Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder Symptoms among Com puter User Workers of Ethiopian Roads Authority in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Computer related health problems and ergonomic disorders are resulted from prolonged computer usage in a maladaptive manner. At least 10 million new cases of computer related human health risks occur each year; posing in reduced life quality and work productivity. This study aims to describe the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorder symptoms among computer user workers of Ethiopian Roads Authority.

Methods: Two hundred thirty three workers were requested for the study from all ten districts of Ethiopian Roads Authority from January 2018 to February 2018. A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered questionnaires to collect socio-demographic data, symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders, informa tion regarding ergonomic and computer work station conditions. Chi-square test was used to determine the association between the variables. The odds ratio was calculated using binary logistic regressions. The significance level was considered as P < 0.05.

Result: A total of 233 workers were included in this study from Ethiopian Roads Authority; 61% of the respondents were males, whereas; 39% were females. The 12-months prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorder symptoms among computer users in this study population was 71.2%. The most frequently self-reported symptoms were back pain (46.4%), headache (39.9%), neck pain (31.3%), and wrist pain (12%) among Ethiopian Roads Authority workers (p < 0.05). Computing hours per day was significantly associated with the presence of musculoskeletal disorder symptoms.

Conclusion: Ethiopian Roads Authority computer user workers had a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Daily computer using hours was the most single statistically significant risk factor in this study. There is a need to increase the corrective measures that to be implemented to reduce the impact of computer related symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders.

Keywords: Mmusculoskeletal symptoms, Computer user workers, Ergonomic training, Ethiopian Roads Authority, Work-related musculoskeletal disorders