Vinothini Padmanathan
National University of Malaysia, Malaysia
Title: Occupational and psychosocial risk factors as predictors for shoulder pain among electricity linemen- A cross sectional study
Biography
Biography: Vinothini Padmanathan
Abstract
Shoulder pain is a common problem among linemen working in the electrical industry. However, the prevalence and causative risk factors of shoulder pain have not been studied extensively among electricity linemen. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine the relationship between occupational and psychosocial risk factors on the development of shoulder pain among electricity linemen. This cross sectional study was conducted among 88 electricity linemen working in private sub Contract Company. The Malay version Job Content Questionnaire (M- JCQ) and Quick Exposure Check List (QEC) were utilized to assess the psychosocial and occupational risk factors for shoulder pain in electricity linemen profession. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 version. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for all the relevant risk factors. Approximately, 68.2% of linemen were suffering from shoulder pain. Occupational risk factors such as vibration [OR: 4.26 (95% 1.85-6.12) p<0.05] and work pace [OR: 2.87 (95% 1.17- 4.33) p<0.05] were found as a strong predictors for the occurrence of shoulder pain among linemen. In addition, decision latitude [OR: 1.5 (95% 0.97-2.11) p>0.05] was significantly associated with the development of shoulder pain in linemen profession. The occurrence of shoulder pain among linemen is strongly associated with physical and psychosocial risk factors such as vibration, work pace and decision latitude. Therefore, an immediate preventive strategies need to be taken to prevent the occurrence of shoulder pain among electricity linemen profession.