Work : a journal of prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation
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In the UK mountain rescues are carried out by highly trained volunteers in all weather conditions and at any time of the day/night. They interface with other services when they hand over the casualty to either land or air ambulances. The design of the stretcher is important to the safety of both the volunteers and casualties. ⋯ All the stretchers produced shoulder discomfort with the Split Thomas and MacInnes 6 lowering the postural risks through the use of skids/wheel in the carrying phase. The key design features for future MR stretchers include: reduced unloaded weight (e.g. light weight materials and mesh platforms); undercarriage system to reduce the carrying load; adjustable handles at the front and back positions; flexible carrying system with an optional harness attachment; ease of assembly in adverse environmental conditions; large carrying capacity. It is suggested that military emergency evacuation should be considered in addition to mountain rescue tasks to identify a larger commercial market for development.
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Military personnel, who have sustained multiple injuries, or polytrauma, are returning home with a novel set of challenging injuries and disabilities. These emerging injury patterns require specialized rehabilitation and continual coordination of care. ⋯ The purpose of this article is to introduce the life care plan as an established and successful approach for meeting the complex and comprehensive needs of individuals with polytrauma. Additionally this article includes multiple case examples to help illustrate the applicability of life care planning.
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Comparative Study
An investigation into the immediate effects on comfort, productivity and posture of the Bambach saddle seat and a standard office chair.
This study was prompted by the prevalence of back injury and pain in the working population, particularly amongst workers who are increasingly exposed to sedentary work in industrialised countries, and the corresponding limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of seating designs currently used in the workplace. ⋯ This study has implications for the treatment of low back injury and pain at work, as well as other daily activities that involve prolonged static sitting, such as those incorporated in self maintenance, leisure and rest activities. This study provides health professionals with a systematic investigation of the immediate effects of using both the Bambach saddle seat and standard office chair in sitting. The findings of this study should be considered in future research.
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A rural community in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, requested assistance in finding a solution for the dilemma of unemployment for persons with disabilities (PWD). The researcher was involved in a multi disciplinary development programme in the community and investigated the possibilities of integrating the PWD in the income generating projects planned for the community at large. This article reports on one of the objectives of this participatory research study: exploring possible ways of job placement in the projects by community workers. ⋯ A job analysis was done on five planned projects for the community that would generate income. The data of the functional analysis of each person and the job requirements were then plotted on one web, the work ability web (WAW) to illustrate compatibility. One of the cases from the sample is described to demonstrate the process.
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The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of an ergonomic and behavioral safety intervention for improving participants' safe typing postures in a library office setting. A single-subject multiple baseline design across five participants was employed to evaluate the effects of the four independent variables (workstation adjustment, equipment trial (rollermouse mouse alternative), peer observations, and graphic feedback). ⋯ Each of the interventions resulted in improvements in safety for more than one posture compared to the previous phase. Results of the study indicate that a comprehensive ergonomic program that includes a workstation adjustment and a behavioral safety approach may be helpful to produce maximum improvements in employees' safe ergonomic postures.