A measure of university employees' exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders

Applying health, safety, and environmental risk assessment at academic settings

Background

Students, staff, and faculties are involved in activities that exposed them to a range of minor to severe or even fatal accidents in academic settings. Managing work environment risks is crucial to any safety and health prevention program. This study developed a risk assessment using combinations of hazards and risk factors to establish a scale of measures in a risk reduction action plan.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in an Iranian medical sciences university in 2018. A structured method of risk assessment was developed, applying a three-step procedure to identify hazards, consequences, and risk evaluation. Data were collected through detailed health, safety, and environment checklist in 38 different sites. Finally, the risks quantified, prioritized, and control measures proposed accordingly. Chi-square and correlation tests assessed how environmental factors were associated with hazard consequences. The analysis results were evaluated at the significance level of 0.05.

Results

The frequencies of moderate and high-risk levels were 22.7 and 2.9%, respectively. Thus, corrective measures should be considered as soon as possible and immediately for these risk groups. Facilities and functions within laboratories, library, and powerhouse were more vulnerable to serious risks. The type of hazard had associated with the sites and total risk score at the significance level of 0.05 (P-value = 0.017). Similarly, risk severity was significantly related to the sites (P-value = 0.003). Safety hazards had a statistically higher contribution to the total risk score when compared to health and environmental hazards.

Conclusion

The study revealed complex risks and hazardous circumstances with significant variances in academic sites and activities. Universities should provide training in risk reduction programs to increase the awareness of students, staff, and faculties, which can improve life safety in a university environment.

An effective office ergonomic assessment and intervention program

A significant portion of U.S. employees are office based and their work is sedentary. Office ergonomics is relevant to this population of employees to minimize the deleterious effects of static or sustained postures. Occupational health nurses currently conduct ergonomic assessments and provide interventions to decrease physical stressors. This article describes a straightforward process occupational health nurses can use to augment their ergonomic assessment and evaluation activities.