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      Work-related musculoskeletal problems related to laboratory training in university medical science students: a cross sectional survey

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          Abstract

          Background

          Work-related musculoskeletal problems impact everyday function, working ability, and quality of life. Unaddressed musculoskeletal problems can lead to major injury and loss of function, contributing to participation restrictions, economic loss and the increasing burden of disease worldwide. Medical science laboratory technicians are not immune with reported work-related musculoskeletal problems between 40 and 80%. Similar data is not available for medical science students, who may be the most vulnerable at the beginning of their careers. This study investigated the prevalence, common sites, impact and potential solutions for work-related musculoskeletal problems in medical science students during their university laboratory training.

          Methods

          A Standardised Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was administered to medical science students at a local university in Sydney, Australia, to evaluate the prevalence, site and impact of work-related musculoskeletal problems. Problems were defined as an ache, pain, discomfort or numbness in body regions within 12 months and last 7 days in this period. The questionnaire was administered between April and June 2017.

          Results

          The response rate was 38.2% ( n = 110/288). Over a third ( n = 38/110) reported a laboratory related musculoskeletal problem in the last 12 months and just over a fifth ( n = 24/110) within 7 days. The lower back (30% and 17%), neck (24% and 10%) and upper back (21% and 10%) were the most common sites of problems reported within a 12 month and 7 day period respectively. Problems reported in the lower back, neck and upper back prevented daily activities in the majority of cases (between 63 to 83%) with many seeking physician or health professional assistance (between 13 to 83%). Solutions suggested by respondents included better seating designs, rest periods and education about correct working posture.

          Conclusions

          Some medical science students during their laboratory training are already experiencing high levels of musculoskeletal problems, even before they enter the workforce. While the response rate was low affecting generalizability, the extent of problems limiting activity and needs to seek assistance of those reporting problems is of concern. Strategies are suggested to address ergonomic and postural training, as part of university curriculums, including the identification of problems for early intervention to facilitate sustainable workforces.

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          Most cited references18

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          Work-related musculoskeletal disorders: the epidemiologic evidence and the debate.

          The debate about work-relatedness of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) reflects both confusion about epidemiologic principles and gaps in the scientific literature. The physical ergonomic features of work frequently cited as risk factors for MSDs include rapid work pace and repetitive motion, forceful exertions, non-neutral body postures, and vibration. However, some still dispute the importance of these factors, especially relative to non-occupational causes. This paper addresses the controversy with reference to a major report recently commissioned by the US Congress from the National Research Council (NRC) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2001). The available epidemiologic evidence is substantial, but will benefit from more longitudinal data to better evaluate gaps in knowledge concerning latency of effect, natural history, prognosis, and potential for selection bias in the form of the healthy worker effect. While objective measures may be especially useful in establishing a more secure diagnosis, subjective measures better capture patient impact. Examination techniques still do not exist that can serve as a "gold standard" for many of the symptoms that are commonly reported in workplace studies. Finally, exposure assessment has too often been limited to crude indicators, such as job title. Worker self-report, investigator observation, and direct measurement each add to understanding but the lack of standardized exposure metrics limits ability to compare findings among studies. Despite these challenges, the epidemiologic literature on work-related MSDs-in combination with extensive laboratory evidence of pathomechanisms related to work stressors-is convincing to most. The NRC/IOM report concluded, and other reviewers internationally have concurred, that the etiologic importance of occupational ergonomic stressors for the occurrence of MSDs of the low back and upper extremities has been demonstrated.
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            Economic burden of occupational injury and illness in the United States.

            The allocation of scarce health care resources requires a knowledge of disease costs. Whereas many studies of a variety of diseases are available, few focus on job-related injuries and illnesses. This article provides estimates of the national costs of occupational injury and illness among civilians in the United States for 2007. This study provides estimates of both the incidence of fatal and nonfatal injuries and nonfatal illnesses and the prevalence of fatal diseases as well as both medical and indirect (productivity) costs. To generate the estimates, I combined primary and secondary data sources with parameters from the literature and model assumptions. My primary sources were injury, disease, employment, and inflation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as costs data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. My secondary sources were the National Academy of Social Insurance, literature estimates of Attributable Fractions (AF) of diseases with occupational components, and national estimates for all health care costs. Critical model assumptions were applied to the underreporting of injuries, wage-replacement rates, and AFs. Total costs were calculated by multiplying the number of cases by the average cost per case. A sensitivity analysis tested for the effects of the most consequential assumptions. Numerous improvements over earlier studies included reliance on BLS data for government workers and ten specific cancer sites rather than only one broad cancer category. The number of fatal and nonfatal injuries in 2007 was estimated to be more than 5,600 and almost 8,559,000, respectively, at a cost of $6 billion and $186 billion. The number of fatal and nonfatal illnesses was estimated at more than 53,000 and nearly 427,000, respectively, with cost estimates of $46 billion and $12 billion. For injuries and diseases combined, medical cost estimates were $67 billion (27% of the total), and indirect costs were almost $183 billion (73%). Injuries comprised 77 percent of the total, and diseases accounted for 23 percent. The total estimated costs were approximately $250 billion, compared with the inflation-adjusted cost of $217 billion for 1992. The medical and indirect costs of occupational injuries and illnesses are sizable, at least as large as the cost of cancer. Workers' compensation covers less than 25 percent of these costs, so all members of society share the burden. The contributions of job-related injuries and illnesses to the overall cost of medical care and ill health are greater than generally assumed. © 2011 Milbank Memorial Fund.
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              Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Nurses in Hospitals, Long-Term Care Facilities, and Home Health Care: A Comprehensive Review.

              The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and reported injuries for nurses and nursing aides.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                s.penkala@westernsydney.edu.au
                hannan.eldebal28@gmail.com
                k.coxon@westernsydney.edu.au
                Journal
                BMC Public Health
                BMC Public Health
                BMC Public Health
                BioMed Central (London )
                1471-2458
                29 October 2018
                29 October 2018
                2018
                : 18
                : 1208
                Affiliations
                [1 ]ISNI 0000 0000 9939 5719, GRID grid.1029.a, School of Science and Health, , Western Sydney University, ; Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, Sydney, NSW 2751 Australia
                [2 ]ISNI 0000 0000 9939 5719, GRID grid.1029.a, Translational Health Research Institute, , Western Sydney University, ; Locked bag 1797, Penrith, Sydney, NSW 2751 Australia
                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3155-9643
                Article
                6125
                10.1186/s12889-018-6125-y
                6206935
                30373542
                4d26577f-0e4b-46d1-b662-c11514f4adc8
                © The Author(s). 2018

                Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 14 May 2018
                : 16 October 2018
                Funding
                Funded by: FundRef http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001776, University of Western Sydney;
                Categories
                Research Article
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2018

                Public health
                musculoskeletal diseases epidemiology,occupational health,ergonomics,laboratory activities

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