Objectives Several studies have reported male-female differences in the prevalence of symptoms of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), some arising from workplace exposure differences. The ...objective of this paper was to compare two strategies analyzing a single dataset for the relationships between risk factors and MSD in a population-based sample with a wide range of exposures. Methods The 1998 Québec Health and Social Survey surveyed 11 735 respondents in paid work and reported "significant" musculoskeletal pain in 11 body regions during the previous 12 months and a range of personal, physical, and psychosocial risk factors. Five studies concerning risk factors for four musculoskeletal outcomes were carried out on these data. Each included analyses with multiple logistic regression (MLR) performed separately for women, men, and the total study population. The results from these gender-stratified and unstratified analyses were compared. Results In the unstratified MLR models, gender was significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain in the neck and lower extremities, but not with low-back pain. The gender-stratified MLR models identified significant associations between each specific musculoskeletal outcome and a variety of personal characteristics, and physical and psychosocial workplace exposures for each gender. Most of the associations, if present for one gender, were also found in the total population. But several risk factors present for only one gender could be detected only in a stratified analysis, whereas the unstratified analysis added little information. Conclusions Stratifying analyses by gender is necessary if a full range of associations between exposures and MSD is to be detected and understood.
Background Women report more work-related pain and neck/shoulder musculoskeletal disorders than men. For the same absolute workload, due to lower strength, females generally work at a higher relative ...intensity, which could induce more fatigue. However, the arm's anthropometric load (AL) of men is higher. Therefore, simply lifting their arm could be more fatiguing. Sex as a variable is formed of many constructs, and analyses can become muddied by their differing responses to fatigue. No studies have considered AL, when comparing how fatigue affects men and women. The purpose was to determine if including the arm's AL in the statistical analysis would impact findings of sex-specific effects of shoulder fatigue on muscle EMG. Methods Fifty-five (29m/26f) participants completed a repetitive pointing task (RPT) at shoulder height until they reported fatigue of 8+ on the BORG CR-10 scale. Muscle activities were measured using surface electrodes placed over the anterior deltoid (AD) and upper trapezius (UT) muscles. Muscle activity amplitude was quantified using root mean square (RMS). First- and last-minute data were used to assess change from no-fatigue (NF) to fatigue-terminal (FT) conditions. AL was calculated using sex-specific body parameter equations. General estimating equations (GEE) were used to determine the effects of sex and fatigue on RMS values, while including AL in the GEE. Results There was no sex difference in time to reach fatigue. A significant main effect of sex on RMS was observed (chl.sup.2(1) = 4.17, p = 0.04) when including AL as a covariate. Females displayed a significantly higher percentage change in AD RMS from NF to FT, compared to males (p = 0.03), when AL was included in the GEE. No sex differences in UT were observed. Conclusions This sex difference emerged when AL was included as a covariate, suggesting that sex-associated anthropometric differences may contribute to sex differences in the fatigue response. Differences in the impact of AL on AD compared to UT could be explained by differences in their respective mechanical roles or muscle fiber content. Anthropometrics may be useful to include as covariates in future research to separate individual anthropometric differences from sex differences. Keywords: Fatigue, Sex differences, Upper limb, Shoulder, Musculoskeletal disorders, Neck/shoulder, Repetitive work, Anthropometrics
Gender and Occupational Health Messing, Karen; Silverstein, Barbara A
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment ＆ Health,
03/2009, Letnik:
35, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Les problèmes de santé au travail des femmes diffèrent de ceux des hommes, du fait de la ségrégation des professions et des tâches assignées à l’intérieur de celles-ci, entre autres. Les risques ...qu’elles encourent étant moins visibles, les femmes peuvent hésiter à les rapporter, par crainte d’être perçues comme faibles et par souci de protéger leur accès à l’emploi. Cette situation, qui oppose la recherche de la santé à la visée de l’égalité, entrave leur avancement professionnel et entraine une sous-reconnaissance des lésions professionnelles. Nous présentons les enjeux révélés par une réforme du régime québécois, relative à la santé et la sécurité au travail, à l’aune de l’inclusion des « spécificités » du corps et du rôle social des femmes, et analysons certaines améliorations obtenues lors des débats parlementaires en 2020-2021 par une coalition de chercheuses, syndicats, organisations féministes et intervenantes en santé publique.
Ergonomists intervene to improve work for all workers and adapt jobs to a range of worker characteristics. But their mandate rarely includes explicit attention to the distribution of worker ...demographics, to divisions among workers, or to discrimination on the basis of sex/gender or racialisation. A decades-long collaboration between ergonomists and the women's committees of three union confederations in Québec, Canada led to several instances where ergonomists had to confront situations involving sexism or racism, not foreseen during their training. This article will explore four problematic situations and suggest solutions, including paying more attention to teamwork, considering gender during ergonomics training, and developing a code of practice for ergonomics interventions.
Practitioner summary: Workplace inequities related to sex/gender, racialisation and other sources of social inequity can affect job performance and workers' health. As such, do ergonomists need to consider them during an intervention? How? We analyse four situations encountered during interventions and suggest more attention to understanding workplace dynamics and promoting team function.
The University of Québec in Montréal has agreements with trade unions providing access to university resources. Researchers involved in this program worked in partnership with union women's and ...health and safety committees for more than twenty years. Not all studies succeeded in improving women's working conditions. One joint project involved observational studies of tasks done by health-care workers, complemented by interviews and questionnaires. We found that task assignments, movements, postures, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders varied by gender/sex and made recommendations for change. However, issues of pay equity, spending on health care, and contracting-out of "ancillary work" were salient. Researchers learned that in the absence of changes in power relationships in the workplace, women may be disadvantaged by denial as well as by exaggeration of female-male differences. Men may also be at risk when their gender is invisible. We suggest some feminist approaches to workplace solutions and some pathways for research.
Pain and Prejudice Messing, Karen
International journal of health services,
07/2016, Letnik:
46, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The meaning, feasibility, and importance of scientific objectivity have been debated among public health scientists. The debate is particularly relevant to occupational health, because of frequent ...opposition between employer and worker interests. This article suggests that the concept of standpoint (J. Eakin) may be more useful than that of objectivity in framing discussion of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Studies done from a “worker” standpoint can, for example, investigate and characterize environmental risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, while studies from an “employer” standpoint may concentrate on identifying individual workers likely to report work-related musculoskeletal disorders or those for whom consequences of work-related musculoskeletal disorders are more severe. Within “worker” standpoints, a distinction between “high-prestige worker” and “lower-prestige worker” standpoints can be identified in the current scientific debate about the health costs and benefits of prolonged standing vs prolonged sitting at work. Contact with workers, particularly lower-prestige workers, is critical to developing and sustaining a worker-based standpoint among researchers in occupational health. This contact can be facilitated by formal collaborations between universities and unions or other community groups.
The University of Québec in Montréal has agreements with trade unions providing access to university resources. Researchers involved in this program worked in partnership with union women’s and ...health and safety committees for more than twenty years. Not all studies succeeded in improving women’s working conditions. One joint project involved observational studies of tasks done by health-care workers, complemented by interviews and questionnaires. We found that task assignments, movements, postures, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders varied by gender/sex and made recommendations for change. However, issues of pay equity, spending on health care, and contracting-out of “ancillary work” were salient. Researchers learned that in the absence of changes in power relationships in the workplace, women may be disadvantaged by denial as well as by exaggeration of female–male differences. Men may also be at risk when their gender is invisible. We suggest some feminist approaches to workplace solutions and some pathways for research.
Résumé
L'Université du Québec à Montréal a signé avec des centrales syndicales des ententes leur donnant un accès à des ressources universitaires. Des chercheures ont travaillé en partenariat avec des comités syndicaux de condition des femmes et de santé-sécurité au travail pendant plus de 25 ans, mais ce ne sont pas toutes les études qui ont abouti à des améliorations. Un projet concernait des observations du travail d'employé.e.s du secteur de la santé, dont les tâches, mouvements, et postures variaient selon le genre/sexe. Nous avons recommandé des transformations, mais des enjeux d'équité salariale, de coûts et de sous-traitance y ont fait obstacle. Les chercheures ont appris qu'en l'absence de transformation des rapports de pouvoir au travail, le déni des différences hommes-femmes, autant que leur exagération, peut désavantager les travailleuses (et les travailleurs). Nous suggérons des approches féministes aux solutions pour le milieu de travail, ainsi que des pistes de recherche.
Historically, eldercare was usually furnished by unpaid women at home. Now that women are in paid work, much of this care is given by personal support workers (PSWs), who are usually female. With the ...massive introduction of management indicators in public organisations, a form of organisational silence has appeared : eldercare work remains invisible. To examine the precise mechanism involved in this invisibility, we observed the work of 37 PSWs in six Ontario residences and conducted interviews. Contrary to the way tasks are assigned, PSW work is often done collectively and documentation requirements are demanding ; consequently, documenting can conflict with direct health care. Because PSWs have insufficient time, they are sometimes forced to omit data indicating the challenges of their work. They thus enter a vicious circle where, unable to document their work, they lack resources and must omit even more documentation.
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