Prevalence and Associated Factors of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Workers in a Naval Dockyard

Abstract

                This is a cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to determine the prevalence and related factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and assess the ergonomic risk among 384 volunteer workers in a Naval dockyard. Data were collected from self-administered questionnaire, Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and WSET caution/hazard zone to assess ergonomic risk factors. The content validity of the questionnaires was evaluated with index of item objective congruence (IOC), which the results were 0.67 - 1. Analysis was done with descriptive analysis, Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test and binary logistic regression by STATA 17.0. Statistical significance was at p-value < .05.
            The life-long and the last 12 month prevalence of MSD were 62.24% and 58.07%, respectively. The predominant area was the low back area. There were 29.17% of workers claimed that the MSD affected their daily life and 14.84% took a sick leave. The related factors associated with the MSD were being married, having underlying diseases, consuming alcohol and working in high hand force positions. Assessment for ergonomic risks revealed that most workers in the dockyard worked with risky positions which correlated with the occurrence of MSD. Job analysis was recommended to improve the working processes and launch an appropriate ergonomic programs.