Evaluation of an Ergonomically Improved Apple Bag

产品说明：这项研究的广泛，长期的目标是通过开发苹果收获设备的人体工程学改进来提高东北地区农民工和季节性农场工人的健康和安全。 在这个广泛的目标范围内，该研究的具体目标是确定并严格测试采摘袋的改进，旨在减少与收获苹果的高强度工作相关的背部，颈部和肩部的紧张。 本研究旨在：A.开发并初步评估对苹果收获袋进行的三种人体工程学改进，并选择上级改进用于B，这是一项完全随机的果园试验，测量自我报告的背部、颈部和肩部疼痛和劳损结果。 A部分将涉及在实验室志愿者和果园中与苹果收获志愿者一起使用表面肌电图、力敏电阻和计算的下背部压缩力。 此外，工人将对每种人体工程学干预措施的主观可接受性进行评级。在研究的B部分中，将选择工人可接受性评级高且在负载降低方面表现出优效性的袋设计进行进一步评价。部分B将包括一个果园为基础的，随机的，安慰剂对照的调查146纽约果园工人在收获。待分析的结局将是至首次疼痛的时间（生存分析）和总无疼痛工作时间（线性回归建模）。 在研究的第一年，将在小规模试点中开发和测试用于该对照试验的适当方法，该试验将比较所有三种潜在的干预设计与传统的苹果采摘袋。在另一个地区的其他条件下工作的收割机的可接受性将在华盛顿州的苹果收割机中进行相同调查方法的有限试验。此外，还将评价袋使用对工人拣货速度、干预袋购买成本和消费者对袋属性（包括人体工程学修改）的评价的经济影响。

DESCRIPTION: The broad, long-term objective of this study is to enhance the health and safety of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the Northeast by the development of ergonomic improvements in apple harvest equipment. Within that broad aim, the study's specific goal is to identify and rigorously test modifications to the picking bag aimed at reducing back, neck and shoulder strain related to the intensive work of harvesting apples. The proposed research is designed to: A. develop and preliminarily evaluate three ergonomic modifications to the apple harvest bag, and select the superior modification for B, a fully randomized orchard trial measuring self-reported back, neck and shoulder pain and strain outcomes. Part A will involve use of surface electromyography, force sensitive resistors and calculated low back compressive forces in both laboratory volunteers and in the orchard with apple harvester volunteers. Additionally workers will rate subjective acceptability of each of the ergonomic interventions. The bag design with high acceptability ratings by workers and demonstrated superiority at load reduction will be selected for further evaluation in part B of the study. Part B will consist of an orchard-based, randomized, placebo-controlled survey of 146 New York orchard workers during harvest. Outcomes to be analyzed will be time to first pain (survival analysis), and total pain-free work hours (linear regression modeling). Appropriate methods for this controlled trial will be developed and tested in a small-scale pilot in the first year of the study which will compare all three potential intervention designs with the traditional apple picking bag. Acceptability to harvesters working under other conditions in another region will be tested in a limited trial of the same survey methodology among apple harvesters in Washington State. In addition, the economic impact of bag use on worker picking speed, cost of intervention bag purchase, and consumer valuation of bag attributes (including ergonomic modifications) will be evaluated.