Individual Workload Research Articles

Burnout among Primary Care Providers and Staff: Evaluating the Association with Practice Adaptive Reserve and Individual Behaviors.

Workplace burnout among healthcare professionals is a critical public health concern. Few studies have examined organizational and individual factors associated with burnout across healthcare professional groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between practice adaptive reserve (PAR) and individual behavioural response to change and burnout among healthcare professionals in primary care. This cross-sectional study used survey data from 154 primary care practices participating in the EvidenceNOW Heart of Virginia Healthcare initiative. We analysed data from 1279 healthcare professionals in Virginia. Our sample included physicians, advanced practice clinicians, clinical support staff and administrative staff. We used the PAR instrument to measure organizational capacity for change and the Change Diagnostic Index© (CDI) to measure individual behavioural response, which achieved a 76% response rate. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of PAR and CDI on burnout. As organizational capacity for change increased, burnout in healthcare professionals decreased by 51% (OR: 0.49; 95% CI, 0.33, 0.73). As healthcare professionals showed improved response toward change, burnout decreased by 84% (OR: 0.16; 95% CI, 0.11, 0.23). Analysis by healthcare professional type revealed a significant association between high organizational capacity for change, positive response to change and low burnout among administrative staff (OR: 2.92; 95% CI, 1.37, 6.24). Increased hours of work per week was associated with higher odds of burnout (OR: 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05, 1.10) across healthcare professional groups. As transformation efforts in primary care continue, it is critical to understand the influence of these initiatives on healthcare professionals' well-being. Efforts to reduce burnout among healthcare professionals are needed at both a system and organizational level. Building organizational capacity for change, supporting providers and staff during major change and consideration of individual workload may reduce levels of burnout.

A Study on Psychosocial Health of Work from Home Information Technology (IT) Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Background: In order to control the risk of COVID-19 many employees have been asked to work from home & generally away from their workplace. Working from home may cause negative impact on employees’ mental health as it increases social isolation which is associated with high risk of psychological distress and depression.
 Aim: The study was done with the aim to assess the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and well-being of Information Technology (IT) employees who is working from home.
 Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted at Chennai district of Tamilnadu. Around 210 samples were collected based on convenient sampling method. A semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data and the data analyzed using SPSS 22 software.
 Results: Out of the participants, 74% of the employees felt that their work time has been increased due to work from home. On multiple regression analysis, variables like gender, marital status, average working hours per day were found to have statistically significant.
 Conclusion: Chennai is a metro city with high population of IT professionals. Individual workload has increased within a short deadline, which has led to increased stress, sleep deprivation that resulted in many psychosocial problems.

PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK INDIVIDU, BEBAN KERJA DAN LINGKUNGAN KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI MTS AL JAMIYATUL WASHLIYAH TEMBUNG

This research was conducted in Mts Al Jamiyatul Wasliyah temdude, which has a purpose: 1) to know and analyze the influence of individual characteristics on employee performance 2) to know and analyze the impact of workload on performance Employees. 3) to know and analyse the impact of the work environment on employee performance. 4) to know and analyze the influence of individual characteristics, workloads and work environment to employees ' performance. The data collection techniques in this study used interviews and questionnaires to include administrative officers and teachers at Mts Aljamiyatul Washliyah, amounting to 60 people. In this study used multiple linear regression analyses, coefficient of determination test, F test and T test. The results of this study indicate there is a tangible influence of individual characteristic variables, workload, working environment to variable performance personnel at Mts Al Jamiyatul Washliyah temdude.

Modeling of Inverse Kinematic Analysis of Open-Source Medical Assist Robot Arm by Python

Today, the epidemic diseases such as COVID-19 spreads very fast in the globalizing world and lethal effects on human health have had a noticeable effect on the health sector. For this situations, various disciplines have had different studies to minimize the effects of the epidemic. In such cases, it is a separate requirement that the use of the opportunities brought by technology. In this study, the kinematic analysis of the open-source robot arm was especially examined in terms of reducing the workload of individuals working in the healthcare sector. The open-source robot arm is articulated and has 5 degrees of freedom. The kinematic analysis is very important for determination of the working space of the robotic systems. The inverse kinematic analysis was done with Python programming language and the control module was developed to check the analysis. The control module shows the angle values depending on the joints of the robot arm. It is also shown the Px, Py, and Pz positions obtained depending on the position of the end effector in 3D space. On the other hand, Euler angle values are also specified, which are based on the position of the last position taken by the joints of the robot arm in the 3D space. In the study, the geometric approach method was used that is still popular in the inverse kinematic analysis. It is hoped that this study will inspire the development and use of professional and industrial kinds of the open-source robot arm.

Determining Individual Workload Perceptions and Malpractice Tendencıes Among Operating Room Nurses

Objective: To determine the workload perceptions and malpractice tendency of nurses working in the operating room.Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 92 operating room nurses from 3 provinces of Turkey. The data were analyzed by using the numbers, percentages, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal Wallis test.Results: The mean age of the nurses was 35.19±6.11; 50% of the nurses had operating room working duration of 1-5 years, and 78.3% of the nurses had weekly working hours more than 40 hours. A total of 33.7% of the nurses stated that they came across with one malpractice case. The mean “Individual Workload Perception Scale(IWPS)” score of the participants was 98.82±9.39, and the mean “Malpractice Tendency Scale(MTS)” score was 225.59±12.75. There was a statistically significant difference between the communication subscale mean scores of the participants on the MTS according to their time in the profession. There were statistically significant differences between the gender of the participants and the overall IWPS mean score, the managerial support subscale mean score, and the workload subscale score. Statistically significant differences were detected between the working time of the nurses and the managerial support subscale and the workload subscale scores. Significant differences were detected in the participants’ mean scores on the intention to stay at work subscale of the IWPS according to the operating room working time of the participants.Conclusion: Teamwork and effective communication in the operating room are two critical factors in ensuring patient safety. Eventually, approaches to be developed to foresee and prevent malpractice in operating rooms may ensure a safe perioperative process. The job descriptions of the operating room nurses should be reviewed. Training should be planned to strengthen team communication. Patient safety culture should be expanded in the health care team through monitoring and work flow charts.

Design of Personalized Devices—The Tradeoff between Individual Value and Personalization Workload

Personalized medical devices adapted to the anatomy of the individual promise greater treatment success for patients, thus increasing the individual value of the product. In order to cater to individual adaptations, however, medical device companies need to be able to handle a wide range of internal processes and components. These are here referred to collectively as the personalization workload. Consequently, support is required in order to evaluate how best to target product personalization. Since the approaches presented in the literature are not able to sufficiently meet this demand, this paper introduces a new method that can be used to define an appropriate variety level for a product family taking into account standardized, variant, and personalized attributes. The new method enables the identification and evaluation of personalizable attributes within an existing product family. The method is based on established steps and tools from the field of variant-oriented product design, and is applied using a flow diverter—an implant for the treatment of aneurysm diseases—as an example product. The personalization relevance and adaptation workload for the product characteristics that constitute the differentiating product properties were analyzed and compared in order to determine a tradeoff between customer value and personalization workload. This will consequently help companies to employ targeted, deliberate personalization when designing their product families by enabling them to factor variety-induced complexity and customer value into their thinking at an early stage, thus allowing them to critically evaluate a personalization project.

Questões candentes da reforma trabalhista de 2017: percepções e realidade do Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 1ª Região

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo verificar o grau de compatibilidade entre a percepção subjetiva dos magistrados do TRT/RJ sobre aspectos da dinâmica do processo trabalhista e as modificações trazidas pela Lei nº 13.467/2017. Um survey online foi distribuído entre os magistrados do Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 1ª Região (TRT/RJ) abordando questões sobre litigiosidade, carga de trabalho, acesso gratuito à justiça e honorários de sucumbência. A investigação foi pautada nas seguintes indagações: se uma mudança em relação à litigiosidade, e consequentemente à carga de trabalho individual, foi percebida pelos magistrados e pode ser constatada em nível institucional; e se a opinião dos magistrados é compatível com as mudanças promovidas pela reforma da CLT quanto ao benefício da justiça gratuita e à sistemática dos honorários de sucumbência. As respostas dos magistrados indicam uma percepção da diminuição da litigiosidade após a reforma trabalhista, apesar da manutenção da carga de trabalho. Ademais, verificou-se que as percepções subjetivas dos magistrados sobre o acesso gratuito à justiça e a cobrança de honorários sucumbenciais são compatíveis com as alterações realizadas pela Lei nº 13.467/2017.

Determination of the relationship between workload perceptions and medical error tendencies of surgical nurses

Amaç: Hemşirelerin iş yükü algılarının ve tıbbi hataya olan eğilimlerinin belirlenmesi, hataların öngörülebilmesini ve gerekli yaklaşımların geliştirilmesini sağlayacaktır. Bu çalışma, cerrahi hemşirelerinin iş yükü algıları ile tıbbı hataya eğilimleri arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı tipteki çalışmaya, Türkiye’nin iki farklı bölgesinde yer alan iki devlet hastanesindeki 139 cerrahi hemşiresi dahil edilmiştir. Verilerin toplanmasında Tanımlayıcı Form, Bireysel İş Yükü Algısı Ölçeği, Tıbbi Hataya Eğilim Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 23 kullanılmıştır. Verilerin normal dağlımı Shapiro-Wilk testi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Sayı, yüzde, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis ve Spearman Correlation analizi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan hemşirelerin yaş ortalamaları 34.78±7.79 olup, %62.6’sı meslek hayatları boyunca tıbbi hata ile karşılaşmıştır. Çalışmamızda, hemşirelerin tıbbi hataya eğilimleri düşük (232.81±17.95), bireysel iş yükü algıları (100.30±12.79) olumlu olarak belirlenmiştir. Hemşirelerin bireysel iş yükü algılarının, tıbbi hataya eğilime yol açan tüm boyutlarla ilişkili olduğu saptanmış olup (p

Individual irradiation dose trend and correlation analysis of nuclear medicine workers in a hospital

Objective: To understand the personal dose level of nuclear medical workers in a hospital, and to provide basis for health management of nuclear medicine occupational population. Methods: From January 2014 to December 2018, 147 radiation workers in a hospital were selected as the monitoring objects, and the individual dose monitoring data were analyzed. The correlation between individual dose and clinical workload was analyzed. Results: The average annual personal dose of 147 staff members was below the national dose limit. Compared with the radiation department, the average annual personal dose of nuclear medical staff was higher, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . There was a positive correlation between the annual average personal dose and the corresponding injection workload (Rs=0.69, P<0.05) . Conclusion: The occupational exposure risk of nuclear medical technicians and nurses is high, and reasonable protective measures should be taken to reduce the radiation exposure dose. Conclusion The occupational exposure risk of nuclear medical technicians and nurses is high, and reasonable protective measures should be taken to reduce the radiation exposure dose.

Kinetics of Physiological Responses as a Measure of Intensity and Hydration Status During Experimental Physical Stress in Human Volunteers

IntroductionStrenuous physical stress induces a range of physiological responses, the extent depending, among others, on the nature and severity of the exercise, a person’s training level and overall physical resilience. This principle can also be used in an experimental set-up by measuring time-dependent changes in biomarkers for physiological processes. In a previous report, we described the effects of workload delivered on a bicycle ergometer on intestinal functionality. As a follow-up, we here describe an analysis of the kinetics of various other biomarkers.AimTo analyse the time-dependent changes of 34 markers for different metabolic and immunological processes, comparing four different exercise protocols and a rest protocol.MethodsAfter determining individual maximum workloads, 15 healthy male participants (20–35 years) started with a rest protocol and subsequently performed (in a cross-over design with 1-week wash-out) four exercise protocols of 1-h duration at different intensities: 70% Wmax in a hydrated and a mildly dehydrated state, 50% Wmax and intermittent 85/55% Wmax in blocks of 2 min. Perceived exertion was monitored using the Borg’ Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. Blood samples were collected both before and during exercise, and at various timepoints up to 24 h afterward. Data was analyzed using a multilevel mixed linear model with multiple test correction.ResultsKinetic changes of various biomarkers were exercise-intensity-dependent. Biomarkers included parameters indicative of metabolic activity (e.g., creatinine, bicarbonate), immunological and hematological functionality (e.g., leukocytes, hemoglobin) and intestinal physiology (citrulline, intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, and zonulin). In general, responses to high intensity exercise of 70% Wmax and intermittent exercise i.e., 55/85% Wmax were more pronounced compared to exercise at 50% Wmax.ConclusionHigh (70 and 55/85% Wmax) and moderate (50% Wmax) intensity exercise in a bicycle ergometer test produce different time-dependent changes in a broad range of parameters indicative of metabolic activity, immunological and hematological functionality and intestinal physiology. These parameters may be considered biomarkers of homeostatic resilience. Mild dehydration intensifies these time-related changes. Moderate intensity exercise of 50% Wmax shows sufficient physiological and immunological responses and can be employed to test the health condition of less fit individuals.

How Do We Combat Bogus Medicines in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

.The COVID-19 pandemic has brought concurrent challenges. The increased incidence of fake and falsified product distribution is one of these problems with tremendous impact, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Up to a tenth of medicines including antibiotics and antimalarial drugs in the African market are considered falsified. Pandemics make this worse by creating an ecosystem of confusion, distraction, and vulnerability stemming from the pandemic as health systems become more stressed and the workload of individuals increased. These environments create opportunities for substandard and falsified medicines to be more easily introduced into the marketplace by unscrupulous operators. In this work we discuss some of the challenges with fake or falsified product distribution in the context of COVID-19 and proposed strategies to best manage this problem.

Development of a Nursing Assignment Tool Using Workload Acuity Scores.

To determine a just and consistent practice for creating nursing assignments. Traditional methods of assigning patients to nurses may lead to unbalanced nursing workload. This article describes the ongoing, hospital-wide effort to evaluate and implement a nursing assignment tool based on electronic health record (EHR) functionality and auto-calculated nursing workload scores. EHR records of individual patient workload scores from all hospital units were collected from August 2017 to June 2018. A nurse-specific total workload score was summed for each staff. Then, each hospital unit's mean nurse workload score and standard deviation, along with the unit's nurse-to-patient ratio, were used to calculate levels of high, medium, and low nursing workload measurement (NWM). Mean patient-specific workload scores varied greatly across hospital units. Unit-specific nurse-to-patient ratios were factored into NWM scores to create ranges for assignments that were relatively consistent across the institution. The use of objective, electronically generated nursing workload scores, combined with traditional nurse-to-patient ratios, provides accurate real-time nurse staffing needs that can inform best practice in staffing. The confirmation of individual patient workload scores and an appreciation for the complexity of EHR vendor rules are necessary for successful implementation. Automation ensures patient safety, staff satisfaction, and optimal resource allocation.

Correlation between Individual Characteristics and Workload toward Occupational Stress of Social Undesirables Facilitators

Introduction: Prevalence occupational stress continues to increase. Based on survey in 2012, there was 64% workers in Indonesia suffered increased stress compared to previous year. According to the Great Britain 2017 statistics, jobs with higher than average rates of stress are health workers and social workers. Several factors that can affect occupational stress are individual characteristics and workload. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship of individual characteristics (age, sex, education level, and working period) and workloads (physical and mental workloads) toward the level of occupational stress of social undesirables facilitators at Regional Technical Implementation Unit Social Shelter Keputih Surabaya. Methods: This study was observational research and used cross-sectional method. Sample in this research was 21 workers. The sample were taken used total sampling. The writer used contingency coefficient for analyzing variables relation. Results: The study showed the age (coefficient= 0.572) and mental workload (coefficient= 0.420) had a moderate relation toward occupational stress level. Sex (coefficient= 0.136) had the lowest relation toward occupational stress level. The education level (coefficient= 0.398), working period (coefficient= 0.298), and physical workload (coefficient= 0.209) had a low relation toward occupational stress level. Conclusion: The individual characteristic (age) and workload (mental workload) related to occupational stress.Keywords: individual characteristics, occupational stress, workload

Optimization of Critical Factors of Northern Railway Network using TISM and DEMATEL

The Indian railway network is one of the largest rail networks that undergo continuous expansion. However, more reliable and safe service in-network is subject of growing attention in India but to work on these challenges is a cumbersome task as each factor is influencing each other. Studying these parameters is tedious task and will contribute significantly to improving the operations and overall management of railway network. The purpose of this research study is to identify and optimize different vulnerable factors that are affecting smooth functioning of railway network through identification of hierarchical correlations among parameters and prioritizing performing a specific order for identification and improvement. Thus keeping in mind the perspective the research is based on an integrated approach of DEMATEL (Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) and TISM (Total interpretative structural modeling). Based on extensive review of literature and expert opinion, 15 vulnerable parameters were identified and expert elicitation was applied to determine correlation among factors. The scope of this research suggests that five layers structural model can be formed. Network layout and emergency measure during disaster held maximum weight and individual workload, stress, and different environmental conditions were independent factors inclined at lower levels. The research provides reliable information for decision-makers to form active strategies and management policies for more adequate and reliable system of network. Also more safe and profitable network that will promote sustainable development throughout India. This study provides more efficient, efficacious, robust and systematic way to surmount challenges.

The Effect of Workload Perception and Occupational Stress on Medical Error Attitudes of Nurses Working in Surgical Clinics

Objectives: The study was conducted to determine workload perception and effects of occupational stress on medical error attitudes of nurses working in surgical clinics.Method: This descriptive study was connducted with 100 nurses employed at surgery clinics, Ordu State Hospital and Training and Research Hospital of Ordu University, Turkey. The data were collected using Descriptive Questionnaire Form, Occupational Stress Scale, Individual Workload Perception Scale and Medical Error Attitudes Scale between September and December 2015.Results: There is not any significant relationship between the average scores of all three scales when they are compared with each other (p&amp;gt;0.05). The surgical nurses’ average score on the individual workload perception scale is 73.37±9.06, their average score on the occupational stress scale is 42.21±4.99, and their average score on the medical error attitude scale is 40.86 ±5.40. It was determined that workload perception and occupational stress in the nurses employed in surgical clinics did not have effect on the medical error attitudes. (r=0.712).Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that nurses’ perception of work stress and work overload did not affect medical error attitudes. The overall average scores of surgical nurses on the scales of individual workload perception, occupational stress, and medical error attitude are directly proportional.

Relationships between workload perception, burnout, and intent to leave among medical-surgical nurses.

These are turbulent times for hospitals, patients, and nurses. Nurse turnover is a global issue across all specialties but are exacerbated in medical-surgical areas where high nurse-patient ratios, use of point-of-care technologies, and stressful working conditions require sufficient numbers of highly trained nurses. These workload factors are further exaggerated by the current nursing shortage. The current nursing shortage crisis makes nursing job conditions more important than ever to examine. Despite heavy emphasis on promoting healthy work environments, job satisfaction, and retention of nurses working in intensive care and emergency room settings, limited research is available about the workload perception, burnout, and intent to leave among medical-surgical nurses. This study aimed to describe the relationships between workload perception, burnout, and intent to leave among medical-surgical nurses at two teaching hospitals in Southeastern United States. A survey design and convenience sampling method was used. A sample of 58 medical-surgical staff nurses participated in the study. A 42-item questionnaire composed of a demographic survey, Individual Workload Perception Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale were used. Simple descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlations, and multiple regression analysis procedures were used to analyze the data. More than half of the respondents reported high workloads and intentions to leave their current position. The overall burnout level for the sample was moderate to high. Moderate-to-strong intercorrelations were found between workload perception and intent to leave (r = 0.513, P < 0.0001), burnout and intent to leave (r = -0.435, P < 0.0006), and workload perception and burnout (r = -0.588, P < 0.0001). Workload perception and burnout among medical-surgical nurses both factored significantly on the intent to leave a current job (P < 0.05). The current study provides new insights about the relationships between workload perception, burnout, and intent to leave among medical-surgical nurses. The findings indicate the higher the nurses' workload perception, the more likely they will leave their current job. Nurse managers should consider these findings when developing strategies to improve the work environment and nurse retention. Additional research is needed to gain more insight into the causality among workload perception, burnout, and intent to leave a current job among medical-surgical nurses.

Evaluation of the individual workload perception of the personnel in food service system

AbstractIntroductionOrganizational factors, insufficient wages, inadequate work performance of their co-workers and lack of physical working environment in the hospital food service system (FSS) cause the increase of the workload. This study aims to determine the individual workload perception of the FSS personnel and to ascertain whether the individual workload perception differs across demographic variables and occupational groups.Materials and MethodsThe population of this descriptive study consists of the personnel working in the kitchen of the Akdeniz University Hospital, and the sample consists of 87 people who accepted to participate in the study by filling out the questionnaire forms on a voluntary basis. Individual Workload Perception Scale was used to evaluate the personnel's perception on their work environment and Personal Information Form was used to detect the participants’ data related to the independent variables.ResultsApproximately half of the individuals (47.1%) participating in the study were aged 31–40 years (33.5 ± 7.32). 56.3% of the individuals were waiter and three quarters of the individuals worked in shifts. Total individual workload perception of the FSS personnel was detected as 64.7 ± 15.25 on average. The mean score of the colleague support sub-group of the individuals was the highest and the mean score of the unit support was the lowest. It was determined that FSS personnel did not display a statistically significant difference across age groups, gender, marital status, educational status and individual workload sub-groups. It was only seen that there was a significant association between the work distribution of the individuals and the colleague&amp;unit support (p &lt; 0.05). A positively significant correlation was detected in FSS personnel between colleague support (r = 0.859), unit support (r = 0.473), work environment perception (r = 0.647) and intention to resume current work (r = 0.434) subscales and total individual workload perception scale (p &lt; 0.01).DiscussionThe workload of the FSS personnel working in the hospital was found to be high, and it is necessary to evaluate the individual workload and develop solutions for the provision of dietary services in a safe, high quality and efficient manner.

Game schedule congestion affects weekly workloads but not individual game demands in semi-professional basketball.

To quantify and compare workloads encountered by basketball players during individual games played across 1-, 2-, and 3-day periods in the same week, and during weeks where 1, 2, and 3 games are scheduled. Eight semi-professional male players were monitored. External workload was determined as absolute and relative (·min-1) PlayerLoad (PL), and total and high-intensity jumps, accelerations, decelerations, and changes of direction (COD). Internal workload was determined as absolute and relative summated heart rate zones (SHRZ), session-rating of perceived exertion (sRPE), and RPE. Game workloads were tabulated considering the order in which they were scheduled weekly (game 1, 2, or 3), and each week considering the number of games scheduled (1, 2, or 3 games). Analysing weekly workloads, duration was higher during 3-game than 1- and 2-game weeks (P <0.05, ES = 6.65-18.19). High-intensity decelerations and COD were higher during 3-game than 1-game weeks (P <0.05, ES = 1.26–1.55). Absolute PL, jumps, accelerations, decelerations, COD, and high-intensity jumps and accelerations were higher during 3-game than 1- and 2-game weeks (P <0.05, ES = 0.69–2.63). Absolute SHRZ and sRPE were higher during 3-game than 1- and 2-game weeks (P <0.05, ES = 0.86–2.43). Players completed similar individual game workloads regardless of the number of games played on consecutive days in the week. Workloads were similar during 1- and 2-game weeks, while the addition of a third game significantly increased the overall weekly workloads encountered.

Exercise-induced fatigue impairs visuomotor adaptability in physical education students

Purpose: Physical exercise has been shown to exert various effects on visuomotor processing and motor learning. The present study aimed to examine the impact of exercise with progressively increased physical load on consecutive stages of perceptual-motor learning. We compared the effectiveness of visuomotor adaptability in four subsequent trials during a complex coordination task performed in different conditions, including under conditions of progressively increased physical load, and in non-exercise resting control conditions. Material: Twenty-seven physical education university students participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two group: (1) an exercise experimental group (n = 14), or (2) a non-exercise resting control group (n = 13). Methods: Participants in the experimental group performed three 10-minute effort-tests with increasing intensity on a cycloergometer. Each participant was assigned individual workload values below the lactate threshold (40% VO2max), at the lactate threshold (60% VO2max), and above the lactate threshold (80% VO2max). Four sessions of the two-hand coordination test included in the Vienna Test System were used to examine visuomotor adaptability variation. The total time duration, total error duration, and coordination difficulty were analyzed. Results: There was a significant interaction between number of test repetitions and group (experimental, control) for total duration ( F (3,75) = 3.54, p = 0.018). In particular, there was a significant reduction ( p = 0.006) in duration in the control group after fourth test repetitions as compared to the baseline. In the experimental group, in contrast, there was a tendency for duration to increase after exercise above the lactate threshold intensity. There was also a significant interaction between test repetitions and group for total error duration ( F (3,75) = 3.14, p = 0.03). Conclusions: The results suggest that high intensity exercise can disrupt visuomotor processing during complex skill acquisition. These findings highlight the interplay between exercise intensity and motor control and learning, which in turn, has practical implications for developing and improving motor training and physical education programs.

Is the Functional Threshold Power a Valid Metric to Estimate the Maximal Lactate Steady State in Cyclists?

Lillo-Beviá, JR, Courel-Ibáñez, J, Cerezuela-Espejo, V, Morán-Navarro, R, Martínez-Cava, A, and Pallarés, JG. Is the functional threshold power a valid metric to estimate the maximal lactate steady state in cyclists? J Strength Cond Res 36(1): 167-173, 2022-The aims of this study were to determine (a) the repeatability of a 20-minute time-trial (TT20), (b) the location of the TT20 in relation to the main physiological events of the aerobic-anaerobic transition, and (c) the predictive power of a list of correction factors and linear/multiple regression analysis applied to the TT20 result to estimate the individual maximal lactate steady state (MLSS). Under laboratory conditions, 11 trained male cyclists and triathletes (V̇o2max 59.7 ± 3.0 ml·kg-1·min-1) completed a maximal graded exercise test to record the power output associated with the first and second ventilatory thresholds and V̇o2max measured by indirect calorimetry, several 30 minutes constant tests to determine the MLSS, and 2 TT20 tests with a short warm-up. Very high repeatability of TT20 tests was confirmed (standard error of measurement of ±3 W and smallest detectable change of ±9 W). Validity results revealed that MLSS differed substantially from TT20 (bias = 26 ± 7 W). The maximal lactate steady state was then estimated from the traditional 95% factor (bias = 12 ± 7 W) and a novel individual correction factor (ICF% = MLSS/TT20), resulting in 91% (bias = 1 ± 6 W). Complementary linear (MLSS = 0.7488 × TT20 + 43.24; bias = 0 ± 5 W) and multiple regression analysis (bias = 0 ± 4 W) substantially improved the individual MLSS workload estimation. These findings suggest reconsidering the TT20 procedures and calculations to increase the effectiveness of the MLSS prediction.