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Open research questions in Occupational Health and Performance

355 gap statements mined from Occupational Health and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,272 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Another limitation of this study is the relatively large number of correlation analyses performed. Finally, the statistical analysis was based on bivariate correlations and did not control for potential confounding variables, such as age, BMI or other anthropometric characteristics.

    Assessment of Mid-Calf Protective Footwear for Firefighters: Comfort, Functionality, and Style in Relation to Foot Structure · 2026 · DOI

  • If disciplines within each stream differ substantially from one another, aggregation into two categories would tend to average out those differences and produce inconsistent results across studies with differing disciplinary composition.

    Academic Discipline, but Not Medical versus Non-Medical Stream, Predicts Core Muscular Endurance in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Building on these findings, future research should focus on longitudinal studies to establish causal relationships and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting BA in reducing LBP prevalence.

    Association of the waist-to-weight index with low back pain: a mediation analysis involving accelerated biological ageing · 2026 · DOI

  • This threshold was adopted here as a pragmatic marker of pronounced anterior translation, but pediatric normative values and clinically meaningful cutoffs—particularly under load—are not well established.

    Standing whole-spine radiographic sagittal alignment response to backpack load in schoolchildren · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should investigate mechanisms linking socioeconomic disadvantage to the frequency, intensity, and functional impact of spinal pain, including psychosocial stress, sleep, physical activity, and mental health. Cross-cohort longitudinal studies using harmonised measures could improve understanding of developmental trajectories and cross-national differences.

    Spinal pain prevalence in childhood and socioeconomic patterns: a comparative study in four European birth cohorts · 2026 · DOI

  • Since the internal and external load of aviation firefighters remains unexplored, the current study aimed to determine the internal and external load experienced during aviation-specific firefighting tasks. While there are considerable studies in the literature on structural and wildland firefighting, there is limited information about the unique role of aviation rescue firefighting.

    A Quantitative Analysis of Internal and External Loads in Aviation Firefighting Using a Simulated Scenario · 2025 · DOI

  • However, fatigue induced as a result of a game of competitive rugby union was not sufficient to be detected using this device, which warrants further research into suitable applications for this technology in examining smaller disruptions to oculomotor functioning due to physical or processing fatigue. More work examining changes in EyeGuide Focus scores in situations of sub-concussive hits is warranted.

    Assessing the Reliability of a Novel Eye Tracking Test to Measure Fatigue in Athletes · 2025 · DOI

  • Considering the lack of evidence regarding illicit prescription opioid use among firefighters, the findings of the present study are significant and highlight the need for further investigation in this area.

    Illicit Prescription Opioid Use Among U.S. Firefighters · 2025 · DOI

  • Data from the literature, from direct measurement of particulate exposure for specific tasks, were insufficient to warrant strong recommendations regarding tasks with a risk of high exposure, but were largely consistent with the observations from the current study that high-exposure tasks may include initial (direct) attack and prescribed fires.

    Perceptions of Exposure and Mask Use in Wildland Firefighters · 2024 · DOI

  • Excess incidence of prostate cancer (PC) is frequently observed among firefighters; however, the association with specific occupational exposures of firefighting, as well as the influence of a medical surveillance bias, remains unclear.

    Occupational exposures of firefighting and prostate cancer risk in the Norwegian Fire Departments Cohort · 2024 · DOI

  • The low explanatory performance of the overall model indicates that pull-up count alone provides limited information about between-participant differences in fixed-roller performance.

    Cranial anthropometry and physical conditioning in relation to handstand endurance and fixed-roller task performance in male flight cadets · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should explore long–term outcomes and the effectiveness of early, nonpharmacological interventions in reducing recurrence and improving function.

    Sociodemographic disparities in primary care management of back pain in children and young people: a population-based cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • Although pre-conditioning programs have been investigated in several military populations, there is limited evidence regarding their effectiveness among police recruits from the Arabian Peninsula, particularly within the Abu Dhabi Police training system.

    The Effectiveness of a Functional Preconditioning Program in Reducing Musculoskeletal Injuries in a Tactical Population · 2026 · DOI

  • Respiratory monitoring, a typically underexplored parameter, was integrated into this analysis to provide a more comprehensive understanding of physiological stress.

    Field Testing Multi-Parametric Wearable Technologies for Wildfire Firefighting Applications · 2025 · DOI

  • Limited data describe how male and female recruits physiologically adapt to boot camp relative to current age-dependent body fat percentage (BF%) standards.

    The Scales Have Tipped: U.S. Marine Corps Boot Camp Increases Muscle Mass and Reduces Body Fat in Recruits · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on identifying specific risk factors and evaluating the effectiveness of targeted interventions.

    Medical Treatment in the Arctic: A Retrospective 10-Year Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • Elite acrobatic military parachutists are exposed to extreme repetitive axial loads and high gravitational forces, and low back pain (LBP) is common; however, the relationship between LBP and trunk neuromuscular function in this population remains unclear.

    Electromyographic and Handheld Dynamometry Assessment of Lumbo-Abdominal Function in Elite Acrobatic Military Parachutists: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • However, critical organizational limitations constrained program effectiveness due to specialists working in parallel, a lack of standardized performance metrics, and inconsistent engagement, which precluded enterprise-level comparison, limiting evaluation frameworks.

    Human Performance Optimization in Special Operations Forces: Structure, Outcomes, and Readiness Implications · 2026 · DOI

  • Critically, current methods to monitor firefighters' exposure to these hazardous VOCs are lacking.

    Mobile Sampling System to Resolve Firefighter Team Exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds · 2026 · DOI

  • Yet, limited information is known about the specific chemical composition of smoke exposure which is needed to develop targeted cancer prevention protocols.

    Mobile Sampling System to Resolve Firefighter Team Exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds · 2026 · DOI

  • No consensus definition, diagnostic criteria, standardized assessment framework, or independently validated measurement approach was identified.

    Mapping the Evidence for Operator Syndrome Among Special Operations Forces: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite increasing interest within military medicine, the construct remains poorly defined, and its conceptual foundations, assessment approaches, and supporting evidence have not been systematically synthesized.

    Mapping the Evidence for Operator Syndrome Among Special Operations Forces: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOI

  • Backpack carriage is common among adolescents, yet its biomechanical responses during stair ascent remain unclear.

    Biomechanical responses to incremental backpack loading during stair ascent in male adolescents · 2026 · DOI

  • This role-specific characterisation has not been previously reported for the aviation firefighting specialty.

    A Quantitative Analysis of Internal and External Loads in Aviation Firefighting Using a Simulated Scenario · 2025 · DOI

  • The physiological determinants of load carriage demands in women are poorly studied but are an important consideration, especially as women are now operating in the most demanding military roles.

    Determinants of physiological demands, physiological resilience, and muscle fatigability during load carriage in women: an observational trial · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Occupational Health and Performance

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Building on these findings, future research should focus on longitudinal studies to establish causal relationships and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting BA in reducing LBP prevalence (“Association of the waist-to-weight index with low back pain: a mediation…”, 2026); (2) This threshold was adopted here as a pragmatic marker of pronounced anterior translation, but pediatric normative values and clinically meaningful cutoffs—particularly under load—are not well established (“Standing whole-spine radiographic sagittal alignment response to backpack load…”, 2026); (3) Future research should investigate mechanisms linking socioeconomic disadvantage to the frequency, intensity, and functional impact of spinal pain, including psychosocial stress, sleep, physical activity, and mental health (“Spinal pain prevalence in childhood and socioeconomic patterns: a comparative…”, 2026); (4) Future research should explore long–term outcomes and the effectiveness of early, nonpharmacological interventions in reducing recurrence and improving function (“Sociodemographic disparities in primary care management of back pain in…”, 2026); (5) Future research should focus on identifying specific risk factors and evaluating the effectiveness of targeted interventions (“Medical Treatment in the Arctic: A Retrospective 10-Year Analysis”, 2026). 355 gap statements have been mined from Occupational Health and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,272 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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