Proposal of the instrument work-related musculoskeletal disorders index

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The measurement of pain and discomfort from work-related musculoskeletal disorders is a conceptual and empirical challenge, considering the cognitive and subjective processes involved in the evaluation of somatic symptoms. The objective of this study was to construct a work-related musculoskeletal disorders index to evaluate musculoskeletal discomfort in workers with and without repetitive strain injuries/work-related musculoskeletal disorders, a syndrome that affects thousands of workers every year. METHODS: The sample was composed of 182 bank clerks from the State of Bahia, 91 of whom were diagnosed with the syndrome. RESULTS: The work-related musculoskeletal disorders index had a frequency distribution similar to the normal curve, with averages of 7.1 and 4.1 for the groups with and without a diagnosis, respectively. CONCLUSION: In addition to the adequate psychometric properties, the proposed index was able to differentiate, satisfactorily, workers with and without a diagnosis of repetitive strain injuries/work-related musculoskeletal disorders