Validation of Two Instruments for the Correct Allocation of School Furniture in Secondary Schools to Prevent Back Pain

Alfonso Gutiérrez-Santiago, Iván Prieto-Lage, José María Cancela-Carral and Adrián Paramés-González
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Alfonso Gutiérrez-Santiago: Observational Research Group, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Iván Prieto-Lage: Observational Research Group, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
José María Cancela-Carral: HealthyFit Group, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Adrián Paramés-González: Observational Research Group, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Back pain is common in secondary school students. If we adjust the school furniture to the anthropometric characteristics of the pupils, we will improve their posture and reduce back pain. There is a high degree of mismatch between the furniture used by students and that which should be used. The objectives of this research are to discover the degree of mismatch and validate two instruments that allow a correct allocation of the furniture. Methods: The selected sample was 132 secondary students (14.08 ± 1.10 years). An anthropometer was used to determine the ideal height of the chair and table; data were taken from body segments. The recorded values were compared with those obtained by the two measurement instruments to be validated. Inter-measurer and intra-measurer reliability and validation were performed using t-tests and Pearson’s coefficient, respectively. Different analysis techniques were used: descriptive, one-way ANOVA, t-test, and effect size. The established level of significance was ρ < 0.05. Results: The mismatch between the anthropometric dimensions of the students and the existing furniture in the classrooms was 98.5 % for the chairs and 100 % for the tables. The correlational analysis of the instruments to be validated shows an r = 0.993 in the chair and r = 0.996 in the table. Conclusions: There is a high degree of mismatch between the furniture and the anthropometric characteristics of the students. The proposed furniture allocation instruments are adequate.

Keywords: school furniture; education; mismatch measures; validation; back health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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