الفهرس 
MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS: AN IMPORTANT OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS AMONG SCHOOL TEACHERSOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: School teachers constitute an occupational group among which there is a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). This high prevalence can be attributed to different individual, occupational and psychosocial risk factors. They represent a costly occupational health problem being responsible for a poor quality of life (QOL) of teachers, an economic burden from considerable medical costs, and reduced work productivity.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence and the potential risk factors of WRMSDs and their impact on the QOL of teachers and to assess the effect of a health education program on the QOL of teachers with WRMSDs.
Subjects and Methods: A number of 310 full-time teachers from 15 randomly selected public schools in Cairo governorate were surveyed using an interview questionnaire about their sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) were also used. An occupational health education program aimed to prevent and control WRMSDs among teachers with WRMSDs was implemented and its effect on their QOL was evaluated after 3 months by using the SF-36.
Results: The prevalence of WRMSDs at any body part over the last 12 months among teachers was 66.77%. Different factors were significantly associated with WRMSDs like female gender, age of the youngest child, body mass index, smoking status, the hours spent in doing housework per week, teaching the kindergarten grade, being a classroom teacher, teaching the sciences and the literature, the number of students per classroom, the number of classes per week, teaching study groups after the end of the scholastic day, continuing school work at home, awkward postures and the lack of enough supervisor’s psychological support at work. Scores of the 8 scales of the SF-36 were significantly lower among teachers with WRMSDs reflecting their lower physical and mental QOL. Post- intervention scores of all scales of SF-36 except that of social functioning of a sample of teachers with WRMSDs were significantly higher after carrying out the intervention program reflecting an improvement in their physical and mental QOL.
Conclusion: WRMSDs were a highly prevalent occupational problem among school teachers in Egypt. They were associated with several sociodemographic, occupational and psychological risk factors. They negatively influenced the teachers’ physical and mental QOL. The implementation of a health education program improved the QOL of teachers reporting WRMSDs.