The Longitudinal Relationship Between Speech Recognition in Noise, Need for Recovery After Work, Job Demand, and Job Control Over a Period of 5 Years

Background: Recently there has been interest in using subjective ratings as a measure of perceived effort during speech recognition in noise. Perceived effort may be an indicator of cognitive load. Thus, subjective effort ratings during speech recognition in noise may covary both with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and individual cognitive capacity. Purpose: The present study investigated the relation between subjective ratings of the effort involved in listening to speech in noise, speech recognition performance, and individual working memory (WM) capacity in hearing impaired hearing aid users. Research Design: In two experiments, participants with hearing loss rated perceived effort during aided speech perception in noise. Noise type and SNR were manipulated in both experiments, and in the second experiment hearing aid compression release settings were also manipulated. Speech recognition performance was measured along with WM capacity. Study Sample: There were 46 participants in all with bilateral mild to moderate sloping hearing loss. In Experiment 1 there were 16 native Danish speakers (eight women and eight men) with a mean age of 63.5 yr (SD = 12.1) and average pure tone (PT) threshold of 47. 6 dB (SD = 9.8). In Experiment 2 there were 30 native Swedish speakers (19 women and 11 men) with a mean age of 70 yr (SD = 7.8) and average PT threshold of 45.8 dB (SD = 6.6). Data Collection and Analysis: A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for effort rating in both experiments. In Experiment 1, effort was rated at individually adapted SNRs while in Experiment 2 it was rated at fixed SNRs. Speech recognition in noise performance was measured using adaptive procedures in both experiments with Dantale II sentences in Experiment 1 and Hagerman sentences in Experiment 2. WM capacity was measured using a letter-monitoring task in Experiment 1 and the reading span task in Experiment 2. Results: In both experiments, there was a strong and significant relation between rated effort and SNR that was independent of individual WM capacity, whereas the relation between rated effort and noise type seemed to be influenced by individual WM capacity. Experiment 2 showed that hearing aid compression setting influenced rated effort. Conclusions: Subjective ratings of the effort involved in speech recognition in noise reflect SNRs, and individual cognitive capacity seems to influence relative rating of noise type.

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Job demand and control among clinical nurses in a provincial hospital and related factors: Results from a cross-sectional study in 2020.

Journal of Health and Development Studies ◽

10.38148/jhds.0502skpt20-098 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 05 (02) ◽

pp. 20-30

Author(s):

Thi Thu Thuy Tran ◽

◽

Thi Huong Nguyen ◽

Van Bang Nguyen ◽

Thi Thanh Xuan Le

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Job Control ◽

Work Environments ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Clinical Nurses ◽

Provincial Hospital ◽

Job Demand ◽

Study Participants ◽

Night Shifts

Objective: This study aimed to examine the psychological work environments and associated factors among clinical nurses in a provincial tertiary hospital in the North of Vietnam in 2020. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all nurses of 22 clinical wards who directly provided care to patients. 261/318 eligible nurses returned the self-reported survey questionnaires that consisted of the Vietnamese version of the Job Content Questionnaire 22 items and originally developed questions on personal characteristics and work conditions. Descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and multivariate linear regressions were applied to describe the current job demand, job control, and related factors at the significant level p less than 0.05. Results: The response rate of the current study was 82.1%. Nurses reported moderate job demand (29.39±3.64) and job control (66.86±5.79). Increased job control was significantly associated with more frequency of receiving support from superiors (p<0.001), a self-perceived opportunity of promotion (p = 0.011), and more night shifts per week (p=0.004). Less support from co-workers and more night shifts were associated with a higher job demand score among study participants (p = 0.041 and 0.002, respectively). Conclusions: Several nurses in the provincial hospital work in unfavorable work environments with high job demand and low job control, which could adversely affect nurses’ well-being. It is essential to promote social support at work to improve the psychological working conditions and performance of study participants. Keywords: Job demand, Job control, JCQ, clinical nurses, provincial hospital, Vietnam

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