Protocol for assessing physical fitness at work: methodological proposal

Abstract

As of the date of this academic work, in Venezuela it is not uncommon to place workers in jobs under inadequate conditions for their physical and mental capacity, which makes it difficult to prevent accidents at work, control unsafe conditions and occupational diseases. The Venezuelan medical/ergonomic literature does not contain a body of doctrine on the evaluation of physical fitness for work: aerobic capacity, body mass index, heart rate at rest, blood pressure. Objective: to present a methodological proposal to evaluate physical fitness for work. Paradigm: quantitative, methodology: bibliographic design, type of research: secondary documentary, level: explanatory/projective, modality: special project, which meets specific needs to obtain/interpret suitable values. Results: a protocol to collect anthropometric/physiological data, which constitutes a novelty that contributes to ergonomically evaluate the physical fitness of the Venezuelan working population, is a useful pedagogical resource as an instruction manual.