ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Occupational Health and Safety
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1654131
Prevalence and factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders among primary and secondary school teachers
Provisionally accepted
John Gikaro1
George Claud Goi1
Farida Hassan Taamala1Zakia Mussa Minduva1Jenifa Charles Welema1
Hussein Hamisi Hamadi1
Elia Asanterabi Swai2*- 1Physiotherapy Department, School of Rehabilitation Medicine, KCMC University, Moshi, Tanzania
- 2Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the top conditions that affect the working population including teachers. Historically, Kilimanjaro region including Moshi municipal, has been a pioneer in education development in Tanzania. Moshi municipality represent a diverse setting of primary and secondary education; however, no study has yet examined MSDs among teachers in this setting. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MSDs among primary and secondary school teachers, and identify the associated factors. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 205 primary and secondary school teachers in Moshi Municipal, Northern Tanzania. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that incorporated the Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (SNMQ). Logistic regression model was used to estimate the factors associated with MSDs. Results: The 12-month and 7-day prevalence of MSDs in one or more body sites was 61.5% and 44.4%, respectively. Twelve-month prevalence was higher in the lower back (44.4%), followed by the neck (31.2%), upper back (26.8%), and shoulders (18.5%). Seven-day prevalence was higher in the lower back (29.8%), followed by the neck (16.1%), ankles/feet (12.2%), and upper back (9.8%). Predictors of MSDs at different body parts were the age, gender, BMI, working duration, number of working hours, number of classes, and number of students in class. Conclusion: Occupational factors significantly contribute to MSDs among teachers. Complying to recommended workload for teachers may help to prevent MSDs in teaching profession.
Keywords: work-related musculoskeletal disorders, Occupational Health, teachers, Tanzania, Moshi Municipality
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gikaro, Goi, Taamala, Minduva, Welema, Hamadi and Swai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Elia Asanterabi Swai, elia.swai@umu.se
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