Effectiveness of Ergonomic Intervention in Work-related Postures and Musculoskeletal Disorders of Call Center Workers: A Case-control Study

Abstract

Improper posture, inadequate workstation, and prolonged computer use are established risk-factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). It has been found that following ergonomic intervention increases workers’ office ergonomics knowledge and awareness and can lead to a significant decrease in self-reported MSDs. The objectives of this study were to measure the level of self-reported MSDs of call center workers in the Philippines and determine the effectiveness of an ergonomic intervention on their posture and MSDs symptoms. We conducted a case-control study among 32 call center workers for four weeks. Ergonomic intervention on posture and workstation was provided to the experimental group. We utilized rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) and rapid entire body assessment (REBA) as primary outcome measures and body part discomfort (BPD) questionnaire as a secondary outcome measure. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed within groups to determine significant differences in scores of RULA, REBA, and BPD (P ≤ 0.05). Significant improvement in the posture of the workers was observed after 4 weeks of following the ergonomic intervention manifested in their RULA and REBA scores. However, the workers’ MSDs symptoms were unable to significantly improve. This was attributed to the limited time of the intervention and inadequate workstation.