography and NIRS, healthy females were studied on two occasions; during 30 min LLRW and during 30 min LLRW with superimposed mental load. During work [NE], and muscle activity, were increased, while oxygenation decreased, but no differences between occasions. However, recovery of [NE] to baseline was slower after LLRW with superimposed mental load. The findings of the present thesis suggest: (i) no inflammation, or increased interstitial [glutamate] in TM; (ii) LLRW causes an increased anaerobic metabolism in both TM and CON; (iii) no effect of work duration was found; (iv) a significant difference in the effects of LLRW on the interstitial milieu of the trapezius muscle in TM as compared to CON; (v) LLRW causes a significant increase in [NE], but superimposed mental load does not cause a further increase; (vi) LLRW with a superimposed mental load may result in a slower recovery to baseline [NE] as compared with LLRW alone.

This study deals with one of the most discussed work environmental issues in the modern society of Sweden today - work related stress, its causes and how stress can affect people in their working situation. Our study is based on a questionnaire among aid handling officers in two municipalities of the middle of Sweden, and two interviews with their directors. We found that aid handling officers has a complex occupational role. We also found that the officers in these two municipalities experiences about the same level of stress. Further in the study, we will deal with whatever could be the cause of the stressful situation, using the demand/control model of Karasek and Theorell. The result shows that despite the similarity of the stress experience, the cause was shown to be different. The study shows that the stress sometimes leads to rash decisions and also that reviews may be less prioritized. We also studied the social coherence on the workplace and its meaning to the stress experience. Earlier studies, our empirical result and Karaseks and Theorells demand/control model shows that depending on how good workgroups are able to function, may have significance on the experience of stress at work. The result also shows that it may be hard, or maybe impossible, to create a work environment that is completely free from stress.

Syftet var att med en enkätstudie undersöka om det fanns någon upplevd skillnad mellan två produktionsflöden inom stålindustrin gällande arbetsrelaterad stress och tillfredsställelse. Val av flöde baserades på sjukfrånvarostatistiken då flöde 1 hade en högre korttidssjukfrånvaro än i flöde 2. Studien syftade även till att undersöka om det fanns någon mätbar skillnad mellan yngre och äldre arbetstagares arbetsrelaterade stress och tillfredsställelse.Resultaten visade en signifikans för delmåttet rolltydlighet där de äldre deltagarna skattade rolltydligheten högre än de yngre deltagarna. Resultaten visade också signifikans för arbetstillfredsställelse för delmåtten belysning, ljud, smuts och temperatur där deltagarna i flöde 2 var mer nöjda än i flöde 1. De yngre jämfört med de äldre visade sig uppleva mer psykosocialt stöd och deltagarna i flöde 1 upplevde sig ha en högre grad av autonomi än deltagarna i flöde 2, äldre deltagare upplevde sig även ha en bättre autonomi än de yngre deltagarna. Resultatet visade även att deltagarna i flöde 1 upplevde sig ha en lägre grad av arbetsbelastning än deltagarna i flöde 2. En interaktionseffekt mellan ålder och flöde på delmåttet upplevd mental hälsa, visade att yngre deltagarna i flöde 1 skattade sin hälsa högst och de yngre i flöde 2 skattade sin mentala hälsa lägst, medan det omvända resultatet gällde för den äldre gruppen.

<p>Nursing is worldwide regarded as a high risk occupation for the development of work-related low back pain (WRLBP). LBP is one of the most common causes of disability, creating an important socio-economic problem in modern society. Studies report that more than 80% of&nbsp / workers suffer from WRLBP once in their occupational lives. Among nurses, the lifetime prevalence has been found to be higher, varying up to 90% of a nursing population. The current study aimed at determining the prevalence, perceived disability and contributing/risk factors to WRLBP among nurses in Rwanda, identifying the perceived contributing risk factors of WRLBP and intervention strategies received by those nurses. A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was used to gather data with a self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 226 nurses. The study population included all registered nurses of Kabgayi District Hospital and Nyanza District Hospitals and their respective health centers. To be included, the nurses had to have suffered from WRLBP during the previous 6 months before data collection. The Nordic Back Pain Questionnaire, the Oswestry Disability Index and an open-ended questionnaire regarding perceived risk factors have been used. Descriptive statistics to summarize data and inferential statistics such as chisquare test to test the relationship between different variables of the study have been studied at 5% levels. Correlation coefficients in terms of cross-tabulation were also studied at 1% level of significance. The current study highlights one-month prevalent rates of 70.4%, and one-week prevalent rates of 54.4%. WRLBP among nurses has been found to be significantly associated with gender according to the p-value of 0.007 among the studied variables, and good correlation coefficients between disability scores, together with the length of WRLBP and BMI with 0.0001, 0.0030 respectively. Nurses in the current study reported WRLBP as a result of a wide range of factors related to their work, manual handling being the major physical work activity exposing them to WRLBP. The perceived risk factors for WRLBP reported in this study were classified into 4 categories. The first category included work positional factors such as standing, sitting, bending, and awkward work postures. The second group included work-related nursing tasks such as lifting patients and items at work, repositioning and transferring patients, bed making, washing patients, and many others. In the third group, psychosocial factors like poor relationship with colleagues, work pressure and reduced job satisfaction have been listed. Finally, some non-occupational factors such as aging, pregnancy, menstruation, history of back pain, being female and body built have also been perceived as contributing factors to WRLBP. The Oswestry Disability Index demonstrated a mild to moderate disability due to WRLBP in this group of nurses. WRLBP has a negative impact in health services due to activity limitation, lost time and lowered productivity. The study concludes that nurses must be protected from ergonomic work stressors, and improvement of awareness of&nbsp / urses with regards to ergonomic stressors seems to be crucial. However, an effort by different parties concerned with the problem at all levels in Rwanda is needed. The government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Health in particular, will be recommended to put strategies in place for the management, reduction and prevention of WRLBP amongst health workers, especially in the nursing population.</p>

Introduction: Increased ill health in the workplace in terms of increased workload, stress and pressure from employers is common in Sweden today, which may lead to a future variety of medical conditions and disabilities. Aim: The aim of the present study was to describe what employees at companies in the health industry experienced as a health and illhealth on a workplace. Method: A qualitative approach was used in which the interviews were based on an interview guide. The method of analysis was thematic analysis in which three themes emerged. Results: Tree themes emerged; a social interaction with colleagues, good leadership, and access to health care and movement. The findings of the study indicated that the tasks themselves were not as important as the social interaction and the leadership so that the workplace was perceived as healthy. Implication: Suggestions for further research is to try to get more equal number of men and women engaged in further study and to develop the questions in the interview more to answer the purpose better. Furthermore, the health factors reported in the results could still be a good foundation to refer to, for interventions in the workplace or for the overall development of a healthy workplace within a specific company.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in the industrialized world. This pilot study investigated demographic, clinical and environmental factors associated with return to work (RTW) among workers who sustained a mild to moderate work-related TBI (WrTBI). Using a retrospective cohort design, participants were recruited through an outpatient clinic dedicated to evaluating injured workers after a WrTBI. A mailed survey and medical record abstraction tool were used for data collection. Of the 40 injured workers who participated in this study, 19 reported working at time of follow-up. Those who were unable to RTW scored significantly lower on measures of emotional well-being; there were no significant between-group differences in cognitive or physical impairments. Gradual RTW and workplace accommodations were reported as key factors facilitating RTW. Our findings provide information that addresses improved rehabilitation and management of WrTBI as well as better education and support for employers.