Assessment of Risk Factors for Occupational Neck Pain among Teachers: Application of Health Belief Model

Neck pain (NP) is one of the most common MusculoSkeletal Disorders (MSDs) that leading to occupational health problems and complaints among different professions. As many studies indicated that NP is common among teachers, this study aimed to assess the risk factors of occupational neck pain in among teachers based on Health Belief Model (HBM).

In this descriptive-analytical study, 224 teachers from 26 schools were selected randomly. Based on inclusion criteria, 144 participants were eligible and included in the study. A self-designed questionnaire was applied to collect data. The obtained data were analyzed through Pearson correlation test by using SPSS version 24.

This study showed there is a significant relationship between teachers’ occupational neck pain and various factors such as age, gender, work experience, doing exercise, awareness, perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, self-efficacy, and prevent behavior (P <0.05 in all instances).

As this study indicated the majority of  the risk factors associated with neck pain can be controlled, providing educational - training program  for  teachers to  reduce occupational neck pain is strongly recommended.