Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
04:24
Acupoint Application as a Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Fatigue Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: September 5, 2025
205
Work-related fatigue: A hazard for workers experiencing disproportionate occupational risks
Thomas R Cunningham1, Rebecca J Guerin1, Jacqueline Ferguson2,3
1Division of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
|January 28, 2022
Summary
Long working hours pose significant occupational safety and health (OSH) risks, especially for vulnerable workers. More research is crucial to address work-related fatigue in these high-risk populations.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Safety and Health
- Public Health
- Workforce Health
Background:
- Long working hours and fatigue are major occupational safety and health (OSH) hazards.
- Disproportionately affected groups include young, aging, contingent, immigrant, female, minority, low-education, low-SES, and small business workers.
- Emerging factors like health equity and work-life conflict highlight the need to study fatigue in at-risk workers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the existing literature on working hours and fatigue among high-risk worker populations.
- To identify research gaps and inform future research directions.
- To emphasize the importance of addressing work-related fatigue in vulnerable worker groups.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of OSH databases.
- Inclusion of articles identified by authors and subject matter experts.
- Searches combined at-risk worker group terms with 'fatigue' or 'working hours'.
Main Results:
- A significant lack of research exists on working hours and fatigue in disproportionately at-risk worker populations.
- Multiple factors contribute to increased fatigue risk in these groups, including irregular shifts and socioeconomic barriers.
- Limited access to fatigue management resources exacerbates the problem.
Conclusions:
- Further research is essential to develop solutions for work-related fatigue in at-risk populations.
- Interventions must consider the complex and overlapping risks faced by specific vulnerable worker groups.
- Addressing socioeconomic and related factors is key to mitigating fatigue consequences.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Fatigue
276
Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...
276
01:24Muscle Recovery and Fatigue
3.0K
Muscle fatigue refers to the decline in a muscle's ability to maintain the force of contraction after prolonged activity. It primarily stems from changes within muscle fibers. Even before experiencing muscle fatigue, one may feel tired and have the urge to stop the activity. This response, known as central fatigue, occurs due to changes in the central nervous system, namely the brain and spinal cord. While there is no single mechanism that induces fatigue, it may serve as a protective...
3.0K
01:26Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques IV
69
Stress often leads to unhealthy habits like smoking, excessive drinking, and overeating, which offer short-term relief but ultimately increase long-term health risks. These behaviors create a cycle that temporarily lowers stress levels but can result in severe long-term health consequences. Breaking these habits is essential to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve overall well-being. Three primary changes that support better health include quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake,...
69
01:08The Availability Heuristic
6.6K
A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):
6.6K
01:13Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
257
Insufficient sleep refers to not getting the recommended amount of sleep for optimal functioning, even if it's just slightly less than needed. Sleep insufficiency may occur due to lifestyle choices, such as staying up late for social events or work, resulting in routinely getting less sleep than required. For example, consistently sleeping 6 hours when the body needs 7-9 hours can lead to cumulative effects on health and well-being.
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
257
01:12Relative Risk
473
Relative risk (RR) is a statistical measure commonly used in epidemiology to compare the likelihood of a particular event occurring between two groups. This metric is important for evaluating the relationship between exposure to a specific risk factor and the probability of a particular outcome. It plays a crucial role in medical research, public health studies, and risk assessment. Relative risk quantifies how much more (or less) likely an event is to occur in an exposed group compared to an...
473