Effect of Educational-Intervention Programme on Predisposing Factors Involved in Adherence to Ergonomic Principles among Janitorial Staff of Tertiary Educational Institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Adherence to workplace ergonomic principles protects against musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a leading cause of debility and early retirement of workers. They are a major contributor to the global burden of disease. The effects of MSDs are observed at the individual, organizational and societal levels and have implications on personal-level dispositions of workers involved. Due to the gradual and imperceptibility of onset of MSDs, early detection or diagnosis is impossible; therefore, ergonomic-based health educational programs offer the best mitigation (Khan, Rehman, & Ali, 2012). Janitorial occupation is fraught with recognized MSDs risk factors. This study evaluated the effect of an innovative theory-grounded health educational intervention program on the predisposing factors involved in adherence to ergonomic principles by the janitorial staff of selected universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study was a quasi-experimental intervention design that utilized a 42-item validated six-sections questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient ranging from 0.782 to 0.934 using a multistage sampling technique to derive participants. The study was for twelve weeks in which baseline and 12th week follow-up data was collected regarding information on predisposing factors of knowledge, attitudinal dispositions and perceptions involved in adherence to ergonomic principles from sixty janitorial workers who consented to participate in the study. Participants were categorized into a control group (CG) and an intervention group (IG). The mean age of participants in CG was 43.2 ± 9.35 while for IG was 39.83 ± 11.11. Data was analyzed using descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage) and inferential (paired t-test, effect size) statistics at 5% confidence level. The results show that educational intervention programs improved the predisposing factors of knowledge, perceptions and attitudinal dispositions.