Medium and Long-Term Assessment of Fatigue Based on Workload and Rest-Activity Cycle

Abstract

Fatigue is considered an intermediate state between tiredness and exhaustion. This study aims to filter and evaluate a series of articles focused on fatigue associated with activities performed in long working hours, seeking to understand better the causes, equipment, and methods used to assess this condition. For this purpose, a bibliographic review of the literature was performed using the systematic review methodology referenced in PRISMA Statement. From this search, a total of 10789 first articles were obtained and, after the application of exclusion criteria, 16 were finally selected. After that, a brief qualitative analysis was made, comparing the common characteristics and individual highlights among these articles. Methods and equipment used were found to be of great value for enriching future studies about fatigue in workers. As a result, this work can serve as a departure point for future studies addressing fatigue among safety-sensitive occupational groups, such as firefighters or any physically demanding occupation. (c) 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.