Structural Equation Modelling of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder in Dumper Operators: The Role of Personal, Habitual, and Work-Related Factors

Abstract

Abstract The main objective of this research was to examine how personal, habitual, and work-related factors affect the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) among dumper operators. The study utilized Cronbach's (CR) alpha test to assess the reliability of the analyzed underlying variable. The personal factors, measured by five questions about age, work experience, marital status, children, and education, had a CR-alpha coefficient of 0.82. The CR-alpha coefficient for the habitual factors, which included questions about smoking, alcohol consumption, medication use, and tobacco chewing, was 0.76, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Similarly, the work-related factors, which included questions about working posture, repetitive work, job demand, and work design, had a CR-alpha coefficient of 0.77, demonstrating a strong internal consistency among the questions. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm the measurement model's construct validity. After confirming the construct validity, the relationships between the variables were explored using a structural equation model (SEM). Results indicated a moderate positive correlation between WRMSD and personal factors and a moderate positive correlation between WRMSD and work related factors. However, the relationship between WRMSD and habitual factors was not found to be significant. The goodness of fit of the final SEM model was found to be adequate with CFI and RMSEA values of 0.919 and 0.046, respectively, indicating an acceptable fit of the data to the proposed model.