Investigation of the effect of educational chairs on satisfaction of students and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders

Background and aims: Chair's design based on ergonomic in addition to increase productivity and quality education, leading to the satisfaction and comfort of the people. Given that identify chairs' problems and correct them, can prevent the occurrence of discomfort in users, the aim of this study was to measure student satisfaction from teaching chairs and their impact on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 1395 among 180 students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Researchers designed satisfaction questionnaire used to assess the satisfaction from the 6 chair questionnaire and Nordic questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Collected data were analyzed by Chi square and Kruskal-wallis tests in SPSS20 software. Results: The highest satisfaction was allocated to chair 4 and 6 as well as the highest prevalence of disorders was observed in back. A significant relationship was between overall satisfaction and the prevalence of discomfort in back (p=0.004) and hips (p=0.043) and there was a significant relationship between the chair type and the overall satisfaction of them. A significant relationship was observed between the chair type and prevalence of disorders in any areas of the body (P>0.05). Conclusion: Adjustability, material, flexibility of backrest and back support, good appearance and strength of chair are from effective factors on satisfaction. With training ergonomics principles and correct sitting style to students and modify their postures can be prevented the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders and consequently, increased levels of satisfaction