Job-Related Performance and Quality of Life Benefits in First Responders Given Access to H-Wave® Device Stimulation: A Retrospective Cohort Study
| dc.contributor.author | Williamson, Tyler K. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Rodriguez, Hugo C. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Han, David | |
| dc.contributor.author | Norwood, Stephen M. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Gupta, Ashim | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-10-26T11:08:16Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-10-26T11:08:16Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-10-08 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2022-10-26T11:08:17Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Current chronic pain treatments primarily target symptoms and are often associated with harmful side-effects and complications, while safer non-invasive electrotherapies like H-Wave® device stimulation (HWDS) have been less explored. The goal of this study is to evaluate first responder-reported effects of HWDS on job-related and quality-of-life measures. This is a retrospective cohort study where first responders were surveyed following voluntary use of HWDS regarding participant experience, frequency of use, job-related performance, and quality-of-life. Responses were analyzed using means comparison tests, while bivariate analysis assessed responses associated with HWDS usage. Overall, 92.9% of first responder HWDS users (26/28) reported a positive experience (p < 0.0001), with 82.1% citing pain reduction (p = 0.0013), while 78.6% indicated it would be beneficial to have future device access (p = 0.0046). Participants using H-Wave® were at least six times more likely to report higher rates of benefit (100% vs. 0%, p = 0.022), including pain reduction (91.3% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.021) and improved range-of-motion (93.3% vs. 69.2%, p = 0.044). Spending more time with family was associated with better job performance following frequent HWDS use (50% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.032). Repetitive first responder H-Wave® use, with minimal side effects and easy utilization, resulted in significant pain reduction, improvements in job performance and range-of-motion, and increased time spent with family, resulting in overall positive experiences and health benefits. Level of Evidence: III. | |
| dc.description.department | Management Science and Statistics | |
| dc.identifier | doi: 10.3390/jpm12101674 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Journal of Personalized Medicine 12 (10): 1674 (2022) | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/1151 | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 United States | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | H-Wave® | |
| dc.subject | electrotherapy | |
| dc.subject | neurostimulation | |
| dc.subject | first responders | |
| dc.subject | quality of life | |
| dc.subject | job performance | |
| dc.subject | range of motion | |
| dc.subject | pain | |
| dc.subject | chronic pain | |
| dc.subject | pain reduction | |
| dc.title | Job-Related Performance and Quality of Life Benefits in First Responders Given Access to H-Wave® Device Stimulation: A Retrospective Cohort Study | |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |