Mental workload and its association with fatigue in operating room personnel of Hamadan hospitals, Iran, 2016

Abstract

Received: May 2017, Accepted: July 2017 Background: Fatigue in the workers reduces the individual's resistance and eventually leads to the lower performance, increased errors and accidents. This study assessed the fatigue, mental workload and the correlation between them, in operating room personnel of Hamadan hospitals, Iran. Materials and Methods: In a descriptive study, the mental workload and its association with fatigue in operating room personnel were investigated. Total of 188 cases including surgeons, nurses, operating room and anesthesia technicians participated in the study. Data were collected using demographic, fatigue and mental workload questionnaires, and were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The mean of overall mental workload was 74.3 ± 10.8. The results also showed that overall fatigue and its domains, including subjective fatigue, concentration, motivation and physical activity were 48.73%, 54.31%, 51.65%, 38.96% and 42.06%, respectively. Among different domains of mental workload, performance (r = -0.380, P < 0.001) and frustration (r = 0.222, P = 0.014) were significantly associated with overall fatigue. Between overall mental workload and overall fatigue, there was not a significant correlation (r = 0.029, P = 0.749). Among different dimensions of fatigue, only subjective fatigue was correlated with mental workload (r = 0.255, P = 0. 005). Conclusions: Regarding the association of performance and the frustration with overall fatigue and the association of overall mental workload with subjective fatigue, it can be concluded that mental workload and fatigue may be correlated with each other. Therefore, any reduction in mental workload domains may lead to fatigue reduction in the operating room personnel.

Physical and psychological workloads and their association with occupational fatigue among hospital service personnel

“…On the other hand, the current study results showed a significant correlation between psychological workload based on the P-JCQ and various types of fatigue derived from the P-SOFI, which was inconsistent with the study results performed by Arellano et al [53]. However, Motamedzade et al [54] and Fan et al [55] reported a significant association between psychological workload and occupational fatigue.…”

Mental workload profile and its relationship with presenteeism, absenteeism and job performance among surgeons: The mediating role of occupational fatigue

“…Mirzaei Tusi et al [ 51 ] showed that the mental fatigue was significantly associated with the mental workload. On the other hand, some studies in healthcare personnel have stated that there is no relationship between mental workload and occupational fatigue [ 34 , 35 ]. This difference can be due to various reasons, including the difference in the nature of tasks in different jobs.…”

“…As a result, it can be assumed that fatigue can indirectly mediate the relationship between mental workload and job performance. On the other hand, some studies in healthcare personnel have stated that there is no relationship between mental workload and occupational fatigue [ 34 , 35 ]. According to the background presented above, the mediating effect of fatigue on mental workload and job performance is not well known.…”

The Relationship Between Physical And Mental Workload With Fatigue On Nurses

“…Job dissatisfaction, mental disorders, lack of sleep and workload are fatigue risk factors in the job (Motamedzade et al, 2017). Table 3 shows that most of the respondents had a heavy mental workload (61-80).…”

“…The results of the group comparison show that a higher mental workload contributes to exposure to Coronavirus Disease of 2019 . Based on the research of Motamedzade et al (2017) it was concluded that mental workload correlates with fatigue in nurses in the operating room. Therefore, reducing mental workload can reduce fatigue in nurses.…”