Tamara M. James

Journal Article Gastroenterol Nurs · September 2023 Endoscopy staff suffer work-related musculoskeletal disorders at a rate greater than or comparable to nurses and technicians in other subspecialities, which may be attributable to the widespread use of manual pressure and repositioning during colonoscopy. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Accessibility and accommodations for patients with mobility disabilities in a large healthcare system: How are we doing?

Journal Article Disabil Health J · October 2019 BACKGROUND: People with disabilities continue to experience health disparities resulting from inaccessibility of healthcare practices and medical diagnostic equipment (MDE). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accessibility of and acco ... Full text Link to item Cite

Factors associated with lift equipment use during patient lifts and transfers by hospital nurses and nursing care assistants: A prospective observational cohort study.

Journal Article Int J Nurs Stud · March 2019 BACKGROUND: Despite wide availability of patient lift equipment in hospitals to promote worker and patient safety, nursing staff do not consistently use equipment. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of factors on the use or non-use of lift equipment dur ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use of Assistive Devices to Lift, Transfer, and Reposition Hospital Patients.

Journal Article Nurs Res · 2019 BACKGROUND: Devices to lift, transfer, and reposition patients are recommended for healthcare workers' and patients' safety, but their intended use has yet to be fully realized. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe hospital nursing staff use of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Preventing our caregivers from becoming patients - Challenges, successes, and trends faced by hospital risk managers and ergonomists

Conference Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · January 1, 2016 Healthcare workers suffer musculoskeletal disorders at rates that exceed most other industries. Despite this, many healthcare facilities do not follow best practices that are proven to reduce risk of injury. This discussion panel will explore the reasons f ... Full text Cite

Adjustable task lighting: Field study assesses the benefits in an office environment.

Journal Article Work · 2015 BACKGROUND: Lighting is a part of every work task in the office environment, yet it is often overlooked. Research links direct and indirect glare to increased risk of visual discomfort among office workers with symptoms ranging from dry eyes to blurry visi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Detrimental effects of an electronic health records system on musculoskeletal symptoms among health professionals

Journal Article Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · January 1, 2014 A survey of 204 health professionals (physicians, physicians' assistants and nurse practitioners) in private diagnostic clinics of a major healthcare system was conducted after the introduction of an electronic health records (EHR) system. Results showed c ... Full text Open Access Cite

Gender effects on musculoskeletal symptoms among physician computer users in outpatient diagnostic clinics

Journal Article Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · December 1, 2012 A survey of computer use patterns among 179 physicians within multiple outpatient diagnostic clinics of a major healthcare system in the USA showed significant gender effects. A majority of physicians reported daily use of a desk mounted computer. Female p ... Full text Cite

Assessment of a virtual reality-based haptic simulation for motor skill training

Chapter · January 1, 2012 This study investigated the utility of types and formats of presentation of haptic and visual interfaces as part of a virtual reality (VR)-based simulator for training psychomotor skill development. The overarching goal of the research is to advance the st ... Full text Cite

Objective measures of adoption of patient lift and transfer devices to reduce nursing staff injuries in the hospital setting.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2011 BACKGROUND: Interventions to reduce patient-handling injuries in the hospital setting are often evaluated based on their effect on outcomes such as injury rates. Measuring intervention adoption could address how and why observed trends in the outcome occur ... Full text Link to item Cite

A lift assist team in an acute care hospital-prevention of injury or transfer of risk during patient-handling tasks?

Journal Article AAOHN J · August 2011 A Lift Assist Team (LAT) was created on three units at a medical center where nursing staff were at high risk for patient-handling injuries. LAT members were drawn from the hospital's pool of patient transporters. Using qualitative and quantitative data, t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ergonomics concerns and the impact of healthcare information technology

Journal Article International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · July 1, 2011 The US healthcare industry is poised on the verge of a massive expansion of its information technology infrastructure. Healthcare information technology (IT) is permeating numerous areas of healthcare delivery and fundamentally changing the nature of many ... Full text Cite

Assessment of the benefits of adjustable task lighting in office environments

Journal Article Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2011 · January 1, 2011 Full text Cite

Evaluation of an Intervention to Reduce Upper Extremity Pain in Ultrasound

Chapter · January 1, 2010 Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are increasing around the world among health care workers who routinely perform ultrasounds (sonographers). This is due to the upper extremity-intensive nature of their work and the high grip force required to ... Full text Cite

An investigation of hand forces and postures for using selected mechanical pipettes

Journal Article International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · January 1, 2008 The present study evaluated thumb, hand forces, wrist, forearm and shoulder postures used for pipetting with three selected mechanical pipettes. Twelve pipette users in a large university health system participated in pipetting simulation in their own labo ... Full text Cite

Exploration of work and health disparities among black women employed in poultry processing in the rural south.

Journal Article Environ Health Perspect · December 2005 We describe an ongoing collaboration that developed as academic investigators responded to a specific request from community members to document health effects on black women of employment in poultry-processing plants in rural North Carolina. Primary outco ... Full text Link to item Cite

A comparison of tradtional and alternative pipettes: Comfort and preference

Journal Article 8th Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference Proceedings · December 1, 2005 Cite

An integrated comprehensive occupational surveillance system for health care workers.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2004 BACKGROUND: Workers in the health care industry may be exposed to a variety of work-related stressors including infectious, chemical, and physical agents; ergonomic hazards; psychological hazards; and workplace violence. Many of these hazards lack surveill ... Full text Link to item Cite

An intervention study comparing traditional and ergonomic microscopes

Journal Article Proceedings of the XIVth Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association and 44th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Association, 'Ergonomics for the New Millennium' · December 1, 2000 In recent years, manufacturers have produced new microscopes with claims of "ergonomic design" for reduced musculoskeletal stress among users. To test this claim, we measured posture of the neck, back, and upper extremities, and the prevalence of musculosk ... Cite

Evidence for applying ergonomic principles to the design of new facilities

Journal Article Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · December 1, 1998 This application involves the design of two new facilities at a major medical center. Both facilities were built at approximately the same time and both house people performing similar functions. The design group for one facility (A) enlisted the help of a ... Cite

An Ergonomic Approach to Modifying Microscope Design for Increased Comfort: A Case Study

Conference Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · October 1995 This paper describes the approach used and the results of selected measures obtained from an ergonomic analysis of microscopes and associated workstations in a medical laboratory. The configuration of current microscopes and workstations in this l ... Full text Cite

Ergonomic approach to modifying microscope design for increased comfort: a case study

Journal Article Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · January 1, 1995 This paper describes the approach used and the results of selected measures obtained from an ergonomic analysis of microscopes and associated workstations in a medical laboratory. The configuration of current microscopes and workstations in this lab caused ... Cite