Abstract
The aim of this Solomon four-group study was to evaluate the effectiveness of participatory ergonomics (PE) intervention to improve musculoskeletal health among manufacturing industry workers. A total of 436 workers were randomly assigned into four groups. Intervention groups went through PE intervention while control groups went through hearing conservation programme. The main outcome measures were the prevalence and intensity of musculoskeletal pain at 9 body sites, collected by questionnaires at baseline (pretested groups) and 3 months after PE intervention (all groups). The study found that lower back has the highest prevalence rate of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). There was significant lower prevalence rate of MSD at upper back, lower back and knee for intervention group as compared to control group. There was a significant main effect of PE intervention on the overall pain intensity at different body parts whether they are pretested or non-pretested. In conclusion, PE intervention had effectively improved musculoskeletal health among the respondents.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Shaw K, Haslam C, Haslam R (2007) A staged approach to reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in a long term follow. HSE, Loughborough
Zheltoukhova Ksenia, O’Dea Lisa, Bevan S (2012) Taking the strain: the impact of musculoskeletal disorders on work and home life. The Work Foundation, London
Social Security Organization (2014) 2013 annual report of Social Security Organization
Kogi K (2006) Participatory methods effective for ergonomic workplace improvement. Appl Ergon 37(4):547–554. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2006.04.013
Rivilis I, Van Eerd D, Cullen K, Cole DC, Irvin E, Tyson J, Mahood Q (2008) Effectiveness of participatory ergonomic interventions on health outcomes: a systematic review. Appl Ergon 39(3):342–358. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2007.08.006
Haines H, Wilson JR, Vink P, Koningsveld E (2002) Validating a framework for participatory ergonomics (the PEF). Ergonomics 45(4):309–327. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140130210123516
International Labour Organization (2010) Ergonomic checkpoints: practical and easy-to-implement solutions for improving safety, health and working conditions, 2nd edn. ILO Publications, Geneva
International Labour Organization (2009) Work improvement in small enterprise (WISE) Trainers’ Guide. ILO Publications, Geneva
Kuorinka I, Jonsson B, Kilbom A, Vinterberg H, Biering-Sørensen F, Andersson G, Jørgensen K (1987) Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Appl Ergon 18(3):233–237. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0003-6870(87)90010-X
Braver MW, Braver SL (1988) Statistical treatment of the Solomon four-group design: a meta-analytic approach. Psychol Bull 104(1):150–154. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.104.1.150
Chandrasakaran A, Chee HL, Rampal KG, Tan GL (2003) The prevalence of musculoskeletal problems and risk factors among women assembly workers in the semiconductor industry. Med J Malays 58(5):657–66. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15190650
Nur NM, Dawal SZ, Dahari M (2014) The prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders among workers performing industrial repetitive tasks in the automotive manufacturing companies, pp 1–8
Hoy D, Bain C, Williams G, March L, Brooks P, Blyth F et al (2012) A systematic review of the global prevalence of low back pain. Arthr Rheum 64(6):2028–2037. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/art.34347
Deros BM, Daruis DDI, Ismail AR, Sawal NA, Ghani JA (2010) Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers’ performing manual material handling work in an automotive manufacturing company. Am J Appl Sci 7(8):1087–1092
van Eerd D, Cole D, Irvin E, Mahood Q, Keown K, Theberge N et al (2010) Process and implementation of participatory ergonomic interventions: a systematic review. Ergonomics 53(10):1153–1166. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2010.513452
Driessen MT, Proper KI, Anema JR, Knol DL, Bongers PM, van der Beek AJ (2011) The effectiveness of participatory ergonomics to prevent low-back and neck pain—results of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Scand J Work Environ Health 37(10):383–393. https://dx.doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3163
Campbell DT, Stanley JC (1963) Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research, chapter 5. In Handbook of research on teaching. Houghton Mifflin Company, p 55. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0306-4573(84)90053-0
Bracht GH, Glass GV (1968) The external validity of experiments. Am Educ Res J 5(4):437–474. https://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00028312005004437
Acknowledgements
The research project was partly funded by Putra Grant of Universiti Putra Malaysia (GP-IPS/2013/9399832). The authors would like to thank Ms. Sam Wei Yeng for her assistance in the training and all the respondents involved for their willingness to share their information.
Ethical Approval
Research Ethics Committee of UPM approved the protocol.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lim, C.S., Mohd Rafee, B.B., Anita, A.R., Shamsul, A.S., Mohd Noor, S.B. (2018). Effectiveness of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention to Improve Musculoskeletal Health: A Solomon Four-Group Study Among Manufacturing Industry Workers in Selangor, Malaysia. In: Ray, G., Iqbal, R., Ganguli, A., Khanzode, V. (eds) Ergonomics in Caring for People. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4980-4_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4980-4_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4979-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4980-4
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)