Work Related Upper-extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Visual Display Terminal (VDT) Users in a Telecommunication Company in Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to investigate a suspected high prevalence of WRUEMSD (Work related upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders) in the visual display terminal (VDT) operators of a major telecommunication company in Seoul, Korea. METHOD: The severity of the disorders was assessed by both medical screening examination and questionnaires. All the operators involved in the study were using VDT. A self-administered questionnaire, designed to obtain demographic information, individual factors, and musculoskeletal symptoms of the various body parts was distributed to participating operators. RESULTS: A total of 888 female directory assistance operators (average age 39.7+/-4.6 years old) working at three companies participated in the study. The task was machinepaced, as customer calls were routed to available operators by computer. The number of the workers requiring treatment when symptoms aggravated was 384 (43.2%), and that of the workers needing treatment was 173 (19.5%). WRUEMSD of neck was associated with working during rest time (Odds ratio=1.59), partial finger users (OR=1.87), and that of hand/wrist was associated with adjustability of the height of the chair. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of WRUEMSD in the VDU operators of the a major telecommunication company was high. Current issues and suggestions for future ergonomic studies are addressed.