Relationships of psychosocial factors and upper extremity discomfort in office workers: cognitive factor as a mediator

• Main Author: Albreem, Lina A. M.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: HF5548.7-5548.85 Industrial Psychology
• Online Access: https://etd.uum.edu.my/9862/1/depositpermission_s819128.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/9862/2/s819128_01.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/9862/3/s819128_02.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/9862/

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are well known and common worldwide, specifically Upper Extremity Discomfort (UED) which is prevalent among office workers who use computers. Work organization, psychosocial factors, physical factors, psychological factors, workstation, working environment and other factors can contribute to the occurrence of UED among computer-based office workers. However, there are also cognitive factors (i.e. attitudes/beliefs/attributions) in the relationship between psychosocial factors and UED which are still not understood in depth by researchers. This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study is aimed to shed light on the influence of psychosocial factors on UED, and the cognitive factors as the mediator on this relationship, among the workers in A’Sharqiyah University (ASU) in Oman. Several scales of the Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) and the Upper Limb Disorders Questionnaire (ULDQ) were adopted in the questionnaire of the current study in collecting data. These scales were also translated into the Arabic language to fit the multi-cultural sample of the study. Correlational and regression analysis were also applied to the data and were processed using the SPSS software. This study adds new knowledge by clarifying the cognitive factor's role in the context of psychosocial factors and UED in the context of computer-based office work. Furthermore, it gives an indication to what extent UED is prevalent among workers in the private universities in Oman. It is recommended that cognitive-behavioral principles and multidisciplinary occupational rehabilitation are to be used in the pain management program for workers who complain of upper extremity musculoskeletal problem in order to improve occupational outcomes in the short term and significantly to reduce the rate of the occurrence of sickness in the longer term. This will eventually help to reduce the economic burden of MSDs worldwide.