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The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted when, where, and how employees work. Drawing on a sample of 5452 Finnish employees, this study explores the factors associated with employees' abrupt adjustment to remote work. Specifically, this study examines structural factors (i.e., work independence and the clarity of job criteria), relational factors (i.e., interpersonal trust and social isolation), contextual factors of work (i.e., change in work location and perceived disruption), and communication dynamics (i.e., organizational communication quality and communication technology use (CTU)) as mechanisms underlying adjustment to remote work. The findings demonstrate that structural and contextual factors are important predictors of adjustment and that these relationships are moderated by communication quality and CTU. Contrary to previous research, trust in peers and supervisors does not support adjustment to remote work. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice during and beyond times of crisis.
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COVID-19 , Pandemias , Humanos , Organizaciones , SARS-CoV-2 , Lugar de TrabajoRESUMEN
Assessment of cognition is an important part of concussion management. The common paradigm of baseline and postinjury evaluations is recommended but due to the often lacking baseline data, reliable normative values are needed. The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT®) battery is a widely used method of cognitive assessment offering several language options. There are few comparative studies between language groups on this test battery. ImPACT was administered at baseline to 184 Finnish male Professional Ice Hockey league players. The performance of the Finnish sample differed from previously published English and Czech language samples on the Visual Motor Speed and Reaction Time composites with medium effect-sizes (d = 0.38-0.52). Age, but not education or prior concussions, was associated with ImPACT performance. ImPACT performance is not uniform across language and culture groups and the findings highlight the need for language-specific norms. Finnish reference values for ImPACT for ages <20, 20-26, and >26 are presented. A similar approach is encouraged for other languages.
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Traumatismos en Atletas/diagnóstico , Conmoción Encefálica/diagnóstico , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico , Hockey/lesiones , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas/normas , Psicometría/normas , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Atletas , Traumatismos en Atletas/complicaciones , Conmoción Encefálica/complicaciones , Disfunción Cognitiva/etiología , Comparación Transcultural , Finlandia , Humanos , Síndrome Posconmocional/complicaciones , Síndrome Posconmocional/diagnóstico , Valores de Referencia , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Previous research has reported lower cognitive test scores on baseline testing in athletes reporting multiple previous concussions or a history of learning disability (LD). Age also has an important influence on cognitive performance. While these factors have been considered individually in previous studies, the present study is the first to explore the interaction of age, self-reported LD, and history of concussion on baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT®) in a nationwide study of adolescent athletes. ImPACT® was administered to 1823 Finnish male ice hockey players (aged 12-21 years old) prior to the 2015-2016 or 2016-2017 playing seasons. Linear regressions and simple slopes analyses were used for clarifying the impact of LD and previous concussion history on maturational trajectories. In comparison to typically developing athletes, athletes with LD had lower neurocognitive scores in all composites and differing maturational trajectory in verbal memory and visual motor speed. The number of previous concussions did not impair neurocognitive performance at baseline assessment. Application of standard age-based norms to adolescent athletes with a history of LD has the potential to negatively skew clinical decision-making. Separate reference values for LD athletes are warranted due to their unique developmental cognitive trajectories. The reference values for the Finnish participants in this study are presented.
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Atletas/estadística & datos numéricos , Traumatismos en Atletas/complicaciones , Discapacidades para el Aprendizaje/etiología , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas/normas , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Femenino , Finlandia , Humanos , Masculino , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To examine test-retest reliability of the SCAT3 for two consecutive seasons using a large sample of professional male ice hockey players, and to make recommendations for interpreting change on the test. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS: Preseason baseline testing was administered in the beginning of the seasons 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 to 179 professional male hockey players in rink side settings. RESULTS: The test-retest reliabilities of the SCAT3 components were uniformly low. However, the majority of athletes remained grossly within their own individual performance range when two pre-season SCAT3 baseline scores were compared to published normative reference values. Being tested by the same person or a different person did not influence the results. It was uncommon for the Symptom score to worsen by ≥3 points, the Symptom Severity score to worsen by ≥5 points, SAC total score to worsen by ≥3 points, M-BESS total error points to increase by ≥3, or the time to complete Tandem Gait to increase by ≥4s; each occurred in less than 10% of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: The SCAT3 has low test-retest reliability. Change scores should be interpreted with caution, and more research is needed to determine the clinical usefulness of the SCAT3 for diagnosing concussion and monitoring recovery. Careful examination of the natural distributions of difference scores provides clinicians with useful information on how to interpret change on the test.
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Conmoción Encefálica/diagnóstico , Hockey/lesiones , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas/normas , Adolescente , Adulto , Estudios Transversales , Humanos , Masculino , Valores de Referencia , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Índices de Gravedad del Trauma , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To determine normative reference values for the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3rd Edition (SCAT3) using a large sample of professional male ice hockey players. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS: Preseason baseline testing was administered individually to 304 professional male ice hockey players. RESULTS: The participants were aged between 16 and 40 with a mean (M) age of 25.3 years. Over 60% of the athletes reported previous concussion, almost 20% had been hospitalized or medically imaged following a head trauma. Of the players, 48% reported no symptoms. The symptom score median (Md) was 1.0 (M=1.5) and severity median was 1.0 (M=2.3). The median of the SAC score was 27.0 (M=27.0). The median of the M-BESS was 1.0 (M=2.0). The Tandem gait median was 10.9s (M=10.8s). The most common baseline symptom was neck pain (24%). Delayed recall was the most difficult component of the SAC (Md=4); only 24% performed it flawlessly. All athletes completed the double-leg stance of the M-BESS without errors, but there was performance variability in the tandem stance (Md=0, M=0.6, range=0-10) and single-leg stance (Md=1.0, M=1.4, range=0-10). CONCLUSIONS: Representative normative reference values for the SCAT3 among professional male ice hockey players are provided.
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Conmoción Encefálica/diagnóstico , Hockey/lesiones , Puntaje de Gravedad del Traumatismo , Adolescente , Adulto , Conmoción Encefálica/fisiopatología , Estudios Transversales , Finlandia , Humanos , Masculino , Valores de Referencia , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) or concussions often result in problems with attention, executive functions, and motor control. For better identification of these diverse problems, novel approaches integrating tests of cognitive and motor functioning are needed. The aim was to characterize minor changes in motor and cognitive performance after sports-related concussions with a novel test battery, including balance tests and a computerized multilimb reaction time test. The cognitive demands of the battery gradually increase from a simple stimulus response to a complex task requiring executive attention. METHOD: A total of 113 male ice hockey players (mean age = 24.6 years, SD = 5.7) were assessed before a season. During the season, nine concussed players were retested within 36 hours, four to six days after the concussion, and after the season. A control group of seven nonconcussed players from the same pool of players with comparable demographics were retested after the season. Performance was measured using a balance test and the Motor Cognitive Test battery (MotCoTe) with multilimb responses in simple reaction, choice reaction, inhibition, and conflict resolution conditions. RESULTS: The performance of the concussed group declined at the postconcussion assessment compared to both the baseline measurement and the nonconcussed controls. Significant changes were observed in the concussed group for the multilimb choice reaction and inhibition tests. Tapping and balance showed a similar trend, but no statistically significant difference in performance. CONCLUSION: In sports-related concussions, complex motor tests can be valuable additions in assessing the outcome and recovery. In the current study, using subtasks with varying cognitive demands, it was shown that while simple motor performance was largely unaffected, the more complex tasks induced impaired reaction times for the concussed subjects. The increased reaction times may reflect the disruption of complex and integrative cognitive function in concussions.
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Conmoción Encefálica/complicaciones , Trastornos del Conocimiento/etiología , Extremidades/fisiopatología , Equilibrio Postural/fisiología , Tiempo de Reacción/fisiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Análisis de Varianza , Traumatismos en Atletas/complicaciones , Conmoción Encefálica/diagnóstico , Conmoción Encefálica/etiología , Estudios de Seguimiento , Lateralidad Funcional , Hockey/lesiones , Humanos , Masculino , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Estudios Retrospectivos , Estadísticas no Paramétricas , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between cognitive and motor performance in physically well-recovered men with traumatic brain injury. DESIGN: Cross-sectional explorative study in a national neurorehabilitation centre. SUBJECTS: Men with post-acute traumatic brain injury (n = 34; aged 19-55 years) who had recovered well physically. METHODS: Cognitive performance (attention, information processing, cognitive flexibility, motor regulation, praxis of the upper limbs) and motor performance (postural balance, agility, rhythm-co-ordination) were assessed. Partial rank correlation coefficients and analyses of covariance were used to assess the associations between these tests. RESULTS: Associations were found between the time taken in both Trail Making tests and performance time in the agility test (r = 0.57). The score on the Digit Symbol test correlated with time in the agility test (r = -0.52). Patients with normal performance in verbal fluency performed the tests of dynamic balance and agility 26% more quickly than those with abnormal performance. Moreover, patients with normal performance in the reproduction of rhythmic structures were 20% faster in the dynamic balance test. Motor functions of the hands associated with all the motor-performance test results. CONCLUSION: Measures of information processing, attention and executive functioning may be associated with motor performance. Apart from the theoretical relevance, the finding of an association between cognitive and motor performance may have clinical relevance with regard to rehabilitation.
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Lesiones Encefálicas/fisiopatología , Lesiones Encefálicas/rehabilitación , Adulto , Estudios Transversales , Humanos , Masculino , Procesos Mentales/fisiología , Persona de Mediana Edad , Destreza Motora/fisiología , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Recuperación de la Función , Análisis y Desempeño de Tareas , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to compare the motor performance of physically well-recovered men with traumatic brain injury with that of healthy men. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in a national rehabilitation centre. METHODS: Static and dynamic balance, agility and rhythm co-ordination of men with traumatic brain injury (n=34) and healthy controls (n=36) were assessed. Between-group differences in dynamic balance and agility were analysed by analysis of covariance and differences in static balance and rhythm co-ordination by logistic regression analysis. Cut-off points for clinical screening were determined by receiver operating characteristics analyses. RESULTS: Men with traumatic brain injury had impaired balance and agility compared with healthy men and in a rhythm co-ordination test they had difficulties in starting and sustaining simultaneous rhythmical movements of hands and feet. In receiver operating characteristics analyses a running figure-of-eight test (agility), tandem walking forwards (dynamic balance) and rhythm co-ordination test with fast tempo were found the most sensitive and specific for distinguishing between men with traumatic brain injury and the healthy men. CONCLUSIONS: The impairments in motor performance of physically well-recovered patients with traumatic brain injury were obvious. The results of this study extend the knowledge of problems in motor performance among patients with traumatic brain injury and provide further information for clinical rehabilitation.
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Lesiones Encefálicas/rehabilitación , Actividad Motora/fisiología , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Adulto , Lesiones Encefálicas/fisiopatología , Estudios Transversales , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Destreza Motora/fisiología , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Equilibrio Postural/fisiología , Valor Predictivo de las Pruebas , Recuperación de la Función , Carrera/fisiología , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Caminata/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Personal 48-hr exposures of 15 randomly selected participants as well as microenvironment concentrations in each participant's residence and workplace were measured for 16 carbonyl compounds during summer-fall 1997 as a part of the Air Pollution Exposure Distributions within Adult Urban Populations in Europe (EXPOLIS) study in Helsinki, Finland. When formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were excluded, geometric mean ambient air concentrations outside each participant's residence were less than 1 ppb for all target compounds. Geometric mean residential indoor concentrations of carbonyls were systematically higher than geometric mean personal exposures and indoor workplace concentrations. Additionally, residential indoor/outdoor ratios indicated substantial indoor sources for most target compounds. Carbonyls in residential indoor air correlated significantly, suggesting similar mechanisms of entry into indoor environments. Overall, this study demonstrated the important role of non-traffic-related emissions in the personal exposures of participants in Helsinki and that comprehensive apportionment of population risk to air toxics should include exposure concentrations derived from product emissions and chemical formation in indoor air.