The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among police officers at Bukit Aman

Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the major work-related health problems in various professions, and there is an increasing trend in prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among police officers on desk-duty. A quantitative research was therefore conducted to study the prevalence and job-related factor(s) which
significantly contributes towards work-related musculoskeletal disorders among police officers on desk-duty in Bukit Aman. Data was collected from 150 respondents who were selected via purposive sampling, using a questionnaire which consists of 4- point Likert-scaled items. Findings showed that majority respondents suffered from moderate to severe musculoskeletal disorders. Significant difference was shown in prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among male and female police officers. Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders was higher among elder police officers, police officers with longer years of service in Royal Malaysia Police and police officers with longer duration on desk-duty. There was a significant, moderate positive relationship between posture, repetitive movements, overuse of body parts and duration/pace of work with prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders.
However, only overuse of body parts and, duration and pace of work were shown to contribute significantly towards prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among police officers in this study. These findings have theoretical implication in understanding the severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among desk-duty police officers, practical implication in identifying the physical requirement of desk-duty and implementing appropriate workplace improvement measures, and policy implication towards occupational health and safety of police officers on desk-duty. Hence, further research in this area is highly recommended.