The Role of Ergonomic and Psychological Stressors in the Development of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Cashiers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baron, Sherry L. ; Fine, Lawrence J. ; Grant K ; Habes, Daniel J. ; Hurrell, Joseph J. Jr. ; Piacitelli, Laurie A. ; Sweeney M
• Description:
  Several epidemiological studies have documented an elevated rate of musculoskeletal disorders, including tendinitis of the hand and shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome, among workers in the retail food industry, particularly supermarket cashiers. While psychological factors have not been examined as potential contributors to the development of these disorders in cashiers, there is reason to believe they may exacerbate the deleterious causal effects of poor ergonomic conditions. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is therefore currently investigating the role of both ergonomic and job stress factors in the development of musculoskeletal disorders among retail food workers. The NIOSH study design involves examining exposures to ergonomic stressors and measuring job stress factors and then determining the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among two groups of cashiers and a control population. The two groups of cashiers include one working on checkstands with a poor ergonomic design and another working on checkstands with an improved ergonomic design. The determination of which checkstands constitutes a poorer versus an improved design was made by a panel of six, including four ergonomic experts, a supermarket industrial engineer and a labor union safety and health specialist. Both groups of cashiers will be compared to a control group of supermarket workers who are not exposed to ergonomic stressors and primarily provide customer assistance. Each of the three groups in the study will include approximately 200 workers. The epidemiological assessment will include a questionnaire which assesses musculoskeletal discomfort, documents work history, and appraises potential confounders including hobbies, medical conditions and second jobs. A standardized musculoskeletal examination will be conducted on all participants and a sample of symptomatic and asymptomatic workers will have nerve conduction velocity testing. Job stress factors will be measured utilizing scales from the NIOSH Generic Job Stress Questionnaire as well as other standardized assessment instruments. These factors include excessive repetitive work load, low decision latitude, continuous interpersonal interactions, time pressures and variance in workload. Ergonomic evaluation will quantify job repetitiveness and awkward postures and estimate force. Since the number of items processed by each cashier does not vary significantly between checkstand designs, this study should help to determine the relative importance of improving workstation design while maintaining a relatively high repetition rate. Interaction between psychological and ergonomic stresses will also be assessed since many of the work stress factors, such as time pressures, may contribute to awkward postures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Grocery Stores Job Stress MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Posture Psychological Factors Repetitive Work Retail Workers
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences ; DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  55-56
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059017
• Citation:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1992 Nov; :55-56
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C.
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7856c34e2958c400e43aee871c8f2aedff7a3eb4a77cecc1a02ed13c1b2c02976b5e1e52c75bfabe507fc3739bf3b8c5dda1b2f5c9c6742067a7f449a2a1475c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223351/cdc_223351_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 834.11 KB ]