In workplace health promotion, all potential resources needs to be taken into consideration, not only factors relating to the absence of injury and the physical health of the workers, but also psychological aspects. A dynamic balance between the resources of the individual employees and the demands of work is an important prerequisite. In the home care services, there is a noticeable trend towards increased psychosocial strain on employees at work. There are a high frequency of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, and a low prevalence of sustainable work ability. The aim of this research was to identify factors promoting work ability and self-efficacy in care aides and assistant nurses within home care services.

The aims of this study were to explore and generate an understanding of the meaning of body awareness through explanations of the experience of body awareness given by professionals and patients in psychiatric rehabilitation. A total of 20 strategically selected healthy informants were interviewed individually and in groups. Thirteen previous interviews with physiotherapists and 11 previous interviews with patients in psychiatric rehabilitation, describing their experiences of body awareness therapy and its effects were reanalyzed and included in the data for this study; in all 44 informants were included. Grounded theory methods guided the data construction and analysis. A theoretical understanding was conceptualised from which a core category of body awareness emerged: the embodied identity. This core category was related to two categories: living in the body and living in relation to others and in society. The subcategory “living in the body” was conceived as an important aspect to become more aware of the body and to experience oneself fromwithin in order to recognize one's needs. A key point was the fact that bodily experiences always exists in the present moment. The experience of the body, the balance, and stability of the physical self were basic experiences that were connected to the conception of well-being and control. To understand one's emotions and needs through the awareness of the body were understood as the base for self-confidence, trust in one-self, and the ability to take care of oneself and one's needs physically and mentally. The subcategory “living in relation to others and in society” was conceived as an important aspect for the embodied self to interact with others and for societal participation. Working with the body in physiotherapy practice should include an understanding that body awareness is inseparable from the identity and may have an impact on the health of the individual. This implies that interventions to address problems in body awareness should be integrated into physiotherapy practice.

A number of human—centred methodologies subjective, objective, and combined are used for slipperiness measurement. They comprise a variety of approaches from biomechanically-oriented experiments to psychophysical tests and subjective evaluations. The objective of this paper is to review some of the research done in the field, including such topics as awareness and perception of slipperiness, postural and balance control, rating scales for balance, adaptation to slippery conditions, measurement of unexpected movements, kinematics of slipping, and protective movements during falling. The role of human factors in slips and falls will be discussed. Strengths and weaknesses of human-centred approaches in relation to mechanical slip test methodologies are considered. Current friction-based criteria and thresholds for walking without slipping are reviewed for a number of work tasks. These include activities such as walking on a level or an inclined surface, running, stopping and jumping, as well as stair ascent and descent, manual exertion (pushing and pulling, load carrying, lifting) and particular concerns of the elderly and mobility disabled persons. Some future directions for slipperiness measurement and research in the field of slips and falls are outlined. Human-centred approaches for slipperiness measurement do have many applications. First, they are utilized to develop research hypotheses and models to predict workplace risks caused by slipping. Second, they are important alternatives to apparatus-based friction measurements and are used to validate such methodologies. Third, they are used as practical tools for evaluating and monitoring slip resistance properties of footwear, anti-skid devices and floor surfaces.

There are several therapies designed to increase body awareness. They are commonly known as body awareness therapies (BAT) and include Basic BAT, Mensendieck and Feldenkrais therapy. A focus on emotions is important in all these therapies. In this article the aim and development of Basic BAT is described together with evaluations of treatments including Basic BAT. Multidisciplinary studies have shown that Basic BAT can increase health-related quality of life and cost-effectiveness. However Basic BAT needs to be further studied in relation to patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic pain. Studies so far indicate that Basic BAT has positive effects.

Movement quality is a phenomenon frequently used by physiotherapists in oral language, written text, and clinical practice, with little clarification. The purpose was to investigate the lived experiences of a group of expert physiotherapists, searching for essential features and characteristics of the phenomenon. A phenomenological study, using in-depth interviews was chosen. Ten copies of Fine Art were used to stimulate the description of the phenomenon. The informants were 15 peer-designated physiotherapists, five from each field of neurology, psychosomatic/psychiatry and primary health care. They were nominated by physical therapist leaders in the region. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Giorgis' recommendation concerning analysis of the interview data was followed. Four main themes were developed, seeing movement quality as biomechanical, physiological, psycho-socio-cultural, and existential, all interacting processes. Each theme includes preconditions to movement quality and movement characteristics. Movement quality in general was seen as a unifying phenomenon, representing a synthesis of the four themes. The outcome of the study is the Movement Quality Model (MQM) illuminating essential features and characteristics of the phenomenon. Further research is needed for clarification and application in clinical practice.