Adam W. Pickens

Ergonomics Principles Associated With Laparoscopic Surgeon Injury/Illness

Objective: This study sought to investigate the prevalence of laparoscopic surgeon injury/illness symptoms and evaluate associations between symptoms and operating room ergonomics. Background: Although laparoscopic procedures significantly benefit patients in terms of decreased recovery times and improved outcomes, they contribute to mental fatigue and musculoskeletal problems among surgeons. A variety of ergonomic interventions and applications are implemented by surgeons to reduce health problems. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge regarding a surgeon’s individual assessment of the operating room, an assessment that, in turn, would prompt the implementation of these interventions. Method: A new survey instrument solicited information from surgeons (N = 61) regarding surgeon demographics, perception, frequency of operating room equipment adjustment, and self-reported symptoms. Surgeons responded to questions addressing safety, ergonomics, and fatigue in the operating room, using a 5-point Likert-type scale that included the option undecided. Results: Surgeons who responded undecided were more likely to experience symptoms of injury/illness than respondents who were able to assess the features of their operating rooms. Symptoms were experienced by 100% of participants. The most prevalent symptoms were neck stiffness, back stiffness, and back pain. Conclusion: This study supports hypotheses that surgeons are experiencing body part discomfort and indicators of fatigue that may be associated with performing laparoscopy. Results suggest that awareness, knowledge, and utilization of ergonomic principles could protect surgeons against symptoms that lead to occupational injury. Application: The purpose of this brief report is to convey the importance of ergonomic principles in the operating room, specific to laparoscopic surgery and surgeon injury/illness symptoms.

Call Center Productivity Over 6 Months Following a Standing Desk Intervention

OCCUPATIONAL ABSTRACT Stand-capable desks have been shown to successfully reduce sedentary behavior in the modern office, but whether their utilization improves cognitive productivity is not known. We compared productivity between stand-capable desk users and traditional seated desk users in a call center environment. Data were collected daily over a continuous 6-month period. We found that increased stand-capable desk use is a likely contributor to increased productivity over traditional seated desk use. These findings indicate that use of stand-capable desks as ergonomic interventions to improve physical health among employees may also positively impact their work productivity. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Many office employees are spending up to 90% of their workday seated, and employers are considering stand-capable desks as a way to increase physical activity throughout the day. When deciding on adoption of stand-capable workstations, a major concern for employers is that the benefits, over time, may not offset the initial cost of implementation. Methods: This study compared objective measures of productivity over time between a group of stand-capable desk users and a seated control group in a call center. Comparison analysis was completed for continuous 6-month secondary data for 167 employees, across two job categories. Results: Users of stand-capable desks were ∼45% more productive on a daily basis compared to their seated counterparts. Further, productivity of the stand-capable desk users significantly increased over time, from ∼23% in the 1st month to ∼53% over the next 6 months. Finally, this productivity increase was similar for employees across both job categories. Conclusions: These findings suggest important benefits of employing stand-capable desks in the work force to increase productivity. Prospective studies that include employee health status, perceptions of (dis)comfort and preference over time, along with productivity metrics, are needed to test the effectiveness of stand-capable desks on employee health and performance.

Typing performance and body discomfort among overweight and obese office workers: A pilot study of keyboard modification

Obesity in the workplace is associated with loss of productivity, high medical care expenses, and increased rates of work-related injuries and illness. Thus, effective, low-cost interventions are needed to accommodate the size of todays obese office worker while alleviating potential physical harm associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Utilizing a sample of 22 overweight and obese office workers, this pilot study assessed the impact of introducing an alternative, more ergonomically-sound keyboard on perceptions about design, acceptability, and usability; self-reported body discomfort; and typing productivity. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires and objective typing tests administered before and after the intervention. The intervention duration was six weeks. After switching from their standard work keyboard to an alternative keyboard, all participants reported significant decreases in lower back discomfort (t = 2.14, P = 0.044); although obese participants reported significant decreases in both upper (t = 2.46, P = 0.032) and lower (t = 2.39, P = 0.036) back discomfort. No significant changes were observed in overall typing performance scores from baseline to follow-up. Findings suggest that such interventions may be introduced into the workforce with positive gains for workers without reducing short-term worker productivity.

Stand-capable desk use in a call center: a six-month follow-up pilot study

• The current study is a longitudinal cohort study following stand-capable workstation intervention usage patterns in an in-situ environment.

A quantitative evaluation of electric sit-stand desk usage: 3-month in-situ workplace study

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Sit-stand desk interventions are deployed to reduce sedentary time and improve ergonomic adjustability in modern workplaces, with ultimate goals of improving health and productivity. Sit-stand desks, however, require workers to take an active role in changing the desk position, and usage compliance of the sit-stand function has been a challenge. This study used computer software to objectively record continuous data on electric sit-stand desk usage during computer use, to understand current desk usage behaviors in a large office environment involving ∼300 workers for 3 months. We found that workers completed roughly one desk position change per work day, and one-fourth of the workers always had the desk in a seated position (during computer use). The methods used here demonstrate a novel approach to record sit-stand desk usage continuously during active computer use.

Sit-Stand Desk Software Can Now Monitor and Prompt Office Workers to Change Health Behaviors

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a computer-based intervention designed to increase sit-stand desk usage and help reverse workplace physical inactivity. Background: Sit-stand desks have been successful in reducing workplace sedentary behavior, but the challenge remains for an effective method to increase the usage in order to experience the health and productivity benefits. Method: Data collection (1-year field study with 194 workers) used a novel method of computer software that continuously recorded objective electric sit-stand desk usage, while taking into account the time a worker spends away from their desk (breaks, meetings). During the baseline period, all workers’ desk usage was recorded by the software, and the intervention period consisted of software reminders and real-time feedback to all workers to change desk positions. Pooled means were calculated to determine desk usage patterns, and effect sizes and pairwise mean differences were analyzed to test for intervention significance. Results: The intervention doubled desk usage by increasing ~1 change to ~2 changes per work day. There was a 76% reduction in workers who never used the sit-stand function of the desk. Medium to large effect sizes from the intervention were observed in all three primary outcome measures (desk in sitting/standing position and desk position changes per work day). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate an effective intervention that increased postural transitioning and interrupted prolonged inactivity while remaining at the workstation. Application: The methods and results in this research study show that we can quantify an increase in desk usage and collect aggregate data continuously.

Headphone Evaluation for App-Based Automated Mobile Hearing Screening

Introduction  With the need for hearing screenings increasing across multiple populations, a need for automated options has been identified. This research seeks to evaluate the hardware requirements for automated hearing screenings using a mobile application. Objective  Evaluation of headphone hardware for use with an app-based mobile screening application. Methods  For the purposes of this study, hEAR, a Bekesy-based mobile application designed by the research team, was compared with pure tone audiometric tests administered by an audiologist. Both hEAR and the audiologists test used 7 frequencies (125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4,000 Hz and 8,000 Hz) adopting four different sets of commercially available headphones. The frequencies were regarded as the independent variable, whereas the sound pressure level (in decibels) was the dependent variable. Thirty participants from a university in Texas were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups, whose only difference was the order in which the tests were performed. Data were analyzed using a generalized estimating equation model at α = 0.05. Results  Findings showed that, when used to collect data with the mobile app, both the Pioneer HDJ-2000 (Pioneer, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan) ( p  > 0.05) and the Sennheiser HD280 Pro (Sennheiser, Wedemark, Hanover, Germany) ( p  > 0.05) headphones presented results that were not statistically different from the audiologists data across all test frequencies. Analyses indicated that both headphones had decreased detection probability at 4kHz and 8kHz, but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion  Data indicate that a mobile application, when paired with appropriate headphones, is capable of reproducing audiologist-quality data.

Curriculum Development for HF/E Graduate Students Lessons Learned in an Ongoing Effort to Educate and Meet Industry Demands

As a department, we were tasked with completely revising a HF/E and safety curriculum that had not been thoroughly revised or updated for years. We were producing students that could recite the same information all HF/E professionals know by heart and is the basis for our profession, but were having trouble finding gainful employment upon graduation. Our task was to update the curriculum in such a way as to still impart the knowledge and skills needed by HF/E professionals, but in a way that tailors that skill set and knowledge to something they can apply in an industry setting based on first-hand experience. Results three years post review shows students graduating with multiple job offers and advancing in their career paths at rates faster than their peers.