Ratings of Hand Activity and Force Levels among Women and Men Who Perform Identical Hand-Intensive Work Tasks.

We compared hand activity and force ratings in women and men doing identical hand-intensive work tasks. Musculoskeletal disorders are more common in women and hand-intensive work leads to an increased risk of these disorders. Knowledge of the gender influence in the rating of work exposure is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether women and men performing identical hand-intensive work tasks were equally rated using hand activity and normalized peak force levels with the Hand Activity Threshold Limit Value®. Fifty-six workers participated, comprising 28 women-men pairs. Four observers-two woman-man pairs-were also involved. Self-ratings and observers' ratings of hand activity and force level were collected. The results of these ratings showed no significant gender differences in self-rated hand activity and force, as well as observer-rated hand activity. However, there was a significant gender difference in the observer-rated force, where the women were rated higher (mean (SD): women 3.9 (2.7), men 3.1 (1.8) (p = 0.01)). This difference remained significant in the adjusted model (p = 0.04) with grip strength and forearm-finger anthropometrics. The results provide new insights that observers' estimates of force can be higher in women compared with men in the same work tasks. Force should be further investigated and preferably compared to objective measurements.

Task-unrelated thought increases after consumption of COVID-19 and general news.

Task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) are frequent distractions from our everyday tasks, which can reduce productivity and safety during task performance. This necessitates the examination of factors that modulate TUT occurrence in daily life. One factor that has previously been implicated as a source of TUT is personally salient concerns. External factors such as news media serve as cues for these concerns, potentially increasing TUT occurrence. However, this has not been thoroughly examined in everyday life settings. We thus utilized Ecological Momentary Assessment to survey participants throughout the day for ten days, on their TUTs and news consumption in two separate studies. Study 1 focused on the impact of news related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as a common and global concern. We found that TUT occurrence was significantly predicted by COVID-19 news consumption, such that TUT occurrence increased with COVID-19 news consumption. To extend these findings, we implemented Study 2 using similar methods, but focusing on the consumption of news media in general. TUT occurrence was predicted by general news consumption, with an increase in reports of TUT following consumption of news media in general. We thus extended the association found between TUT and COVID-19-related news in Study 1, to any news topic in Study 2. We speculate that the increase in TUTs was due to heightened salience of current concerns, cued by the news. These findings highlight the importance of considering when we choose to consume news media and the value of examining contextual factors when studying TUTs in daily life.

The Coronavirus Footprint on Dual-Task Performance in Post-Acute Patients after Severe COVID-19: A Future Challenge for Rehabilitation.

Recent studies suggest that also the non-critical form of COVID-19 infection may be associated with executive function impairments. However, it is not clear if they result from cognitive impairments or by COVID-19 infection per se. We aimed to investigate if patients in the post-acute stage of severe COVID-19 (PwCOVID), without manifest cognitive deficits, reveal impairments in performing dual-task (DT) activities compared to healthy controls (HS). We assessed balance in 31 PwCOVID vs. 30 age-matched HS by stabilometry and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test with/without a cognitive DT. The DT cost (DTC), TUG test time and sway oscillations were recorded; correct cognitive responses (CCR) were calculated to evaluate cognitive performance. Results show a significant difference in overall DT performance between PwCOVID and HS in both stabilometry (p < 0.01) and the TUG test (p < 0.0005), although with similar DTCs. The main difference in the DTs between groups emerged in the CCR (effect size > 0.8). Substantially, PwCOVID gave priority to the motor task, leaving out the cognitive one, while HS performed both tasks simultaneously. Our findings suggest that PwCOVID, even without a manifest cognitive impairment, may present a deficit in executive function during DTs. These results encourage the use of DTs and CCR in PwCOVID.

Work Stress, Health Status and Presenteeism in Relation to Task Performance Among Chinese Medical Staff During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the direct effects of work stress, health status and presenteeism on task performance, and further explore the mediating effects of health status and presenteeism, hoping to provide theoretical basis for improving the performance of medical staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical staff in Jilin Province, Northeast China. The Challenge and Hindrance-Related Self-Reported Stress scale, Short Form-8 Health Survey scale, Stanford Presenteeism Scale and Task Performance Scale were adopted to assess the work stress, health status, presenteeism and task performance of medical staff. Results: A total of 4,347 questionnaires were distributed among medical staff, and 4261 were valid, for an effective rate of 98.02%. The mean scores for work stress, health status, presenteeism and task performance were 2.05 ± 0.84, 4.18 ± 0.68, 2.15 ± 0.79 and 4.49 ± 0.64, respectively. The ANOVA results showed that there were significant differences in the task performance scores between different genders, ages, marital statuses, professional titles, departments and work years (P < 0.05). Work stress (ß = -0.136, P < 0.001) and presenteeism (ß = -0.171, P < 0.001) were negative predictors of task performance. Health status (ß = 0.10; P < 0.001) was positive predictor of task performance. Health status (ß = -0.070; P < -0.001) and presenteeism (ß = -0.064; P < 0.001) mediated the relationship between work stress and task performance (P < 0.001). Presenteeism mediated the relationship between health status and task performance (ß = 0.07; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Work stress and presenteeism had significant negative impact on the task performance of medical staff; health status had a significant positive effect on task performance. Meanwhile, health status and presenteeism played a mediating role in the relationship between work stress and task performance, and presenteeism played a mediating role in the relationship between health status and task performance. Reasonable assignment of tasks can reduce the work stress, but to improve the performance of medical staff, we should pay more attention on improving health, such as making health-related safeguard measures, raising awareness, building a platform, etc.

How to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on laparoendoscopic single-site surgery training?

BACKGROUND: Because of special technical challenges, laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) has been introduced into surgical practice, with surgeons required to have adequate training. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected every aspect of healthcare systems, including LESS training, which must be modified to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A 3-session training programme was designed in 2020 during the epidemic, which was modified in 2019 before the pandemic. Session 1 was an online study on LESS knowledge. Session 2 involved the trainees' self-directed simulator-training. Task performance was evaluated using the fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) scoring. Session 3 was practical training, including trainers' live surgical video demonstrations and trainees' surgical video feedback after training. Video feedback performance was evaluated using the modified global rating scale (GRS). Furthermore, trainees completed a general self-efficacy (GSE) instrument. Forty-two gynaecology trainees were allocated into two groups: novices (n = 32) and experts (n = 10). RESULTS: Compared with pre-training, FLS scores improved in peg transfer (P < 0.001 and P = 0.01) and pattern cutting (P = 0.02 and P < 0.001) for novices and experts, respectively. Participants (81% versus 67%) provided first and second video feedback, respectively. Compared to the first feedback, the GRS scores of both groups improved significantly in the second feedback. All trainees showed an increase in GSE after training (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The modified LESS training programme is a practical and effective option that allows trainees to continue training during the epidemic.

The effects of contracting Covid-19 on cognitive failures at work: implications for task performance and turnover intentions.

Individuals who contract Covid-19 often experience problems with memory, attention, and concentration, even after recovering from the initial illness. In the current manuscript, we argue that these symptoms are likely to manifest as cognitive failures in the workplace. Downstream, cognitive failures were expected to be associated with decreased task performance and increased turnover intentions. We collected data from a sample of working adults who either had (n = 45) or had not (n = 49) contracted Covid-19 at least one month prior to the study. Both groups were matched on key demographic characteristics. As anticipated, individuals who had contracted Covid-19 reported significantly more cognitive failures at work, relative to individuals who did not. More so, having contracted Covid-19 had significant indirect effects on task performance and turnover intentions via cognitive failure. These results indicate that beyond physical harm, Covid-19 can also have a detrimental influence on an individual's capacity to perform at work.

The Impact of Protective Gloves on Manual Dexterity in Cold Environments-A Pilot Study.

Our research aimed to determine the impact of two types of protective gloves. The research tested the glove performance on men exposed to a range of temperatures reflecting the working conditions in fruit and vegetable processing. The gloves were assessed for performance within the time required to complete a specific manual task and for performance relative to the subjective thermal sensations in the male subjects. Six males participated in a total of 3 study variants: at +5 °C (with double gloves and single glove), at -1 °C (with double gloves and single glove) and in reference conditions +20 °C (without gloves), in which they performed manual tasks. The measurement of manual task performance time was used to assess manual dexterity. Subjective thermal sensations were determined. Differences in the time required to complete specific tasks were observed between the variants with gloves (both at a temperature of +5 °C and -1 °C), and without gloves (p < 0.05). The type of protective gloves had an impact on the time needed to complete manual tasks and therefore may affect manual dexterity.

Patients Surviving Critical COVID-19 have Impairments in Dual-task Performance Related to Post-intensive Care Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to examine Dual Task (DT) performance in patients surviving severe and critical COVID-19 compared to patients with chronic lung disease (CLD). Secondarily, we aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test in patients surviving COVID-19. DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional, observational study. SETTING: Academic medical center within United States. PATIENTS: Ninety-two patients including 36 survivors of critical COVID-19 that required mechanical ventilation (critical-COVID), 20 patients recovering from COVID-19 that required supplemental oxygen with hospitalization (severe-COVID), and 36 patients with CLD serving as a control group. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients completed the TUG, DT-TUG, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) 1-month after hospital discharge. A subset of patients returned at 3-months and repeated testing to determine the minimal detectable change (MDC). Critical-COVID group (16.8 ± 7.3) performed the DT-TUG in significantly slower than CLD group (13.9 ± 4.8 s; P = .024) and Severe-COVID group (13.1 ± 5.1 s; P = .025). Within-subject difference between TUG and DT-TUG was also significantly worse in critical-COVID group (-21%) compared to CLD (-10%; P = .012), even despite CLD patients having a higher comorbid burden (P < .003) and older age (P < .001). TUG and DT-TUG demonstrated strong to excellent construct validity to the chair rise test, gait speed, and 6MWT for both COVID-19 groups (r = -0.84to 0.73, P < .05). One- and 3-months after hospital discharge there was a floor effect of 14% (n = 5/36) and 5.2% (n = 1/19), respectively for patients in the critical-COVID group. Ceiling effects were noted in four (11%) critical-COVID, six (30%) severe-COVID patients for the TUG and DT-TUG at 1-month. CONCLUSION: The ability to maintain mobility performance in the presence of a cognitive DT is grossly impaired in patients surviving critical COVID-19. DT performance may subserve the understanding of impairments related to Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) for survivors of critical illness.

Comparable performance on a spatial memory task in data collected in the lab and online.

Online data collection offers a wide range of benefits including access to larger and more diverse populations, together with a reduction in the experiment cycle. Here we compare performance in a spatial memory task, in which participants had to estimate object locations following viewpoint shifts, using data from a controlled lab-based setting and from an unsupervised online sample. We found that the data collected in a conventional laboratory setting and those collected online produced very similar results, although the online data was more variable with standard errors being about 10% larger than those of the data collected in the lab. Overall, our findings suggest that spatial memory studies using static images can be successfully carried out online with unsupervised samples. However, given the higher variability of the online data, it is recommended that the online sample size is increased to achieve similar standard errors to those obtained in the lab. For the current study and data processing procedures, this would require an online sample 25% larger than the lab sample.

Social Robots for Evaluating Attention State in Older Adults.

Sustained attention is essential for older adults to maintain an active lifestyle, and the deficiency of this function is often associated with health-related risks such as falling and frailty. The present study examined whether the well-established age-effect on reducing mind-wandering, the drift to internal thoughts that are seen to be detrimental to attentional control, could be replicated by using a robotic experimenter for older adults who are not as familiar with online technologies. A total of 28 younger and 22 older adults performed a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) by answering thought probes regarding their attention states and providing confidence ratings for their own task performances. The indices from the modified SART suggested a well-documented conservative response strategy endorsed by older adults, which were represented by slower responses and increased omission errors. Moreover, the slower responses and increased omissions were found to be associated with less self-reported mind-wandering, thus showing consistency with their higher subjective ratings of attentional control. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of constructing age-related cognitive profiles with attention evaluation instruction based on a social companion robot for older adults at home.

Emotional impact, task performance and task load of green walls exposure in a virtual environment.

As the time spent indoors increases significantly due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, creating an indoor environment to promote the health of occupants has become critical. Although green walls efficiently realize a healthy indoor environment, few studies have analyzed their impact on occupants based on the visual element of green walls. This study measures the emotional impact, task performance, and task load of the subjects according to four virtual experiments (a non-green wall, a freestanding green wall, two freestanding green walls, and a full-sized green wall). The results of the four experiments are as follows: (i) The visual elements of the green wall had an emotional impact on the occupants, which was verified through the Friedman test; (ii) the effect of the visual elements of the green wall on the task performance of the occupants was not verified by the one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA); and (iii) the task load of the occupants influenced their task performance, which was verified by the repeated-measures ANOVA. This study can help determine the optimal type and area of green walls by considering their impact on the occupants as well as on the economic and constructional aspects of the indoor space.

The Influence of Internal Marketing and Job Satisfaction on Task Performance and Counterproductive Work Behavior in an Emerging Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To reduce the spread of the virus, authorities have imposed restrictive measures, such as limiting movement of individuals, shutting down non-essential stores, imposing a general or local quarantine, along with physical distancing and isolation of vulnerable people. Remote working has become the 'new normal' for many organizations, engendering further challenges for employees, who have started experiencing anxiety, technostress caused by digitalization and lack of social interaction, frustration, occupational burden, counterproductive work behavior, exhaustion, burnout, depersonalization, and increased turnover intention. All these factors, corroborated by prolonged restrictions, have contributed to a decrease in employee satisfaction, diminishing performance and generating a counterproductive behavior. Based on Social Exchange Theory, this research plans to investigate the influence of internal marketing on job satisfaction, task performance, and counterproductive work behavior in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in an emerging market, namely Romania. Based on a quantitative research study among 850 employees, we show that internal marketing strongly and significantly impacts job satisfaction, while insignificantly impacting task performance and counterproductive work behavior. Job satisfaction actuates task performance in a significant and positive manner, contributing to a reduction in counterproductive work behaviors. This paper highlights the effects of internal marketing orientation on job satisfaction, and the effects of job satisfaction on job performance and counterproductive work behaviors.

Protect the nurse, protect the practice: Effective communication is the foundation for keeping nurses safe.

Every year around Nurses Week, Dr. Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer for Vocera Communications, publishes a report examining important issues that impact the nursing profession worldwide. Her 2021 CNO report examines how the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the realities of the nursing profession and how the lack of resources, infrastructure, and policies impact nurses' work and lives. Dr. Collins addresses the toll of mental, emotional, and physical fatigue and outlines steps to help leaders create environments that protect the well-being of nurses and their patients. Dr. Collins closes the report by asking nurses to participate in a study to measure the mental, emotional, and physical burden nurses experience during communication. The study will use the NASA Task Load Index, a tool that has been used to measure the task load of workers in high-intensity jobs, such as pilots and air traffic controllers. The objective is to gain insight and a body of knowledge toward reducing nurses' cognitive burden going forward.

Shifts in broadband power and alpha peak frequency observed during long-term isolation.

Prolonged periods of social isolation and spatial confinement do not only represent an issue that needs to be faced by a few astronauts during space missions, but can affect all of us as recently shown during pandemic situations. The fundamental question, how the brain adapts to periods of sensory deprivation and re-adapts to normality, has only received little attention. Here, we use eyes closed and eyes open resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to investigate how neural activity is altered during 120 days of isolation in a spatially confined, space-analogue environment. After disentangling oscillatory patterns from 1/f activity, we show that isolation leads to a reduction in broadband power and a flattening of the 1/f spectral slope. Beyond that, we observed a reduction in alpha peak frequency during isolation, but did not find strong evidence for isolation-induced changes that are of oscillatory nature. Critically, all effects reversed upon release from isolation. These findings suggest that isolation and concomitant sensory deprivation lead to an enhanced cortical deactivation which might be explained by a reduction in the mean neuronal population firing rate.

General Practitioners' Experiences During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Critical Incident Technique Study.

Since February 2020, when coronavirus disease began to spread in Italy, general practitioners (GPs) were called to manage a growing number of health situations. The challenges experienced by Italian GPs remained unrevealed. This study aimed at exploring Italian GPs' care experiences and practices associated with critical incidents during the first wave of the pandemic. A qualitative study design involving the critical incident technique through an online survey was applied. Sociodemographic data and open-ended responses were collected. While participants' characteristics were analyzed through descriptive statistics, qualitative data were thematically analyzed employing the framework method. 149 GPs responded to the survey and 99 participants completed the survey (dropout rate = 33%). Eight themes emerged indicating factors related to the organization of the healthcare system and factors related to the clinical management of patients, that were perceived as impacting on the GPs' care provision. The analysis revealed difficulties in communicating with other local services. This, together with the lack of coordination among services, was reported as a major challenge. Primary care was perceived as having been undervalued and criticalities in the organization of GP courses, led in a bureaucratic fashion, posed at risk some trainees to be infected. The digital technologies adopted for remote patient consultations were seen as useful tools for daily practice helping the GPs to stay emotionally connected with their patients. Besides, the improvement in the GP-patient relationship in terms of solidarity between patients and doctors and compliance to rules, had a positive impact. Moreover, many respondents addressed the importance of professional collaboration and teamwork, in terms of both support in practical issues (to find PPE, diagnostics and guidelines) and emotional support. At the same time, the lack of resources (e.g., PPE, swabs) and of specific guidelines and protocols impacted on the care provision. Our findings suggest that GPs in Italy are at risk of being left behind within the epidemic management. Communication and coordination among services are essential and should be substantially improved, and primary care research should be initiated to collect the context-specific evidence necessary to enhance the system's preparedness to public health emergencies and the quality of primary care services.

Measurement of clinical documentation burden among physicians and nurses using electronic health records: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: . OBJECTIVE: Electronic health records (EHRs) are linked with documentation burden resulting in clinician burnout. While clear classifications and validated measures of burnout exist, documentation burden remains ill-defined and inconsistently measured. We aim to conduct a scoping review focused on identifying approaches to documentation burden measurement and their characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews (ScR) guidelines, we conducted a scoping review assessing MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL from inception to April 2020 for studies investigating documentation burden among physicians and nurses in ambulatory or inpatient settings. Two reviewers evaluated each potentially relevant study for inclusion/exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Of the 3482 articles retrieved, 35 studies met inclusion criteria. We identified 15 measurement characteristics, including 7 effort constructs: EHR usage and workload, clinical documentation/review, EHR work after hours and remotely, administrative tasks, cognitively cumbersome work, fragmentation of workflow, and patient interaction. We uncovered 4 time constructs: average time, proportion of time, timeliness of completion, activity rate, and 11 units of analysis. Only 45.0% of studies assessed the impact of EHRs on clinicians and/or patients and 40.0% mentioned clinician burnout. DISCUSSION: Standard and validated measures of documentation burden are lacking. While time and effort were the core concepts measured, there appears to be no consensus on the best approach nor degree of rigor to study documentation burden. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to reliably operationalize the concept of documentation burden, explore best practices for measurement, and standardize its use.

Cognitive load and performance of health care professionals in donning and doffing PPE before and after a simulation-based educational intervention and its implications during the COVID-19 pandemic for biosafety.

INTRODUCTION: The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential to avoid the COVID-19 spread to health care workers. Its use can be difficult, posing a high risk of contamination, mainly during doffing, then with the risk of becoming infected. METHODS: We conducted a prospective before-and-after design that used clinical simulation as a research methodology in a clinical simulation center of Colombia. A simulation-based educational intervention with two cases related to COVID-19 was proposed in the emergency room and the intensive care unit. We conducted A workshop for donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and a debriefing after the first case. RESULTS: In the pre-test, 100% of participants failed donning and doffing PPE, 98.4% were contaminated, only one-person did not contaminate out of. The mean cognitive load was high (7.43±0.9 points). In the post-test, 100% were successful in donning the PPE and 94.8% in doffing; only 9.8% were contaminated. The mean of the cognitive load was low (4.1±1.4 points), and the performance was high (7.9±1.1). Of the total, 73.8% of participants reported overload in the doffing. The most difficulties were in gown/overall, and N95 mask removal. DISCUSSION: The PPE donning and doffing is critical and may be changed significantly by active training. In responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, activities of training in donning and doffing PPE would provide a means of training personnel, reducing the cognitive load and maybe the risk of contamination and infection of health care workers.