Document Type : Research Paper
Abstract
This study was conducted among dates’ packinghouse workers with the objectives of a) determining of MSDs prevalence and b) evaluating level of exposure to MSDs risk factors. The results of this study can be used to develop MSDs preventive strategies in the workplace and improve workers’ health. This study was a descriptive- analytic approach performed on 98 workers at 6 activities and 29 working postures by using REBA method. The prevalence of MSDs was obtained by using Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). The data were analyzed by independent t-test, Chi-square and proportions test with P<0.05 as the limit of significance. The average of age and job tenure was 34.9±14.86 and 7.01±5.79 years, respectively. The 69.4% of the workers suffered from some kind of symptoms during the last 12 months. The highest prevalence was reported in lower back (30.6%), knees (25.5%) and ankles/feet (23.5%). The result of REBA evaluation method showed that 19 postures were at average risk and in need of necessary corrective action and 4 postures were at high risk and possible correction actions were necessary. This study demonstrated that WMSDs occurred at a high rate in the study population. Major ergonomic problems were found to be awkward postures, manual material handling, back rotation and bending. Furthermore, based on the REBA results, implementation of interventional corrective measures to reduce level of workers' exposure to WMSDs risk factors was essential.
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