BackgroundShoulder and neck pain are reported as the most common occupational-related health problem and cause of morbidity, absenteeism from work among school teachers worldwide. School teachers represent an occupational group, who are exposed and appears to have prevalent shoulder and/or neck pain due to their daily work tasks and the nature of work. There is a scant epidemiological study regarding shoulder and neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was set out to assess the prevalence and associated factors of shoulder and/or neck pain among school teachers of Gondar town in North West Ethiopia.MethodAn institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to January 2017, a structured questionnaire adapted from the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was distributed to 848 primary and secondary school teachers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. To assess the burden of shoulder and/neck pain, data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and physical measures like height and weight were also measured during data collection. Independent variables which had significant association were identified using logistic regression model.ResultA total of 754 teachers participated, with a mean age of 42 ± 9.73 years (88.9% response rate). Previous 12 months self-reported prevalence of shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers was 57.3% with 95%CI (53.4–61.0%). Regular physical exercise (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08–0.42), teaching experience (OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.09–7.42), static head down posture (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.55–3.33), elevated arm over shoulder (OR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.86–3.95), prolonged sitting (OR = 1.50,95% CI: 1.02–2.23) and hypertension (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.24–3.82) were factors found to be significantly associated with shoulder and/neck pain.Conclusion and recommendationMore than half of the study participants self-reported to have suffered shoulder and neck pain in the previous 12 months. Teaching experience, static head down posture, elevated arm over shoulder, and hypertension are likely to be significantly associated with shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Engaging in regular physical exercise has a protective effect against the shoulder and/or neck pain. Therefore, school authorities are recommended to provide facilities to enhance physical activity among school teachers and also provide adjustable board and classroom materials.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-019-2397-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Stroke is becoming one of the leading causes of adult disability and death in sub-Saharan African countries. The aim of the present study is to provide an up-to-date account of the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with stroke admitted to the

The development of context-appropriate sensor technologies could alleviate the significant burden of stroke in Sub-Saharan African rehabilitation clinicians and health care facilities. However, many commercially available wearable sensors are beyond the financial capabilities of the majority of African persons. In this study, we evaluated the concurrent validity of a low-cost wearable sensor (i.e., the outREACH sensor) to measure upper limb movement kinematics of 31 healthy persons, using an 8-camera Vicon motion capture system as the reference standard. The outREACH sensor showed high correlation (r range: 0.808–0.990) and agreement (mean difference range: −1.60 to 1.10) with the reference system regardless of task or kinematic parameter. Moreover, Bland-Altman analyses indicated that there were no significant systematic errors present. This study indicates that upper limb movement kinematics can be accurately measured using the outREACH sensor, and have the potential to enhance stroke evaluation and rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Acquired brain injuries place a significant burden on sub-Saharan African rehabilitation clinicians and health care facilities. While wearable sensors have the potential to alleviate these issues, many are beyond the financial capabilities of the majority of African persons and clinics. To bridge this gap, we have developed a low-cost wrist-worn sensor (the outREACH sensor) capable of accurately measuring upper limb movement kinematics. In this study we evaluated the extent to which the outREACH sensor is sensitive to the hand performing the task (unimpaired, impaired) and level of impairment (mild, moderate) in 14 Ethiopian persons with acquired brain injury (mean age = 51.6 ± 12.2 years, 1 female, 13 male). Participants performed an object manipulation task with both the impaired and the unimpaired limb, and reaching performance was measured using standard kinematic measures (i.e., movement time, spectral arc length, peak velocity, peak acceleration, mean velocity, mean acceleration). Overall, movements were smoother and faster when performed by the patient's unimpaired limb. In contrast, maximum velocity did not differ between the two limbs. Moreover, the outREACH sensor was sensitive to differences in performance-based upper limb impairment. Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper extremity scores were significantly correlated with movement time, spectral arc length, and peak velocity. Upper limb movement kinematics can be accurately measured using the outREACH sensor. The outREACH sensor can be a valuable addition to standardized clinical measures that provides rehabilitation clinicians with information regarding initial upper limb impairment level and changes in function across the rehabilitation lifespan.

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