Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu, Finland.
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Kuopio, Finland.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2023 Jul;96(5):651-660. doi: 10.1007/s00420-023-01960-1. Epub 2023 Feb 18.
This study investigated the physical workload of home care service workers and determined whether the different intensities of physical work strain experienced by home care nurses have different impacts on their recovery from work.
Physical workload and recovery were measured among 95 home care nurses based on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) recordings during one work shift and the following night. Differences in the physical work strain were compared between younger (≤ 44-year-old) and older (≥ 45-year-old) employees and between morning and evening shifts. To determine the effects of occupational physical activity on recovery, HRV at all time points (during the workday, when awake and asleep, and whole measurement) in relation to the amount of occupational physical activity was examined.
The average physiological strain during the work shift, measured as metabolic equivalent (MET), was 1.8 ± 0.5. Moreover, the occupational physical demands in relation to maximal capacity were higher for the older employees. The results of the study showed that a higher occupational physical workload reduced the HRV of home care workers during the workday, leisure time, and sleep.
These data indicate that increased occupational physical workload is associated with reduced recovery among home care workers. Therefore, decreasing occupational strain and ensuring sufficient recovery is recommended.
本研究调查了家庭护理服务人员的体力工作负荷，并确定家庭护理护士所经历的不同强度的体力工作应激对其工作后恢复的影响是否不同。
本研究基于 95 名家庭护理护士在一个工作日和次日夜间的心率（HR）和心率变异性（HRV）记录，测量了体力工作负荷和恢复情况。比较了年轻（≤44 岁）和年长（≥45 岁）员工以及早晚班之间的体力工作应激差异。为了确定职业体力活动对恢复的影响，在所有时间点（工作日、清醒和睡眠时以及整个测量期间）检查了 HRV 与职业体力活动量之间的关系。
工作期间的平均生理应激（以代谢当量表示）为 1.8±0.5。此外，年长员工的职业体力需求与最大能力的比值更高。研究结果表明，较高的职业体力工作量会降低家庭护理人员在工作日、闲暇时间和睡眠期间的 HRV。
这些数据表明，职业体力工作量的增加与家庭护理人员的恢复减少有关。因此，建议减少职业压力并确保充足的恢复。
