João Santos Baptista

• PhD
• Associate Professor at University of Porto

Although the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems consume a large amount of energy, they are necessary to provide thermal comfort conditions and good air quality. Specifically in operating rooms, the environmental conditions should be suitable for medical staff performance and patients' safety. This study focuses on the evaluation of t...

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common work-related diseases. Frequently this association is thought to have a temporal cause-effect relation. The absence of accessible diagnostic criteria and ethological cause-effect demonstration are probably important reasons for the lack of good evidence data on these pathologies. Ob...

The present article presents a project that studies the decrease of physical and mental performance of soldiers submitted to extreme dry hot conditions and the effectiveness of acclimation procedures to prevent the usual heat illnesses of the subjects in missions. A series of tests in controlled environment at 22°C-40% RH and at 40°C-30% RH was per...

Wildland firefighting is physically and mentally demanding. The aerobic capacity of firefighters is important due to the demands of the activity and the associated occupational risks. The main objectives of this study were to identify and characterise the physically demanding tasks undertaken by volunteer firefighters during wildland fires (real wo...

Repetitive movements and the speed of upper limbs increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This study aimed to analyse the risk of shoulder injuries in repetitive tasks by evaluating the humerus angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration during simulated chicken wing cutting. The study was conducted in a laboratory simulating a real e...

Wildland firefighting represents a physically and mentally demanding endeavour fraught with various risk factors. The primary aim of this study is to delineate occupational chemical exposure within the firefighting work environment on the firefront and its implications for firefighters’ health status. A systematic literature review was conducted ut...

Various jobs, indoors and outdoors, are subjected to severe cold temperatures during daily activities. Extremely low-temperature exposure and work intensity affect health, safety, and occupational performance. This work aimed to assess the physiological and thermal sensation responses before, during, and following a 60 min exposure to cold (−20 °C)...

Fatigue in humans is a state that reduces activity, ability to perform, or cognitive functions due to internal sensations such as tiredness, drowsiness, sleepiness, and burnout. It is directly influenced by mentally demanding or stressful tasks and indirectly by physical activities that reduce alertness, mental focus, motivation, and other psycholo...

The frequency of forest fires has increased in recent years. This phenomenon has led to an increase in the difficulty of fighting them and an increase in the occupational exposure of firefighters. This study aims to carry out a systematic review protocol to obtain information on firefighters' occupational exposure on the fire front. A protocol was...

Fatigue in humans is a state that reduces activity, ability to perform, or cognitive functions due to internal sensations such as tiredness, drowsiness, sleepiness, and burnout. It is directly influenced by mentally demanding or stressful tasks and indirectly by physical activities that reduce alertness, mental focus, motivation, and other psycholo...

Purpose This study aims to review recent advances towards the implementation of ANN and NLP applications during the budgeting phase of the construction process. During this phase, construction companies must assess the scope of each task and map the client’s expectations to an internal database of tasks, resources and costs. Quantity surveyors carr...

Background: Firefighting is a strenuous occupation that requires firefighters to be in excellent physical condition. However, some of these professionals are not sufficiently physically fit for duty, negatively impacting their performance. Objective: To cardiopulmonary characterize Portuguese firefighters at different exercise intensities to clarif...

Physical fatigue is not only a tiredness condition but can also be a symptom of various diseases or a precursor of workplace accidents and incidents. High-risk professions like firefighters and military personnel are more frequently exposed to it and its consequences. To contribute to current research efforts towards physical fatigue quantification...

Until the 19th century, the Brazilian economy was based on slave labour. In the 21st century, Brazil is one of the countries where conditions analogous to slavery persist. In many of these situations, it is difficult to apply the penal code due to the lack of technical-scientific support that establishes unequivocally if a specific situation config...

The Method for the Integrated Assessment of Risks for rainforest (MIARforest) is a specific methodology for assessing the risk of occupational accidents associated with working in native tropical forests. MIARforest was validated for the results’ reproducibility and the reliability of calculated risk levels through the Delphi approach. Two rounds o...

The occupational risk assessment method adapted to building works called Level of Preventive Action (Lpac) has been implemented in three construction sites in three different countries: Brazil, Spain, and Portugal. The works have different characteristics, covering different construction phases. From all of them, technical data related to occupatio...

Physical fatigue reduces productivity and quality of work while increasing the risk of injuries and accidents among safety-sensitive professionals. To prevent its adverse effects, researchers are developing automated assessment methods that, despite being highly accurate, require a comprehensive understanding of underlying mechanisms and variables’...

Maintaining native rainforests as a sustainable ecosystem and their resilience to external pressures involves their economic profitability as a natural resource of unique and renewable products. For this purpose, new approaches have been developed and refined. This work seeks to contribute in this direction in the context of occupational safety and...

Physical fatigue is a serious threat to the health and safety of firefighters. Its effects include decreased cognitive abilities and a heightened risk of accidents. Subjective scales and, recently, on-body sensors have been used to monitor physical fatigue among firefighters and safety-sensitive professionals. Considering the capabilities (e.g., no...

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts include time, budget, quality, and safety, among other issues. In budgeting, construction companies must assess each task's scope and map the client's expectations (expressed in the bill of quantities) to an internal database of tasks, resources, and costs. The results from this classificat...

The Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome in an occupational context is an important topic to be discussed. There is a lack of information in the scientific literature, especially when dealing with populations of non-athlete workers. Its main objective is to find evidence in the literature of the prevalence of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome in non-athlete wor...

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a musculoskeletal disorder in the anterior region of the knee, affecting people of different ages. When it is necessary to go up and down many stairs in a work context, there is a risk of increased wear on the knee joint and, consequently, PFPS. The main objective of this work was to identify the risk of contr...

Fluvial floods are one of the most dangerous natural hazards, affecting billions of people worldwide and causing significant social and economic damage. Flood risk assessment is crucial for understanding the level of risk of a given place, and emergency strategies are important to minimise the consequences of a fluvial flood. This work aims to iden...

In a technologically enhanced world brought by Industry 4.0, a great bulk of information can be drawn from the industrial processes. Nowadays, the question is what to do with information and how to manage it, rather than how to collect it. In this sense, Key Performance Indicators might be the answer. Mining is the industry where a more profound ch...

Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is characterised by the potential to manage and disseminate information about the built heritage. This review aims to investigate the recent tools and technologies carried out so far against fire in historic buildings. From the research in five databases, Scopus, Web of Science, INSPEC, Academic Search...

Firefighters’ fatigue can negatively impact safety, production, and health. During firefighting, the risks are extreme, and firefighters’ health status is commonly neglected. A wearable sensor capable of predicting fatigue levels would have a substantial positive impact on the health and organisation of the teams. This review aims to collect inform...

The demanding activity of firefighters has a significant impact on their psychological state. This study aimed to analyse the prevalence of anxiety, Burnout, depression, and post-traumatic stress in firefighters. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was used for the systematic literature review. The research was de...

Construction workers can be exposed to fibres, dust, and other toxic particles that can cause pneumoconiosis from silica, asbestos, and mixed dust. This systematic review aims to analyse how pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to dust contributed to the rise of occupational diseases in construction workers from 2001 to 2021. Sixteen keywords were com...

Overwork can predispose workers to develop illnesses. This study is a systematic review to describe the costs generated by musculoskeletal disorders. The search was performed in 4 electronic databases, applying the PRISMA Statement approach. Were retrieved records between 2015 and 2021 using 11 keywords combined by a Boolean operator. Articles with...

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is devoted to the “Frontiers in Occupational Health and Safety Management” [...]

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is highly prevalent; it can cause severe pain and evolve into progressive functional loss, leading to difficulties performing daily tasks such as climbing and descending stairs and squatting. This systematic review aimed to find evidence, in the literature, of squat movements that can cause or worsen PFPS. This w...

Cleaning services are a transversal activity that guarantees the proper functioning and conditions of safety, hygiene, and health across all economic sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for clean, sanitary spaces, particularly in health services and other areas with a large number of people. The workers in these services were often pl...

Slave labour or work in conditions analogous to slavery continues on all continents and sometimes tends to be mistaken for “simple” violations of labour laws. Therefore, this work aims to identify parameters that allow distinguishing between situations of non-compliance with labour legislation and modern rural slavery in Brazil through the analysis...

This case report shows how the changes in the way individuals go up and downstairs acts as a tool in preventing the appearance and worsening of the patellofemoral pain syndrome through a clinical case of chronic pain. The main objective of this case study was to apply a change of habit in the act of going up and downstairs, changing the movement dy...

As aplicações de gestão da Construção incluem dados relativos à duração de tarefas, orçamentação, qualidade, segurança em obra, entre outros tópicos. No caso específico da orçamentação, as empresas de Construção são obrigadas a avaliar o âmbito de cada tarefa, mapeando as expectativas do cliente (expressas no mapa de quantidade de trabalho) para um...

Metal matrix syntactic foams (MMSFs) are advanced lightweight materials constituted by a metallic matrix and a dispersion of hollow/porous fillers. Physical and mechanical properties can be fitted regarding matrix and filler properties and processing parameters. Their properties make them potential materials for sectors where density is a limiting...

Background: Despite constant technological evolution, the forestry sector is still characterised as one with the highest risk of occupational accidents. There is no doubt that accidents penalise workers considerably, as well as the companies, insurers, and, consequently, the society, to which many of the costs are externalised, namely in cases whe...

Dear Colleagues, Work activities bring about a large number of risks, possibly leading to serious, very serious or fatal accidents, which can generate permanent economic, material and, most importantly, human losses. In some work activities, due to their complexity, several risks can be present simultaneously and, when combined, these risks can ha...

Anthropogenic activity is related to several environmental imbalances, including dust. Particulate matter can also hinder humans with numerous health consequences, such as asthma, cancer, and pneumoconiosis. With a particular focus on mineral dust, this review is intended to determine in which circumstances occupational exposure occurs in the minin...

The construction industry has one of the highest occupational accident incidence rates among all economic sectors. Currently, building information modelling (BIM) appears to be a valuable tool for analysing occupational safety issues throughout the construction life cycle of projects, helping to avoid hazards and risks and, consequently, increasing...

Purpose: Computer use, as in typing, might contribute to Trapezius Myalgia (TM) development by increasing the Upper Trapezius (UT) muscle fatigue. The purpose of this study is to investigate if 10 minutes of performing a typing task by a population at risk would show significant changes in Surface Electromyography (sEMG) and Pressure-Pain Threshold...

This book gathers cutting-edge research and best practices relating to occupational risk and safety management, healthcare and ergonomics. It covers strategies for different types of industry, such as construction, food, chemical and healthcare. It gives a special emphasis on challenges posed by automation, discussing solutions offered by technolog...

Professional drivers need constant attention during long driving periods and sometimes perform tasks outside the truck. Driving discomfort may justify inattention, but it does not explain post-driving accidents outside the vehicle. This study aims to study the discomfort developed during driving by analysing modified preferred postures, pressure ap...

Abstract Background: Surveys are an established tool within health services, allowing to recruit large and diverse cross-sections of the population and offer rapid data collection and cost-effectiveness. Various methods for conducting surveys exist, being the web-based method the one with increasing applicability. Despite its advantages, specific c...

Abstract Background: Conditions of overexertion easily lead to situations of fatigue, which can result in problems for workers’ health and safety. In military personnel, the severe conditions of their duties can quickly lead to fatigue affecting their health and performance. Objective: To answer this issue, an algorithm to detect fatigue combining...

Background: Occupational noise is still a significant issue having severe impacts on the worker’s health. This problem is relevant in the extractive industry since it endangers the worker and the surrounding communities. Objective: This short review aimed to identify the occupational exposure to noise setting within the extractive sector and earthw...

Background: The development of driving discomfort caused by prolonged driving is a multifunctional problem. It has been the subject of interest of several articles. After prolonged exposure to driving discomfort, performing gait on different ground levels contributes to a high prevalence of occupational injuries. Objective: This study investigates...

Abstract Background: Firefighters are safety-sensitive professionals exposed to high ambient temperatures, extreme physical exertion, toxic air pollutants, and psychological stress, and, therefore, with high risks to their health. Wearable physiological monitoring systems might be helpful to track their activities and prevent potential health impai...

Background: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is a disease with gradual worsening, affecting 22.7% of the general population, clinically described as a peripatellar pain aggravated when going up and/or downstairs. Objective: To identify risk factors for the emergence or aggravation of PFPS present in selective waste collection workers in their da...

Objective: This systematic review aims to analyse physical fatigue and the main causes. Background: Fatigue results from physical and psychological overload, mainly due to daily stress and lack of time to recover energy. Method: The review was performed according to the Prisma Statement. It was accessed Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Pubme...

Background Computer use is a well-known source of chronic pain, leading to absenteeism and reduced productivity and well-being. This study evaluated the feasibility of conducting a full-scale randomised controlled trial. Several methodological variables defined trial feasibility. Materials and methods Thirty adults, daily computer users reporting...

Background: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is a Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) not commonly studied in an occupational context. Its prevalence in the general population is 22.7%. There is, however, little evidence of the prevalence of PFPS in specific populations working in industry and services. In this context, this study aimed to assess the...

As is known, the construction industry has one of the highest occupational accidents incidence rates among all economic sectors. Currently, Building Information Modeling (BIM) appears as a tool that addresses occupational safety issues throughout the construction life cycle projects, avoiding hazards and risks and, consequently, increasing safety....

The emergence of physiological monitoring technologies has produced exceptional opportunities for real-time collection and analysis of workers’ physiological information. To benefit from these safety and health prognostic opportunities, research efforts have explored the applicability of these devices to control workers’ wellbeing levels during occ...

Background: Environmental temperatures in the fresh food industry vary from 0°C to 10°C, and go below -20°C for the frozen food industry, representing risk for the health and safety of workers involved. Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the cold thermal stress risks for workers working in a frozen food industry. Methods: A total...

No decurso da sua longa e ativa carreira académica, o Professor Luciano Lourenço desenvolveu uma intensa atividade de interação e cooperação com instituições, grupos de investigação, profissionais de diversas áreas de atividade e do conhecimento, em estreita associação à sua atividade científica e docente, mas também consequência do seu caráter bei...

Introduction: Occupational noise is still a matter within the industrial practice with nefarious consequences on the worker's health. Pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular problems, disturbances in sleep, fatigue, and, in the worst-case scenarios, hearing loss (this one with a permanent character) are some of the most common adverse effects reported i...

During operational activities, military personnel face extremely demanding circumstances, which when combined lead to severe fatigue, influencing both their well-being and performance. Physical exertion is the main condition leading to fatigue, and its continuous tracking would help prevent its effects. This review aimed to investigate the up-to-da...

The Brazilian economy was, until the end of the 19th Century, based on slave labour. However, in this first quarter of the 21st Century, the problem persists. These situations tend to be mistaken with “simple” violations of labour laws. This work aims to establish Occupational Health and Safety parameters, focusing on energy needs, to distinguish b...

Occupational-specific classifications of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are scarce and do not answer specific clinical questions. Thus, a specific classification was developed and proposed, covering criteria applicable to daily clinical activity. It was considered that the disorder development process is the same across all work-related MSDs (WRMS...

Introduction: Identifying factors that contribute to occupational accidents has been a general concern of companies in the present millennium. One of the factors identified is the quality and quantity of food, as well as meals times. In this context, the present systematic review aimed to identify how food intake influences the occurrence of accide...

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorder can result from extreme physical demands at work. It has risen, mainly due to high muscle demands and static postures and generates a significant economic burden to the companies. This short review aims to point out the statistics of the most affected body parts by work-related musculoskeletal disorders, asses...

Introduction: Occupational noise is still a matter within the industrial practice with nefarious consequences on the worker’s health. Pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular problems, disturbances in sleep, fatigue, and, in the worst-case scenarios, hearing loss (this one with a permanent character) are some of the most common adverse effects reported i...

Background: Fatigue is a significant health and safety-related problem among workers. In general, it decreases performance and physical strength, causing incidents and accidents in operational situations. During military activities, soldiers often encounter severe conditions, which combined lead to fatigue manifestations affecting their health and...

By adopting the green mining concept, the mining industry seeks to respond to the current societal objective of supplying the mineral raw materials necessary for economic development while minimising the ecological footprint. To accomplish environmental recovery simultaneously with mineral exploitation, as well as to take advantage of mine waste, t...

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used in construction projects to improve efficiency. In general, it improves project management and monitoring, reduces time and costs, strengthens collaboration among stakeholders, and reduces risks and injuries. Sensor technologies with various functionalities are being implemented in the construction site....

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used in construction projects to improve efficiency. In general, it improves project management and monitoring, reduces time and costs, strengthens collaboration among stakeholders, and reduces risks and injuries. Sensor technologies with various functionalities are being implemented in the construction site....

Work in rural properties in conditions similar to slavery remains a reality in many countries, including Brazil. The Brazilian State characterises contemporary slave labour as a condition of freedom restriction for paying off debt, served by intensive working hours or inadequate working conditions related to Occupational Safety and Health. This stu...

The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) sector has always been recognised as a competitive and complex sector. In recent years, increased demands on construction projects in different domains such as safety, energy, time and cost management have pushed the industry towards new tools and methods, including more efficient u...

Risk assessment is a legal obligation for all companies in most countries worldwide. It aims to control the quality of working conditions and avoid externalizing the consequences of accidents and resulting costs to society. This work discusses the need for an adequate interpretation of the zero-risk concept from a technical-preventive perspective t...

Surface and underground mining, due to its technical challenges, is considered a hazardous industry. The great majority of accidents and fatalities are frequently associated with ineffective or inappropriate training methods. Knowing that knowledge of occupational accident causes plays a significant role in safety management systems, it is importan...

RESEARCH ARTICLES, REVIEW ARTICLES AS WELL AS SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ARE INVITED. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/special_issues/occupational_research This Special Issue encourages the submission of transversal works on the research and implementation of the current advances in occupational health and safety, taking into account the different ap...

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss (ONIHL) is one of the most recognised occupational diseases globally. Mining and earthworks are among those with the greatest impact in this matter. A systematic review addressing the noise exposure characterisation, in order to develop a preventive design, is being proposed in this protocol. The Preferred re...

Automation of assembly work was originally developed to increase operation efficiency and to reduce workload. However, a considerable number of unanticipated ergonomic problems have been observed such as the interaction between humans and automated systems. The aims of this study were to quantify joint angle positions (shoulder, elbow and wrist) of...

Automation of assembly work was originally developed to increase operation efficiency and to reduce workload. However, a considerable number of unanticipated ergonomic problems have been observed such as the interaction between humans and automated systems. The aims of this study were to quantify joint angle positions (shoulder, elbow and wrist) of...

Thermal comfort affects satisfaction in the workplace, which impacts work efficiency and productivity. Since office workers spend most of their working hours performing sedentary tasks, a scoping review is proposed to contextualize how thermal sensation and thermal comfort are experimentally assessed in the scientific literature. This work presents...

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss (ONIHL) is one of the most recognised occupational diseases globally. Mining and earthworks are among those with the greatest impact in this matter. A systematic review addressing the noise exposure characterisation, in order to develop a preventive design, is being proposed in this protocol. The Preferred re...

Mining 4.0 has risen from the need of the extractive industry to answer the technical challenges that rapidly shift at the mining sites. Currently, many models can be developed to address this issue however, the way in which the digitalisation of information occurs is not entirely clear. Therefore, this scoping review aims to address the main digit...

In this work, the wood-logging process of four federal conservation units (FCUs) in the Eastern Amazonia forest are described and compared. The approach focused on on-site observation of activities and tasks performed during the process. As an outcome, it was observed that companies implement activities similarly, regardless of their specific know-...

Whole-body vibration is one of the most significant occupational hazards, affecting various industries, here specifically, mining. Long term exposure is a recognised risk factor for diverse symptoms and diseases. Companies have a role to play when it comes to social responsibility including their workers’ well-being. This systematic review aims to...

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma revisão sistemática para identificar, nos sistemas de gestão das florestas nativas, quais os indicadores relacionados com a segurança ocupacional. A busca de artigos científicos com interesse para a revisão foi realizada em 16 bases de dados científicas de artigos escritos em inglês e outros recursos (revi...

Background A variety of different scales have been used to measure the intensity of pain in osteopathic-specific clinical studies; however, the criteria for the options are not always clear or reported. Objectives To compare the different questionnaires used by researchers for assessing the intensity of pain in clinical trials in osteopathy and an...

This Special Issue encourages the submission of transversal works on the research and implementation of the current advances in occupational health and safety, taking into account the different approaches to combatting at-work risks, for example: health safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, psychosociology, social policies, and training. Combinin...

Background: Medicine and Physical Education can work together to solve many h ealth problems. Bodybuilding is a multidisciplinary area whose goals can range from body development to the correction of postural problems and the resolution of various pathologies related to human movement. In the case in analysis, the patient presented (at rest) locali...

Research on the use of surface electromyography (sEMG) for analyzing the effects of Manual Therapy (MT) seems to have very dispersed intentions. The development of data collection protocols using sEMG might not be stable for conducting clinical studies. This study aimed to evaluate the current literature using surface sEMG in the context of MT and...

The Brazilian economy was founded on slave labour until the late nineteenth century. Based on an analysis of historical descriptive studies, this work aimed to make an objective investigation of the slaves’ safety conditions, concerning the use of manual tools, associated with mechanical risks. The research was conduct in selected databases without...

This study was carried out in a manufacturing industry, more precisely in the sector of stamping with two distinct processes. The objective was to analyze the risk of musculoskeletal injury since the activity demands repetitive movements, loading of pieces and use of force. For the ergonomic analysis, the cycle time, and the number of movements per...

Background: Office workers spend most of their time engaged in sedentary tasks. Dissatisfaction with the thermal environment can reduce work efficiency and productivity. Objectives: This study presents the condensed results of a scoping review of the scientific literature assessing thermal sensation (TS) and thermal comfort (TC). The scoping review...