Is new tech a pain in the neck? The impact of introducing new technologies in home-care on neck pain: a prospective study.
BMC Public Health
; 24(1): 734, 2024 Mar 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38454440
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Home healthcare services are increasingly utilizing novel technologies to enhance quality and efficiency of caregiving, to reduce workloads and compensate for expected labor shortages in the future due to ageing populations. However, rapid, ongoing implementation of new technologies may demand considerable adaptation for employees. The objective of this study was to prospectively examine associations of newly introduced work technologies with neck pain complaints.METHODS:
With a nationally representative prospective sample of home-care workers in Norway (N = 887), we estimated effects of 1) introducing new technologies and 2) the appraised quality of training during implementation on neck pain eight months after.RESULTS:
A majority of employees reported new technologies having been introduced the previous 12 months (73.8%). This was not by itself associated with neck pain. However, perceived high quality of training was associated with less subsequent neck pain, also after adjustment for job demands and job control. The strongest effect was seen for "very good" versus "very poor" quality training (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17,0.71, in the fully adjusted model). Cross-lagged path analyses ruled out potential reverse causation stemming from the influence of pain on needs for or appraisals of training.CONCLUSION:
The present findings suggest the introduction of new work technologies has a significant impact on home-care workers' health, depending on the quality of training during implementation. This highlights the need to include training programs in risk assessments when implementing new technologies.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Neck Pain
/
Home Care Services
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Public Health
Journal subject:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: