Occupational Profile, Psychosocial Aspects, and Work Ability of Brazilian Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic: IMPPAC Cohort.

BACKGROUND: The IMPPAC cohort (Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial aspects and work ability among Brazilian workers) seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on Brazilian workers. This article describes the occupational profile, psychosocial aspects, and work ability determined during the baseline and follow-up measurements of the cohort. METHODS: Workers were invited to participate through media advertisements, social networks, and e-mails. From June to September 2020, 1211 workers were included in the cohort. Follow-up measurements finished on October 2021 with 633 workers. Data were collected through standardized questionnaires using Google Forms. Psychosocial aspects were assessed using the COPSOQ II-Br. Work ability was assessed using the Work Ability Index (WAI). RESULTS: At baseline and follow-up, high proportion of workers were in the risk zone with regard to work pace, emotional work demands, influence on work, work-family conflict, burnout, and stress. Approximately 75% of the workers reported good to excellent work ability at baseline and follow-up. CONCLUSION: The occupational profile, psychosocial aspects, and work ability of Brazilian workers from the IMPPAC cohort were described. Psychosocial aspects and WAI were similar at baseline and follow-up.

Psychosocial Risk Factors and Musculoskeletal Symptoms among White and Blue-collar Workers at Private and Public Sectors.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate musculoskeletal and psychosocial perception and compare these conditions regarding the type of job (white or blue-collar) and the type of management model (private or public). METHODS: Forty-seven public white-collar (PuWC), 84 private white-collar (PrWC) and 83 blue-collar workers (PrBC) were evaluated. Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were applied to evaluate psychosocial factors. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to assess musculoskeletal symptoms. Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) was measured to evaluate sensory responses. RESULTS: According to JCQ, all groups were classified as active profile. There was a significant association between work engagement and workers' categories (p < 0.05). PrWC workers had the highest scores for all the UWES domains, while PrBC had the lowest ones. PPT showed that PrBC workers had an increased sensitivity for left deltoid (p < 0.01), and for both epicondyles (p < 0.01), when compared to the other groups. PrWC workers had an increased sensitivity for both epicondyles than PuWC (right p < 0.01; left, p = 0.05). There was no significant association in the report of symptoms across the groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed differences in psychosocial risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms in workers engaged in different types of jobs and work organization. Personal and work-related characteristics, psychosocial factors and PPT responses were different across workers' group. Despite all, there was no significant difference in reported symptoms across the groups, possibly indicating that the physical load is similar among the sectors.

OBJETIVOS: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a percepção musculoesquelética e psicossocial e comparar essas condições em relação ao tipo de trabalho (de escritório ou industrial) e o tipo de modelo de gestão (público ou privado). MÉTODOS: Quarenta e sete trabalhadores de escritório em cargos públicos (PuWC), 84 trabalhadores de escritório em cargos privados (PrWC) e 83 trabalhadores industriais de uma empresa privada (PrBC) foram avaliados. O Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) e a Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) foram aplicados para avaliar os fatores psicossociais. O Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares (NMQ) foi usado para avaliar os sintomas musculoesqueléticos. O limiar de dor à pressão (PPT) foi medido para avaliar as respostas sensoriais. RESULTADOS: De acordo com JCQ, todos os grupos foram classificados como perfil ativo. Houve uma associação significativa entre o engajamento de trabalho e categorias de trabalhadores (p < 0,05). Os trabalhadores PrWC tiveram as maiores pontuações para todos os domínios da UWES, enquanto os PrBC tiveram os menores. Os resultados do PPT mostraram que trabalhadores do grupo PrBC apresentaram maior sensibilidade no deltóide esquerdo (p < 0,01) e em ambos os epicôndilos (p < 0,01), quando comparados com os outros grupos. Os PrWC apresentaram maior sensibilidade para ambos os epicôndilos do que PuWC (p < 0,01 na direita; p = 0,05 para esquerda). Não houve associação significativa do relato de sintomas com os grupos (p > 0,05). CONCLUSÃO: Existe diferença nos fatores de risco psicossociais e sintomas musculoesqueléticos em trabalhadores envolvidos em tipos de trabalho e sistemas organizacionais diferentes. Apesar disso, não houve associação significativa no relato de sintomas entre os grupos, podendo indicar que a demanda biomecânica é semelhante em todos os setores investigados.

Brazilian version of an assessment tool for the evaluation of work organizational aspects (AOT) by the NIOSH WMSD Research Consortium: translation and application in industrial sectors.

Work organization affects the production of a company as well as the health of employees. It is a challenge to create sustainable production systems with the least harm to the health. An observational assessment tool was developed by the NIOSH--WMSD Research Consortium and adapted by the SHARP study. The objectives were to translate this assessment tool into Brazilian Portuguese (as the Avaliação de Aspectos Organizacionais do Trabalho--AOT) and to evaluate its applicability in an industrial setting. The AOT final translated version was obtained after a consensus by the research team. Difficulties arose in applying the translated version due to technical terms with no direct equivalents in Portuguese, nonexcluding or similar alternatives, and questions that gave room for various interpretations, besides the great complexity of the tasks performed in the sectors. Despite that, the results suggest that AOT was sensitive for discriminating differences between sectors. Nevertheless, for better application of this tool in complex industrial environments, it is necessary: training and consensus among evaluators, familiarity with organizational aspects of the occupational settings evaluated. Also for assuring the internal validity of the analysis, might be necessary, the creation of subdivisions in the sectors evaluated if the tasks vary significantly intra-sector. The present report can help to understand the difficulties inherent to the evaluation of organizational aspects on a collective level and also the possible implications related to the translation of this assessment into other languages.

A review of direct neck measurement in occupational settings.

No guidelines are available to orient researchers on the availability and applications of equipment and sensors for recording precise neck movements in occupational settings. In this study reports on direct measurements of neck movements in the workplace were reviewed. Using relevant keywords two independent reviewers searched for eligible studies in the following databases: Cinahal, Cochrane, Embase, Lilacs, PubMed, MEDLINE, PEDro, Scopus and Web of Science. After applying the inclusion criteria, 13 articles on direct neck measurements in occupational settings were retrieved from among 33,666 initial titles. These studies were then methodologically evaluated according to their design characteristics, exposure and outcome assessment, and statistical analysis. The results showed that in most of the studies the three axes of neck movement (flexion-extension, lateral flexion and rotation) were not simultaneously recorded. Deficiencies in available equipment explain this flaw, demonstrating that sensors and systems need to be improved so that a true understanding of real occupational exposure can be achieved. Further studies are also needed to assess neck movement in those who perform heavy-duty work, such as nurses and electricians, since no report about such jobs was identified.