As principais desordens dos membros superiores e cervical (CANS - Complaints of arms, neck and shoulders) podem ser definidas como queixas musculoesqueléticas nas regiões de membro superior, ombro e pescoço não atribuídas a trauma agudo ou a desordens sistêmicas. Essas desordens são comuns entre trabalhadores usuários de computador. O Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) é uma das poucas ferramentas existentes na literatura para avaliação de risco ergonômico e psicossocial em trabalhadores, além da vantagem de ser específico para usuários de computador, porém não está validado no português-brasileiro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a adaptação transcultural para o português-brasileiro e validação do MUEQ em trabalhadores de escritório usuários de computador e verificar a prevalência das CANS na amostra recrutada. A tradução e adaptação transcultural seguiram as diretrizes do Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments nos estágios: tradução, síntese, retrotradução, revisão pelo comitê de especialistas e pré-teste. Na etapa do teste da versão pré-final, foram aplicados 55 questionários em trabalhadores usuários de computador, que relataram dificuldades de compreensão abaixo do valor estipulado de 20%, não sendo necessária a reformulação da ferramenta. Para testar a confiabilidade, outros 50 sujeitos preencheram o questionário, em dois momentos, com nível de reprodutibilidade considerado excelente (ICC>0,75). A amostra para a análise da consistência interna e análise fatorial do questionário contou com 386 trabalhadores usuários de computador de mesa entre 18 e 60 anos. Para a consistência interna foram observados valores de de Cronbach maiores que 0,7 para todos os domínios. Na análise fatorial os domínios/subdomínios apresentaram valores de eigenvalue superiores a 1 e os valores de variância explicada acumulada dos fatores de cada domínio variou entre 40% e 60%. A prevalência das CANS nos últimos três meses por pelo menos uma semana foi de 73,32% (IC=0,69-0,77) na amostra total (n=283) e 82% (IC=0,76-0,87) das mulheres e 62% (IC=0,55-0,69) dos homens relataram alguma das CANS. Os domínios foram mantidos iguais à versão original do MUEQ. A queixa musculoesquelética mais observada foi a dor no pescoço (51%). A partir deste trabalho disponibilizou-se um instrumento abrangente e confiável para a avaliação ergonômica e psicossocial relacionado às queixas em cervical e membro superior em trabalhadores usuários de computador brasileiros e foi observada alta prevalência de CANS na população observada. / Complaints of the Arm, Neck and Shoulder (CANS) have a multifactorial etiology, and, therefore, its assessment should take into consideration work-related ergonomic and psychosocial aspects. The Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) is among the few specific tools available to evaluate the nature and occurrence of CANS in computer office workers. The purpose of the present study was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the MUEQ to Brazilian Portuguese and verify the psychometric properties of the MUEQ-Br in Brazilian computer office workers and to assess the prevalence of CANS in a sample of Brazilian computer office workers. The translation and cultural adaptation followed the guidelines of the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments in six stages: translation, synthesis, back translation, review by the expert committee, pre-test and submission of documents to the committee. In the test of pre-final version, 55 questionnaires were administered to computer workers who reported difficulties in understanding below the stipulated 20%, without the need for redesign of the tool. The pre-final version test counted on the participation of 55 computer office workers. For reproducibility, it was considered a sample of 50 workers who answered the questionnaire twice with a one-week interval. A sample comprised by 386 (37.44 years, Confidence Interval (CI) 95%:36.50-38.38, 216 women and 170 men) workers from the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto campus to validate the structure of the questionnaire, verify internal consistency and CANS prevalence. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used for the statistical analysis of reproducibility, Cronbachs Alpha for Internal Consistency, and the Principal Component Analysis method for Exploratory Factor Analysis. The psychometric properties of the MUEQ were assessed using exploratory factor analysis, which revealed 14 factors. The calculation of internal consistency, reproducibility and cross validation provided evidence of reliability and lack of redundancy. It was verified ICC values greater than 0.75 and cronbachs alpha greater than 0.7. Factor analysis was conducted for every section of the questionnaire and 14 factors were found, two for each section accounting for approximately 40 to 60% of the variance. The prevalence rate of CANS indicated that 73% (IC=0,69-0,77) of the respondents reported at least one complaint in the arm, neck and/or shoulder in the total sample (n=283), 82% (IC=0,76-0,87) of the women and 62% IC=0,55-0,69) of the men. The highest prevalence rates were found for neck symptoms (51%). The MUEQ-Br demonstrated to be a valid tool for the assessment of risk factors related to pain in the upper extremity among Brazilian computer office workers.

As principais desordens dos membros superiores e cervical (CANS - Complaints of arms, neck and shoulders) podem ser definidas como queixas musculoesqueléticas nas regiões de membro superior, ombro e pescoço não atribuídas a trauma agudo ou a desordens sistêmicas. Essas desordens são comuns entre trabalhadores usuários de computador. O Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) é uma das poucas ferramentas existentes na literatura para avaliação de risco ergonômico e psicossocial em trabalhadores, além da vantagem de ser específico para usuários de computador, porém não está validado no português-brasileiro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a adaptação transcultural para o português-brasileiro e validação do MUEQ em trabalhadores de escritório usuários de computador e verificar a prevalência das CANS na amostra recrutada. A tradução e adaptação transcultural seguiram as diretrizes do Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments nos estágios: tradução, síntese, retrotradução, revisão pelo comitê de especialistas e pré-teste. Na etapa do teste da versão pré-final, foram aplicados 55 questionários em trabalhadores usuários de computador, que relataram dificuldades de compreensão abaixo do valor estipulado de 20%, não sendo necessária a reformulação da ferramenta. Para testar a confiabilidade, outros 50 sujeitos preencheram o questionário, em dois momentos, com nível de reprodutibilidade considerado excelente (ICC>0,75). A amostra para a análise da consistência interna e análise fatorial do questionário contou com 386 trabalhadores usuários de computador de mesa entre 18 e 60 anos. Para a consistência interna foram observados valores de de Cronbach maiores que 0,7 para todos os domínios. Na análise fatorial os domínios/subdomínios apresentaram valores de eigenvalue superiores a 1 e os valores de variância explicada acumulada dos fatores de cada domínio variou entre 40% e 60%. A prevalência das CANS nos últimos três meses por pelo menos uma semana foi de 73,32% (IC=0,69-0,77) na amostra total (n=283) e 82% (IC=0,76-0,87) das mulheres e 62% (IC=0,55-0,69) dos homens relataram alguma das CANS. Os domínios foram mantidos iguais à versão original do MUEQ. A queixa musculoesquelética mais observada foi a dor no pescoço (51%). A partir deste trabalho disponibilizou-se um instrumento abrangente e confiável para a avaliação ergonômica e psicossocial relacionado às queixas em cervical e membro superior em trabalhadores usuários de computador brasileiros e foi observada alta prevalência de CANS na população observada. / Complaints of the Arm, Neck and Shoulder (CANS) have a multifactorial etiology, and, therefore, its assessment should take into consideration work-related ergonomic and psychosocial aspects. The Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) is among the few specific tools available to evaluate the nature and occurrence of CANS in computer office workers. The purpose of the present study was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the MUEQ to Brazilian Portuguese and verify the psychometric properties of the MUEQ-Br in Brazilian computer office workers and to assess the prevalence of CANS in a sample of Brazilian computer office workers. The translation and cultural adaptation followed the guidelines of the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments in six stages: translation, synthesis, back translation, review by the expert committee, pre-test and submission of documents to the committee. In the test of pre-final version, 55 questionnaires were administered to computer workers who reported difficulties in understanding below the stipulated 20%, without the need for redesign of the tool. The pre-final version test counted on the participation of 55 computer office workers. For reproducibility, it was considered a sample of 50 workers who answered the questionnaire twice with a one-week interval. A sample comprised by 386 (37.44 years, Confidence Interval (CI) 95%:36.50-38.38, 216 women and 170 men) workers from the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto campus to validate the structure of the questionnaire, verify internal consistency and CANS prevalence. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used for the statistical analysis of reproducibility, Cronbachs Alpha for Internal Consistency, and the Principal Component Analysis method for Exploratory Factor Analysis. The psychometric properties of the MUEQ were assessed using exploratory factor analysis, which revealed 14 factors. The calculation of internal consistency, reproducibility and cross validation provided evidence of reliability and lack of redundancy. It was verified ICC values greater than 0.75 and cronbachs alpha greater than 0.7. Factor analysis was conducted for every section of the questionnaire and 14 factors were found, two for each section accounting for approximately 40 to 60% of the variance. The prevalence rate of CANS indicated that 73% (IC=0,69-0,77) of the respondents reported at least one complaint in the arm, neck and/or shoulder in the total sample (n=283), 82% (IC=0,76-0,87) of the women and 62% IC=0,55-0,69) of the men. The highest prevalence rates were found for neck symptoms (51%). The MUEQ-Br demonstrated to be a valid tool for the assessment of risk factors related to pain in the upper extremity among Brazilian computer office workers.

Neck pain is the second most common musculoskeletal disorder after low back pain adding to the global burden of disease. A focus on evaluating outcomes for musculoskeletal conditions is imperative to evaluate the effect of interventions and to track the progression of disease. As evidence based practice and associated use of patient-based outcomes are taken up across different countries, it becomes imperative for cross-cultural translation studies. Given the uptake of technology in workplaces, it is also important to understand the prevalence of neck pain in this context. This thesis has focused on two objectives: 1. Translating a newly developed patient-report outcome measure of neck-related disability and testing its psychometric properties. 2. Estimating the prevalence of neck pain in computer-using workers. The first manuscript focusses on cross cultural translation and validation of ND10 (Neck difficulty10) that was designed to measure neck-related disability. A new English outcome measure for neck disability (ND10) was cross culturally translated and validated in computer users in India using forward and backward translation, and cognitive interviewing to determine a final version. The ND10-H demonstrated high reliability (ICC= 0.93) and convergent construct validity with the NDI and DASH (r= 0.78 and 0.86) The second manuscript reported the prevalence of neck pain in computer users in India. Sampling was performed in two different companies: A Spiritual Media Publication Organization (SMPO) and an Information Technology (IT) company. The companies were selected based on computer use and their willingness to participate. The survey was administered to all employees (n=150 & n=54) at these two companies. The overall prevalence of neck pain was 64%. In the IT company, 78% of employees reported neck pain; and in the SMPO the prevalence was 40%. There were no significant differences in prevalence based on gender or age. All of the IT company computer users worked more than seven hours at their computers, while 38% of the SMPO workers did so. Chronic pain was present in 48%of the total sample. The ND10-H can be used to assess neck-related disability in Hindi-speaking individuals. It should be accompanied by a valid pain measure when assessing patient outcomes. The prevalence of neck pain is high in computer-using workers in India. / Thesis / Master of Science Rehabilitation Science (MSc) / 1. Translating a newly developed patient-report outcome measure of neck-related disability and testing its psychometric properties. 2. Estimating the prevalence of neck pain in computer-using workers. The first manuscript focusses on cross cultural translation and validation of ND10 (Neck difficulty10) that was designed to measure neck-related disability. A new English outcome measure for neck disability (ND10) was cross culturally translated and validated in computer users in India using forward and backward translation, and cognitive interviewing to determine a final version. The ND10-H demonstrated high reliability (ICC= 0.93) and convergent construct validity with the NDI and DASH (r= 0.78 and 0.86)