Improving working conditions in an Iranian hospital: a participatory ergonomics approach.

Objectives. The future workshop (FW), as a participatory ergonomics approach, is used to change the actual situation of a system into a preferable one. This study was conducted at a major hospital to identify ergonomic problems and provide appropriate solutions for improving working conditions using the FW technique. Methods. Twenty-five mid-level managers of the hospital participated in a 2-day FW. In the critique phase, the ergonomic problems were thoroughly discussed. After brainstorming followed by structuring and grouping of ideas, 75 ergonomic problems were identified and classified into four groups. Solutions and action plans were proposed to improve working conditions. Results. There were nine problems in the personnel-managerial group. Eighteen action plans were proposed to fix them. Stressful occupational factors were the worst problem in this group. Five problems were characterized in the physical space group and 10 action plans were presented. Seven problems were detected in the equipment group, for which 13 action plans were presented. In the welfare group, six problems and 12 action plans were presented. Conclusion. The results revealed that the FW was an appropriate method to find ergonomic bottlenecks in the hospital and a good basis for devising ergonomic interventions.