Affiliations: Work Comfort, Efficiency and Safety Research Group,
Industrial Engineering Graduate Program, Federal University of Paraíba,
PB, Brazil | Industrial Engineering Graduate Program, Technology
Department, Federal University of Paraíba, PB, Brazil
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Luiz Bueno da Silva, Rua Silvino
Lopes, 547, Apto 104, Bairro Tambaú, 58039-190 – João
Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil. Tel.: +55 83 3216 7685; E-mail:
bueno@ct.ufpb.br
Abstract: Objective: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the
impact of school furniture and work surface lighting on the body posture of
public Middle School students from Paraíba (Brazil). Participants and methods: The survey was carried out in two public
schools and the target population for the study included 8th grade groups
involving a total of 31 students. Brazilian standards for lighting levels, the
CEBRACE standards for furniture measurements and the Postural Assessment
Software (SAPO) for the postural misalignment assay were adopted for the
measurements comparison. The statistic analysis includes analyses of parametric
and non-parametric correlations. Results: The results show that the students' most affected parts of
the body were the spine, the regions of the knees and head and neck, with 90%
of the total number of students presenting postural misalignment. The lighting
levels were usually found below 300 lux, below recommended levels. The
statistic analysis show that the more adequate the furniture seems to be to the
user, the less the user will complain of pain. Conclusions: Such results indicate the need of investments in more
suitable school furniture and structural reforms aimed at improving the
lighting in the classrooms, which could fulfill the students' profile and
reduce their complaints.
