Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology

en Can Ergonomic Interventions in Knowledge-Based Companies Improve Musculoskeletal disorders, Alter Job Contents, or Increase Quality of Work-Life and Productivity? A Quasi-Randomized Control Trial Occupational Health Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: Today, white-collar workers endure a variety of job stress. These factors can cause musculoskeletal problems, threaten aspects of occupational health, and reduce productivity. This study aimed to examine the effect of ergonomic training interventions on the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), job contents, work-life quality, and productivity in knowledge-based companies. Materials & Methods: This study was conducted using quasi-randomized control trial method in 2019-2020. Four groups were included in the study: Ergonomics training, management training, combined interventions, and control group. The participants included 311 office workers who were randomly divided into four groups. Outcome measures were measured in follow-up periods. Repeated-measure ANOVAs was employed to analyze the results. Results: Interventions performed on neck (P=0.001), right shoulder (P=0.001), left shoulder (P=0.002), and right upper extremity (P<0.025) were associated with significant improvements in MSDs. The interventions significantly increased the control and social support (P=0.001), though they did not affect the psychological demands. The quality of work-life increased significantly in the first month of follow-up, but the long-term trend showed a decline. Conclusions: Combined interventions significantly increased absolute presenteeism. Simultaneous implementation of individual and managerial ergonomics revealed a greater impact on reducing MSDs and a broader impact on job content and presenteeism.</div> Ergonomics,Musculoskeletal Diseases,Intervention,Randomized Controlled Trial, 175 186 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-595-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Rashid Heidarimoghadam dr_haidari@yahoo.com 22400319475328460010716 22400319475328460010716 No Professor, Health Sciences Research Center, Dept. of Ergonomics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran Hamadan University of Medical Sciences Iraj Mohammadfam mohammadfam@umsha.ac.ir 22400319475328460010717 22400319475328460010717 No Professor, Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, Occupational Health and Safety Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Mohammad Babamiri mohammad.babamiri@yahoo.com 22400319475328460010718 22400319475328460010718 No Associate Prof., Health Sciences Research Center, Dept. of Ergonomics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Ali Reza Soltanian soltanian@umsha.ac.ir 22400319475328460010719 22400319475328460010719 No Professor, Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Hamadan University of Medical Sciences Hassan Khotanlou khotanlou@basu.ac.ir 22400319475328460010720 22400319475328460010720 No Professor, Dept. of Computer Engineering, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Bu Ali Sina University Mohammad Sadegh Sohrabi ms.sohrabi@aui.ac.ir 22400319475328460010721 22400319475328460010721 Yes Assistant Prof., Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, Occupational Health and Safety Research Center, Dept. of Ergonomics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Hamadan University of Medical Sciences