Beyond Biomechanics: Psychosocial Aspects of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Work

Beyond Biomechanics: Psychosocial Aspects of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office Work

Ergonomics

This book explores, but does not systematically chart, a large and sometimes controversial subject with
indefinite boundaries. It is the outgrowth of a multidisciplinary conference convened at Duke University in
the fall of 1993 to address non-biomechanical influences on musculoskeletal disorders in office work. Such
disorders, particularly in association with the use of video display terminals (VDTs), have been a problem
of concern internationally for over a decade. Biomechanical stressors such as awkward postures in keyboard
operation have long been suspected as a primary source of these problems. But in recent years, an
impressive body of literature has accumulated which also implicates so-called ‘psychosocial factors’ in the
causal path. In the domain of VDT work, well over a dozen studies can now be identified that link factors
such as low social support at work or low worker autonomy to an increased prevalence of musculoskeletal
disorders. However, important aspects of this relationship await clarification. For example, there is little
consensus on precisely which features of the psychosocial environment represent key risks for
musculoskeletal disorders. (Indeed, the concept of psychosocial factors is itself some-what abstract.)
Additionally, the relative influence or effect size of psychosocial factors on musculoskeletal disorders in
office work is uncertain, and there is little consensus on biological or other mediating mechanisms. The aim
of the workshop was to address these areas of uncertainty, with the goal of better understanding prevention
measures for musculoskeletal disorders in office work.

Edited by Sam Moon and Steven L.Sauter

www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk

Taylor & Francis Ltd

1996

BEN AMICK
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
BRUCE BERNARD
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
SIDNEY BLAIR
Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, USA
LESLIE BODEN
Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
RICHARD BUTLER
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
PASCALE CARAYON
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
DELIA CIOFFI
Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
E.N.CORLETT
University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
JENNIFER R.EGERT
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
MICHAEL FEUERSTEIN
Uniformed University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
LAWRENCE J.FINE
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
WILBERT E.FORDYCE
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
LINDA FRAZIER
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
HAROLD GARDNER
Options & Choices, Inc., Cheyenne, W yoming, USA
TOM HALES
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
JAY S.HIMMELSTEIN
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
BRUCE HOCKING
Telstra, Melbourne, Australia
E.HOEKSTRA
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
JOE HURRELL
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
STANISLAV KASL
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
FRANCIS J.KEEFE
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
SAMUEL D.MOON
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
GLENN PRANSKY
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
STEVEN L.SAUTER
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
JAMES A.SKELTON
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA
MICHAEL J.SMITH
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
TERRY B.SNYDER
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
CRAIG STENBERG
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
NAOMI G.SWANSON
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
TORES THEORELL
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
R.H.WESTGAARD
The Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway

English