Occupational health and the computer-mediation of information work: research needs.
Authors
Sauter-SL; Hurrell-JJ Jr.
Source
Social, ergonomic and stress aspects of work with computers, proceedings of the Second International Conference on Human/Computer Interaction, August 10-14, 1987, Honolulu, Hawaii. Salvendy G, Sauter SL, Hurrell JJ Jr., eds. Oxford: Elsevier Science, 1987 Jan; 1:211-217
Abstract
Attention was drawn to some of the areas where knowledge has been lacking concerning health problems as they are related to work involving the use of video display terminals (VDTs). According to the authors, a particularly important issue in this work involves chronic somatic disorders, particularly cumulative trauma injuries. Also of interest are the changes in job content which have been necessitated by the growth of the information processing industry with their increased cognitive nature. While there have been studies which indicate that there is a relatively high rate of musculoskeletal complaints among VDT users, there have been relatively few studies of the pathology of these complaints. Classifications of rheumatic disorders, including chronic pain syndromes, tend to be broad with little specific information linking them to certain aspects of computer work. Case control type studies which involve injured or symptomatic workers are lacking in this field. Neither have there been controlled, prospective studies performed of the effects of ergonomic interventions in an actual workplace where VDTs are used. Work is also needed in the area of control technology evaluations for information processing tasks. The role of worker control of his job and the effect of cognitive demands measured by standard psychometric indices have yet to be investigated. The authors suggest that prospective intervention studies be carried out in actual work settings.
Keywords
Office-workers; Computer-equipment; Job-stress; Physiological-stress; Psychological-factors; Workplace-studies; Ergonomics; Human-factors-engineering; Video-display-terminals; Cumulative-trauma-disorders
Document Type
Conference/Symposia Proceedings
Editors
Salvendy-G; Sauter-SL; Hurrell-JJ Jr.
Source Name
Social, ergonomic and stress aspects of work with computers, proceedings of the Second International Conference on Human/Computer Interaction, August 10-14, 1987, Honolulu, Hawaii
