TARA DIESBOURG

Pregnancy in first responders: In collaboration with Dr. Kate Rougeau, we are investigating the experiences of female first responders who have worked while pregnant. Often, police and fire services place pregnant women on "light duty" assignment (i.e. office work), essentially treating their pregnancy as a disability. Pregnancy policies differ by department and by country, but generally rely on the woman to ask for what she thinks she needs, which may be difficult if she is a first-time mother. Furthermore, following the birth of the baby, the mother will take 2-18 months of maternity leave, following which time, she returns to active duty. After being away for such a long time, she may no longer be at the same physical or mental fitness as she was before the baby was born. We aim to develop recommendations for policy changes for pregnant first responders to improve their quality of life and job satisfaction while reducing their risk for injury both before and after the baby is born.

Office Ergonomics Training in a Work-From-Home World: COVID-19 resulted in a large proportion of the workforce transitioning suddenly to working from a home office, rather than their traditional workplace. While this approach was effective at slowing virus transmission rates, it did not provide adequate time to set up proper home workstation accommodations. This left many people working in less-than-ideal conditions, depending largely on full-time laptop use while working at home. Along with my colleagues at Queen's University, we are investigating whether prior ergonomics training has any impact on the quality of the workstation at home and on the development of discomfort.

Ergonomics and Esports: Together with Dr. Kate Rougeau, we are investigating discomfort, cognitive demand, burnout, and athlete identity in varsity esports players. These players sit for prolonged periods at their gaming terminal, and don't always consider the effects that the setup of their gaming environment might have on their physical wellbeing. Furthermore, many varsity esports programs are housed in the athletic department, along with the more traditional sports teams, however, if they do not perceive themselves as "athletes" they may not place the same emphasis on fitness, nutrition, and sport psychology as the more tradition athletes. All of these factors could contribute to increased discomfort, stress, and burnout.

Effect of Gender Fluidity on Workplace Injury Risk: In ergonomics, there are published limits and recommendations for reaches and loads which are based on the average heights and weights for the general population. Males are generally assumed to be able to reach higher, and lift for weight than females, however to date, there has been no research regarding a person's gender identity on the weights that they are able to lift comfortably.

1. Sceli, C.G., Rougeau, K.M., Diesbourg, T.L. (2022) Policing while pregnant: Examining the need for standardized pregnancy-related work accommodations for women in policing. Police Practice and Research. (Submitted).

2. McAllister, M. J., Costigan, P. A., Davies, J. P., & Diesbourg, T. L. (2022). The effect of training and workstation adjustability on teleworker discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applied Ergonomics. 102, 103749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103749

3. Diesbourg, T.L., Rougeau, K.M. (2021) A Cautionary Tale For Practitioners: Lessons Learned in Trying to Implement a Stretching Program in a Manufacturing Facility. Work. (Under Review).

4. Diesbourg T.L., Rougeau K.M. (2021) The Impact of a Customized, Job-Specific Stretching Program in Manufacturing: A Pilot Study. In: Black N.L., Neumann W.P., Noy I. (eds) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). IEA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 221. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74608-7_51

5. Diesbourg, T.L., Dumas, G.A. (2020) Adapting Fitness Age Calculations to Suit a Modern North American Female Population, Regardless of Age, Race, or Ability Level. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. 6: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2333721420979815

6. Ratzlaff, T., Diesbourg, T.L., McAllister, M.J., von Hacht, M.W., Brisette, A., Bona, M. (2019) Evaluating the efficacy of an educational ergonomics module for improving slit lamp positioning in ophthalmology residents. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. 54(2): 159-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjo.2018.05.016

7. Labaj, A., Diesbourg, T.L., Dumas, G.A., Plamondon, A., Mecheri, H. (2019) Comparison of lifting and bending demands of the various tasks performed by daycare workers. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 69: 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2018.11.001

8. Hemmerich, A., Geens, E., Diesbourg, T.L., Dumas, G.A. (2018) Determining loads acting on the pelvis in upright and recumbent birthing positions: A case study. Clinical Biomechanics. 57: 10-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2018.05.011

9. Hemmerich, A., Diesbourg, T.L., Dumas, G.A. (2018) Development and validation of a computational model for understanding the effects of an upright birthing position on the female pelvis. Journal of Biomechanics. 77: 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.06.013

10. Sheahan, P.J., Diesbourg, T.L., Fischer, S.L. (2016) The effect of rest break schedule on acute low back pain development in pain and non-pain developers during seated work. Applied Ergonomics. 53A: 64-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.08.013

11. Labaj, A., Diesbourg, T.L., Dumas, G.A., Plamondon, A., Mecheri, H., Larue, C. (2016) Posture and lifting exposures for daycare workers. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 54: 83-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2016.05.003