Ergonomic Risk Assessment and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh

Ergonomic Risk Assessment and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Ergonomic Risk Assessment and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh Riday Paul This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6971940/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objectives : The purpose of the study was to determine musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and to evaluate the ergonomic risks among the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh. Methods : A mixed methods design in form of cross-sectional study was carried out on a structured questionnaire and Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA) method at the Varaura Tea Estate. We used SPSS to analyze quantitative data, and the qualitative insight was gathered by means of an interviewing and a field observation For Review Only Results : A high prevalence rate of MSDs was detected especially in the lower back (62 percent), shoulders (49 percent), and knees (53 percent). NERPA analysis indicated that 63.3 percent of the assessed tasks had a need of immediate ergonomic treatment because of high postural risk scores. A significant relation was obtained between certain repetitive chores (e.g. plucking, load carrying) and reported annoyance (p < 0.05) Conclusions : The ergonomics risks involved in tea plantations in Bangladesh are troublesome. The ergonomic countermeasures need to be implemented specifically with interventions targeted at improving the health and productivity of workers through the workers training and 30 enforcement of the policies. Environmental Engineering Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tea Plantation Workers Occupational Health NERPA Method Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6971940","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":476160899,"identity":"d5a99732-624f-46e5-b322-eba23affb5d1","order_by":0,"name":"Riday Paul","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4799-9263","institution":"Semyung University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Riday","middleName":"","lastName":"Paul","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-25 07:51:54","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6971940/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6971940/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85445110,"identity":"36b84e27-6763-4d8e-a98a-12b0e891f3f2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-26 02:35:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2409754,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"JOH20250201OAProofhi.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6971940/v1_covered_58c8a4df-afc7-4fd3-aa0c-354ebb6852f1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eErgonomic Risk Assessment and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Semyung University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), Ergonomic Risk Assessment, Tea Plantation Workers, Occupational Health, NERPA Method","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6971940/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6971940/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjectives\u003c/strong\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of the study was to determine musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and to evaluate the ergonomic risks among the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA mixed methods design in form of cross-sectional study was carried out on a structured questionnaire and Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA) method at the Varaura Tea Estate. 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