INTRODUCTION:

Computers are an integral part of life. In every sphere of life the dependence on computers is ever increasing.¹ In the current world, it’s almost impossible to imagine that someone can live without computers. They have become an electronic device of almost every day use for individuals of every age.²

The word ergonomics is derived from Greek words, "ergo" and "nomos", meaning law and work respectively. International ergonomics association describes ergonomics is the engineering science dealing with various anatomical, physiological, psychological, philosophies and their interaction with people.¹. In India, ergonomics is a relatively novel concept to be considered by most enterprises as an essential component. Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector is growing rapidly with 2,236,614 Indian information technology users working in IT sectors.³

Recent studies have reported in 2013 that the most frequently occurring health problem among computer users is Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). It is a complex of eye and vision problems related to the activities which stress the near vision and which are experienced in relation, or during the use of the computer. The main ocular symptoms reportable among computer users are eye strain, irritation, burning sensation, redness, blurred vision and double vision.⁴

Using the wrong chair or just sitting improperly in front of a computer for long time can lead to inflamed muscles and tendons. Globally, the number of people suffering from musculoskeletal conditions has increased by 25 percent over the past decade and these conditions make up 2% of the global disease burden. Ergonomics emerges as an issue since many of musculoskeletal conditions are common computer- related injuries and prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD‘s) is increasing among computer users throughout the world.⁵MSD’s include many kinds of sprains and strains, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, sciatica, and low back pain.⁶

Objectives:

1. To assess the pre test knowledge regarding computer ergonomics among desktop users working in selected Informational technology company of district Mohali, Punjab.

2. To develop and administer the self instructional module regarding computer ergonomics among desktop users working in selected Informational technology company of district Mohali, Punjab

3. To evaluate the effectiveness of self instructional module regarding computer ergonomics among desktop users working in selected Informational technology Company of district Mohali, Punjab.

4. To find out the association between research findings and selected socio demographic variables

MATERIAL AND METHOD:

Research approach: Quantitative research approach

Research design: Pre- experimental one group pre test post test research design.

Research setting: The study was conducted in selected Information Technology Company (Private), Mohali, Punjab.

Target Population: Desktop users working in selected Information Technology Company of Mohali, Punjab.

Sampling Technique: Convenient sampling technique

Sample size: 100 desktop users

Description of Tool:

Tool consist of two sections:

Section A: Socio- Demographic variables,

Section B: Structured Knowledge Questionnaire.

Inclusion criteria: The study includes the desktop users who were:

· Willing to participate in the study.

· Available at the time of data collection.

· Able to read and understand English

Exclusion criteria:

The study excludes the desktop users:

· Who had undergone any similar study.

· Who were absent or on leave at the time of data collection

Findings:

Table 1: Frequency and percentage distribution of desktop users according to their socio-demographic variables. N= 100

Sr. No.	Socio demographic variables	Frequency f	Percentage %
1.	Age (in years)
	24-30	66	66%
	31-37	32	32%
	>37	02	2%
2.	Gender
	Male	46	46%
	Female	54	54%
	Transgender	0	0%
3.	Professional Qualification
	Diploma	19	19%
	Graduation	41	41%
	Post-Graduation and Above	40	40%
4.	Marital Status
	Single	46	46%
	Married	51	51%
	Widow/widower	01	01%
	Divorced	02	02%
	Separated	0	0%
5.	Average hours of work per day in front of computer
	2-4	29	29%
	4-6	40	40%
	6-8	29	29%
	>8	02	02%
6.	Total experience in job which dealt with computer (in years)
	0-2	01	01%
	2-4	25	25%
	4-6	45	45%
	>6	29	29%
7.	Current job position
	Manager	03	03%
	Project manager	27	27%
	Team leader	43	43%
	Associate developer	27	27%
8.	Monthly income (in rupees)
	≤10,000	27	27%
	10,001-20,000	44	44%
	20,001-30,000	26	26%
	30,001-40,000	03	03%
	≥40,001	0	0%
9.	Previous source of knowledge regarding computer ergonomics
	None	0	0%
-	Newspaper	27	27%
	Health seminar	06	06%
	Magazines	23	23%
	Internet	44	44%

Table 1 depicts that majority of the desktop users i.e. 66% were in the age group of 24-30 years, 54% were females, majority i.e. 40% had professional qualification of post-graduation and above, 46% were single, average hours of work per day in front of computer of 40% desktop users were 4-6 hours, 45% had 4-6 years of total experience in job which dealt with computer, current job position of 43% was team leader, 44% had monthly income (in rupees) of 10,001-20,000/-and internet was previous source of knowledge regarding computer ergonomics among 44% desktop users.

Table 2: Criteria for measuring level of knowledge

Level of knowledge	Total knowledge score
Very Good	26-30
Good	21-25
Average	16-20
Below average	0-15

Figure 1: Frequency and percentage distribution of pre-test and post-test level of knowledge among desktop users.

Table 3: Paired t-test to find out effectiveness of SIM (Self Instructional Module) on knowledge among desktop users.

N=100

Knowledge

Mean

Median

S.D

Paired t test, p value

Pre-test

13.9

14.00

2.464

7.3

20.310,0.000*

Post-test

21.20

21.50

2.486

*Significant at p<0.05

Table 3 shows that there was significant difference in knowledge of desktop users during pre-test and post-test. The calculated paired “t” value was found to be higher than the tabulated value (t₉₉=1.984) at p<0.05 level of significance which depicts that the difference between pre-test and post-test is a true difference and not by chance.

Table 4: Association of pre-test level of knowledge with selected socio- demographic variables of desktop users N= 100

Pre-test level of knowledge
Sr. No	Socio demographic variables	Below average (n= 74)	Average (n=26)	Chi-square value, df, p-value
1.	Age (in years)
	24-30	52	14	2.56,2, 0.278^NS
	31-37	21	11
	>37	02	00
2.	Gender
	Male	34	12	000, 1, 0.582^NS
	Female	40	14
	Transgender	0	0
3.	Professional Qualification
	Diploma	17	2	2.925, 2, 0.232^NS
	Graduation	29	12
	Post-graduation and above	28	12
4.	Marital status
	Single	36	10	1.693,3, 0.639^NS
	Married	36	15
	Widow/widower	1	0
	Divorced	1	1
	Separated	0	0
5.	Average hours of work per day in front of computer
	2-4	24	5	6.069,3, 0.108^NS
	4-6	32	8
	6-8	17	12
	>8	1	1
6.	Total experience in job which dealt with computer ( in years)
	0-2	0	1	4.350, 3, 0.226^NS
	2-4	20	5
	4-6	31	14
	>6	23	6
7.	Current job position
	Manager	2	1	4.493, 3, 0.223^NS
	Project manager	16	11
	Team leader	34	9
	Associate developer	22	5
8.	Monthly income (in rupees)
	≤10,000	22	5	5.166, 3, 0.160^NS
	10,001-20,000	35	9
	20,001-30,000	15	11
	30,001-40,000	2	1
	≥40,001	0	0
9.	Previous source of knowledge regarding computer ergonomics
	None			2.684, 3, 0.443^NS
	Newspaper	17	10
	Health seminar	5	1
	Magazines	17	6
	Internet	35	9

NS= Non- Significant at p< 0.05

Table 4 shows that there was no significant association of pre-test level of knowledge of computer ergonomics among desktop users with selected socio- demographic variables.

CONCLUSION:

· 74% of Desktop users were having below average knowledge regarding computer ergonomics during pre-test whereas 67% were having good knowledge regarding computer ergonomics during post-test.

· Self instructional module was effective in enhancing the knowledge of desktop users regarding computer ergonomics

· There was no significant association of pre-test level of knowledge regarding computer ergonomics among desktop users with selected socio- demographic variables like age, gender, professional qualification, marital status, average hours of work per day in front of computer, total experience in job which dealt with computer, current job position, monthly income ( in rupees), and previous source of knowledge regarding computer ergonomics.

DISCUSSION:

· In present study, mean of knowledge score in pretest and posttest were 13.9 and 21.20 respectively. Paired t test was applied which showed significant difference at p<0.05. Thus, self instructional module was effective in increasing the knowledge of desktop users.

· Similar study conducted by Hiremath PK. 2015 showed that mean pretest and posttest knowledge score was 9.04 and 18.24, respectively which was highly significant at the level of p<0.05. Self instructional module was found to be effective in increasing the knowledge of the computer operators regarding prevention of occupational health hazards.⁷

· Study conducted by Shokunbi GO, Gabriel G. 2015 which showed that mean scoring pre and post-information knowledge were 22.78±6.61 and 31.05±2.82 respectively. Paired t test showed a significant difference in the pre information and post -information knowledge scores of the participants (t=20.495, P value = 0.000). Thus result implied that the self instructional module was effective in increasing the knowledge of computers users.⁸ Similar study conducted by Menaria Kamlesh, Goswami Yogeshwar P , Kumar Sandeep N. 2018 showed the mean score of post-test knowledge 28.98 (80.50.%) which was apparently higher than the mean score of pre-test knowledge 14.96 (41.57%), which revealed that self instructional module was effective in increasing the knowledge of computers users.⁹

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I gratefully acknowledge Mrs.Kanika for the valuable help in statistical analysis.

ETHICAL CLEARANCE:

· A formal written permission was obtained from Private IT Company Mohali, Punjab.

· A formal written permission for the research study was taken from ethical and research committee of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Balongi.

· Confidentiality and anonymity information of all respondents was maintained.

· Written informed consent from the desktop users was taken.

REFERENCES:

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9. Menaria Kamlesh, Goswami Yogeshwar P, Kumar Sandeep N. 2018. Self-Instructional Module On Knowledge Regarding Computer Vision Syndrome And Its Prevention Among It Workers, IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS). Available from: http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jnhs/papers/vol7-issue4/Version-7/C0704071823.pdf

Received on 31.10.2019 Modified on 28.11.2019

Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2020; 8(2):149-152.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2020.00033.2