Background: Due to high prevalence of musculoskeletal risk factors among kitchen workers and their role in causing discomfort, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ergonomic factors (mental workload and working posture) on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among workers of training hospitals in Qazvin, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done through census among 60 workers of teaching hospital's kitchens of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Data were collected using pain perception and mental workload questionnaires and Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method was used for posture assessment. Data were analyzed using single and multiple logistic regression tests. Results: About 85% of the workers reported that their work shift was very heavier than normal. The best and worst exposure score in QEC method were assigned to cooking and trolley responsible tasks, respectively. Seventy percent of working postures were classified in action level 3 (i.e. investigation and changes are required soon) that increased the backache prevalence by nearly about 4 times. Heavy workload in interaction with other influential factors increased the neck discomfort about 5 times and back discomfort by 2.5 times. Conclusions: Long working hours, heavy workload, stress, high-speed work, long standing and inadequate rest are the factors influencing the increase of MSDs prevalence among the kitchen workers. By increasing numbers of manpower, reducing the workload and working hours and adequate rest, in addition to doing the work properly, MSDs in this group can somehow be reduced.
Background: Proper designing of chairs based on ergonomics increases efficiency, promotes quality of education, leads to correct posture in students, and reduces risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Objectives: The aim of this study was to design and develop an ergonomic chair, based on anthropometric data of students in educational settings. Methods: Anthropometric parameters were obtained from a stratified-random sample of 207 students. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20 software, and the results were extracted as mean, standard deviation, and percentiles. The chair was planned in the CATIA software and developed by a three-dimensional print. Results: In this study, an ergonomic chair was designed based on anthropometric data from students. The seat height, depth, and width of the chair were determined as 44 cm, 42 cm, and 42.15 cm, respectively. The height of the desk was adjustable in 19 to 29 cm, and the depth and length of the desk were considered as 51 cm and 65 cm. The width and height of the backrest were also 54 cm and 44 cm, and the backrest angle was adjustable in 95°to 105°. Conclusions: An ergonomic chair with adjustable parts was designed to achieve a well-match between anthropometric characteristics of students and the furniture. Such chair can reduce musculoskeletal disorders in students. Some ergonomic characteristics of this chair include adjustability of footrest, backrest, armrests, and desk. A chair with such characteristic can be used by many students with different body sizes.
Journal homepage: www.zums.ac.ir/jhehp Background: Since students spend a lot of time in classrooms and in steady state, many of them may experience signs of musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its related risk factors among students. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted among 129 students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2016. In order to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, Nordic questionnaire was used. The relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors was evaluated in SPSS20 software. Results: The highest incidence of musculoskeletal discomfort (80%) was observed in the waist area. The neck (38.3%) and shoulder (35%) were the most prevalent at the next levels. Marital status, age, weight, educational level, job, exercise and stress were identified as risk factors affecting the musculoskeletal disorders in the students. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders by the necessary trainings to declare the risk factors and their modifications to the students, considering appropriate time between the classes and the use of ergonomic equipment and furniture in the classes. With these actions also can prevent from stress and consequently can increase the concentration and learning power in this group.
Background and Objective: Due to the role of recognition in eating disorders, the identification of core beliefs and cognitive schemas becomes debatable. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of schema therapy in psychological distress, body image, and eating disorder beliefs in anorexic patients. Materials and Methods: This was an applied quasi-experimental study with a pretest and posttest design and control group. The statistical population of the study included patients with an eating disorder, attending the psychological, clinical psychiatric, and obesity treatment centers in Ahvaz, Iran, within the age range of 16-23 years in 2019. The subjects were selected using the purposive sampling method. In this study, the pretest (i.e., filling out the Eating Disorder Beliefs Questionnaire [EDBQ]) was performed before the schema therapy intervention. Then, the intervention was conducted on the experimental group; however, no intervention was carried out for the control group. After the termination of the treatment sessions (12 sessions of 45 min), the posttest was performed. Finally, 3 months following the termination of the treatment, the follow-up test was conducted. The data were obtained using the EDBQ, Psychological Distress Questionnaire, and Body Image Concern Inventory. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and SPSS software (version 22). Results: The results of the present study showed that schema therapy led to a decrease in psychological distress (F=157.36, P<0.0001, Eta=0.89), body image concern (F=8.03, P<0.001, Eta=0.29), and eating disorder beliefs (F=13.85, P<0.0001, Eta=0.91). Conclusion: It can be concluded that schema therapy reduces psychological distress, body image concerns, and eating disorder beliefs
Background and Objective: Given that satisfaction with educational facilities and feeling comfortable in the classroom can affect learning, focus, and productivity, the necessity for a valid and reliable questionnaire that is appropriate for determining students' satisfaction with training chairs has been recognized. Therefore, we aimed to design and validate a training chair satisfaction questionnaire. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed in two phases, that is, designing and examining the validity and reliability of the satisfaction questionnaire and determining its cut-off point in 2016. To determine the content validity of the questionnaire, content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were used, and to determine its external and internal reliability, test-retest and Cronbach's alpha methods were adopted. Also, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized for specifying its sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off point. Results: CVI was calculated at 0.798, which is acceptable for this questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was estimated at 0.799 and the correlation between the questions in first and second series was in an acceptable significance level (r=0.825; P=0.000). In the ROC, the cut-off point was reported as 35.5 with the sensitivity and specificity of 80.9% and 46.2%, respectively, and area under the ROC curve at this cut-off point was 0.65. Conclusion: Based on our results regarding the validity and reliability indices of the questionnaire developed by the researcher, it was noted that this questionnaire is valid and reliable for the assessment of students' satisfaction with training chairs and can be used to examine all office and student chairs.
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