¹ICEPi - Instituto Capixaba de Ensino, Pesquisa e Inovação em Saúde, Vitoria/ES, Brazil
²Governo do Estado do Espírito Santo, Vitoria/ES, Brazil

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Introduction: With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world adopted safety and prevention measures proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), including isolation and social distancing, and work was no different, leading to the adoption of remote work.

Methods: This is a six-month study protocol in which we will conduct an ergonomic assessment of remote workers using telehealth, aiming to propose improvements for those exposed to an environment that is theoretically not designed and suitable for work activities. In addition to the ergonomic assessment, we will evaluate and monitor the general health status of workers via smartphone applications. The population will consist of approximately 40 workers of both genders, aged over 18, from the administrative sector of a public agency. The ergonomic assessment will be conducted through the Work Ergonomic Analysis (AET), performed remotely via a specialized free videoconferencing digital platform. For each assessment, a link will be sent to the employee, allowing direct contact with the therapist to initiate the evaluation. The AET aims to observe potential risks to the physical health of the worker by evaluating the physiological and psychological characteristics of each worker. It consists of 14 (fourteen) questions that quantitatively and qualitatively assess risks in the work environment (workspace, accident risk, noise, temperature, and lighting) and the worker (general physical activity, lifting tasks, posture and movements, work content, work resistivity, worker communication, decision-making difficulties, work repetitiveness, and required attention). The assessment and monitoring of workers will be done through smartphone applications, evaluating the last seven days of use, using direct measurement to quantify the level of physical activity and general health through smartphone applications (level of physical activity, sleep quality, and screen time).

Results: It is expected that with the ergonomic assessment via telehealth, we can identify ergonomic risks for remote workers and thus develop strategies to reduce them.

Discussion: The assessment of remote workers faces barriers to being conducted; however, with technology, it can be executed with easy access and low cost, bringing effective results for workers.

Conclusion: The ergonomic assessment via telehealth can be an effective option for remote workers.