Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Workers in a Child Care Institution

The work-related musculoskeletal disorders among the child care workers could be high given the fact that the workers frequently lift the children and conduct physical actions under inappropriate postures. The objective of this study is to survey the musculoskeletal disorders and potential ergonomic risk factors among the workers in a child care center through an on-site visit and a questionnaire survey. We also used the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ) as a screening questionnaire to detect the emotional distress of the workers. There were 85 workers recruited in our study. Results showed that shoulder pain (57.0%), low back pain (54.7%) and neck pain (45.3%) were the most common musculoskeletal disorders. There were 72% of the workers considering their musculoskeletal disorders being work-related. There were significant correlations between absence-day and other variables, such as intensity of neck pain (r = 0.38, p<0.01), intensity of shoulder pain (r =0.38, p<0.01), intensity of back pain (r =0.40, p<0.01), and regular exercise (r = -0.24, p<0.05). The scores of CHQ also had significant correlations with the pain intensity of several body parts. Among them, the pain intensity of low back had the highest correlation coefficient with the CHQ (r =0.49, p<0.01). As to the potential ergonomic risk factors, more than half of the workers had to lift child or heavy object, and worked in awkward postures. The results showed that the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders were high among child care workers, and it might have a negative impact on absence-days. Further educational training for proper posture and improving of work environment are indicated to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disease. ( Tw J Phys Med Rehabil 2008; 36(1): 15 21 )