جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « Work Ability Index » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Nowadays, due to the increase in the volume of accidents, pre-hospital emergency personnel, as the frontline of treatment by providing relief and assistance to patients and victims of various incidents, have encountered various work-related challenges and problems, including cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, excessive fatigue, and reduced sleep quality. In this regard, the present research aimed to study the relationship among shift work, sleep quality, and work ability index in pre-hospital emergency personnel.

This research was performed on 102 operational personnel of a pre-hospital emergency department in Urmia, Iran. After the collection of demographic information, the number of work shifts per week, the number of working hours per month, the quality of sleep, and the work ability of the personnel were measured by the Petersburg sleep quality questionnaire and work ability index questionnaire. The relationship between research variables was investigated using correlation coefficient, Fisher's exact test, and one-way analysis of variance tests.

Mean total sleep quality score of the personnel was 6.01 ± 2.38, which indicated poor and unfavorable sleep quality. Moreover, work ability index scores of 34.3%, 52%, and 13.7% of participants were at poor, moderate, good, and excellent levels, respectively. Regarding the comparison between the two variables of shift work and sleep quality, there was a significant difference, and a strong and significant relationship was observed between sleep quality and work ability index.

Through the increase in the number of work shifts and working hours, the sleep quality of the personnel became unfavorable and weak which led to a decrease in the work ability index score and a reduction in the job performance of the personnel. Reduction of working hours, usage of young people with high work ability, management and control of the number of work shifts of the personnel by considering resting and closure time, consideration of morning-evening and night shifts in a balanced and equal manner, and prevention of people from working in monotonous shifts (activity only in the form of night work or only day work), and avoidance of working in consecutive work shifts without rest and vacation in order to improve the quality of sleep and work performance is recommended.

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the common problems in most work environments and work ability is considered a factor affecting the performance and productivity of employees. In the present study, the status of these two components and their relationship with each other in the staff working in the operating room were investigated.

The current cross-sectional study was conducted in the winter of 2023. In this research, 96 employees working in the operating rooms of government hospitals in Hamadan, Iran were enrolled by census sampling method based on the inclusion criteria. The data were collected through the Nordic standard questionnaire and the work ability index questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) at two levels of descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (t-test) statistics.

In this study, 4 (4.2%) of the participants had one musculoskeletal disorder and the remaining 91 personnel (95.8%) had more than one disorder in their musculoskeletal systems. Average work ability index was 42.3±04.91. The results of the independent t-test showed that the work ability index among people with pain in the neck (P=0.003), shoulders (P=0.001), elbows (P=0.038), back (P=0.011), knees (P=0.001), and legs (P=0.002) were less than those without pain in these organs.

Results indicated the need to pay more attention to the implementation of ergonomic work environment and management interventions to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and thereby increase the efficiency and effectiveness of personnel.

The nature of machining jobs has classified it as one of the special, dangerous, and important jobs. The ability to do this job, in addition to having the necessary knowledge and skills, requires acceptable physical, physical, and mental performance of people. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between the occurrence of accidents with the work ability index and respiratory performance in a power plant equipment manufacturing industry.

The present study was conducted on 142 machine workers. In order to collect data, researcher-made demographic-occupational information questionnaires and workability indexes were used. A pulmonary function test was performed with a spirometry device based on the standards of the American Thoracic Society. In order to analyze the data, SPSS21 statistical software was used.

The study samples' mean WAI was in the good category (37-44). The results of respiratory function (% FEV1 / FVC) in the workers with more than five years of experience showed that an average of 95.8% of the study population had a respiratory function of below 85%. The mean number of occupational accidents was 65.9% of the study population was reported to have equal to or less than three accidents. In the study sample, the average accident severity (days lost) was 94.5% of the population had equal to or less than nine days lost due to the accidents. The relationship between the WAI, respiratory system function, and occupational accidents was significant (p < 0.05).

The Work Ability Index in the machinery workers was within a reasonable range, and the number and severity of their occupational accidents were low. Further studies should be conducted on these indicators and respiratory function. Also, it is recommended that the workability be examined during the pre-employment process and the results are applied in the human resources management.

Low back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders and an important cause of early retirement due to disability in employees in industrialized and developing countries. The present study aimed to determine the work ability index and its relationship with low back pain among employees of the Tehran offset printing industry.

A cross-sectional study was performed within six months in 2020.  Data from 220 employers working in the offset printing industry were collected through survey questionnaires including Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaires (NMQ) and Work Ability Index (WAI). Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 24 with a significance level of P-Value <0. 05.

In general, more than half of the participants (%62.5) indicated high symptoms of Low Back Pain. Also, the results of the Pearson correlation test showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between the level of work ability and the severity of low back pain (p<0.001).

The high incidence of low back pain among printing workers makes it necessary to provide safety and health training programs on managing and improving workability.

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most important work-related diseases and hard working conditions in workshops and industries lead workers to experience these disorders. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its relationship with work ability index, job satisfaction, and job burnout among the workers of Isfahan Crystal and Glass Industry, Isfahan, Iran.

This descriptive-analytic study was a cross-sectional one employing 251 workers from Isfahan Crystal and Glass Industry and was conducted in 2021. The data were collected through Cronell Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire (CDMQ), Work Ability Index Questionnaire (WIA), Job Descriptive Index (JDI), and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The collected data were then submitted to SPSS to be analyzed through descriptive and inferential (Spearman correlation) statistics. The significance level was decided to be less than 0.05 (P < 0.05).

45.4% of the participants had musculoskeletal discomfort in at least one limb and 63.7% had high level of job satisfaction. On the other hand, the participants had high level of job burnout (mean = 81.55) and intermediate level of work ability (mean = 36). Further, there were no significant correlations between musculoskeletal disorders and job burnout, and between musculoskeletal disorders and work ability (P < 0.050), whereas there was a significant correlation between musculoskeletal disorders and job satisfaction (P < 0.050).

Less than half of the participants had musculoskeletal disorders. The significant relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and job satisfaction was negative; the higher the level of job satisfaction, the lower the level of musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, interventional and corrective measures are highly recommended to prevent these disorders.

The ability to work is one of the important factors in predicting the working conditions, well-being, and health status of employees. The Work Ability Index (WAI) is one of the most reliable tools used widely to assess the work ability in employees. This study aimed to review the WAI score among Iranian employees.

In this study, Persian and English articles published within 2005-2020 were extracted by searching Magiran, SID, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases. The WAI and its relationship with individual and demographic factors, including age, work experience, gender, and education level, were examined.

A total of 42 articles that reported the mean and standard deviation of the WAI were selected. The review of the articles showed that a total of 11,231 subjects were investigated and the mean WAI was 38.35±5.88. Moreover, among job and demographic factors, WAI showed the most significant relationship with age and work experience.

Based on the WAI classification, the score of employees was at a good level. However, in some occupations, it was observed that the work ability was at a moderate level, highlighting the adoption of control measures to improve the working environment.

Sleep is one of the important physiologic needs in daily life cycle, and a part of quality of life. Sleep disorders are considered as one of the most common health problems in work communities that can affect physical, mental performance and ability to work. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between sleep disorders and work ability in construction workers.

This study is descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional. Samples of 220 people were selected by random sampling method from construction workers and personnel. Data collection tools in this study included sleep quality questionnaire, insomnia severity questionnaire and work ability questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 19) and, considering the objectives, descriptive statistics and analytical tests including paired t-test, Pearson’s correlation, Kruskal-Wallis, multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used.

Average age, body mass index, working hours and work experience were calculated as 34.2 ± 8.5 years old, 55.58 ± 2.78, 10.5 ± 1.25 hours and 12.7 ± 6.5 years, respectively. The mean indices of insomnia severity, Petersburg quality of sleep index and work ability were 6.6 ± 5.35, 4.95 ± 2.43 and 42.5 ± 5.13, respectively. The relationship between the work ability with sleep disorders was statistically significant. Variables of marital status, types of employment and smoking, independent of the variables of insomnia severity and sleep quality, significantly affected the work ability index, so that the R2 of these variables were 0.246 and 0.242 of the changes in work ability index, respectively.

Any disturbance in sleep and resting can cause poor sleep quality. As a result, it severely reduces the ability of employees to work. Therefore, it is suggested that, in order to increase the index of work ability and, thus, the efficiency of an organization, special attention be paid to sleep-resting programs of employees.

Assessing the workability of employees is very important, and firefighting is one of the critical jobs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the work ability index (WAI), and identify some effective factors among firefighters.

This cross-sectional study was carried out with participation of 101 firefighters in Zahedan, Iran in 2018. Subjects were included in the study by census method. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire (demographic information and WAI items), and data analysis was performed using SPSS 24.

The mean of age and work experience of the subjects were 34.18±6.70 and 8.47±6.79 years, respectively. Only 18 individuals (17.8%) were single, and most of them exercised at least once a week. The mean score of WAI was 44.33±3.56 and most of the subjects were in the excellent range. With increasing age and work experience, WAI decreased, and there was also a significant relationship between marital status and weekly exercise with WAI.

In general, the condition of the firefighters was favorable in terms of workability. However, due to the relationship between personal characteristics and WAI, it is necessary to adjust the duties of older people with more work experience.

In the automotive industry, assemblers are at the risk of job stress. There is relationship between job stress and work ability index, and job stress can impact on work ability index negatively. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of ergonomic job stress intervention (Ergo-JSI) on the work ability index and job stress of assemblers in an auto parts factory.

It was an interventional study with pre- and post-test design in the assembly section of an auto parts factory. The sample group included 80 persons who were working in this section and they were selected totally. The interventional Ergonomics-based on Job Stress Program was performed for eight weeks. Job stress questionnaires (BJSQ), work ability index (WAI), ergonomic check points (ECP), and stress prevention in the workplace (International Labor Organization) were used as research tools.

The ergonomic job stress intervention (Ergo-JSI) was found to be significant on the work ability index (P <0.001). The level of work ability index was increased by 16.25% for workers (P = 0.01). Furthermore, the job stress was decreased significantly (P <0.05). The quantitative changes in the level of job stress towards reduction were based on the BJSQ criteria A (51.25%) and criteria B (27.5%); these differences were found to be significant (P <0.001).

Individual and organizational approaches which used for the interventional Ergonomic based on Job Stress Management Program has been effective on the decreasing of job stress and the increasing of work ability index of assemblers. Therefore, this Participatory Ergonomics Program which has an integrated approach can be improved the mental health of staff.

Proper assessment of the employees’ ability to work from an economic point of view is important for employers since it is one of the ways to increase human resource productivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between job stress and ability to work in nurses of hospitals affiliated to Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences.

The present study was analytic and cross-sectional. The participants were 250 nurses with at least one year of work experience selected from all 8 hospitals affiliated to Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences using proportional sampling method. The dimensions of job stress and work ability were measured through the JCQ and WAI Questionnaires. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, Spearman correlation coefficient , and Kruskal-Wallis were used by SPSS20.   

 Work ability had a significant and direct correlation with and the decision making authority ( r= 0.161, p-value = 0.011) and physical isometric load (r= 0.136, p-value = 0.032). In contrast, a significant and inverse relationship was found between job ability and psychological needs (r=-0.177, p-value =0.005). No significant difference was observed between the ability to work and other dimensions of occupational stres.

In most nurses, moderate to high levels of job stress and moderate levels of  job ability were observed. To reduce their job stress and increase their ability to work, free decision making and social support should be increased, physical and psychological stresses should be adjusted, and job security should be enhanced.

 Given the importance of adapting workerschr('39') physical and mental capabilities to their job needs, measuring their ability to work, maintaining, and upgrading, it has become an essential task. This study aimed to investigate WAI and its relationship with VO2max at one of the cement companies.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted among 130 employees of a cement company in Iran in 2018. For data collection, the WAI, Queenschr('39')s test for maximum oxygen consumption, and a questionnaire designed by researchers (socio-demographic and work-related factors) were used. SPSS 21 was used to analyze the data. 

 The results showed that the mean ± standard deviation of WAI in staff was 39.35 ± 4.64. Among the demographic and related variables, sports activity (P > 0.04) and sleep quality (P < 0.001), and work experience (P> 0.046) were significantly correlated with WAI. There was a significant positive correlation between the mean score of WAI and Vo2max (r = 0.21, p < 0.05). Regression modeling showed that Vo2max was the only significant predictor of WAI.

 According to the results of the study, to control and enhance the ability of the staff of the study, occupational intervention programs should focus on improving sleep quality and increased exercise. Also, considering the positive relationship of Vo2max to the WAI of the surveyed staff, it is recommended to select suitable employees in terms of aerobic capacity according to the workload of the job.

Sickness absence is a major socio-economic problem imposing a huge amount of cost to societies.This issue has been widely concerned over the last few years. Absence from work entails complex conditions and multifactorial etiology. According to previous studies, there are various occupational and personal factors contributing to the incidence of sickness absence.
Long-term sickness absence compels the employer to reassign the tasks to other workers or replace the absent worker. In addition, previous studies indicated that the likelihood of returning to work decreases with longer absence from work.  In this light, it is essential to identify the workers at risk of sickness absence, particularly long-term sickness absence.
The ability to stay at work and handling the work demands have been discussed as work ability, which is actually a balance between worker’s resources and work requirements.
The work ability index (WAI) provides a valuable tool to assess the work ability. It can serve research purposes and clinical assessments in occupational health, aimed at evaluating the ability to work during occupational health examinations and environmental monitoring. Furthermore, the WAI helps better identify the workers at risk of long term sickness absence and early work loss.
Various studies have reported that lower WAI scores are correlated with increased incidence of sickness absence and lengthened duration of sickness absence. In a study on construction workers in the Netherlands, Alavinia et al. found that workers with moderate and good work ability are at higher risk of sickness absence than workers with excellent work ability. Moreover, it was revealed that WAI can be a good predictor for sickness absence, especially for prolonged periods of absence from work.
Given the importance of sickness absence and identification of workers at risk of absence from work, this study attempted to evaluate Influence of short term and long term sickness absence on work ability index.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 806 car accessories production company workers. The questionnaires were handed to workers with, at a minimum, one year of employment volunteering in the research project. Certain occupational data concerning date of employment, working location and shift work status were obtained from the Personnel Selection Department. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study .The sickness absence data were extracted from the HSE of the factory, containing the number of days and episodes of sickness absence. Absence from work was divided into two categories: short term(<3day)and long term (≥3days) sickness absence. A questionnaire completed by the workers was employed to collect data on demographic information including age, marital status, education level, smoker/non-smoker and BMI. In terms of age, the subjects were divided into two categories of less than 35 years old and equal or greater than 35 years old. In terms of BMI, they were divided into two categories of less than 25 and equal or greater than 25. Moreover, the education levels included three categories of low, medium, high. The work ability among the workers was measured through the Work Ability Index  questionnaire comprising 7 items: 1) current work ability compared with the lifetime best ranging from 0 to 10 points, 2) work ability in relation to the demands of the job ranging from 2 to 10, 3) number of current diseases diagnosed by physician ranging from 1 to 7, 4) estimated work impairment due to diseases ranging from 1 to 6, 5) sick leave during the past year (12 months) ranging from 1 to 5, 6) Work ability in the forthcoming two years covering 1, 4 and 7, and 7) mental resources ranging from 4 and 7. In all items,the highest scores of WAI represent  the best work ability. The overall score of WAI obtained by the total points achieved in the seven items ranged from 7 to 49, where higher score indicates a greater work ability.
 The WAI scores in workers with short-term and long-term sickness absence from work and the combined sickness absence were compared against those in workers without any sickness absence. In this study, the dependent variable was WAI , while the independent variables included sickness absence and occupational and demographic characteristics. The Chi- square test was used to compare the qualitative variables and the logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between WAI and sickness absence. In all tests, the significance level was considered to be 0.05 with confidence interval of 95%. The statistical analysis involved SPSS 16.

Of the 956 workers, 850 responded to the questionnaire (response rate of 88.91%). Having applied the exclusions criteria, a total of 806 subjects were analyzed. All the subjects were male ranging from 21 to 63 years old with an average age of 35.04±6.84 years. Moreover, 75.7% of the subjects had shift work, and 76.4% were blue collar . Analysis of data on Sickness absence revealed that 55.3% of subjects had a record of absence from work, of whom 61.9% were short-term (<3 days) and 38.1% were long-term (≥3 days).  The mean WAI score was 42.19±4.37. In comparison of the two groups with and without sickness absence in terms of demographic characteristics, the mean age was 35.65±7.32 for the non-absence group and 34.55±6.40 for the absence group, indicating a statistically significant difference (P value=0.025). Furthermore, the mean BMI was 25.90±2.78 in the non-absence group, higher than 25.35±2.62 in the absence group (P value=0.004).
The Chi square test suggested that shift workers and blue collars had more frequent absence from work with (OR=1.651 and P value=0.002) and (OR=2.256 and P value<0.001), respectively. Short-term Sickness absence was higher among shift workers (OR=1.84 and P value=0.011). Moreover, the long-term absence was more frequent among smokers while short-term absence was more frequent among non-smokers (OR=2.12 and P-value=0.002). The two groups with short and long-term absences, however, indicated no significant differences in terms of age and BMI.
The mean WAI was 41.0 ±4.8 in smokers and 42.4±4.2 in non-smokers, indicating a statistically significant difference (P value<0.001). The mean score was 42.5±4.3 in subjects with a BMI less than 25 and 41.9±4.3 in subjects with BMI≥25 (P value=0.049). The WAI scores in the population indicated no significant differences in terms of age, work experience, education, shift work and work group. The mean (SD) of WAI scores in workers with short-term, long-term and total sickness absence were 41.97(3.97) 40.62(5.30) and 41.45(4.56), respectively; and in workers without any sickness absence was 43.09(3.93). The WAI of workers without sickness absence was higher than that of workers with sickness absence (OR=2.79; 95% CI=1.63-4.76 and P-value<0.001); and was higher in workers with short-term sickness absence than those with long-term sickness absence (OR=3.06; 95% CI=1.74-5.36 and P value<0.001). After adjusting the effects of other factors, there was a correlation between WAI and sickness absence in the two groups with and without absences as well as workers with short and long term sickness absence (P-value<0.001 and 0.019, respectively). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between the work group and absence/non-absence as well as between smoking and short/long-term absence (P value=0.029, <0.001 respectively). This was consistent with results of previous tests for comparison of mean values (t-test and chi-square). In comparison of the WAI subcategories between the absence and non-absence groups, "the current work ability compared with life time best" was greater in the non-absence subjects than the absence subjects (P value=0.013). Moreover, it was greater in the short-term absence subjects than the long-term absence subjects (P value=0.045).
“Work impairment due to disease” was greater in the non-absence group than the absence group (P value<0.001). Moreover, it was greater in the short-term absence group than the long-term absence group (P value<0.001). 
“Psychological resources” was greater in the non-absence group than the absence group (P value=0.033). However, there was no significant difference in comparing the two groups with short and long-term absences.
In this study, the subjects were divided in terms of work ability index into two categories of low work ability (including those with low and medium WAI) and high work ability (including those with good and excellent WAI). The analytical results of chi-square test showed that WAI was significantly higher in the non-absence group than the absence group. In other words, sickness absence was considerably lower in the group with high work ability (OR=2.790; CI=1.63-4.76 and P value<0.001).Concerning the subjects with a history of sickness absence, the WAI was greater in the short-term absence group than the long-term absence group (OR=3.060; CI=1.74-5.36 and P value<0.001).

This study intended to assess the relationship between WAI scores, sickness absence and the role of individual and occupational factors among the workers involved in the Iranian automotive industry. The mean WAI score was 42.19, and 40.7% of subjects were categorized as excellent, 49.5% as good, 9.3% as moderate and 0.5% as poor.  In this population, there was a significant relationship found between WAI and sickness absence. This was consistent with the results of other studies. Sickness absence in the blue collar group and shift workers was higher. This finding can be explained by the fact that white collars are not in contact with the production-related hazards and are less likely to absent from work. Similarly, shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm, leading to morbidity and risk of many diseases.  The overall WAI score was greater in non-absence subjects than absence subjects. Moreover, it was lower in long-term absence subjects than short-term absence subjects. Comparing the two groups with a history of short and long-term absences, it was revealed that short-term absence was more frequent among the shift workers. This finding can be explained by the fact that sick or non-healthy individuals are more likely to prefer jobs not requiring work shift.
According to the results of this study, the lower WAI scores increased the episodes and lengths of sickness absence. The findings suggested that WAI can be correlated with short-term and long-term Sickness absence and can be employed as a simple and useful tool to identify workers at risk of sickness absence.

Although the physical and mental health of workers and, as a result, the productivity of organizations are influenced by the stress in the working environment, this issue has rarely been addressed in the literature. This research was therefore conducted to quantify the effects of stress on work ability, the incidents rate, and the performance of Takhte Jamshid hospital in Karaj.

The main variables were work stress (an independent variable), work ability index and the work-related incidents (as mediator variables), and hospital performance (as the dependent variable). Based on Cochran equation, 240 employees out of the total population of 636 were selected and then surveyed using the standard questionnaires developed by Agiuns regarding work ability index, work stress, and the employee work performance.

Based on the results, mean values of work stress, working ability, and the hospital performance were 3.06, 22.2, and 3, respectively. According to the structural equation modeling, work stress significantly affected both working ability (R2 = -0.87) and work-related incidents (R2= 0.68). It was also found that the work ability affected the incidents rate (R2= -0.34). Finally, the work incident rate had a substantial effect on the hospital performance (R2= -0.62).

Based on this study, work stress clearly affected the work ability of employees and the resulting performance of the hospital. Then, it is expected that mitigation of work stress can lead to a lower rate of work incidents and higher quality of hospital performance.