Investigation of the Brazilian academic production in ergonomics, from 1987 to 2017

Abstract

Paper aims: To shed light on the state of the art of the academic production in Ergonomics. Originality: There is no study on the Brazilian academic production in Ergonomics for the last 30 years. Research method: Based on the Capes database, the abstracts of 1471 theses/dissertations from 2007 to 2017 were classified by approach and focus. Main findings: 58.9% of the studies are diagnoses and only 1.4% presents complete projects for work optimization, what might indicate a difficulty of implementing ergonomic interventions in Brazilian companies. 52% of the publications are from national meeting proceedings and only 5.4% from international journals. Implications for theory and practice: The lack of clear objectives, main results and applications in the abstracts reduces the potential interest in the studies. This, and the low number of intellectual production (less than one publication/study) impact the dissemination of knowledge.