Anthropometric evaluation of public institution sitting furniture designs

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Date
2014
Authors
Effah, Bernard
Adu, George
Adu, Sylvia
Anokye, Rogerson
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Publisher
World Journal of Science and Technology Research
Abstract
Musculoskeletal symptoms are one of the health problems among institution workers in Ghana. In Ghana, ergonomics principles important in the design and selection of office furniture to ensure that it will avoid any undue strain on the user have not been addressed and documented. Whether or not these strains are related to institution furniture has yet to be determined and published data on furniture size are lacking. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the design of furniture in institutions is appropriate for workers’ anthropometry. The work included a sample of 261 working population (163 males and 98 females) having the age range of 24 – 59 years from six public institutions in Ghana. The data collected included demographic information, data on perceived health and body and furniture measurements. The females’ BMI was higher than that of the males. The females had wider hip breadth measurements in the sitting position. Only few of the participants had a chair with an appropriate seat height. Seat depth was found appropriate for large groups of workers. The study recommended that the design, manufacture and procurement of the office furniture should be based on body measurements of users.
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Citation
Adu, G., Adu, S., Effah, B., & Anokye, R. (2014). Anthropometric evaluation of public institution sitting furniture designs. World Journal of Science and Technology Research, 2(1), 1-15.