Osman KADIR, Mohd Zaidi OMAR, Mohamad Sattar RASUL and Azami ZAHARIM
Get full access
T.W.Z. Alastair1, M. Ismail2
Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah1
Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah2
Page 44 – 56 | Vol. 8 No. 1 2023 | Available online on 30 Jun 2023
Abstract
Previous studies have associated musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) with decreased productivity at the workplace and affected workers in various occupations. Evidence suggests a multi-factorial nature of MSD in terms of its development and exacerbation including physical, psychosocial, and individual factors. In addition, studies in both developed and developing countries also differ concerning the prevalence rate of MSD across countries. Hence, the present study aimed to examine the prevalence rate of MSD among female office workers in public organizations. A questionnaire survey was distributed to four fire stations in Kota Kinabalu Zone in Sabah and 130 firefighters participated in the study. The questionnaire consists of demographical aspects, task characteristics, physical demands, mental health, and musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) levels. The 6 months MSD prevalence was 32.3% (95%CI = 30.9%-35.3%). The majority of the firefighters experienced MSD moderately in various body regions – lower extremity (14.6%), neck/shoulder (16.9%), hand/fingers (17.7%), arms (17.7%), and lower back (20%). The results reported the experience of firefighters with MSD highlighted the need to develop MSD risk management at the workplace. In addition, further examination of MSD among firefighters in Malaysia should be conducted to minimise MSD in the workplace.
Keywords
Musculoskeletal discomfort, firefighters, prevalence, Sabah
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia and Mr Hamsa Isnurdini, (Head of Kota Kinabalu Zone) for the approval to conduct the study at 4 fire stations
in Kota Kinabalu.
© 2022 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFEM). All rights reserved.
Recommended articles
Mohd Farhan NAZMI, Ammar ADNAN, Radin Zaid RADIN UMAR, Siby SAMUEL, Norhashimah MOHD SHAFFIAR, Mohd Hanafi ANI, Malek HAMID
Get full accessNik Fakhri MANSOR, Ammar ADNAN, Radin Zaid RADIN UMAR, Siby SAMUEL, Malek HAMID
Get full accessPublish with us
Human Factors & Ergonomics Journal (HFEJ), eISSN: 2590-3705 is the official Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Malaysia. The journal is published on a biannual basis. HFEJ aims to address current research in the field of Ergonomics in addition to the broad coverage of cognitive ergonomics, user experience, physical ergonomics and others such as transportation, industrial design and industrial engineering. HFEJ is a member of, and subscribes to the principles of the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), as such we only accept original work.