[Carrying out digital work situation analyses for mobile flexible work to ascertain the consequences of mental stress]. / Durchführung von digitalen Arbeitssituationsanalysen für die mobil-flexible Arbeit zur Erhebung von psychischen Belastungsfolgen: Befragung von Mitarbeiter*innen einer öffentlichen Verwaltung zu Homeoffice ­ Erfahrungen während der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie.

Background: In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, work in many companies was relocated to the home and the work situation of the employees changed suddenly and within a short period of time. In order to identify possible stressors and to expand health resources, a multifactorial analysis of the work situation is necessary. Objective: The goal of this work was to provide an in-depth analysis in the area of occupational health management even in times of contact restrictions. With the help of digital work situation analysis (ASITA) both stressors and strengths of the home office activity in a public administration were identified and recommendations for appropriate action were derived. Material and methods: Using digital ASITAs, 3 groups (in total 16 employees) were asked about their work situation and conditions at home. Employees who worked at least 2 days per week from home during the last 12 weeks before the survey were included in the studies. Results: Working from home places new demands on employees, which in turn lead to both positive and negative consequences. An example of a positive change can be seen with respect to the work organization. Employees reported many advantages, such as the reduction of time commuting to work, and better time management. An example of a negative outcome can be seen in terms of communication in the company, where clear structures are lacking for working in the home office. Discussion: Digital work situation analysis can be an instrumental tool to examine health burdens and benefits, even in companies with mobile flexible work models. As shown by the pandemic, a change in the work situation within companies requires a continuous process of reflection, a process in which the health of the employees must be an essential part.

Between-day test-retest reliability of gait variability in older individuals improves with a familiarization trial.

Gait variability is an important measure in clinical settings to diagnose older individuals with fall risk. This study examines whether a familiarization trial improves test-retest reliability of gait variability. Twenty-two older participants walked twice at 1 day and twice 7 days later. The standard deviations of stride length, swing time, stance time, stride time and minimum foot clearance were calculated. The test-retest reliability of (1) between-day comparison of the first trials and (2) between-day comparison of the second trials of all gait variability measures was quantified with the intraclass-correlation coefficient (ICC), the smallest detectable differences (SDD) and the bias and the limits of agreement (LoA). The between-day comparison of the second trials per day showed higher ICC values, lower LoA values and lower SDD values in all analyzed parameters. Our data suggest that the reliability of gait variability in an older population can be considerably improved just with the aid of one familiarization trial.

The reliability of local dynamic stability in walking while texting and performing an arithmetical problem.

In the recent years, local dynamic stability of walking was frequently used to quantify motor control. Particularly, dual-task paradigms are used to assess a shift in gait control strategy to test walking in real life situations. Texting short messages while walking is a common motor-cognitive dual task of daily living. To able to monitor possible intervention effects on motor-cognitive dual-task performance, the test-retest reliability of the measure has to be evaluated. Since the reliability of the effects of cognitive tasks including texting while walking on local dynamic gait stability has not been assessed yet, this will be evaluated in the current study. Eleven young individuals were included. Gait data was registered twice (test-retest interval: seven days) using an inertial sensor fixed on the subjects' trunks in three conditions: normal walking, walking while texting a message and walking while reciting serials of 7. Short-term finite maximum Lyapunov Exponents were quantified to assess local dynamic stability. The test-retest reliability was calculated using intra-class correlation coefficients and Bland and Altman Plots (bias and limits of agreement). ICC values of the current study show that in normal walking and walking while texting, outcomes are comparable and indicate mostly good to excellent reliability. The reliability values were almost always the lowest in walking while reciting serials of 7. Local dynamic stability derived from kinematic data of walking while cell phone texting can be reliably collected and, in turn, be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials with repeated measures design.

Gait Variability in Chronic Back Pain Sufferers With Experimentally Diminished Visual Feedback: A Pilot Study.

Increased gait variability is common in chronic low back pain patients, which is a sign of their diminished proprioceptive feedback. When proprioceptive information is reduced, vision partly takes over the role of proprioception. Therefore, a loss of visual feedback would have a more negative effect in individuals with diminished proprioception. To test this hypothesis, 14 healthy individuals and 14 chronic low back pain patients walked with and without impairment goggles manipulating visual feedback. The variability of stride time, stride length, and minimum foot clearance was evaluated. The authors observed an interaction effect regarding minimum foot clearance variability indicating that pain patients showed higher gait variability with manipulated visual feedback. Reduced vision may cause exceeded tripping risk in individuals with diminished proprioception.