Social and health impacts of exoskeleton use on care workers.
Background: In many countries, the growing shortage of care workers versus the growing number of people needing care is causing concern. In this healthcare transformation, exoskeletons, a form of wearable robotics, have been introduced as a means to aid care workers in their physically demanding and...
| Publicado en: | Work Vol. 82; no. 1; pp. 205 - 220 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
| Formato: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
Sep2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=187409766&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 187409766 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 10519815 3RC jtl: Work issn: 10519815 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Sep2025 vid: 82 iid: 1 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 187409766 185143460 187409766 187409766 10.1177/10519815251336912 187409766 ppf: 205 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Social and health impacts of exoskeleton use on care workers. aug: au: Saurio, Riika Pekkarinen, Satu Säynäjäkangas, Pihla Mänttäri, Satu Rauttola, Ari-Pekka Oksa, Juha Melkas, Helinä affil: School of Engineering Science, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, Lahti, Finland sug: subj: Gerontologic Care Certified Nursing Assistants Psychosocial Factors Exoskeleton Devices Utilization Occupational-Related Injuries Prevention and Control Occupational Health Human Multimethod Studies Interviews Diaries Finland Mental Health Posture Shiftwork Ergonomics Stress, Occupational Muscle, Skeletal Physiology Male Female Adult Middle Age Audiorecording Work Environment Electromyography Funding Source Descriptive Statistics Exertion Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Male Female ab: Background: In many countries, the growing shortage of care workers versus the growing number of people needing care is causing concern. In this healthcare transformation, exoskeletons, a form of wearable robotics, have been introduced as a means to aid care workers in their physically demanding and ergonomically challenging work. Objective: This study investigated the human impacts of exoskeleton use in care work. We followed a mixed-methods research approach, presenting a novel combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Methods: We conducted a three-week trial of an exoskeleton with eight assistant nurses in a round-the-clock care home. Qualitative data consist of pre-interviews, post-interviews and user diaries. Quantitative data were collected via physiological measurements. Results: Several types of social and health impacts of exoskeleton use were identified. The qualitative analysis revealed physical, mental, work practice and learning-related impacts. The exoskeleton was most useful in bed care activities. The physiological measurement results demonstrated a trend-like reduction in muscle activity throughout the workday and in different work tasks when using the exoskeleton. The exoskeleton did not have an impact on metabolic strain or perceived exertion but did increase perceived discomfort after the measured work shift when using the exoskeleton. Conclusions: Both the qualitative and quantitative results suggest that there is potential for exoskeleton use in care work environments if sufficient attention is paid to its essential prerequisites. These include the care work and tasks in question, care workers' interests and competences, the environment, planning and organisation of the work, managerial practices and clients' health. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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