Determining the musculoskeletal problems of academicians who transitioned to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders are a significant public health issue that negatively affects individuals and society both socially and economically, and increases the cost of care and cure. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the musculoskeletal problems and risk factors of academicians who transitioned to provide distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The population of this descriptive cross-sectional study included academicians who worked in two public universities in Turkey. Ethical committee approval and institutional permissions were obtained between 1 and 28 February 2021. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Work Environment Evaluation Questionnaire, and the Musculoskeletal Pain Intensity Assessment Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the number, percentage, independent group t-test, ANOVA test, and linear regression analysis (forward method). The analysis was interpreted at the 95% confidence level and 0.05 error margin. RESULTS: Of the academicians, 78% were women, 54.6% were married, 80.6% did not regularly exercise, and 73.5% had more workload during the distance education period. Academicians mostly experienced discomfort about their eyes, necks, and waists, and an increase at a significant level was detected in their musculoskeletal system problems during the distance education period. Increasing workload, duration of mobile phone use, active time, having an ergonomic chair, and gender predicted the musculoskeletal system pain intensity by 20% . CONCLUSION: Musculoskeletal system problems are a significant public health issue. Academicians should be informed and consulted for the protection of musculoskeletal system health during the distance education period.

The impact of COVID-19 related lockdown restrictions on musculoskeletal health: a systematic review

“…The included studies included a wide range of demographic characteristics that were published between 2020 and 2022. The included studies were conducted in Turkey [ 20 – 24 ], Italy [ 25 ], Polland [ 26 ], Australia [ 13 , 27 ], Jordan [ 28 ], Bangladesh [ 29 ], Estonia [ 30 ], the Netherlands [ 31 ], and Saudi Arabia [ 32 ]. The sample size of populations studied ranged from 91 to 40,702 participants.…”

“…All included studies were cross-sectional in nature and did not follow participants over time. Five studies used survey method [ 13 , 20 , 22 , 27 , 30 , 31 ], while eight studies were based on descriptive cross-sectional design [ 20 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 32 ]. The remaining study was case controlled [ 21 ].…”

“…One study used Visual Analogic scale [ 23 ]. The Work Environment Evaluation Questionnaire was used by Yorulmaz et al [ 20 ]. Three studies [ 22 , 24 , 32 ] used questionnaire whereas Oakman et al [ 27 ] utilised Growth Mixture Modelling.…”

Examination of Musculoskeletal System Disorders and Ergonomic Conditions in the Work Environment of Academics Providing Distance Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Controlled Study

“…This study revealed that, compared with the academics who did not provide computer-based distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic and had a lower workload, the ones who did provide distance education had a higher incidence rate of musculoskeletal symptoms in all joints in the lower and upper extremities, especially in the lower back, neck, and upper back, due to the increase in workload, long duration of online classes, and long sitting hours in front of the computer. A study conducted during the pandemic period emphasized that academicians had more musculoskeletal pain in passive periods than in active periods and showed that musculoskeletal pain increased as the passive period increased [ 20 ]. However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of the ergonomic structure of the work environment, and the ergonomic structure was reasonable in both groups.…”

“…Whether BMI is related to musculoskeletal system disorders is controversial [ 20 , 32 ]. In this study, BMI for academics was determined according to the classification determined by the WHO.…”