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Ergonomics Health Promotion for B.C. Dental Offices
RS2002/03-009
Final Report Date: September 2006
| Principal Investigator: | Lance Rucker (University of British Columbia) |
| Co-investigator: | Susanne Sunell (Vancouver Community College) |
For more information about this study please contact Dr. Lance Rucker.
Issue
Dentists and dental hygienists have a high risk of developing musculoskeletal strain injuries. A previous WorkSafeBC funded study identified ways of working and using equipment that can be changed to reduce dental health professionals' risk of musculoskeletal pain. To transfer this knowledge to the workplace, researchers developed an online ergonomics self-evaluation and education tool for dental professionals and tested it in selected B.C. dental offices.
Key findings
- An online self-evaluation survey and ergonomics information modules were developed, and interlinked to allow the most relevant content to be highlighted for each individual user.
- Researchers were unable to determine if these tools resulted in greater awareness and/or implementation of ergonomic practices, due to a lower than expected number of participants in the study.
- The online survey and modules are being made more widely available to dental professionals across Canada , and work is planned to further improve and develop the program.
Objectives
- To develop a tool that allows dental professionals to assess their ergonomic risk and improve ergonomic practices
- To assess whether using the tool leads to increased awareness and/or improved ergonomic practice, and whether increased awareness leads to improvements in ergonomic practice
Method
The research team developed evidence-based ergonomics health promotion materials and voluntary guidelines, including a self-assessment survey. A technical team converted the materials to an online format, and linked the educational content with the self-assessment survey results to allow the program to highlight the most relevant content for each individual user. The materials were pilot tested online with nine volunteer dental professionals, and their feedback was incorporated.
A total of 29 B.C. dental offices (86 individual dental professionals) volunteered to participate in the study. Participating offices were randomly assigned into an intervention group that would receive the module, and a control group that would not receive the module during the testing period. All participants completed an initial survey before the testing period to provide baseline data.
After the baseline survey, the intervention group participants were given access to the online modules, and were directed to the most relevant modules based on their survey results. All participants were surveyed again three months and six months after the study began, with questions on:
- The level of need for change (based on ergonomic behaviours and equipment layouts)
- The level of intention to implement recommendations
- Ergonomic changes actually made (prior to study and during the six month study period)
- Musculoskeletal symptoms
- Various environmental issues
After six months, the testing period was completed and the control group participants were given access to the modules.
Data from the surveys were analyzed in a variety of ways. However, quantitative analysis was limited due to lower than expected participation at the initial recruitment stage and through attrition over the course of the study.
Results
An online ergonomics self-assessment survey and 27 dental clinical ergonomics information modules were developed and converted into an interlinked Web-based program. Positive feedback on the format and content was received from users during the pilot testing stage.
Participation was lower than hoped during the recruitment stage as well as over the course of the study. Only 29 dental offices, including 86 potential individual participants, volunteered to participate, compared with a target number of 100. There were 52 individual responses to the baseline survey, 21 responses to the three month survey and 13 responses to the six month survey. Due to the low number of responses, there were not enough data to assess whether the program was successful in improving awareness and ergonomic practices.
Conclusions
The online survey and modules were used by dental professionals in 22 B.C. dental offices, and can now be made more widely available through professional organizations. The project has laid the groundwork for discovering the optimal route for delivering dental ergonomics education and supporting changes that will reduce the risk of musculoskeletal strain.
Future directions
Future plans include disseminating the survey more broadly to dental health professionals across the country and evaluating the impact at the end of one year. The researchers also recommend the development of additional techniques (such as videos, chat rooms, and structured online courses) to support online ergonomics education for dental professionals.