The accuracy and reliability of three instruments used to assign school furniture

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Students spend a high number of hours being seated while at school. In order to find the correct adjustment between school furniture and the anthropometric characteristics, specific knowledge and tools are necessary. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the measurers with different instruments, as well as contrast the differences between the values that were obtained by the different examiners. METHODS: Measurements were taken independently by one expert examiner and two inexperienced teachers from the school. They used a measuring tape, a segmometer and an anthropometer for the anthropometric measurements. The statistical tests conducted: Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, Bland and Altman method, Standard Error of Measurement, Technical Error of Measurement and relative TEM with a level of significance of ρ ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 108 students (8.87±1.67 years; 40.7% girls) participated in the study. The non-expert measurers had good accuracy and reliability, but they far exceeded the error percentages of the expert, obtaining the worst results in the shoulder measurement. The instrument with the lowest affinity between the inexperienced measurers was the anthropometer. CONCLUSIONS: In order to assign furniture in the schools, the experts should continue using the anthropometer. The inexperienced measurers can use more accessible instruments in the school environment such as a measuring tape and segmometer.