Ergonomic-based intervention for musculoskeletal disorders among sugar factory workers in Jinja, Uganda

Abstract

Despite this long-standing awareness, WRMSDs continue to be the main reason among people with a work-related illness. The study aimed at developing ergonomic based interveion among sugar factory workers to reducec the prevalence of Musculoskletal Disorders. A quasi-experimental study of pre-test and post-test was adopted in this study for six months, using a well-structured standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire (NMQ) and Quick Exposure Checklist (QEC). A stratified sampling technique was used. A sample size of 402 was divided equally among the two sugar factories as an experimental group and a control group. Ethical approvals were sought from the relevant bodies before conducting the study. The quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26, while the qualitative data was analyzed using Atlas.ti version 9. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviations, percentages, and frequencies were used. While t-test, Chi-square, and multivariate logistic regression were used as inferential statistics. A higher prevalence of 77.1% was reported among the sugar factories workers in 12 months, lower back region 63.7% and Upper back region 46.3% was the most affected body region among the respondents. All the risk factors have a level of association with either one or some of the anatomical regions under bivariate and Level of education (p=0.034), experience (p=0.011), departments (p=0.011), standing for long (p=0.035), and job time (p=0.001) was shown to be a predictor of WRMSDs at multivariate level. The paired t-test analysis of the QEC total score showed a reduction after the post-intervention and was significantly different before and after the intervention. The majority of the study population in both groups were males and at their youthful age, the prevalence of WRMSDs was higher in the experimental group compared to the control group, and this was due to the mechanized system of work in the control group. The ergonomic intervention resulted in a reduction of the prevalence of WRMSDS among the workers in the Experimental group from 77.1% to 37.0%, which is key to the study findings. This study showed how the risk factors are predisposing the respondent to WRMSDs, and lack of ergonomic knowledge or training was highlighted as major reasons for WRMSDs. Recommendation: The results of this study will assist the factories in enhancing the wellness of their workers by reducing the socioeconomic burdens, work-related absenteeism and ultimately increasing factory productivity.