• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and affecting factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMSD) among the directory assistance operators. Methods: One hundred eighty-five female subjects who worked more than one year as directory assistance operators in a telecommunication company were surveyed with self-administered questionnaires. Subjects were divided into disorder and control group by the NIOSH criterion about WRMSD, and then analyzed. Results: One hundred seventy two subjects (93%) had upper extremity symptoms and seventy subjects (37.8%) were WRMSD. the frequency order of the disorder area was the shoulder 60(32.4%), the neck 37(20.0%), the wrist 20(10.8%), the finger 20(10.8%) and the elbow 5(2.7%). It was found that the difference factors of the WRMSD group were education level (p<0.01), stress from the customers (p<0.01), satisfaction about monitor (p<0.05), temperature (p<0.05), noise (p<0.01), ventilation (p<0.001), working time (p<0.05), and recess (p<0.001). Conclusion: Improving working condition and education for the workers to control the stress are necessary to decrease the WRMSD for the directory assistance operators.