Journal of health research in community

Introduction and purpose: The maximum amount of working time in offices is spent on the use of visual display terminals. Considering the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among visual terminal users, ergonomic risk factors in workplace were assessed, using Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA).
Methods: This descriptive, analytical study was conducted on 45 staff, working in morning and evening shifts at Section 118 of Qom Telecommunication Company in 2014. For data collection, we applied the observational method (to observe the physical status and work conditions), interviews (to gather information on subjects’ physical status and work conditions), RULA (to evaluate the risk of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders), and ROSA (for rapid office strain assessment). For data analysis, Pearson’s test was applied.
Results: The final score on ROSA showed that 15.2% (n=7) and 26.1% (n=12) of the subjects were exposed to low (score: < 3) and alarming (score: 3-5) risks, respectively. Moreover, 56.5% (n=26) of the subjects required urgent ergonomic interventions (score: > 5). The RULA results showed that 24 (53.3%), 12 (26.7%), and 9 (20%) computer users were at intermediate (level 2), high (level 3), and very high (level 4) levels of risk, respectively.
Conclusion: Considering the scarcity of similar studies in the country, it is hoped that future studies assess the relationship between the findings obtained via these methods and other assessment strategies.