Reducing Musculoskeletal Burden Through Ergonomic Program Implementation in a Large Newspaper

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cole DC ; Ferrier SE ; Hogg-Johnson S ; Ibrahim S ; Manno M ; Wells RP
• Description:
  OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a workplace ergonomic program to reduce musculoskeletal burden among newspaper employees and to understand relationships among participation, risk factor changes and health status within an employee cohort. METHODS: We conducted repeat cross-sectional surveys, with 1,003 employees from all major departments in 1996 and 813 in 2001, generating a cohort of 433 participants in both surveys. Elements of the ergonomic program included employee RSI (repetitive strain injury) training, pro-active assessment of workstations and workstation modifications, and encouragement of early treatment through on-site physiotherapy. Potential risk factors included biomechanical and work organizational aspects of office work. Health status measures included pain intensity and the Work-Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH). Repeat cross-sectional analyses incorporated modifications for shared variance. For the cohort, a theory of change informed path analyses using MPLUS. RESULTS: Among respondents in 2001, 69% reported participation in RSI training and 56% had workstation assessments. Among those with pain, 57% had consulted a health practitioner, including the on-site physiotherapist. In repeat cross-sectional analyses, the proportion reporting moderate pain or worse, at least once per month or for longer than 1 week, declined from 20 to 16% (p=0.01). Among the cohort, pain intensity and work disability in 1996 were the strongest predictors of 2001 health status (both p<0.001). Stable or increased supervisor awareness and concern about RSI was associated with decreased pain in 2001(p<0.01). Participation in RSI training was associated with increases in decision latitude (p<0.05), which themselves were associated with decreased work disability in 2001 (p<0.05). Increased time mousing was associated with increases in work disability (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a worksite ergonomics program was associated with a reduction in frequent and severe pain in the workforce. Changes in work disability were affected by multiple factors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Health Promotion Mental Health Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Biomedical-engineering Health-programs Injury-prevention Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-health Office-workers Physiological-effects Physiological-measurements Physiological-response Physiological-testing Psychological-factors Quantitative-analysis Risk-analysis Risk-factors Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-programs Work-analysis Work-intervals Work-performance Worker-health

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• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  98-108
• Volume:
  80
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032096
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2006 Nov; 80(2):98-108
• Contact Point Address:
  Donald C. Cole , The Institute for Work and Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2E9
• Email:
  dcole@iwh.on.ca
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  The Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20030929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b1d5f2ad0e707dc6cacecf8703a9b5dc3732abe86c87804cfd0141dd7c3edee21f376939cceecabce05bf35ed37515391c8ae3b7fb1e624ae8c01d65d04449a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186150/cdc_186150_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 230.20 KB ]