An Ecological Model of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Work

Details

• Personal Author:
  Sauter, Steven L. ; Swanson, Naomi G.
• Description:
  There is increasing recognition that so-called "psychosocial" factors in the workplace are somehow involved in the etiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the context of office work involving video display terminals (VDTs). In an expansive review of the epidemiologic literature on psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders, Bongers and de Winter (1992) concluded that monotonous work, high perceived workload, time pressure, and low control and social support were all related to musculoskeletal symptoms among workers. This relationship is captured in a metaphor by Hocking (1990) which likens work related disease to an iceberg floating in a social sea (workplace psychosocial environment). Disease is more or less manifest as the iceberg floats higher or lower as a function of conditions in the psychosocial sea. Despite the mounting evidence, the notion that psychosocial factors affect musculoskeletal disorders has met with some uncertainty. As we see it, the problem is 1wo-fold, having to do with 1) confusion regarding the concept of psychosocial factors, and 2) questions regarding possible causal mechanisms linking psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders. These uncertainties are elaborated further as follows. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Mental Health Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Workload Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Job-analysis Muscle-stress Muscular-disorders Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-diseases Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Physical-stress Psychological-effects Psychological-factors Psychological-reactions Psychological-responses Psychological-stress Psychological-testing Repetitive-work Sociological-factors Stress Video-display-terminals Work-capacity Worker-health Worker-motivation Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

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• ISBN:
  0748403221
• Publisher:
  Taylor and Francis
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3-22
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027620
• Citation:
  Psychosocial Factors and Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Work. London, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 1995 Dec; :3-22
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH - Taft Laboratory, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Applied Psychology and Ergonomics Branch, Mail Stop C-24, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH, 45226
• Editor(s):
  Moon S; Sauter SL
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Psychosocial Factors and Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Work
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1a85f359ffa24c975a54ad494b2ba557eb1efb92094a1b45a5091f9b7a4978bd700caf7ac7c6e970d0699f9095fbfe8a46d2eb462c5dc9d29e1476f8d1c345b7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197605/cdc_197605_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.60 MB ]