Troubles musculo-squelettiques chez les téléopérateurs des centres d’urgence 911, des contraintes physiques aux contraintes psychosociales

Abstract

At the request of the Association paritaire pour la santé et sécurité du travail secteur “affaires municipales” du Québec (APSAM, joint sector-based occupational health and safety association, municipal affairs), a thematic research program was developed so that action could be taken to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal and psychological health disorders affecting 911 emergency call centre agents. This article presents an initial study whose objective was to describe the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to identify their underlying issues. The adopted methodology involved the administration of questionnaires, observations, and open-ended interviews in five 911 emergency call centres. The results show musculoskeletal disorder prevalence rates much higher than those of a representative sample of Québec workers. The analysis of the statistical results in the light of the observations and open-ended interviews led to the identification of the underlying issues so that an intervention project could be developed.

Keywords

• musculoskeletal disorders
• epidemiology
• ergonomics
• psychosocial risk
• physical risk
• emergency call centres