Trial reportScandinavian journal of work, environment & health2020
The effect of training for a participatory ergonomic intervention on physical exertion and musculoskeletal pain among childcare workers (the TOY project) - a wait-list cluster-randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical Activity Levels of Early Childhood Educators: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Child: care, health and development · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a Goldilocks Work intervention in childcare workers - A cluster-randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Trial
- Participatory Ergonomics Intervention to Prevent Work Disability Among Workers with Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Workplace Setting.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- The Use of Time Flow Analysis to Describe Changes in Physical Ergonomic Work Behaviours Following a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Participatory Ergonomic Intervention.Annals of work exposures and health · 2022Trial
- Copen-SCALE: scaling-up an effective intervention to childcare institutions in Copenhagen - a stepped wedge type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial. A study protocol.BMC public health · 2025Article
- What determines childcare workers physical behaviours at work? An investigation of determinants at the institution, team, and worker levels in Danish day nurseries.Annals of work exposures and health · 2025Article
- Musculoskeletal Complaints Among Female Childcare Workers in German Daycare Centres-A Survey Study with a Comparison Group.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Reducing sickness absence: a work environment intervention in Norwegian hospitals.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Article
- Does occupational forward bending of the back increase long-term sickness absence risk? A 4-year prospective register-based study using device-measured compositional data analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Effect of Supported Systematic Work Environment Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, ergonomics risk assessment and implementation of participatory ergonomics program for pistachio farm workers.La Medicina del lavoro · 2021Article
- Engaging Occupational Safety and Health Professionals in Bridging Research and Practice: Evaluation of a Participatory Workshop Program in the Danish Construction Industry.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Article
- Can Childcare Work Be Designed to Promote High Intensity Physical Activity for Improved Fitness and Health? A Proof of Concept Study of the Goldilocks Principle.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective Many employees have high physical exertion at work and suffer from musculoskeletal pain (MSP) leading to sickness absence with large costs. Participatory ergonomics is a potentially effective intervention for reducing physical exertion, MSP and sickness absence. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a 20-week workplace participatory ergonomic intervention among childcare workers on physical exertion and MSP. Methods In a two-arm cluster-randomized trial, 190 workers were recruited from 16 childcare institutions and randomly assigned to either a 20-week participatory ergonomics intervention consisting of three training workshops or a control group receiving usual care. Primary outcomes were physical exertion during work, maximal pain intensity, number of pain regions, and pain-related work interference. Secondary outcomes were MSP-related sickness absence, need for recovery (NFR), employee involvement, and self-efficacy. We followed the intention-to-treat principle and adhered to the registered study protocol (ISRCTN10928313). Results After 20 weeks, half the workers noticed some positive changes in their work. However, there were no statistically discernible effects in physical exertion, maximum pain intensity, pain-related work interference, or number of pain regions. We found a significant reduction of MSP-related sickness absence in the intervention compared to the control group [-0.48 days per month (95% confidence interval (CI), -0.8- -0.1]. We found no significant effects in NRF or involvement of employees, but self-efficacy was reduced in the intervention compared to the control group [-0.2 (95% CI, -0.3- -0.0)]. Conclusion This 20-week training for a participatory ergonomic intervention in childcare workers did not show effects on physical exertion and MSP, but was both feasible and effective in reducing MSP-related sickness absence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.