Abstract
Purpose Determinants of successfully introducing passive exoskeletons in the working environment to decrease mechanical loading on the back, are acceptability of the device to management and employees, including self-efficacy of employees when using the device. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess self-efficacy of employees with low-back pain when using an exoskeleton and the acceptability of such a device to these employees and their managers. Methods We used a mixed method approach. We quantitatively assessed the change in self-efficacy of 17 employees with low-back pain when performing daily activity tasks with the exoskeleton, using the modified spinal function sort (M-SFS). Qualitatively, we conducted a focus group with employees and a double interview with two managers to add more insight and understandings into changes in self-efficacy and to discuss challenges of implementing an exoskeleton in the working environment. Results Self-efficacy significantly increased by 7% when using the exoskeleton. Employees acknowledged the flexibility of the exoskeleton being advantageous to current static external lifting devices, which confirmed the increase of self-efficacy in both static and dynamic tasks. Individual data showed that the increase in self-efficacy was largest for participants, being greatly restricted by their low-back pain. In the focus group, employees confirmed that they are mostly open to wearing the exoskeleton if they suffer from low-back pain. Conclusion If potential challenges, e.g. visibility and potential refusal of wearing an exoskeleton are considered in the implementation strategy, acceptability of and self-efficacy in using the passive trunk exoskeleton would be further improved, potentially contributing to reduced risk of low-back pain.
Highlights
As one of the most common health reasons for work absence [1], affecting 75–85% of workers at some point in their lifetime [2], low back pain (LBP) continues to be an industrial health problem worldwide [3]
Risk factors contributing to an incidence of LBP are known to be multifactorial [4]
The main categories derived from the focus group discussion and the double interview contributing to the acceptability of an exoskeleton were: “Working conditions”, “Prevention of Low Back Pain”, “Use of Lifting
Summary
As one of the most common health reasons for work absence [1], affecting 75–85% of workers at some point in their lifetime [2], low back pain (LBP) continues to be an industrial health problem worldwide [3]. Several studies have shown efficacy of different passive exoskeletons to decrease spinal loading during controlled lifting, bending, and static holding tasks [10,11,12,13,14,15]. One of these devices is the SPEXOR exoskeleton [14], which has shown positive effects on functional performance [16] and metabolic costs during lifting [17]. It comprises variables that explain end-users’ behavioural intentions and the individuals’ acceptance of technology
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