Abstract
BackgroundComplaints of arms, neck and shoulders (CANS) is common among computer office workers. We evaluated an aetiological model with physical/psychosocial risk-factors.MethodsWe invited 2,500 computer office workers for the study. Data on prevalence and risk-factors of CANS were collected by validated Maastricht-Upper-extremity-Questionnaire. Workstations were evaluated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Visual-Display-Terminal workstation-checklist. Participants' knowledge and awareness was evaluated by a set of expert-validated questions. A binary logistic regression analysis investigated relationships/correlations between risk-factors and symptoms.ResultsSample size was 2,210. Mean age 30.8 ± 8.1 years, 50.8% were males. The 1-year prevalence of CANS was 56.9%, commonest region of complaint was forearm/hand (42.6%), followed by neck (36.7%) and shoulder/arm (32.0%). In those with CANS, 22.7% had taken treatment from a health care professional, only in 1.1% seeking medical advice an occupation-related injury had been suspected/diagnosed. In addition 9.3% reported CANS-related absenteeism from work, while 15.4% reported CANS causing disruption of normal activities. A majority of evaluated workstations in all participants (88.4%,) and in those with CANS (91.9%) had OSHA non-compliant workstations. In the binary logistic regression analyses female gender, daily computer usage, incorrect body posture, bad work-habits, work overload, poor social support and poor ergonomic knowledge were associated with CANS and its' severity In a multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for age, gender and duration of occupation, incorrect body posture, bad work-habits and daily computer usage were significant independent predictors of CANSConclusionsThe prevalence of work-related CANS among computer office workers in Sri Lanka, a developing, South Asian country is high and comparable to prevalence in developed countries. Work-related physical factors, psychosocial factors and lack of awareness were all important associations of CANS and effective preventive strategies need to address all three areas.
Highlights
Complaints of arms, neck and shoulders (CANS) is common among computer office workers
CANS is common among computer office workers worldwide and is a well-recognized cause of occupational illness leading to frequent absenteeism from work, reduction in overall productivity, poor quality of life and escalating medical expenses [2,3]
The number of participants to be invited from each province was determined by the probability proportionate to sample size (PPS) method depending on the percentage of computer users in each province as determined by the Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka [12]
Summary
Complaints of arms, neck and shoulders (CANS) is common among computer office workers. We evaluated an aetiological model with physical/psychosocial risk-factors. CANS is common among computer office workers worldwide and is a well-recognized cause of occupational illness leading to frequent absenteeism from work, reduction in overall productivity, poor quality of life and escalating medical expenses [2,3]. The recent increase in computer-related work as a consequence of rapid industrialization has considerably increased the prevalence of CANS among computer office workers in western developed countries and in developing countries such as Sudan and Sri Lanka [5,6]. It is important that an aetiological model for CANS, consider both physical and psychosocial factors. CANS among computer office workers in Sri Lanka is likely to be causing a significant personal, industrial and economical impact. In order to design preventive strategies, identification of high risk sub-groups and an aetiological model needs to be defined with the recognition and quantification of risk factors and their interactions
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