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BACKGROUND: The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) is an instrument to identify occupational risk factors, and to screen subjects for the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in their workplace. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prospective observational study was the cross-cultural adaptation of the QEC for Persian (QEC-Pr) speaking workers and the determination of the minimally required psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, in a Persian population. METHODS: The forward-backward translation was completed according to the published guidelines. A total of 217 male construction workers were recruited. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool was used as the criterion. The Inter- and intra-rater reliability was performed respectively in a sub-sample of n = 50 and n = 30. Convergent validity was determined from the correlation between the QEC-Pr and the RULA. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α. RESULTS: High levels of inter-rater reliability (ICC2.1 range = 0.79-0.93), intra-rater reliability (ICC2.1 range = 0.74-0.89) and internal consistency (α= 0.74) were obtained. Concurrent validity between the different sections of the QEC and RULA scores were determined to be fair but below the desired level (range r = 0.41-0.44). CONCLUSIONS: The QEC-Pr can be applied as a specific risk assessment instrument for different occupational situations, such as the construction industry, in Persian language populations.

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A field intervention study was implemented to evaluate the effects of individual (physical exercise programme and worker ergonomics training) and organisational changes (optimising work-rest schedule and revised task procedure) on musculoskeletal outcomes and their exposure risks among milking workers in a dairy plant. A questionnaire survey (including the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire [CMDQ]) and direct observations of working postures by using the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method were used at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Shoulder, lower back and neck discomfort were found to be the most common problems. The results showed significant improvements in the frequency (neck, shoulder, lower back, forearm and knee symptoms), severity (shoulder, lower back and knee symptoms) and interference with work (particularly due to lower back symptoms) as well as in the exposure risks to musculoskeletal problems (using the QEC method) after the intervention. The findings support the effectiveness of implemented multiple component intervention for improving musculoskeletal health and exposure risks in the studied occupational group.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and to assess postural ergonomic risk among tailors. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2017 to February 2018 in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan and comprised tailors of both genders aged 25-60 years, working for more than 6 months and having small and medium enterprises. To calculate ergonomic risk of work posture, Quick Exposure Check was used and work-related musculoskeletal disorders were determined through body mapping chart. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 400 tailors, 382(95.5%) were males. The overall mean age of the sample was 36.9±10.96 years. The mean Quick Exposure Check score was 46.11±14.83. Acceptable work posture was found in 373(93.25%) subjects. The most common work-related acute musculoskeletal symptoms were found in the upper back 320(80%). CONCLUSIONS: Most tailors had acceptable work posture but work-related pain in upper back was common.

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Objective: To evaluate the ergonomic load of clinical nursing procedures and to provide evidence for the prevention and management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in nurses. Methods: Based on the nursing unit characteristics and the common departments involving patient-turning procedures, 552 nurses were selected from 6 clinical departments from July to September, 2016. The ergonomic load of four types of patient-turning procedures, i.e., turning the patient's body, changing the bed linen of in-bed patients, moving patients, and chest physiotherapy, was evaluated by the on-site inspectors and self-evaluated by the operators using the Quick Exposure Check. The exposure value, exposure level, and exposure rate of WMSDs were assessed based on the procedure-related physical loads on the back, shoulders/arms, wrists/hands and neck, as well as the loads from work rhythm and work pressure. Results: All surveyed subjects were females who were aged mostly between 26-30 years (49.46%) , with a mean age of 29.66±5.28 years. These nurses were mainly from the Department of Infection (28.99%) and Spine Surgery (21.56%) . There were significant differences in the back, shoulders/arms, neck, work rhythm, and work pressure scores between different nursing procedures (F=16.613, 5.884, 3.431, 3.222, and 5.085, respectively; P<0.05) . Patient-turning nursing procedures resulted in high to intermediate physical load in nurses. Procedures with high to low level of WMSDs exposure were patient turning (72.69%) , bed linen changing (67.15%) , patient transfer (65.82%) , and chest physiotherapy (58.34%) . In particular, patient turning was considered as very high-risk procedure, whereas others were considered as high-risk procedures. Conclusion: Patient-turning nursing procedures result in high ergonomic load in the operators. Therefore, more focus should be placed on the ergonomics of the caretakers and nurses.

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BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) cause pain and economic loss. Risk of WMSDs is affected by job satisfaction as a psychosocial factor. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate job satisfaction among aircraft baggage handlers and their exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors. METHODS: Two data collection tools addressing risk levels (Quick Exposure Check) and psychosocial factors (Job Satisfaction Survey) were answered by 399 male baggage handlers employed in Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, Turkey. RESULTS: Risk exposure scores for WMSDs among baggage handlers were 27±3.4 (high) for the back (static), 42±7.2 (very high) for the back (moving), 42±6.1 (very high) for the shoulder/arm, 44±1.9 (very high) for the wrist/hand, and 13±5.1(high) for the neck. The average job satisfaction levels of the majority was either low (4.2250±1.10184) or moderate (3.1019±0.93352). In addition, low and moderate job satisfaction was significantly associated with higher WMSD risk levels among baggage handlers. CONCLUSIONS: Increased WMSD risk levels among baggage handlers are associated with low and moderate job satisfaction, suggesting that it is mandatory to perform intervention methods in this occupation.

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Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a major hazard for sewing machine operators. Ergonomics education is recommended for reducing musculoskeletal disorders at workstations. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an ergonomics education in reducing the exposure to risk factors for WMSDs among sewing machine operators. In this study of 278 workers, their exposure to the risk of WMSDs was assessed using the quick exposure check scale prior to them attending an ergonomics education programme and then again 3 months after the programme. The scores for risk exposure before the education programme were moderate for back (static) and back (dynamic), high for shoulder/arm and very high for wrist/hand and neck. The results obtained 3 months later were low for back (static) and shoulder/arm, and moderate for back (dynamic), wrist/hand and neck. Based on our results, ergonomics education can reduce the exposure to risk factors for WMSDs in the workplace.

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Objective@#To evaluate the ergonomic load of clinical nursing procedures and to provide evidence for the prevention and management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in nurses.@*Methods@#Based on the nursing unit characteristics and the common departments involving patient-turning procedures, 552 nurses were selected from 6 clinical departments from July to September, 2016. The ergonomic load of four types of patient-turning procedures, i.e., turning the patient’s body, changing the bed linen of in-bed patients, moving patients, and chest physiotherapy, was evaluated by the on-site inspectors and self-evaluated by the operators using the Quick Exposure Check. The exposure value, exposure level, and exposure rate of WMSDs were assessed based on the procedure-related physical loads on the back, shoulders/arms, wrists/hands and neck, as well as the loads from work rhythm and work pressure.@*Results@#All surveyed subjects were females who were aged mostly between 26-30 years (49.46%) , with a mean age of 29.66±5.28 years. These nurses were mainly from the Department of Infection (28.99%) and Spine Surgery (21.56%) . There were significant differences in the back, shoulders/arms, neck, work rhythm, and work pressure scores between different nursing procedures (F=16.613, 5.884, 3.431, 3.222, and 5.085, respectively; P<0.05) . Patient-turning nursing procedures resulted in high to intermediate physical load in nurses. Procedures with high to low level of WMSDs exposure were patient turning (72.69%) , bed linen changing (67.15%) , patient transfer (65.82%) , and chest physiotherapy (58.34%) . In particular, patient turning was considered as very high-risk procedure, whereas others were considered as high-risk procedures.@*Conclusion@#Patient-turning nursing procedures result in high ergonomic load in the operators. Therefore, more focus should be placed on the ergonomics of the caretakers and nurses.

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BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a major public health concern. There has been a strong demand from occupational safety and health agencies and operators to develop simple tools for risk assessment and management of WMSDs. The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) was designed to assess exposure to WMSDs risk factors affecting the back, shoulder/upper arm, wrist/hand, and the neck. It is a valuable observational ergonomic assessment tool, suitable for field-based assessment. OBJECTIVE: This study set out to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Chinese version of the Quick Exposure Check (CQEC), an observational tool used to assess exposure to physical and psychosocial workplace risk factors for the development of WMSDs in different body sites. METHODS: The CQEC was translated from its original English version using a forward- and back-translation approach. Content validity was examined by an expert panel and expert committee using item- and scale-level content validity indices. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the inter-rater reliability of the observer's assessment, with kappa statistics and percentage agreements used to estimate the test-retest reliability of the worker's assessment of individual items. RESULTS: The CQEC demonstrated an excellent scale-level content validity index (S-CVI > 0.90). The ICC lay between 0.71 and 0.97, indicating good inter-rater reliability. Test-retest reliability showed substantial agreement between the two measurement occasions for most of the items (kappa=0.68 to 1, percentage agreement=76 to 100%) capturing exposure to risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The CQEC is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to calculate levels of exposure to risk factors for WMSDs.

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