A job-related fitness test for the Dutch police.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 60(4): 255-60, 2010 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20511266
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The variety of tasks that characterize police work highlights the importance of being in good physical condition.AIMS:
To take a first step at standardizing the administration of a job-related test to assess a person's ability to perform the physical demands of the core tasks of police work. The principal research questions were are test scores related to gender, age and function and are test scores related to body mass index (BMI) and the number of hours of physical exercise?METHODS:
Data of 6999 police officers, geographically spread over all parts of The Netherlands, who completed a physical competence test over a 1 year period were analysed.RESULTS:
Women performed the test significantly more slowly than men. The mean test score was also related to age; the older a person the longer it took to complete the test. A higher BMI was associated with less hours of body exercise a week and a slower test performance, both in women and men.CONCLUSIONS:
The differences in individual test scores, based on gender and age, have implications for future strategy within the police force. From a viewpoint of 'same job, same standard' one has to accept that test-score differences may lead to the exclusion of certain staff. However, from a viewpoint of 'diversity as a business issue', one may have to accept that on average, both female and older police officers are physically less tailored to their jobs than their male and younger colleagues.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Avaliação da Capacidade de Trabalho
/
Aptidão Física
/
Polícia
/
Teste de Esforço
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Occup Med (Lond)
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA OCUPACIONAL
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Holanda