Thermal Comfort of Different Desktop Materials

NCT ID: NCT03733366

Last Updated: 2019-10-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 16 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2018-11-05
• Study Completion Date: 2019-04-30

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is to test the suitability of different types of desk surfaces. The investigators will test 10 different surfaces (oak-ruff, oak-varnished, oak-oiled, spruce-ruff, spruce-varnished, spruce-oiled, particleboard laminate, particleboard veneer, corian and glass). Firstly, the investigators will perform tests to assess physical characteristics of the materials (thermal conductivity, hardness, roughness, skid measures). Secondly, the investigators will measure the participants' forearm skin temperature after 20-minutes of using each desk surface. During those 20 minutes the participants will solve an attention test.

Detailed Description

People are surrounded by objects that are made of different materials. These materials should be carefully chosen, especially the ones that are in direct contact with user's skin. Office workers are constantly in contact with desk surface (while reading, typing, filling in forms, etc.). Therefore, it is important that the material of desk surface is suitable and properly chosen. It should be both functional and aesthetic. The aim of this study is to evaluate the suitability of different desk surfaces for sedentary workers. The investigators will test 10 different surfaces (oak-ruff, oak-varnished, oak-oiled, spruce-ruff, spruce-varnished, spruce-oiled, particleboard laminate, particleboard veneer, corian and glass). All surfaces will be square shaped (800x800 mm). Firstly, the investigators will perform tests to assess physical characteristics of the materials (thermal conductivity, hardness, roughness, skid measures). Secondly, the investigators will measure the participants' forearm skin temperature after 20-minutes of desk use. Every participant will test all 10 sample desk surfaces (cross-over design). The investigators will use thermal IR camera to measure the temperature of participant's skin surface. The investigators will measure the temperature before and after the contact with desk surface. During those 20 minutes the participant will solve an attention test to assess the impact of different materials on attention. At the end, the participants will answer a questionnaire about the suitability of the material.

Conditions

Office Desk Ergonomics

Study Design

• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Interventions

Desk surface

The participants will test all 10 desk surfaces and will be randomly allocated to one of the desks each time.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• aged between 18 and 35

Exclusion Criteria

• pregnancy
• pain presence in any musculoskeletal part > 3 on 10-level scale

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Innorenew CoE

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Primorska

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Nejc Sarabon, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Faculty of health sciences, University of Primorska

Locations

Faculty of Health Sciences

Izola, , Slovenia

Countries

Slovenia

Other Identifiers

Thermal comfort

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id