A Qualitative Look at Faculty Perspectives on Ergonomics in Dental Education

Due to the high-risk nature of musculoskeletal disorder development in dentistry, ergonomic education and evaluation are needed in predoctoral programs. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate perceptions of ergonomics within the School of Dentistry (SOD), current ergonomic clinical practices among third- and fourth-year dental students, and dental students' level of knowledge of ergonomics. The study was conducted utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. While the data collection occurred in three phases, this article will primarily focus on Phase III. The three phases of data collection were: Phase I consisted of a questionnaire distributed to all dental students; Phase II consisted of clinical observations of third- and fourth-year dental students' ergonomic postures during patient care, and Phase III consisted of SOD faculty focus groups to determine perceptions of ergonomic education with the predoctoral curriculum. Data revealed three overarching themes: (1) Didactic to clinical disconnect, (2) Elective impacts, and (3) A ready commitment. Phase I yielded a response rate of 84% (n=135). Phase I responses noted that 81.5% (n=110) of the dental students reported experiencing musculoskeletal pain. Ninety-three dental students reported receiving one or two lectures on ergonomics; however, 60% (n=27) failed to implement proper ergonomic postures while caring for patients in the clinical environment during Phase II. Phase III, revealed faculty support of ergonomic evaluation and correction among dental students. The results indicated a need to establish and implement an ergonomic evaluation and corrective program within the SOD

Drudgery assessment and ergonomic evaluation of pedal operated Ragi (Eleusine Coracana) thresher

BACKGROUND: Ragi (Eleusine Coracana) is a major food crop for the tribal population of India. OBJECTIVE: This study emphasizes the need to consider ergonomics aspects in the design and development of a pedal operated ragi thresher (PORT) for tribal people, and assesses the drudgery as well as ergonomic evaluation of a developed thresher against the conventional practice. METHODS: Thirty subjects (male = 15 and female = 15) from the tribal region were evaluated ergonomically. The physiological responses of the subjects were studied and their performance was compared. RESULTS: The results revealed that the working heart rate, oxygen consumption rate and overall discomfort rating were significantly higher in case of traditional threshing as compared to those in case of PORT. Postural analysis identified the traditional method as the most fatigue one as the person has to lift the hand above shoulder level repeatedly and has to sit in a squatting posture for long period. CONCLUSION: The drudgery and occupational hazards to public health involved in the traditional method of threshing was reduced by using the pedal operated ragi thresher. Furthermore, the traditional method involved continuous stressed actions across the entire body, whereas the PORT involved only the lower limbs.

Research of ergonomic comprehensive evaluation for suit production operation based on hybrid method with IAHP and gray entropy

To solve the problem of ergonomic evaluation of suit production system, a hybrid method of IAHP and gray entropy theory is proposed. Firstly, literature reviews for ergonomics evaluation tools and techniques are introduced. Furthermore, ergonomic evaluation index system of suit operation is established according to production practice. Besides, a comprehensive evaluation models process of gray entropy and IAHP is introduced. Finally, a detailed evaluation process of suit sewing, ironing and clipping operation is introduced by an example, and the results show that the evaluation method of the paper is helpful to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the operation system improvement demonstration.

Ergonomic evaluation in community pharmacies

Background The risk of a health professional contracting work-related diseases is about 1.5 times greater than the risk of all other workers. For this reason, the present study focused on community pharmacies, aiming ergonomic risks, which allows a more personalized intervention individualized in an assessment and control of ergonomic risks. Methods We proposed as an objective of this study, to evaluate the ergonomic risks to which the workers of the community pharmacies are exposed. This study was of the Descriptive-Correlational, Analytical type, and of a transversal nature where the working conditions in pharmacies of the municipality of Coimbra were evaluated. The sample being represented by 15 workers. A questionnaire was carried out and the KIM and RULA methodologies were applied for ergonomic evaluation. The results were evaluated using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0 program using descriptive tests and inference tests. Results The ergonomic assessment indicated greater risk of exposure in the task of replacing goods, the perception of workers proved to be positive in relation to existing non-conformities. There were no statistically significant differences in psychosocial and ergonomic risks between men and women. Conclusion The ergonomic conditions of the workplace for the professionals in community pharmacies are unfavourable in some points. However, if they try to adapt the workplace to the worker considering ergonomic aspects, they will promote well-being and thus guarantee better performance for their professionals and consequent increase in productivity

Research of Ergonomic Comprehensive Evaluation For Suit Production Operation Based On Hybrid Method With IAHP And Gray Entropy

To solve the problem of ergonomic evaluation of suit production system, a Hybrid method with IAHP and gray entropy theory is proposed. Firstly, literature review about ergonomics evaluation tools and technology is introduced. Furthermore, the ergonomic evaluation index system of suit operation is established according to production practice. Besides, comprehensive evaluation model process with gray entropy and IAHP is introduced. Finally, detailed evaluation process of suit sewing, ironing and clipping operation is introduced by an example, and the results show that the evaluation method in the paper is helpful to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the operation system improvement demonstration.