- Title
- Musculoskeletal discomfort and use of computers in the university environment
- Creator
- James, Carole; James, Daphne; Nie, Valerie; Schumacher, Tracy; Guest, Maya; Tessier, John; Marley, Jeffrey; Bohatko-Naismith, Joanna; Snodgrass, Suzanne J.
- Relation
- Applied Ergonomics Vol. 69, Issue May 2018, p. 128-135
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2018.01.013
- Publisher
- Pergamon
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- This cross-sectional study investigated musculoskeletal discomfort and computer use in university staff, through the use of online questionnaires. Results showed a high prevalence of staff reported musculoskeletal discomfort during the preceding year (80%), with neck (60%), shoulder (53%) and lower back discomfort (47%) being the most common. Most believed discomfort was caused by work, although neck discomfort was significantly less in those reporting excellent mental health (OR 0.44, p < 0.01). Computer navigation was performed primarily by mouse (77%); however, using a touch pad increased the odds (OR 1.17, p < 0.01) of wrist discomfort and the belief it was caused by work (OR 1.19, p < 0.01). Few staff attended ergonomic training (16%) or requested workstation assessments (26%). However, high rates of staff reporting musculoskeletal discomfort sought professional treatment (range: 35.2% wrist/hand to 65.0% shoulder). Strategies are needed to address uptake of preventive measures and reduce reliance on medical treatments following musculoskeletal discomfort in universities.
- Subject
- musculoskeletal; computer; university
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1392313
- Identifier
- uon:33375
- Identifier
- ISSN:0003-6870
- Rights
- © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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