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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261012T210905Z
LOCATION:Summit Pavilion
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261021T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261021T183000
UID:HFESAM_ASPIRE 2026_sess257_POST302@linklings.com
SUMMARY:Pain- and fatigue-related differences in willingness to use a back
 -support exoskeleton among construction workers in a field study
DESCRIPTION:Eric Chu and Ceasar Chavez (University of California, Berkeley
 )\n\nConstruction workers face a disproportionate burden of work-related m
 usculoskeletal disorders, yet adoption of wearable assistive technologies 
 like back-support exoskeletons (BSEs) remains low. While laboratory studie
 s suggest that pain and fatigue may increase receptiveness to exoskeleton 
 use, real-world field evidence is limited.\nThis cross-sectional study eva
 luated BSE usability among 25 construction workers performing actual tasks
  at a labor training center. Participants wore a passive BSE (suitX BackX)
  while completing tasks such as shoveling, screeding, and formwork. Pre- a
 nd post-use surveys assessed pain, fatigue, movement interference, and wil
 lingness to use the device if provided by an employer.\nMost workers repor
 ted reduced effort (84%) and reduced pain (68%) with the device. Workers w
 ith a prior injury were significantly more likely to indicate willingness 
 to use a BSE (p=0.03), and younger workers showed greater willingness than
  older counterparts (p=0.03). Movement restriction, especially during trun
 k rotation, was the primary usability barrier.\nThese findings underscore 
 the importance of field-based evaluation and task-specific implementation 
 when deploying exoskeletons in construction, and identify injury history a
 nd age as key factors shaping adoption.\n\n
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