About

Adam Pickens, PhD, MPH, is an Instructional Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. His research interests include occupational biomechanics, occupational safety, mobile application development, and manual materials handling. He is affiliated with the Center for Worker Health and contributes to teaching in areas such as occupational safety, industrial hygiene, and occupational ergonomics/biomechanics. Dr. Pickens holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University, an MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health from Texas A&M University, and an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Data Mining
• Medical emergency
• Medicine
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Nursing
• Medical education
• Psychology
• World Wide Web
• Mathematics
• Family medicine
• Applied psychology
• Pathology

Selected publications

• Stand-Capable Workstations Reduce Occupational Sedentary Time Among Administrative Workers

  IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors · 2024-06-17 · 2 citations

  article

  OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSIn this study, we found that workers who use stand-biased desks stood more and sat less during their workday compared to workers who use traditional desks. Stand-biased users also experienced significantly less lower back discomfort compared to both traditional and sit-stand workstation users. Based on these findings, we recommend that the use of stand-biased workstations be considered when designing or renovating work office workspaces. The health risks of sedentary behavior are inherent in most office work, but these risks can be alleviated with intentional equipment choices. Using stand-biased desks can encourage workers to move more throughout the workday without their productivity or comfort being disturbed.

  PublisherDOI

• HSC Complete Dataset

  Figshare · 2022-01-01

  datasetOpen access

  This data set includes 3 groups of participants categorized by their workstation: traditional (seated), Sit-stand, and Stand-biased. All participants conduct primarily administrative duties at work. Collected pre COVID <br> Dataset includes activity measures from activPAL3 and activPAL micro accelerometers, computer utilization from CorityEnviance, demographic data from an IRB approved questionnaire and musculoskeletal data via the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The first tab includes the coded guide for the database. All participants were included as long as they provided at least one of the collected measures.

  PublisherDOI

• Lingual and non-lingual safety training methodology effectiveness: Does language of origin impact effectiveness

  International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · 2021-10-26 · 5 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Benchmarking Studies Aimed at Clustering and Classification Tasks Using K-Means, Fuzzy C-Means and Evolutionary Neural Networks

  Machine Learning and Knowledge Extraction · 2021 · 24 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Machine Learning

  Clustering is a widely used unsupervised learning technique across data mining and machine learning applications and finds frequent use in diverse fields ranging from astronomy, medical imaging, search and optimization, geology, geophysics, and sentiment analysis, to name a few. It is therefore important to verify the effectiveness of the clustering algorithm in question and to make reasonably strong arguments for the acceptance of the end results generated by the validity indices that measure the compactness and separability of clusters. This work aims to explore the successes and limitations of two popular clustering mechanisms by comparing their performance over publicly available benchmarking data sets that capture a variety of data point distributions as well as the number of attributes, especially from a computational point of view by incorporating techniques that alleviate some of the issues that plague these algorithms. Sensitivity to initialization conditions and stagnation to local minima are explored. Further, an implementation of a feedforward neural network utilizing a fully connected topology in particle swarm optimization is introduced. This serves to be a guided random search technique for the neural network weight optimization. The algorithms utilized here are studied and compared, from which their applications are explored. The study aims to provide a handy reference for practitioners to both learn about and verify benchmarking results on commonly used real-world data sets from both a supervised and unsupervised point of view before application in more tailored, complex problems.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Medicolegal death investigator workplace safety hazards: A scoping review of the literature

  Journal of Forensic Sciences · 2021 · 3 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Medical emergency
  • Family medicine

  In the United States, medicolegal death investigation practices and policies pertaining to sudden unexpected deaths are mandated by state government. Practices vary across states, which contributes to inconsistency in job prerequisites and training. In preparation for a study focused on occupational safety and health of medicolegal death investigators in their on-scene and follow-up activities, a scoping review was conducted to document known occupational safety risks and health-related conditions associated with death investigation. Searches used Boolean and subject heading operators both broad and narrow in scope, and search terms included scene responder, hazard, investigator, forensic pathology, injury, and safety. Twenty-five articles met inclusion criteria, which included seventeen survey-mixed method designs, two systematic reviews, five quasi-experimental designs, and one case study. Twelve articles addressed mental health and eleven focused on risks associated with infectious disease. One article addressed the risk of chemical exposure from cyanide among autopsy personnel (including forensic pathologists) and nine included a wide range of employees within the setting of medical examiner or coroner offices. One article, addressing burnout, included employees in a forensic science laboratory setting as well as medicolegal death investigators and two articles included forensic pathologists and medicolegal death investigators. Only one article addressed medicolegal death investigators specifically. Articles addressing occupational and environmental hazards of medicolegal death investigators associated with musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, radiological, nuclear, electrical, or explosive threats were not identified. There is little published about safety risks inherent in conducting death investigations. Research is needed to adequately inform health promotion and injury prevention strategies.

  PublisherDOI

• Health-related consequences of the type and utilization rates of electronic devices by college students

  BMC Public Health · 2021 · 19 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Medicine
  • Medical education

  BACKGROUND: College students are leading an evolution of device use both in the type of device and the frequency of use. They have transitioned from desktop stations to laptops, tablets, and especially smartphones and use them throughout the day and into the night. METHODS: Using a 35-min online survey, we sought to understand how technology daily usage patterns, device types, and postures affect pain and discomfort to understand how knowledge of that pain might help students avoid it. Data were analyzed from 515 students (69.5% male) who completed an internet-delivered survey (81.3% response rate). RESULTS: Participants ranked smartphones as their most frequently used technology (64.0%), followed by laptops and tablets (both 53.2%), and desktop computers (46.4%). Time spent using smartphones averaged over 4.4 h per day. When using their devices, students were more likely to adopt non-traditional workplace postures as they used these devices primarily on the couch or at a chair with no desk. CONCLUSION: Recent trends in wireless academic access points along with the portability of small handheld devices, have made smartphones the most common link to educational materials despite having the least favorable control and display scenario from an ergonomic perspective. Further, the potential impact of transitions in work environments due to COVID-19 may further exacerbate ergonomic issues among millions highlighting the need for such work to be carried out.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Smart Software Can Increase Sit–Stand Desk Transitions During Active Computer Use

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2019-07-09 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  The objective use of table top adjustable sit-stand desks has yet to be determined, due to the lack of an effective digital evaluation method. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of computer prompt software on table top sit-stand desks to determine if there was a difference in the frequency of desk position changes. This five month, pre-post pilot study on 47 university staff members used a novel USB accelerometer sensor and computer software reminders to continuously record and prompt increases in desk usage to promote physical activity at the workstation. During the baseline phase (3 months), desk usage data were continuously recorded for all workers. Following the baseline, the results from a two-month intervention of personalized computer reminders doubled the number of desk position changes per work day from 1 desk position change every 2 work days to 1 change every work day. Furthermore, those who changed desk positions once or twice a day increased from 4% to 36% from baseline to intervention. Overall, the intervention was encouraging, but longer intervention studies are warranted to determine if the desk usage behavior change can be improved and sustained for years and whether that change results in health gains.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Computer-based Prompt's impact on postural variability and sit-stand desk usage behavior; a cluster randomized control trial

  Applied Ergonomics · 2019-04-15 · 19 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Sit-Stand Desk Software Can Now Monitor and Prompt Office Workers to Change Health Behaviors

  Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · 2018-10-08 · 24 citations

  articleOpen access

  Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a computer-based intervention designed to increase sit-stand desk usage and help reverse workplace physical inactivity. Background: Sit-stand desks have been successful in reducing workplace sedentary behavior, but the challenge remains for an effective method to increase the usage in order to experience the health and productivity benefits. Method: Data collection (1-year field study with 194 workers) used a novel method of computer software that continuously recorded objective electric sit-stand desk usage, while taking into account the time a worker spends away from their desk (breaks, meetings). During the baseline period, all workers’ desk usage was recorded by the software, and the intervention period consisted of software reminders and real-time feedback to all workers to change desk positions. Pooled means were calculated to determine desk usage patterns, and effect sizes and pairwise mean differences were analyzed to test for intervention significance. Results: The intervention doubled desk usage by increasing ~1 change to ~2 changes per work day. There was a 76% reduction in workers who never used the sit-stand function of the desk. Medium to large effect sizes from the intervention were observed in all three primary outcome measures (desk in sitting/standing position and desk position changes per work day). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate an effective intervention that increased postural transitioning and interrupted prolonged inactivity while remaining at the workstation. Application: The methods and results in this research study show that we can quantify an increase in desk usage and collect aggregate data continuously.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Quantitative Evaluation of Electric Sit-Stand Desk Usage: 3-Month <i>In-Situ</i> Workplace Study

  IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors · 2018-04-03 · 3 citations

  article

  OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSSit-stand desk interventions are deployed to reduce sedentary time and improve ergonomic adjustability in modern workplaces, with ultimate goals of improving health and productivity. Sit-stand desks, however, require workers to take an active role in changing the desk position, and usage compliance of the sit-stand function has been a challenge. This study used computer software to objectively record continuous data on electric sit-stand desk usage during computer use, to understand current desk usage behaviors in a large office environment involving ∼300 workers for 3 months. We found that workers completed roughly one desk position change per work day, and one-fourth of the workers always had the desk in a seated position (during computer use). The methods used here demonstrate a novel approach to record sit-stand desk usage continuously during active computer use.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mark Benden

  Texas A&M Health Science Center

  27 shared

• Ranjana K. Mehta

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  19 shared

• Monica L. Wendel

  18 shared

• Matthew Lee Smith

  Texas A&M University

  16 shared

• Peter J. Pronovost

  13 shared

• Kristen Miller

  MedStar Health

  13 shared

• S. Camille Peres

  United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

  8 shared

• Eva M. Shipp

  Texas A&M University

  7 shared

Education

• Ph.D. , Industrial Engineering

  Texas Tech University

  2008

• M.P.H. Environmental Health, School of Rural Public Health

  Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center

  2003

• B.S., Biomedical Sciences

  Texas A&M Universtiy

  1999