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Biomedical subjects

P O Davis

Publications and source records attributed to P O Davis.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Job performance testing: an alternative to age discrimination.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act has raised the issue of Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications for employment in the public safety sector. Complicating the issue is the number of lawsuits filed for violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Physical performance testing as an alternative to arbitrary age limitations is considered for physically demanding tasks in fire fighting, law enforcement, and the military. Tests with criterion-related validity are presented that are useful for screening new applicants and for periodic re-evaluation of incumbents. Extensive testing in our laboratory, in concert with the literature review, support the observation that age is a poor predictor of performance across the full range of employment years. It is concluded that individuals who are otherwise healthy, with proper attention to their lifestyles, can develop and maintain the necessary physiological profile to successfully execute the duties of physically demanding jobs well into their advancing years.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Medical evaluation of fire fighters: How fit are they for duty?

Aside from the obvious dangers to life and limb associated with the job, fire fighting subjects the body to environmental and physical stressors that can adversely affect various systems. In fact, the effects of these stressors on the cardiovascular system have made coronary heart disease a greater killer among fire fighters than among other occupational groups. The approach to medical evaluation of fire fighters presented here is based on an appreciation of these stressors.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1982

Relationship between simulated fire fighting tasks and physical performance measures.

Twenty-six physical performance variables were assessed on 100 professional fire fighters and correlated against timed measures of five sequentially performed fire fighting tasks and against fractionated heart rates collected during performance of the fire fighting tasks via Holter monitoring of the ECG. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that two factors, physical work capacity and resistance to fatigue, accounted for the fractionated time and heart rate data. The first factor, influenced heavily by the average intra-task heart rate (L = 0.94) and by the approximately equal weights for the five simulated tasks (-0.53 less than L less than -0.36), reflected the fact that relatively high muscular strength and endurance, coupled with a near maximal aerobic capacity effort, were required to complete the simulated tasks. The battery of physical performance variables best predicting the first factor (R2 = 0.63) included maximal heart rate, sit-ups, grip strength, age, and submaximal oxygen pulse. The second factor (R2 = 0.39), most heavily loaded by the simulated rescue (L = 0.70) and chopping tasks (L = 0.42), appeared to represent an ability to complete all tasks quickly by exhibiting a resistance to fatigue brought on by the demands of the earlier tasks. The battery of physical performance variables best predicting the second factor included lean body weight, maximal heart rate, final treadmill grade, age, and percent fat. This study demonstrated that physiological factors related to the performance of occupational tasks can be identified and measured.

Adult↗