Office Ergonomic Intervention Research Articles

Effective Office Ergonomic Intervention: A Study of Work Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders Among the Office Workers of Katsina State Local Governments of Nigeria

Effective Office Ergonomic Intervention: A Study of Work Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders Among the Office Workers of Katsina State Local Governments of Nigeria

Effect of an office ergonomic randomised controlled trial among workers with neck and upper extremity pain

BackgroundOffice computer workers are at increased risk for neck/upper extremity (UE) musculoskeletal pain.MethodsA seven-month office ergonomic intervention study evaluated the effect of two engineering controls plus training on neck/UE pain...

Web-based office ergonomics intervention on work-related complaints: a field study

The aim of this study was a proof of concept to examine the effects of a web-based office ergonomics intervention on subjects' individual workplace adjustments. An intervention study was conducted with 24 office workers lasting 6 weeks with three consecutive phases (before, 1 and 5 weeks after the intervention). Employees used a purpose-made website for adjusting their computer workplaces without any personal support of ergonomics experts. Workplace measurements were taken directly on site and by analysing photos taken of the employee. Self-reported complaints were assessed by filling in a questionnaire. It was found that 96% of the employees changed their workplaces on their own and retained them mostly unchanged after the intervention. Furthermore, self-reported musculoskeletal complaints and headache symptoms decreased significantly after the intervention. These findings suggest an improvement of workplace conditions so that cost-effective ergonomic web-based interventions appear promising in further research and application.

A field intervention examining the impact of an office ergonomics training and a highly adjustable chair on visual symptoms in a public sector organization

Objective Examine the effect of a multi-component office ergonomics intervention on visual symptom reductions. Methods Office workers were assigned to either a group receiving a highly adjustable chair with office ergonomics training (CWT), a training-only group (TO) or a control group (C). A work environment and health questionnaire was administered 2 and 1 month(s) pre-intervention and 3, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. Multi-level statistical models tested hypotheses. Results The CWT intervention lowered daily visual symptoms ( p < 0.01) post-intervention. The TO group did not significantly differ from the control group. The CWT group differed significantly from the TO group ( p = 0.01) post-intervention. Conclusion Workers who received a highly adjustable chair and office ergonomics training had reduced visual symptoms and the effect was maintained through twelve months post-intervention. The lack of a training-only group effect supports implementing training in conjunction with the highly adjustable chair to reduce visual symptoms.

An Effective Office Ergonomic Assessment and Intervention Program

A significant portion of U.S. employees are office based and their work is sedentary. Office ergonomics is relevant to this population of employees to minimize the deleterious effects of static or sustained postures. Occupational health nurses currently conduct ergonomic assessments and provide interventions to decrease physical stressors. This article describes a straightforward process occupational health nurses can use to augment their ergonomic assessment and evaluation activities.

An Effective Office Ergonomic Assessment and Intervention Program

A significant portion of U.S. employees are office based and their work is sedentary. Office ergonomics is relevant to this population of employees to minimize the deleterious effects of static or sustained postures. Occupational health nurses currently conduct ergonomic assessments and provide interventions to decrease physical stressors. This article describes a straightforward process occupational health nurses can use to augment their ergonomic assessment and evaluation activities.

The Effect of Two Office Ergonomics Field Interventions and their Replication on Visual Symptoms

Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders in the workplace continue to be a significant public health burden (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2001). These outcomes, as they relate to computer use, are important as greater than 50% of employed adults in the United States use a computer at work (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). Visual symptoms are also known to often coexist with upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms with computer workers. This study examines the effect of two office ergonomic interventions, a highly adjustable chair and an office ergonomics training, on the reduction of specific visual symptoms. Additionally, findings from a replicated study site are compared with those of the original study. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect. In comparing the original and replication worksites we find specific visual symptom reductions occurred for the group receiving both the chair with training at the original and replicated worksite. However, the group receiving only the office ergonomics training experienced individual visual symptom reductions at the replication worksite but not the original worksite. There were differences in the specific visual symptoms affected by the office ergonomics interventions when comparing worksites.

Office Ergonomics Intervention Study Panel

Ergonomic issues in the office environment affect both workplace health and productivity outcomes. Currently the office ergonomics intervention literature is underrepresented in research studies with rigorous study designs and analytical methods. Furthermore, there exist no published replication intervention studies. Panel members are part of a multidisciplinary inter-institutional research group that conducted the same office ergonomics intervention study at two different worksites (one public and one private sector). Office workers agreeing to participate were assigned to one of two interventions - a highly adjustable chair coupled with an office ergonomics training (chair-with-training group) or the office ergonomics training alone (training-only group) - or a control group receiving the training at the end. During this discussion panel the effects of the interventions on ergonomics knowledge and computing behaviors, biomechanical changes, individual components of musculoskeletal and visual symptoms and productivity will be presented.

Incomplete Recuperation of WMSDs after an Office Ergonomic Intervention

Survey data on the effects of an office ergonomic intervention (negative-tilt keyboard tray, upper mouse platform, chair, and training) were analyzed. Baseline and one-year post-intervention data on work activities, individual factors and the frequency and severity of upper body work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) were compared. Results showed that post-intervention the sample prevalence of any upper body symptoms decreased from 73% to 47.3% and the upper body symptom mean severity score decreased by 30.7%. There was an 8% reduction in the frequency of symptoms for each body region for symptomatic workers. The ergonomic intervention resulted in significant improvements in comfort and in WMSDs, but for many workers MSD symptoms persisted above background levels, suggesting that other factors may be affecting symptom etiology.

Effect of Office Ergonomics Intervention on Reducing Musculoskeletal Symptoms

Effect of Office Ergonomics Intervention on Reducing Musculoskeletal Symptoms

The Impact of a Highly Adjustable Chair and Office Ergonomics Training on Musculoskeletal Symptoms: Two-Month Post Intervention Findings

The office ergonomic intervention is a longitudinal pre-post quasi-experimental design, with three study groups: a control group, a group receiving an office ergonomic training program, and a group receiving both the ergonomic training and a highly-adjustable ergonomic chair. The chief health outcome measure for this study is an overall bodily pain score constructed from a self-administered “scorecard”. The study population is from the claims processing and customer service departments of a large (5,000 employees) medical services company. 251 participants had enrolled in the study. Post-intervention, the chair-with-training group had a lower level of pain throughout the day compared to either the training-only or the control groups. This effect was calculated using a separate ANOVA model for each day of the week, and significance or borderline significance was obtained in each run (p = 0.001, 0.015, 0.04, 0.001, 0.05 on Monday-Friday). There was no significant effect for the training-only group.

Musculoskeletal disorder worker compensation costs and injuries before and after an office ergonomics program

This study assessed the effectiveness of an office ergonomics training program for video display terminal (VDT) users. Worker compensation costs and injury rates for the VDT-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were examined before and after implementation of training at two company locations. A greater number of claims were filed in the post- ( n=18) versus pre-intervention period ( n=12), but the average cost per claim was considerably reduced ($1553 in the post- versus $15,141 in the pre-intervention period). This reduced cost per claim is consistent with the program's emphasis on seeking early treatment for MSD-related symptoms. The average injury rate also was reduced in the post- (6.94 per 1000 employees) versus pre-intervention period (16.8 per 1000 employees). These results suggest that self-direct office ergonomic interventions may be effective in reducing the MSD-related worker compensation costs and injury rates. Relevance to industry Office ergonomic training programs are used to prevent and control musculoskeletal disorders among the VDT users. Programs that provide employees with the necessary ergonomics knowledge and skills regarding proper workstation setup may be effective in reducing the injury rates and costs associated with those injuries.

Office Ergonomic Interventions: Strategies and Practices

Organizations today are seeking ways to use the work environment as a means of improving worker effectiveness, prevent work related musculoskeletal disorders and to enhance worker health and well-being. This paper presents three case studies where companies have designed, implemented and evaluated office ergonomics interventions. Incorporating a work systems design approach can provide an effective framework for successful office ergonomics interventions.