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Fischer SL, Sinden KE, MacPhee RS. Identifying the critical physical demanding tasks of paramedic work: Towards the development of a physical employment standard. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2017; 65:233-239. [PMID: 28802444 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Public safety related occupations including police, fire and military commonly apply physical employment standard (PES) to facilitate job matching, an approach to evaluate if candidates demonstrate acceptable physical capabilities as required to perform the job safely and effectively. In Canada, paramedics remain as one of the few public safety occupations without an evidence-based, validated PES. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the physical demands of paramedic work and to identify the most physically demanding tasks. These outcomes are essential to inform the design and development of an evidence-based PES for the paramedic sector. Physical demands of paramedic work were documented and described using a direct observation-based task analysis technique. Five paramedic's were trained to document the physical demands of their work, then applied their training to observe more than 90 calls over the course of 20 full 12-h work shifts. Physical demands data were then listed in a survey, administered service-wide, where 155 frontline paramedics identified critically demanding tasks and rank-ordered physical demands from not physically demanding to very strongly demanding. Critically important and physically demanding tasks were identified such as: transferring a patient; loading or unloading a stretcher in to or out of the ambulance; performing CPR; and, raising and lowering a stretcher. It is important that a paramedic-based PES evaluate a candidate's physical capabilities to perform the critical and physically demanding tasks identified in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Fischer
- University of Waterloo, Department of Kinesiology, 300 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Kathryn E Sinden
- School of Kinesiology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - Renee S MacPhee
- Health Sciences and Kinesiology & Physical Education, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada
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Larsson H, Tegern M, Monnier A, Skoglund J, Helander C, Persson E, Malm C, Broman L, Aasa U. Content Validity Index and Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability of a New Muscle Strength/Endurance Test Battery for Swedish Soldiers. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132185. [PMID: 26177030 PMCID: PMC4503674 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2014] [Accepted: 06/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the content validity of commonly used muscle performance tests in military personnel and to investigate the reliability of a proposed test battery. For the content validity investigation, thirty selected tests were those described in the literature and/or commonly used in the Nordic and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. Nine selected experts rated, on a four-point Likert scale, the relevance of these tests in relation to five different work tasks: lifting, carrying equipment on the body or in the hands, climbing, and digging. Thereafter, a content validity index (CVI) was calculated for each work task. The result showed excellent CVI (≥0.78) for sixteen tests, which comprised of one or more of the military work tasks. Three of the tests; the functional lower-limb loading test (the Ranger test), dead-lift with kettlebells, and back extension, showed excellent content validity for four of the work tasks. For the development of a new muscle strength/endurance test battery, these three tests were further supplemented with two other tests, namely, the chins and side-bridge test. The inter-rater reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC2,1 0.99) for all five tests. The intra-rater reliability was good to high (ICC3,1 0.82-0.96) with an acceptable standard error of mean (SEM), except for the side-bridge test (SEM%>15). Thus, the final suggested test battery for a valid and reliable evaluation of soldiers' muscle performance comprised the following four tests; the Ranger test, dead-lift with kettlebells, chins, and back extension test. The criterion-related validity of the test battery should be further evaluated for soldiers exposed to varying physical workload.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Larsson
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy,Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden
- Swedish Armed Forces, Stockholm, SE-107 85, Sweden
| | - Matthias Tegern
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy,Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Andreas Monnier
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy,Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden
- Swedish Armed Forces, Stockholm, SE-107 85, Sweden
| | - Jörgen Skoglund
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Charlotte Helander
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Emelie Persson
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Science, Umeå University, SE-908 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Christer Malm
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Science, Umeå University, SE-908 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lisbet Broman
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy,Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Aasa
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy,Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 83, Huddinge, Sweden
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden
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