Musculoskeletal Discomfort Faced by Interior Design Students During Online Learning

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent in young adults in the present times. A major section of this age group are the students pursuing higher education. In the current pandemic situation due to COVID-19, the students have been forced into attending classes through online mode and so the infrastructure available at home may not be optimal ergonomically, leading to musculoskeletal discomfort amongst the students. In Interior Design course, the students are required to do practical work in a sitting position using the furniture available at home. They are also required to attend classes through computers, tablets and smartphones, which can also lead to musculoskeletal discomfort. As these students are exposed to the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders, the present study was conducted with objectives (a) to gain insight into working methods and home workspace of the students, (b) to identify incidence of musculoskeletal discomfort experienced by interior design students during online learning and (c) to find out the perceived causes of musculoskeletal discomfort by the students. The sample of the study was 77 under-graduate students pursuing Interior Design course and data was collected using questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that these students are in need of proper workspace and work environment at home, they need guidance in optimizing there working methods and developing proper work schedules and lastly, they need awareness regarding maintaining correct postures during sit-down work as well as corrective measures for optimizing their current work-station at home.