Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre
Background: Musculoskeletal symptoms are common among surgeons who work in an environment that is not ergonomically ideal. Objective: To determine the surgeons’ awareness of ergonomics in the operation theatre and factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional stu...
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Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Shalamar Medical & Dental College |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.smdc.edu.pk/index.php/journal/article/view/286 |
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| author | Masab Nawaz S H Waqar Zakir Jamal Fatima Shahzad |
| author_facet | Masab Nawaz S H Waqar Zakir Jamal Fatima Shahzad |
| author_sort | Masab Nawaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Background: Musculoskeletal symptoms are common among surgeons who work in an environment that is not ergonomically ideal.
Objective: To determine the surgeons’ awareness of ergonomics in the operation theatre and factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2024 in the Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. The survey was conducted among 110 surgeons working in different surgical specialties. A 30-item questionnaire was designed to ascertain knowledge, attitude, and practices about posture ergonomics among surgeons and was distributed online using Google Forms. The severity of pain was calculated using the Visual Analogue Score (VAS). Factors that contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms were also investigated. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 26
Results: A total of 74 doctors responded to the questionnaire. Out of these, 71.6% were males and 28.4% were females, with a mean age of 38.87±11.4 years. The majority (91.9%) had some discomfort or pain during/after performing the surgery. Backache was the most common (22.8%), followed by pain in the legs (21.4%), neck (17.8%), shoulders (16.6%), hands (14.6%), and wrists (6.8%). Prolonged standing in the same position (52.7%), bad posture (33.8%), and performing a large number of surgeries daily (33.8%) were the major factors for their symptoms. Most surgeons (85.1%) knew about ergonomics in general. Only 32.4% of responders had received ergonomics education, while 67.6% did not.
Conclusion: There is a deficiency of awareness of ergonomics among surgeons. Lack of ergonomics training and inadequate operation theatre resources are the leading causes of surgeons' pain with postural ergonomics.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-38d07344ecd84aa5bc42df48ff35d43e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2789-3669 2789-3677 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Shalamar Medical & Dental College |
| spelling | doaj-art-38d07344ecd84aa5bc42df48ff35d43e2025-08-20T02:52:49ZengShalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore, PakistanJournal of Shalamar Medical & Dental College2789-36692789-36772024-12-015210.53685/jshmdc.v5i2.286Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatreMasab Nawaz0S H Waqar1Zakir Jamal2Fatima Shahzad3Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan Background: Musculoskeletal symptoms are common among surgeons who work in an environment that is not ergonomically ideal. Objective: To determine the surgeons’ awareness of ergonomics in the operation theatre and factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2024 in the Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. The survey was conducted among 110 surgeons working in different surgical specialties. A 30-item questionnaire was designed to ascertain knowledge, attitude, and practices about posture ergonomics among surgeons and was distributed online using Google Forms. The severity of pain was calculated using the Visual Analogue Score (VAS). Factors that contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms were also investigated. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 26 Results: A total of 74 doctors responded to the questionnaire. Out of these, 71.6% were males and 28.4% were females, with a mean age of 38.87±11.4 years. The majority (91.9%) had some discomfort or pain during/after performing the surgery. Backache was the most common (22.8%), followed by pain in the legs (21.4%), neck (17.8%), shoulders (16.6%), hands (14.6%), and wrists (6.8%). Prolonged standing in the same position (52.7%), bad posture (33.8%), and performing a large number of surgeries daily (33.8%) were the major factors for their symptoms. Most surgeons (85.1%) knew about ergonomics in general. Only 32.4% of responders had received ergonomics education, while 67.6% did not. Conclusion: There is a deficiency of awareness of ergonomics among surgeons. Lack of ergonomics training and inadequate operation theatre resources are the leading causes of surgeons' pain with postural ergonomics. https://journal.smdc.edu.pk/index.php/journal/article/view/286AwarenessErgonomicsOperation theatreSurgeonsMusculoskeletal symptoms |
| spellingShingle | Masab Nawaz S H Waqar Zakir Jamal Fatima Shahzad Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre Journal of Shalamar Medical & Dental College Awareness Ergonomics Operation theatre Surgeons Musculoskeletal symptoms |
| title | Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| title_full | Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| title_fullStr | Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| title_short | Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| title_sort | surgeons awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre |
| topic | Awareness Ergonomics Operation theatre Surgeons Musculoskeletal symptoms |
| url | https://journal.smdc.edu.pk/index.php/journal/article/view/286 |
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