From dining room to lunch box: Ergonomic loads in distribution of individually portioned warm food During the last years in Sweden, distribution of warm food have been a service more commonly offered, then other forms of help, by the society to old people living at home who can't prepare their own food anymore. Organisations for this type of distribution have been built up in several Swedish municipalities. In the municipality where the present study took place, the food distributors were workin

This volume of Arbete och Hälsa (Work and Health) is a result of a workshop held in Brussels in September 2000. The workshop was one out of about 70 workshops that preceded the European Union Presidency Conference Work Life 2000 , that took place in Malmö in southern Sweden 22-25 January 2001. The about 70 workshops covered virtually every aspect of modern working life within the following categories: labour market, working environment, work organisation, information society, diversity in work...

The present case-study, which is rather small in number of subjects but has a broad perspective, is part of a larger investigation designed to initiate development processes in working life in one specific region in Sweden. This study may serve as an example of ergonomic fieldwork with a gender perspective. Aim: The overall aim was to examine the physical and psychosocial working conditions among a group of female hot food distributors, and to relate these conditions to other traditionally heavy work within the same working unit, as well as to suggest improvements. Method: The study group consisted of ten female municipal employees in a provincial town. Structured interviews about the psychosocial working conditions, measurements of heart rate, ratings of self-reported perceived exertion and observations of one working day were performed. Results: The overall impression from the study was that the food distributors in several aspects had a very difficult working situation that ought to be improved. The food distributors reported high psychological demands and low decision latitude, time pressure and dissatisfaction with not being able to live up to the pensioners' and the employer's expectations. They also had a high heart rate increase during work, which may be a risk factor for impaired health. Several short-term and long-term solutions were suggested to reduce and redistribute the total work-load. Discussion: The employer has attended to some suggested short-term solutions and the follow-up study showed that the working conditions had been improved. A reduction of cardiovascular load, as well as self-rated physical exertion, was noted and the work was perceived as substantially less stressful

OBJECTIVE: To compare health and exposures at work and at home of women and men with the same educational background. METHODS: The study group consisted of 3831 individuals, grouped into three educational categories based on length of education. Category 1, which represents 9-year compulsory school; Category 2, which includes 3-year upper secondary school, i.e. in total 12 years of education; and Category 3, which includes post-secondary school, such as university. They responded to a questionnaire that included questions on health and exposures at work and at home. RESULTS: Significant differences were shown in health outcomes between women and men with the same educational background and also in exposures in their professional and private lives. Associations between educational background and health were found and analyses revealed that men with a university education run the lowest risk of developing ill health. CONCLUSION: Women with the same educational background as men are differently exposed, both in paid and unpaid work, due to the segregated labour market and the unequal distribution of domestic duties. Men in all educational categories studied had better health compared to women with the same educational background.

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe and compare self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms, work exposure, lifestyle factors and leisure activities among low- and highly-educated women and men. A questionnaire was sent to 10,000 persons of working age living in one region of Sweden. The results showed that fewer highly-educated men reported musculoskeletal symptoms in all body parts examined compared to lower educated men and all women. Work exposure, lifestyle factors and leisure activities differed greatly between the genders and between women and men with different educational backgrounds. Low-educated women were most physically exposed and had least control at work. Highly-educated men were least exposed to most of the examined work exposures. Lifestyle factors, in the sense of smoking and exercise habits, were more associated with educational category than with gender. However, time spent on home and household work was more specifically related to gender.

Work environment improvements and effects a literature review This report addresses the question 'Do work-environment improvements have any effects?' The aim was to produce a summary of knowledge that includes the methodological problems of measuring and evaluating effects, as well as literature reviews of effects from work environment improvement efforts on musculoskeletal health, health promotion, and economy. Results show that published literature reviews do not give unambiguous support for

Musculoskeletal disorders constitute a considerable public health problem, often resulting in sickness absence, particularly in public sector employees. Increased knowledge on how this is related to individual and work-related factors is required. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between self-reported musculoskeletal pain and the following factors: physical and psychosocial work conditions, lifestyle, psychosomatic symptoms and sick leave. A comprehensive questionnaire was completed by a total of 2523 people, of which 87% were women and 13% men. The participants were employed in public hospitals, educational institutions, home care services for the elderly and domestic/catering services in a Swedish county. The response rate was 92%. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the high level of self-reported musculoskeletal pain was highly associated with strenuous physical and psychosocial work conditions. The physical factor with the highest odds ratio (OR) was working in a forward-bent position. High work demands was the most prominent psychosocial factor and distinctly associated with musculoskeletal pain among men. Physical work strain and other demanding working conditions, which were associated with musculoskeletal pain, were frequent among employees in home care services for the elderly and domestic/catering services. There was a strong association between long-term sick leave and high musculoskeletal pain. Furthermore, there was a strong association between a high level of musculoskeletal pain and the exhibition of psychosomatic symptoms in both women and men; this is an interaction that may intensify the total experience of illness and thus needs to be further investigated.

Objectives The main aim of this study was to explore the associations between appraised leadership styles, psychosocial work factors and musculoskeletal pain among subordinates in four different public service sectors from an epidemiological perspective. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted; data from 2,403 public sector employees in subordinate positions (86% women) were analysed. The appraised leadership styles were measured through items from a modified version of the CPE questionnaire (C change, P production/structure, E employee/relation). The structure validity of the CPE-model was examined by principal component analysis (PCA). Univariate and multivariate analyses of associations between levels of musculoskeletal pain and appraised leadership styles and with psychosocial work factors were conducted. Odds ratios (ORs) with confidence intervals (CIs) of 95% were used as a measure of associations. Results There were small variations in the appraisals of the immediate manager among the subordinates. However, the associations between musculoskeletal pain and leadership styles varied according to sector. Poor appraisals (low scores) on "change" and "employee relation" dimensions were associated with high levels of musculoskeletal pain in two sectors: home and health care services. In the domestic catering services, poor appraisals of managers in the "production/structure" dimension had the strongest association with high levels of pain. In general, poor appraisals of the "change" dimension was most strongly associated with high levels of musculoskeletal pain. "High work demands" had the strongest association with high levels of pain, particularly among the men. Conclusions Poor appraisals of managers and their leadership styles were associated with high levels of musculoskeletal pain among both female and male subordinates in different public service sectors. There is therefore a great need of further studies of the mechanisms behind the relationships between the leadership styles and their impact on health among the genders

The objective of the study was to develop a multivariate approach to occupational health studies that is: capable of identifying groups with similar working conditions; relevant for studies of associations between working and living conditions and health; and an appropriate basis for preventive actions. Data at the individual level were obtained through measurements, observations, interviews and questionnaires, and at the organizational level, through interviews with managers. Cluster analyses were applied with the purpose of identifying groups of individuals with small, within-group differences. Eighty work sites and a sample of employees at each site were strategically selected. The study group comprised 203 men and women, and was characterized by large variation. The final analysis produced eight clusters of individuals, denoted according to their best-defining characteristic, i.e. 'decent', 'boundary-less', 'locked', 'exposed', 'heavy and monotonous', 'changed', 'mobile' and 'restrained'. The clusters differed with regard to 'what' characterized working conditions, 'where' on the labour market they were found, and 'who' clustered in these groups. The holistic approach revealed conditions that were important for health and had higher explanatory power in relation to ill-health than applying socio-economic groupings or the demand-control-support model. It showed how psychosocial, ergonomic-physical and occupational hygiene factors combine and interact to create settings with different risks of ill-health. The chosen strategy is recommended for future occupational health studies and is particularly suitable as guidance for preventive actions relevant to specific clusters of working and living conditions.

How can gender differences in work and living conditions be understood? Aspects on methods and strategies in research and a summary of the results of the MOA-project from a gender perspective To investigate and compare women's and men's work and living conditions is not an easy task. This is, among other things, due to the fact that gender research is an area where many different theories and models of explanations are claimed. Sometimes there are great differences both in ideology and scientifi

Development, specification and evaluation of a work table, suitable for VDU work with a mouse, was carried out in collaboration with furniture manufacturers, employees and an employer in a Research and Development Company. Ten VDU-operators expressed their ideas for improvements at their present workstations and the company and the researchers made a preliminary version of workstation specification to the furniture manufacturers. The three different furniture manufacturers set up four test stations with prototype tables, which were evaluated by 39 subjects using comfort ratings. The results of the comfort ratings and comments from the subjects were used when the final specification for new workstations was made. Three new work tables were evaluated in the ten selected operators' ordinary environment. Evaluations were made by technical recordings of physical load during work and by preference studies. The most important results from the evaluation can be summarized as follows: the work table should make it possible to support the arms, make it possible to vary between sitting and standing posture and prevent extreme outward rotation of the shoulder. Furthermore, the study showed that it is possible to improve the furniture manufacturers' knowledge and attitudes regarding how to minimize musculoskeletal disorders and to improve the study persons' working technique