La observación como componente y método de evaluación en la formación para la prevención de riesgos y la promoción de la salud en el sector industrial

Abstract

Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of training methods focused on manual material handling (MMH). Nevertheless, evidence shows that most training methods that use MMH do not effectively reduce pain nor prevent back injuries. This is mainly due to the low quality of the studies, the absence of multidimensional interventions based on theories of behavior change, and the use of methods in which the worker has a passive role during training. Furthermore, most studies have analyzed the effect of MMH training on impact variables such as the decrease of musculoskeletal disorders or number of medical leaves. On the other hand, they do not analyze the effect of intermediate variables like acquired knowledge and behavior. In this context, the project SsObserWork is started under the direction of the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona. Its objectives are the development, implementation and evaluation of training methods based on risk prevention and health promotion to foster the worker’s role as an active agent. The SsObserWork project comprises three phases; this PhD thesis focuses on its second phase, and its two main objectives, structured around two studies, are: a) To develop an ad hoc observational tool for MMH trainings methods and evaluate their reliability; and b) To evaluate systematic self-observation, hetero-observational feedback, and intrinsic feedback as main components of an MMH training method, and their effect on the worker’s knowledge and behavior. Overall, these studies have adopted a perspective of methodological complementarity. The first study is multidimensional, intensive, based on the nomothetic observational design, and has follow-up sessions. It had 51 participants; and, regarding the analysis of data quality, it calculated agreement indices for timed-event sequential data with GSEQ 5.1. The second study was based on the same observational method. The sample was comprised of 61 company workers of the industrial sector put into two groups randomly. Both groups went to two session with a follow-up period of three weeks between sessions. Among the tools used in the evaluation, the ad hoc MMH observational instrument stands out for the evaluation of behavior change. Knowledge change was evaluated with a version of the same instrument. The analysis was based on statistical contrast between the hypotheses and it was complemented by a temporal pattern analysis. The first study focused on the inter-observer reliability analysis of the ad hoc MMH observational instrument, which was shown to be a reliable tool to describe the adopted positions during the MMH training. A version of this instrument can be adequate for self-observation. The results of the second study show that workers who received systematic self-observation, hetero-observational feedback, and intrinsic feedback significantly improve their MMH knowledge and behavior, mainly about back postures, in comparison to workers who received standard training.

Date of Award	14 Sept 2017
Original language	Spanish
Supervisor	Mariona Portell Vidal (Director) & Rui Manuel Garganta da Silva (Director)