ISAK Home

Vol. 6 Núm. 2 (2026): Volume 6, Issue 2, Year 2026

Articles

Longitudinal Study: Furniture Mismatch and Student Health in Ghana

  • Adu Sylvia,
  • Adu George,
  • Asante Boadi Alfred
Adu Sylvia
Department of Forest Resources Technology, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.
Adu George
Department of Interior Design and Materials Technology, Faculty of Built and Natural Environment, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi-Ghana.
Asante Boadi Alfred
Department of Building Technology and Quantity Survey, Faculty of Built and Natural Environment, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi-Ghana.
PDF (English)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34256/ijk2627

Publicado 21-08-2026

Palabras clave

  • Compromiso Académico,
  • Discrepancia Antropométrica,
  • Ghana,
  • Estudio Longitudinal,
  • Salud Musculoesquelética,
  • Estudiantes Universitarios
    • ...Más
    Menos

Cómo citar

Sylvia, A., George, A., & Alfred, A. B. (2026). Longitudinal Study: Furniture Mismatch and Student Health in Ghana. La Revista Internacional De Cineantropometría, 6(2), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.34256/ijk2627

Derechos de autor 2026 Adu Sylvia, Adu George, Asante Boadi Alfred

Creative Commons License

Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución 4.0.

Dimensions

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Resumen

Introducción: La discrepancia entre el mobiliario (mesas y sillas) de las aulas universitarias y las características antropométricas de los estudiantes se ha identificado como una causa importante de problemas de salud musculoesquelética y de afectación al rendimiento académico. Este estudio realiza un seguimiento de los estudiantes a lo largo del tiempo, evitando así las mediciones transversales de dicha discrepancia. El objetivo del estudio fue investigar cómo la falta de ajuste entre la antropometría de los estudiantes y las dimensiones del mobiliario de las aulas influye en el bienestar musculoesquelético y el compromiso académico en una universidad de Ghana. Métodos: Mediante ecuaciones estándar y cálculos basados ​​en los datos recopilados, se verificaron las situaciones de ajuste y desajuste experimentadas por los estudiantes. Se registraron datos estandarizados sobre salud musculoesquelética y rendimiento académico a través de cuestionarios administrados en distintos momentos de un mismo año académico (inicio del semestre, mitad del semestre y antes de los exámenes finales), con el fin de evaluar los efectos acumulativos de un mobiliario mal diseñado. Resultados: La estatura media de los hombres (171,3 cm) es mayor que la de las mujeres (163,4 cm). Se registraron discrepancias totales (100 %) en la relación entre la altura del asiento y la mesa, así como en la longitud de la mesa, en ambos sexos; asimismo, se observaron desajustes en la altura del asiento (53,1 % en mujeres y 38,6 % en hombres) y en el diseño del respaldo (92,9 % en mujeres y 86,3 % en hombres). La prevalencia de dolor cervical en los hombres aumentó del 42,1 % al 62,9 % entre el inicio y el final del semestre. El dolor reduce significativamente el compromiso académico de los estudiantes, afectando zonas como los hombros (puntuación de 2,97 a 2,27), la zona lumbar (2,96 a 2,26) y los muslos (3,04 a 2,28). Conclusión: El mobiliario fijo de talla única utilizado en las aulas universitarias de Ghana provoca molestias físicas crónicas, lo que deriva en un aumento del dolor musculoesquelético y en una disminución del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes a lo largo del semestre.

PDF (English)

Citas

  1. Abledu, J. K., & Offei, E. B. (2015). Musculoskeletal disorders among first-year Ghanaian students in a nursing college. African Health Sciences, 15(2), 444–449. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v15i2.18
  2. Adeyemi, A. J., Lasisi, O. I., Ojile, P., & Abdulkadir, M. (2020). The effect of furniture intervention on the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders and academic performance of students in North-West Nigeria. Work, 65(1), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-193049
  3. Agyapong Afrifah, K., & Glalah, M. (2021). Ergonomic design of university classroom furniture: Evaluation of comfortability and musculoskeletal disorders. Archives of Occupational Health, 5(3), 1036–1048. https://doi.org/10.18502/aoh.v5i3.7159
  4. Altaboli, A., Belkhear, M., Bosenina, A., & Elfsei, N. (2015). Anthropometric evaluation of the design of the classroom desk for the fourth and fifth grades of Benghazi primary schools. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 5655–5662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.778
  5. Ayaz, J., Ghaffar, T., Iqbal, A., Arshad, S., Aroofa, H., Nasir, M., & Khalid, A. (2023). Musculoskeletal disorders risk factors among faculty members of academic institute: Musculoskeletal disorders risk factors. Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences. https://doi.org/10.54393/pjhs.v4i05.767
  6. Bazaluk, O., Tsopa, V., Cheberiachko, S., Deryugin, O., Radchuk, D., Borovytskyi, O., & Lozynskyi, V. (2023). Ergonomic risk management process for safety and health at work. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1253141. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1253141
  7. Bell, J., & Waters, S. (2018). Ebook: Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
  8. Bello, A. I., & Sepenu, A. S. (2013). Mismatch in body–chair dimensions and the associated musculoskeletal pain among selected undergraduate students in Ghana. Journal of Musculoskeletal Research, 16(3), 1350016. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218957713500164
  9. Bridger, R. S. (2017). Introduction to human factors and ergonomics. CRC Press.
  10. Califano, R., Fiorillo, I., Baglivo, G., Chirico, C., Russo, A. D., Garro, J., Leo, M., Pacheco, C., Vitolo, G., & Naddeo, A. (2021). Comfort driven redesign: The case of library chairs. In L. Roucoules, M. Paredes, B. Eynard, P. Morer Camo, & C. Rizzi (Eds.), Advances on mechanics, design engineering and manufacturing III: JCM 2020 (pp. 155–161). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70566-4_25
  11. Cebrián Cifuentes, S., & Guerrero Valverde, E. (2024). Validation of the University Student Engagement Questionnaire in the field of education. Education Sciences, 14(10), 1047. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101047
  12. Chung, J. W., & Wong, T. K. (2007). Anthropometric evaluation for primary school furniture design. Ergonomics, 50(3), 323–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130600842328
  13. Crawford, J. O. (2007). The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire. Occupational Medicine, 57(4), 300–301. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqm036
  14. Dianat, I., Karimi, M. A., Hashemi, A. A., & Bahrampour, S. (2013). Classroom furniture and anthropometric characteristics of Iranian high school students: Proposed dimensions based on anthropometric data. Applied Ergonomics, 44(1), 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2012.05.004
  15. Dul, J., & Weerdmeester, B. (2003). Ergonomics for beginners: A quick reference guide. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203212097
  16. Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059
  17. García-Acosta, G., & Lange-Morales, K. (2007). Definition of sizes for the design of school furniture for Bogotá schools based on anthropometric criteria. Ergonomics, 50(10), 1626–1642. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701587541
  18. Geldhof, E., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & De Clercq, D. (2007). Back posture education in elementary schoolchildren: A 2-year follow-up study. European Spine Journal, 16, 841–850. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-006-0227-4
  19. Gouvali, M. K., & Boudolos, K. (2006). Match between school furniture dimensions and children's anthropometry. Applied Ergonomics, 37(6), 765–773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2005.11.009
  20. Grandjean, E. (1988). Fitting the task to the man: A textbook of occupational ergonomics. Taylor & Francis.
  21. Harithasan, D., Singh, D. K. A., Abd Razak, N. A. B., & Baharom, N. B. (2022). Personal, academic stressors and environmental factors contributing to musculoskeletal pain among undergraduates due to online learning: A mixed method study with data integration. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 14513. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114513
  22. Hoque, A. S. M., Parvez, M. S., Halder, P. K., & Szecsi, T. (2014). Ergonomic design of classroom furniture for university students of Bangladesh. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 31(5), 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2014.940069
  23. Khoshabi, P., Nejati, E., Ahmadi, S. F., Chegini, A., Makui, A., & Ghousi, R. (2020). Developing a multi-criteria decision making approach to compare types of classroom furniture considering mismatches for anthropometric measures of university students. PLOS ONE, 15(9), e0239297. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239297
  24. Koskelo, R., Vuorikari, K., & Hänninen, O. (2007). Sitting and standing postures are corrected by adjustable furniture with lowered muscle tension in high-school students. Ergonomics, 50(10), 1643–1656. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701587236
  25. Kuh, G. D. (2009). What student affairs professionals need to know about student engagement. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 683–706. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0099
  26. Kuorinka, I., Jonsson, B., Kilbom, A., Vinterberg, H., Biering-Sørensen, F., Andersson, G., & Jørgensen, K. (1987). Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Applied Ergonomics, 18(3), 233–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-6870(87)90010-X
  27. Kurban, H., Tankut, A. N., & Melemez, K. (2015). Ergonomic and structural analysis of classroom furniture: A case study for high schools in Bartin, Turkey. In Proceedings of the 27th International Conference (pp. 287–294).
  28. Lueder, R., & Rice, V. J. B. (2008). Ergonomics for children. Taylor & Francis.
  29. Osquei-Zadeh, R., Ghamari, J., Abedi, Z., & Shiri, H. (2012). Ergonomic and anthropometric consideration for library furniture in an Iranian public university. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 3(1), 19–26.
  30. Panero, J., & Zelnik, M. (1979). Human dimension & interior space: A source book of design reference standards. Whitney Library of Design.
  31. Parvez, M. S., Rahman, A., & Tasnim, N. (2019). Ergonomic mismatch between students anthropometry and university classroom furniture. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 20(5), 603–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/1463922X.2019.1617909
  32. Pérez-Gosende, P. (2017). Anthropometry-based approach for side-mounted desktop chairs design evaluation for university students in Ecuador. In 2017 IEEE Second Ecuador Technical Chapters Meeting (ETCM). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ETCM.2017.8247516
  33. Pheasant, S., & Haslegrave, C. (2016). Bodyspace: Anthropometry, ergonomics and the design of work (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
  34. Pheasant, S., & Haslegrave, C. M. (2018). Bodyspace: Anthropometry, ergonomics and the design of work. CRC Press.
  35. Reeve, J., & Tseng, C. M. (2011). Agency as a fourth aspect of students' engagement during learning activities. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(4), 257–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.05.002
  36. Rosyidi, C. N., Susmartini, S., Purwaningrum, L., & Muraki, S. (2016). Mismatch analysis of elementary school furniture in several regions of Central Java, Indonesia, and redesign recommendations. SAGE Open, 6(3), 2158244016664386. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016664386
  37. Taifa, I. W., & Desai, D. A. (2017). Anthropometric measurements for ergonomic design of students’ furniture in India. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal, 20(1), 232–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2016.08.004
  38. Thariq, M. M., Munasinghe, H. P., & Abeysekara, J. D. (2010). Designing chairs with mounted desktop for university students: Ergonomics and comfort. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 40(1), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2009.10.003
  39. Torgbenu, E. L., Nakua, E. K., Kyei, H., Badu, E., & Opoku, M. P. (2017). Causes, trends and severity of musculoskeletal injuries in Ghana. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 18(1), 349. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-017-1709-8
  40. Vimalanathan, V., & Jayachandran, S. (2016). Ergonomic study of classroom furniture for university students. IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, 13(3), 33–38.
  41. Vlaović, Z., Bogner, A., & Grbac, I. (2008). Comfort evaluation as the example of anthropotechnical furniture design. Collegium Antropologicum, 32(1), 277–283.