Perception of dental students on risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders

To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Job Factors Questionnaire, and the influence of gender, academic level and pain/discomfort on dental students' perception regarding risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders.

One hundred forty-five dental students from Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine participated voluntarily in this study. The survey was organised in two sections: (i) Job Factors Questionnaire with 15 items that evaluated students' perceptions about job/study environmental risk factors and their potential contribution to musculoskeletal disorders. The tri-factorial structure (repetitiveness, work posture and external factors) was used; (ii) Part of the Nordic Questionnaire with questions referring to 9 body areas: Neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows, lower back, wrists/hands, hips, knees and ankles/feet. Students answered if they have had a job-related pain/discomfort in any of these body areas in the previous 12 months. The data were evaluated statistically by confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validities, internal consistency and Z-test (α = .05).

The tri-factorial structure was considered valid and reliable for the sample after excluding item 8 and inserting correlations between items 11 and 12, and between 14 and 15. The academic level presented a significant effect on the factors "Work Posture" (P = .02) and "External Factors" (P = .01). Most of the students reported pain in their neck (73.79%), lower back (62.06%) and shoulders (53.10%) in the previous 12 months.

The Work Posture and External Factors were influenced only by academic level. The lower the students' academic level, the higher their perception for both factors of musculoskeletal disorders.