Support System for the Assessment and Intervention During the Manual Material Handling Training at the Workplace: Contributions From the Systematic Observation - PubMed (original) (raw)
Support System for the Assessment and Intervention During the Manual Material Handling Training at the Workplace: Contributions From the Systematic Observation
Mariona Portell et al. Front Psychol. 2019.
Abstract
Efficacy of classical manual material handling (MMH) training interventions on back pain prevention at the workplace has been called into question. The way that observation (self-observation or hetero-observation) is used in other areas to create feedback addressed to modify motor activities can justify innovative components for these interventions. However, their implementation and evaluation cannot be done without tackling the methodological challenge of developing a reliable observational instrument to measure manual handling practice during the training process. The aims of this study were: (1) justify and develop an hetero-observation (H-O) instrument to assess changes in the worker behavioral patterns with a level of analysis convenient to derive a parallel version for the systematic self-observation (S-O) during training on MMH; (2) provide evidence on the inter-rater reliability of the H-O instrument; (3) provide evidence on the usability of the S-O instrument and its perceived usefulness; and (4) provide evidence on the benefits that can be derived with the use of the H-O instrument to create feedback based on T-pattern and polar coordinate analysis. A mixed method approach mainly grounded on systematic observation was used. A convenience sample composed by blue-collar workers participated in the study. Based on literature review and expert opinion, the H-O instrument proposed was composed by six dimensions (feet, knee joints, back, elbow joints, load position, and interaction between back tilt and displacement) plus a structural dimension which defined MMH phases. The inter-rater reliability of this instrument was almost perfect for all dimensions using a tolerance level of 2 s (the range of time-unit kappa was from 0.93 to 0.97 and the range of event-based kappa was from 0.82 to 0.9). The usability and usefulness of the S-O instrument was highly valued by workers. Regarding the way to use hetero-observations to create feedback, the paper shows the great potential of T-pattern and polar coordinate analysis. The observational instruments developed combined with these techniques make it possible to characterize the body positions adopted during manual handling performance, and this is crucial to create feedback on performance instead of only feedback on results.
Keywords: T-pattern analysis; feedback; health promotion in the workplace; manual material handling; mixed method approach; polar coordinate analysis; systematic observation.
Figures
FIGURE 1
Space disposition for MMH in formative context.
FIGURE 2
Sample interface used to codify. Left side shows the recording instrument. Right side shows the visual part of one category definition in the H-O instrument. Written informed consent was obtained from the depicted individual for the publication of these images.
FIGURE 3
Schematic representation of two T-patterns (A,B), that occur throughout the MMH process of the worker WO1. (A.1,B.1) Include the pattern tree graph. (A.2,B.2) Include pictures highlighting details of the configurations (the recommended positions in larger sizes than those non-recommended); for confidentiality reasons, the workers’ images have been replaced by pictures from the H-O instrument manual. (A.3,B.3) Includes the instance graph. Written informed consent was obtained from the depicted individual for the publication of these images.
FIGURE 4
Schematic representation of two T-patterns, that occur throughout the MMH process of the worker WO2. (A.1,B.1) Includes the pattern tree graph. (A.2,B.2) Includes pictures highlighting details of the configurations (the recommended positions in larger sizes than those non-recommended); for confidentiality reasons, the workers’ images have been replaced by pictures from the H-O instrument manual. (A.3,B.3) Includes the instance graph. Written informed consent was obtained from the depicted individual for the publication of these images.
FIGURE 5
Maps of polar coordinate analysis for worker WO1 (A) and worker WO2 (B). Under each graph the table with the polar coordinate analysis results is presented for the statistically significant associations. The focal category is the neutral back position (tne). The conditional behaviors are: non-recommended feet position (p1p2), recommended feet position (p3p4), knees flexed moderately during lifting and lowering (rmo), knees extended or slightly flexed during lifting and lowering (rex), knee joints in a non-recommended position in initial/lifting-lowest/lowering-lowest/final position (rex1a/rex1b/rex3c/rex3d), knees are flexed severely (rcv), elbow joint is extended or slightly flexed (b1), one or both elbow joints are flexed (b2), load close to the body (ap), load separated to the body (se).
References
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