Systematic review on the prevalence of illness and stress and their associated risk factors among educators in Malaysia

Abstract

Background Despite evidence of physical (illness) and mental (stress) health problems, there appears to be a lack of studies or concern regarding occupational safety and health among educators in Malaysia. Objective To review the prevalence of illness, stress, and corresponding risk factors among educators in Malaysia. Method Scopus, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, CAB, and other computerized databases were searched according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies published between January 2013 and April 2019 on the prevalence and associated risk factors of illness and stress among educators ( S1 Checklist ). The keywords used included educator, teacher, lecturer, academic staff, teaching profession, university staff, academician, faculty, illness, injury, disease, pain, WMSD, dysphonia, hoarseness, stress, mental health, strain, health problem, disorder, and/or Malaysia. Selected studies were evaluated by quality assessment. Results Twenty-two articles fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of illness and stress was determined for low back pain (33.3–72.9%); upper back pain (33.33–56.4%); neck/shoulder pain (40.4–80.1%); upper arm discomfort (91.3%); forearm pain (89.6%); wrist pain (16.7–93.2%); hip pain (13.2–40.9%); thigh discomfort (91.8%); lower leg discomfort (90.5%); knee pain (23.7–88.0%); ankle/feet pain (19.3–87.7%); elbow pain (3.5–13.0%); voice disorder (10.4–13.0%) and stress (5.5–25.9%). Sex, education level, teaching experience, quality of life, anxiety, depression, coping styles, and others were reported as associated risk factors across the studies. Conclusions There appears to be a cause for concern regarding musculoskeletal disorders, voice disorder, and stress reported among educators in Malaysia. While most risk factors matched those reported in studies elsewhere, others such as school characteristics (school level, government or private school, and location [rural/urban]) have not been investigated.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Association of Patterns and Physical Risk Factors with Musculoskeletal Disorders among Academicians in Saudi Arabia

“…These reviews are also coinciding with our study observations. Our study is consistent with the recent observations on work-related MSDs that the most commonly affected body regions were the lower back, neck, and shoulder [ 15 , 19 ], and furthermore, back disorders are considered among the most commonly affected regions in any working industry [ 2 ]. The occupational and demographic factors also influence the prevalence of MSD patterns [ 11 , 19 ].…”

“…The current study observed 42.5% annual prevalence of MSDs among the academicians in Saudi Arabia. As compared to previous studies, the present study observes lesser prevalence and change in the ranking of the involvement of body regions may be due to the difference among the participation of various faculties, wide demographics, and different work settings [ 7 , 11 , 15 ]. A previously done study, reported a 12-month NMQ prevalence of 55% WMSDs among faculty members of only Majmaah University with the sample size of 110 [ 16 ], whereas our current study included wide ranges of academic faculties such as nursing, applied medical sciences, pharmacy, dentistry, computer science, science, and engineering from different universities from different demographical regions of Saudi Arabia with larger sample size.…”

“…The current result of NMQ and DMQ prevalence similarities emphasizes the importance of frequent NMQ assessment of MSDs to prevent lifetime disabilities and help an individual lead a quality life. It has been reported that NMQ assessment is the most commonly used base instrument to assess the MSDs [ 15 ]. Interestingly, global trends report that lower back pain and neck pain are the single largest cause with little change in their rates for the past many years; moreover, rates of osteoarthritis increased recently [ 18 ].…”

“…Moreover, prolonged use of body regions in a particular posture such as standing especially during lectures attributed to MSDs in the trunk, neck, and knees [ 20 ]. Academicians are exposed to ergonomic risk factors including prolonged standing, prolonged sitting, working with computers, and walking up and down the stairs, and working with loads had a higher prevalence of MSDs [ 11 , 15 ]. The use of electronic devices and computers in academics has increased dramatically in the past two decades as compared to traditional blackboard teaching.…”

“…The short version of the DMQ consists of the areas of general, health 2, work 1, and work 2 from the standard version of the DMQ. We identified 20 questions according to the job nature of the academicians from the standard version of DMQ and listed the same in work 1 of the shortened version of DMQ [ 15 ]. The scores were rated under 4 categories: never (1 point), sometimes (2 points), often (3 points), and always (4 points).…”