In this research review, reprinted from The Ergonomics Report Archives, researchers Straker, Levine and Campbell tested experimental subjects while performing keyboard and mouse tasks and found they performed slower and with more errors while walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle than they did while sitting or standing.

Combining ergonomics with rehabilitation engineering can change lives and provide disabled individuals with a means to do things that may otherwise seem impossible. This article highlights a few examples, including designs that help a young paraplegic auto mechanic, a multi-finger amputee mechanic, and even allow a quadriplegic to fish.

The State of Washington and NIOSH share the results of a symposium that brought together private insurance carriers, insurance associations, self-insured corporations, academic institutions and government agencies. The participants learned how Workers Compensation data can be used to estimate injury magnitude, severity, cost, frequency, and trends, which can then be used to prioritize prevention.

Researchers tested safe patient handling training methods, including classroom and contextual (hands-on) training in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Not surprisingly, they found that contextual training is more effective than classroom training, but what are the implications for ergonomists?