Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers

Prevalence and predictors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) vary considerably between countries. It is plausible that socio-cultural contexts may contribute to these differences. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 1184 Malaysian and Australian office workers with the aim to ex...

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Main Authors: Ismail Maakip, Tessa Keegel, Jodi Oakman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19299/1/Predictors%20of%20musculoskeletal%20discomfort.pdf
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author Ismail Maakip
Tessa Keegel
Jodi Oakman
author_facet Ismail Maakip
Tessa Keegel
Jodi Oakman
author_sort Ismail Maakip
collection UMS
description Prevalence and predictors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) vary considerably between countries. It is plausible that socio-cultural contexts may contribute to these differences. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 1184 Malaysian and Australian office workers with the aim to examine predictors associated with MSD discomfort. The 6-month period prevalence of self-reported MSD discomfort for Malaysian office workers was 92.8% and 71.2% among Australian workers. In Malaysia, a model regressing level of musculoskeletal discomfort against possible risk factors was significant overall (F [6, 370] = 17.35; p < 0.001) and explained 22% (r = 0.46) of its variance. MSD discomfort was significantly associated with predictors that included gender (b = 14), physical (b = 0.38) and psychosocial hazards (b= - 0.10), and work-life balance (b = - 0.13). In Australia, the regression model is also significant (F [6, 539] = 16.47; p < 0.001) with the model explaining 15.5% (r = 0.39) of the variance in MSD discomfort. Predictors such as gender (b = 0.14), physical (b= 24) and psychosocial hazards (b = - 0.17), were associated with MSD discomfort in Australian office workers. Predictors associated with MSD discomfort were similar, but their relative importance differed. Work-life balance was significantly associated with increased MSD discomfort for the Malaysian population only. Design and implementation of MSD risk management needs to take into account the work practices and culture of the target population.
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spelling ums.eprints-192992018-03-22T01:58:02Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19299/ Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers Ismail Maakip Tessa Keegel Jodi Oakman QP Physiology Prevalence and predictors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) vary considerably between countries. It is plausible that socio-cultural contexts may contribute to these differences. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 1184 Malaysian and Australian office workers with the aim to examine predictors associated with MSD discomfort. The 6-month period prevalence of self-reported MSD discomfort for Malaysian office workers was 92.8% and 71.2% among Australian workers. In Malaysia, a model regressing level of musculoskeletal discomfort against possible risk factors was significant overall (F [6, 370] = 17.35; p < 0.001) and explained 22% (r = 0.46) of its variance. MSD discomfort was significantly associated with predictors that included gender (b = 14), physical (b = 0.38) and psychosocial hazards (b= - 0.10), and work-life balance (b = - 0.13). In Australia, the regression model is also significant (F [6, 539] = 16.47; p < 0.001) with the model explaining 15.5% (r = 0.39) of the variance in MSD discomfort. Predictors such as gender (b = 0.14), physical (b= 24) and psychosocial hazards (b = - 0.17), were associated with MSD discomfort in Australian office workers. Predictors associated with MSD discomfort were similar, but their relative importance differed. Work-life balance was significantly associated with increased MSD discomfort for the Malaysian population only. Design and implementation of MSD risk management needs to take into account the work practices and culture of the target population. Elsevier 2017 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19299/1/Predictors%20of%20musculoskeletal%20discomfort.pdf Ismail Maakip and Tessa Keegel and Jodi Oakman (2017) Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers. Applied Ergonomics, 60. pp. 52-57. ISSN 0003-6870 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2016.11.004
spellingShingle QP Physiology
Ismail Maakip
Tessa Keegel
Jodi Oakman
Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title_full Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title_fullStr Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title_short Predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort: a cross-cultural comparison between Malaysian and Australian office workers
title_sort predictors of musculoskeletal discomfort a cross cultural comparison between malaysian and australian office workers
topic QP Physiology
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19299/1/Predictors%20of%20musculoskeletal%20discomfort.pdf
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