Munala Jotham M, Olivier Benita, Karuguti Wallace M, Karanja Simon M
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Rehabilitative Sciences, Kenya Medical Training College, Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
S Afr J Physiother. 2021 Mar 9;77(1):1515. doi: 10.4102/sajp.v77i1.1515. eCollection 2021.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a global public concern for health and social-care systems, as well as individuals. They are the second-most prevalent cause of disability globally.
The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of WMSDs amongst flower farm workers. The secondary objective was to determine the association between the socio-demographic characteristics and the presence of WMSDs in the previous 12-month period.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. A sample of 270 participants was drawn from 897 farm workers. Quantitative data related to musculoskeletal disorders were collected using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). Descriptive statistics were undertaken using frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics were analysed using a chi-squared test (X) based on an alpha level of < 0.05.
A total of 184 (68.1%) respondents reported musculoskeletal discomfort. Amongst the 184 respondents, 178 were performing general farm work. Most 103 (38.1%) of the WMSDs were reported in the lower back. There was a strong association between job designation as a general worker ( = 0.016), an older age ( = 0.027) and having worked for a long time as a farm worker ( = 0.041) and WMSDs.
Flower farm workers in Kenya were found to be heavily burdened by WMSDs. Furthermore, the job designation, older age, as well as having worked for a long time, predisposes workers to the risk of developing WMSDs.
The high prevalence of WMSDs necessitates policy reform in the flower farm industry.
与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病（WMSDs）是全球卫生和社会护理系统以及个人关注的公共卫生问题。它们是全球第二大常见残疾原因。
主要目的是确定花卉农场工人中WMSDs的患病率。次要目的是确定社会人口学特征与过去12个月内WMSDs存在之间的关联。
进行了一项横断面描述性研究。从897名农场工人中抽取了270名参与者作为样本。使用北欧肌肉骨骼问卷（NMQ）收集与肌肉骨骼疾病相关的定量数据。使用频率和百分比进行描述性统计。基于α水平<0.05，使用卡方检验（X）进行推断性统计分析。
共有184名（68.1%）受访者报告有肌肉骨骼不适。在这184名受访者中，178人从事一般农场工作。大多数（103人，占38.1%）的WMSDs报告发生在腰部。普通工人的工作岗位（P = 0.016）、年龄较大（P = 0.027）以及长期从事农场工作（P = 0.041）与WMSDs之间存在密切关联。
发现肯尼亚花卉农场工人深受WMSDs的困扰。此外，工作岗位、年龄较大以及工作时间较长使工人易患WMSDs。
WMSDs的高患病率需要花卉农场行业进行政策改革。
