Evaluation of two posture survey instruments for assessing computing postures among college students

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics and Occupational Health
• Musculoskeletal Disorder Research
• Biomechanical Assessment

Background:

• Postural assessments are crucial for identifying risks of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms.
• Existing assessment tools may have varying reliability and correlation with symptom experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agreement between two posture assessment instruments: the modified Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (mRULA) and the University of California Computer Use Checklist.
• To determine if these instruments correlate with the occurrence of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms in computer users.

Main Methods:

• Thirty undergraduates completed three posture assessment surveys over a semester.
• Utilized mRULA for computer users and the UC Computer Use Checklist, alongside concurrent symptom reporting.
• Employed Lin's concordance correlation coefficient for agreement and multi-level models for associations.

Main Results:

• No significant agreement was found between the mRULA and the UC Computer Use Checklist (p > 0.85).
• The UC Computer Use Checklist showed a positive association with symptom occurrence (OR=1.4 for any symptoms).
• mRULA scores exhibited inconsistent associations with symptoms, acting as both protective and risk indicators.

Conclusions:

• The mRULA and UC Computer Use Checklist are independent assessment tools.
• The UC Computer Use Checklist demonstrates a traditional risk-benefit relationship with symptoms.
• The mRULA's relationship with symptoms is non-traditional and requires further investigation; this pilot study's findings are exploratory.