Objectives:This study aimed to determine the effects of participatory workplace improvement (PWI)-based provision of ergonomic training and ergonomic action checklists (ACLs) to on-site managers on workplace improvement activities for low back pain (LBP). Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted at a manufacturing company in Japan. Teams entered in the study were randomly assigned to a control and an intervention group. A total of three interventional training sessions on methods of ergonomics were provided to on-site managers in the intervention group, with 1-month intervals between sessions. Ergonomic ACLs were provided at the same time. After completion of the training sessions, each team then provided a report of improvements each month for the next 10 months. Two people in charge of safety and health chose two major objectives of the implemented activities from the five categories. The reported number of improvements was analyzed using a Poisson regression model. Results: In the intervention group, although the incident rate ratio (IRR) of PWIs in countermeasures for the LBP category was significantly elevated after the training sessions, the IRR of improvements decreased over time during the 10-month follow-up period. No significant difference was observed in the IRR of total PWIs in either the control or intervention group. Conclusions: PWI-based provision of ergonomic training sessions and ergonomics ACLs to on-site managers was shown to be effective for workplace improvement activities targeted at LBP. However, because the effects decrease over time, efforts should be made to maintain the effects through regular interventions.

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A self-reported daily life note (LN) is an effective tool used by occupational physicians to assess the capacity of workers on sick leave due to mental illness to return to work (RTW). We aimed to clarify whether there were differences in the criteria used to define recovery for RTW between LN users and non-users, whether LN users were satisfied with LN, and whether non-users wanted to use LN. In total, 363 occupational physicians (238 LN users, 125 non-users) completed self-reported questionnaires covering demographic and occupational variables, and RTW assessment criteria. We investigated which of the 10 assessment criteria were considered most important for RTW. The proportion of LN users was higher among women, younger physicians, and occupational physicians with more working days per month. LN users emphasized four criteria in assessing RTW: 1) constant wake-up time, 2) constant bedtime, 3) no midnight waking, and 4) no feeling of drowsiness during the day. LN users regard regular sleep rhythm and the absence of drowsiness during the day as important criteria for RTW. Ninety-seven percent of users regarded LN as useful. Seventy-four percent of non-users had interest in using LN.

This study examines how psychological distress (measured by the K10 screening test) and presenteeism (measured by the quality and quantity method) change in the six months after returning to work from having taken a sick leave because of a mental illness. In a manufacturing company with approximately 2,600 employees, 23 employees returned to work after experiencing mental illness between April 2015 and March 2016, and all 23 agreed to participate in the study. We analyzed 18 cases for which we had sufficient data. Two of the employees were absent from work in the sixth month. We performed multilevel analysis for K10 and presenteeism over time on the 16 without recurrence. A significant decreasing trend was observed for both K10 and presenteeism. Eleven of the 16 employees were consistently below the K10 cutoff value of 10 for six months, and 5 had zero presenteeism in the sixth month, whereas 6 employees showed improvement in presenteeism that stopped midway through the study. An occupational physician judged that the employees could work normally with presenteeism of zero. After returning to work, it is important to monitor not only psychiatric symptoms but also presenteeism.