A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Occupational Health Specialists' Knowledge and Application of Pen-and-Paper Observational Methods for Ergonomics Assessment.

ABSTRACT

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSErgonomic risk assessment is a key step in managing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Diverse assessment methods exist, and errors may occur if inappropriate methods are selected. Understanding the level of knowledge, how to use methods, and exploring factors affecting erroneous usage of these methods, can provide useful information for health and safety regulatory authorities and decision-makers to identify problems and determine an action plan to eliminate them. We found that Iranian occupational health specialists have little knowledge about the types of pen-and-paper observational methods (OMs), and most of them use a limited number of these methods. Content analysis of interviews identified three main categories of influential factors and 12 subcategories. The main categories were educational, individual, and organizational factors. These results suggest the need for more effort to ensure that practitioners possess better knowledge and skills in the selection and application of pen-and-paper OMs.

Background Ergonomic risk assessment is a key step in managing ergonomics in the workplace. Errors in selecting risk assessment methods may occur during risk assessment and could invalidate the reliability of the results obtained.Purpose The aims of the present study were to investigate Iranian occupational health specialists' knowledge and application of pen-and-paper observational methods (OMs) for ergonomics assessment and to determine their influential factors.Methods We used a mixed-method design in two phases, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data were collected from 237 occupational health specialists who were included in the study through purposive sampling of experts. In the qualitative phase, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from the first phase, and the factors associated with the selection and application of the pen-and-paper OMs were examined over a 6-month period.Results Participants were familiar with 13 out of 34 methods studied, and they had performed risk assessments with only nine of them. The most frequently used methods were RULA (95.4%), REBA (84.8%), QEC (65.4%), and ROSA (54.9%). Content analysis of interviews identified three main categories of influential factors and 12 subcategories. The main categories included educational, individual, and organizational factors.Conclusion Iranian occupational health specialists were found to have relatively limited knowledge about pen-and-paper OMs, and most of them use a limited number of these methods. These results suggest the need for more effort to ensure that practitioners possess better knowledge and skills in the selection and application of these methods. Creating stricter regulations regarding the qualifications of practitioners, modifying academic curriculum content, continuously monitoring the performance of practitioners, and holding retraining workshops in a purposeful manner could help minimize errors in selecting and applying pen-and-paper OMs.