The relationship between mental workload and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in different working groups in a hospital

Abstract

Background Mental workloadis the operator´s mind effort, the excessive levels of which can endanger his/her health. Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WMSs) could be the result of a high mental workload. As the workload level depends on the task, this study aims to assess the relationship between mental workload and musculoskeletal symptoms in different working groups of a hospital.Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 employees in three main working groups including office staff, clinical employees, and service workers in a governmental hospital at Shiraz. Demographics, NASA Task Load Index, and Nordic musculoskeletal symptoms questionnaire were the data collection tools. SPSS, version 21, was used for data analysis.Results The mean mental workload was 66.03 in office staff, 67.86 in clinical employees, and 72.41 in service workers. The prevalence of WMSs was 67% in office staff, 62.5% in clinical employees, and 60.8% in service workers. The overall mental workload was related to symptom prevalence in the elbow, thighs, knee, and foot (P-value < 0.05).Conclusion Some domains of the mental workload are related to WMSs in the studied working groups. Paying attention to the special needs of each working group is necessary for reducing mental workload and WMSs.