Department of Ergonomics, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2022 Jul;95(5):953-964. doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01811-x. Epub 2021 Nov 30.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are common occupational problems affecting the health and productivity of workers worldwide. Ergonomic intervention programs (EIPs) can play an effective role in preventing these disorders in the workplace. Assessing the effectiveness of an EIP is a challenge faced by both industries and researchers. This study was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of an EIP on human resources productivity (HRP), musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), general health and occupational fatigue in a steel industry.
This study was conducted in a steel industry in Isfahan, Iran, between 2018 and 2021. To assess the effectiveness of the EIP with a participatory approach, training and redesign of workstations, the criteria of HRP, MSDs, general health and occupational fatigue were investigated before and after the intervention, using HRP Questionnaire, Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ), 28-item General Health Questionnaire (28-GHQ), Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI-20) and Occupational Fatigue/Exhaustion Recovery (OFER-15) Questionnaire, as data collection tools, respectively.
The implementation of EIP in the studied industry significantly led to an increase in HRP (p < 0.05). The prevalence of MSDs decreased significantly in most regions of the body after the interventions (p < 0.001). In addition, the program significantly improved general health (p < 0.001) and reduced occupational fatigue among employees (p < 0.001).
The implementation of EIP was significantly effective in working conditions improvement. Therefore, implementing EIP with participatory approach, workforce training, as well as redesigning of workstations are recommended in industries.
与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病（WMSD）是影响全球劳动者健康和生产力的常见职业问题。人体工程学干预计划（EIP）可以在工作场所预防这些疾病方面发挥有效作用。评估 EIP 的效果是行业和研究人员面临的挑战。本研究旨在评估一项 EIP 对钢铁行业人力资源生产力（HRP）、肌肉骨骼疾病（MSD）、一般健康和职业疲劳的有效性。
本研究于 2018 年至 2021 年在伊朗伊斯法罕的一家钢铁厂进行。为了采用参与式方法评估 EIP 的效果，对培训和工作站重新设计，在干预前后使用 HRP 问卷、北欧肌肉骨骼问卷（NMQ）、28 项一般健康问卷（28-GHQ）、瑞典职业疲劳量表（SOFI-20）和职业疲劳/衰竭恢复（OFER-15）问卷，分别评估 HRP、MSD、一般健康和职业疲劳的标准，作为数据收集工具。
在研究行业中实施 EIP 显著导致 HRP 增加（p<0.05）。干预后，大多数身体部位的 MSD 患病率显著下降（p<0.001）。此外，该计划显著改善了员工的一般健康（p<0.001）并降低了职业疲劳（p<0.001）。
实施 EIP 对改善工作条件非常有效。因此，建议在工业中采用参与式方法、劳动力培训以及工作站重新设计来实施 EIP。
