Sociodemographic and occupational factors associated with complaints of musculoskeletal pain in technical-administrative workers in education

Abstract

Background

Prolonged exposure to risk factors in the workplace directly affects workers’ health.

Objective

To analyze the sociodemographic and occupational factors associated with musculoskeletal pain complaints among technical-administrative workers in education.

Methods

A descriptive-exploratory, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. It was carried out with 211 technical-administrative workers in education at the public university in the far south of Brazil. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire between May and July 2023. They were analyzed using descriptive statistics, association tests, and multiple linear regression.

Results

There was a statistically significant association between complaints of pain associated with poor physical health (p = 0.024), undergoing health treatment (p < 0.001), high stress (p < 0.001), and moderate stress (p = 0.028).

Conclusions

Integrating improvements in working conditions with ergonomic interventions and ongoing health promotion programs can contribute to reducing musculoskeletal pain complaints.