Problemas disergonómicos asociados al mobiliario escolar y al manejo de cargas en escolares de educación básica en planteles públicos y privados: Valencia, Venezuela / Disergonomic problems associated to the school furniture and the handling of loads by students of basic education in private and public schools: Valencia, Venezuela

RESUMEN

Con el objetivo de evaluar los problemas disergonómicos asociados al mobiliario escolar, a las características dimensionales del aula, y el peso del morral en relación a las dimensiones antropométricas de los escolares, se realizaron mediciones antropométricos a 413 niños de tres planteles públicos y tres privados. Se consideraron las variables edad, peso, estatura, altura poplítea y distancia sacro poplítea. Estas mediciones permitieron caracterizar a los niños de la muestra y realizar una comparación con los resultados de una investigación realizada durante la década de los años 80, encontrando que los niños de la presente investigación son más altos y con más peso hasta un 3,10% y un 23,3% respectivamente. También se encontró que los niños de los planteles privados presentaron mayor peso y talla que los niños de los planteles públicos. Se registró igualmente la información dimensional del mobiliario escolar para compararlo con los requisitos de las Normas Covenin 1650-89 y con los requerimientos antropométricos de los niños del estudio, encontrándose que los pupitres usados no cumplen con dichas normas Covenin ni son ergonómicamente confortables con los requerimientos dimensionales de los niños estudiados. Respecto al peso del morral, 67% de los niños cargan un peso superior al 10% de su peso corporal según lo sugerido por la Asociación Pediátrica Americana.

ABSTRACT

The investigation pursues the objective of evaluating the disergonomic problems associated to the school furniture, to the dimensional characteristics of the classroom, and the weight of the school bag in relation to the anthropometric dimensions of the students in public and private schools. For this purpose, anthropometric measurements were taken to 413 children from three public schools and three private schools. Among the variables taken, we can find the following ones age, weight, height, popliteal height, popliteal sacrum distance, among others. These measurements allowed to characterize the children of the sample and to make a comparison with the results of other investigation during the decade of the eighties, finding that the children of the present investigation are higher and heavier to a 3,10% and a 23.3% respectively. It was also found that the children of the private schools had a higher weight and size than the children of the public schools. The dimensional information of the school furniture was also recorded to compare it with the requirements of the Covenin Norms 1650-89 and with the anthropometric requirements of the children of the study, finding that the used writing desks do not fulfil the requirements of the Covenin norms mentioned, nor are ergonomically comfortable with the dimensional requirements of the children of the sample. It was also found that 67% of the evaluated classrooms there are children who carry a weight higher than 10% of their corporal weight suggested by the American Pediatric Association.