Assessment of Medical Students' Posture When Using the Existing Best-Selling Laptop Tables Using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment Method

• Main Authors: mojtaba jafarvand (Author), Ail Safari Variani (Author), Sakineh Varmazyar (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 2017-06-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2423-6772; 2423-6764
• Keywords: Laptop table; Posture; RULA; Students; Medicine; R; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: تحقیقات سلامت در جامعه, Vol 3, Iss 1, Pp 20-28 (2017)

Introduction and purpose: Improper posture while working is one of the most important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. Regarding this, the aim of this study was to assess the posture of students studying at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences when using the existing best-selling laptop tables using rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) method. Methods: This analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 male and female dormitory students in 2017. The study population was selected through stratified random sampling technique. The participants’ postures in two different work stations (tables number one and two) were evaluated by means of RULA method. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using the independent sample t-test and ANOVA test. Results: According to the results, 36% and 46% of the students obtained scores of 3 and 4, respectively in case of table number one. Furthermore, regarding table number two, scores 3 and 4 were recorded for 48% and 44% of the participants, respectively. Therefore, tables number one and two were found to have 82% and 92% of level two corrective measure, respectively. In addition, a significant relationship was obtained between the demographic variables and RULA score (P<0.05). Conclusion: As the findings of the present study indicated, table number one was a better case than table number two for fitting with different body structures since it allowed for the adjustment of the height and inclination of the work surface. However, corrective measures were necessary for both tables to provide the users with comfort, convenience, health, and productivity when using these laptop tables.