Introduction: Work-related injuries are a leading cause of physical disabilities impacting individuals’ quality of life. Work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries continue to impact Ontario employers costing approximately one billion dollars and resulting in two and a half million employee sick-days. The cost of medical care and return-to-work programs has also continued to increase over the past several years. In a physically demanding occupation such as mining, MSK injuries are prevalent leading to disability and lost time claims. Using knowledge translation (KT) approaches and ergonomic research, it is possible to integrate evidence and mitigate factors associated with work-related injuries. Although preliminary studies have identified the use of KT theory in applied ergonomic research, there is a general lack of understanding of the impact of using KT theory/frameworks in industrial or organizational settings to inform best practice for ergonomic interventions aimed to reduce workplace injury.
Objective: The two primary objectives of this project were to: 1) conduct a scoping review of the use of KT theory/frameworks to guide applied ergonomic research; and 2) use the findings of the scoping review to inform development of PDA@Work as a KT tool focusing on mitigating workplace musculoskeletal injury.
Method: To address objective 1, methods developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and Aromataris (2017) were adapted (Appendix A) to identify and appraise relevant studies related to KT theories used in ergonomic research. The adopted scoping review strategies were described in several stages; identifying the research question, identifying relevant studied and selection criteria, appraisal of the data, and synthesis of the findings (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005). To address objective 2, findings of the scoping review were used to facilitate development of the KT tool (PDA@Work). PDA@Work is a computer application that consolidates physical demand information associated with various jobs at a local above-ground mine. Health care professionals and occupational health and safety agents were asked for feedback using the “Interface User Feedback Questionnaire”.
Results: Objective 1: The scoping review of literature identified two overarching themes; i.) engaging stakeholders in the process of research and ii.) dynamic nature and limitations of applied ergonomics. The first overarching theme was further divided into three sub-themes; policy and procedure, knowledge brokering strategies, and active role. The importance of engaging stakeholders in the process of research including exchange of perspectives, understanding expectations, and share power of decision making between all involved in the process was identified and discussed within subthemes of policy and procedure, knowledge exchange strategies, and importance of active role. The second overarching theme was further divided into two subthemes; resources and multidimensional aspect of applied ergonomics and highlighted the importance of environmental factors impacting the ergonomic interventions. Resources that impacted efficacy of integrated approaches to facilitate applied ergonomic research included lack of time, budget, availability of experts, and production objective. The multidimensional aspect of applied ergonomics also emphasized that the relationship between humans and workplace is impacted by various factors including environmental context, social influences, and individual factors. Objective 2: Findings of the scoping review informed development of the PDA@Work application as a KT tool and was developed by involving and engaging stakeholders within the research process. Participants (n=15) were a purposive sample of stakeholders who use occupational physical demands information in their clinical roles. A researcher developed survey was used to identify participant feedback on utility of the PDA@Work application. 80% of participants reported PDA@Work as user friendly; 67% of participants reported that the content of the application as clear and easy to understand. 53% of the participants reported that the application would assist them for better interpreting physical demands information.
Discussion: The key findings related to the scoping review included the importance of building relationship, trust, and cooperation with stakeholders to successfully implement the ergonomic interventions. Knowledge translation facilitated the process of implementing ergonomic intervention by disseminating the intervention, evaluating, and incorporating organizational policy, procedure, and context within the research. The key findings from developing PDA@Work included increasing data accessibility and remote connectivity to facilitate interpretation of physical demands information. The integration of technology in practice provide a platform to share information and better understanding of information. Improving communication between stakeholders is anticipated to lead to change of attitude, policy, and procedural changes within the company. Overall, using an integrated KT approach is efficient in applied ergonomic research as it facilitates stakeholder engagement, efficiently tailor’s knowledge for relevant context of the occupational setting and helps to map the intervention.