The effects of an educational intervention on knowledge, attitude and ergonomic behaviors

Background: Obviously, decreasing the work-related musculoskeletal disorders is well achieved through the application of ergonomic design principles however, there are occasions in which the existence of some barriers (technical and economical) can preclude ergonomic improvement and therefore, some organizations rely on correct task performance methods. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of educational intervention on worker’s knowledge increase, attitude change, and ergonomic habits promotion. Methods: In this interventional study, workers were randomly assigned to one of the two study groups: a case group receiving the ergonomic training (n=75), and a control group (n=75). Ergonomic training program composed of five sessions of 30–45 minutes duration containing issues such as ergonomic science, human body mechanic, upright and awkward postures, pros and cons of upright posture maintenance, and solutions for removal of obstacles, stretch exercise for prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, and workstation adjustment. Data were gathered before and 3 months after intervention by self- reporting questionnaire and checklist. Reliability was assessed by test-retest method and the internal consistency evaluated by Cronbach's Alpha. Statistical analysis was performed using χ2 test, McNemar test, independent t-test, and paired t-test. Findings: Worker’s knowledge significantly increased from 7.97±2.91 to 14.07±1.98 and the attitude change from 14.29±6.5 to 21.63±4.7 three months after educational intervention (p> 0.05). No significant change was observed in control group. Regarding the ergonomic risk factors, our findings were indicative of significant change in general body and feet posture, trunk, neck, and wrist and hands postures while other ergonomic risk factors remained unchanged Conclusion: Results from this study emphasize on necessity of integrated educational-managerial and engineering approach to promote the workplace ergonomic condition as well as considering the substantial role of psychosocial factors such as knowledge and attitude and focusing on personal skills for improving ergonomic habits to achieve a higher level of health promotion among human power.