Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Health Research, SINTEF DIGITAL, SINTEF AS, Trondheim, Norway.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2022 Nov 15;66(9):1187-1198. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxac052.
High physical work demands are believed to be partly responsible for the high sickness absence among home care workers, but no studies have assessed their physical work demands using precise device-based measurements. Hence, the objective of this observational study was to assess physical work demands in home care, using wearable sensors.
From six home care units in a large municipality in Norway, 114 of 195 eligible home care workers filled in a questionnaire, a diary about work hours, and wore five accelerometers, and a heart rate sensor for up to six consecutive workdays.
On average, the homecare workers spent 50% of the working hours sitting, 25.2% standing, 11.4% moving, 8.3% walking fast, 1.9% walking slow, 1.2% stair-climbing, 0.3% cycling, and 0.05% running. We found the following exposures to demanding postures: arm-elevation in an upright body position ≥30° was 36.7%, ≥60° was 4.1%, and ≥90°was 0.5%; forward trunk inclination in an upright body position ≥30° was 9.9%, ≥60° was 4%, and ≥90° was 1%; and for kneeling it was 0.8%. We found the average cardiovascular load (%heart rate reserve) during work to be 28%. There was considerable individual variation in these physical exposures at work.
This study presents precise information on various physical work demands of home care workers in Norway. Home care workers spent on average half the workday sitting and the remaining time in various occupational physical activities. Presently, few device-based exposure limits have been proposed for acceptable amounts of occupational physical exposures, but the level of arm-elevation, forward trunk inclination, and the considerable variation of physical workloads among home care workers, indicate that preventive measures should be taken.
高体力工作需求被认为是导致家庭保健工作者高病假率的部分原因，但尚无研究使用精确的基于设备的测量方法来评估其体力工作需求。因此，本观察性研究的目的是使用可穿戴传感器评估家庭保健中的体力工作需求。
在挪威一个大市的六个家庭保健单位中，195 名符合条件的家庭保健工作者中有 114 名填写了一份问卷、一份关于工作时间的日记，并佩戴了五个加速度计和一个心率传感器，连续工作六天。
平均而言，家庭保健工作者 50%的工作时间坐着，25.2%站着，11.4%移动，8.3%快走，1.9%慢走，1.2%爬楼梯，0.3%骑自行车，0.05%跑步。我们发现以下暴露于高要求姿势：手臂抬高至直立姿势≥30°的比例为 36.7%，≥60°的比例为 4.1%，≥90°的比例为 0.5%；直立姿势时，前躯干倾斜≥30°的比例为 9.9%，≥60°的比例为 4%，≥90°的比例为 1%；而跪着的比例为 0.8%。我们发现工作期间的平均心血管负荷（%心率储备）为 28%。这些工作中的体力暴露个体差异很大。
本研究提供了关于挪威家庭保健工作者各种体力工作需求的精确信息。家庭保健工作者平均每天有一半的工作时间坐着，其余时间从事各种职业体力活动。目前，针对可接受的职业体力暴露量，提出的基于设备的暴露限制很少，但手臂抬高、前躯干倾斜和家庭保健工作者体力工作量的相当大的差异表明，应采取预防措施。
