Quality of Work Life (QWL) can affect health and safety of individuals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QWL among surgeons and investigate its association with musculoskeletal complaints. This cross-sectional study was conducted among surgeons working in hospitals located in Zahedan, Iran. QWL was assessed using the Walton's 35-item questionnaire and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used for assessing musculoskeletal complaints. The effects of age, gender, BMI, working hours, and working posture were adjusted. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions and independent T-test were employed for analyzing data. Seventy-four surgeons participated in this study. They were mostly male (60.8%) and married (73.00%) with the mean age of 37.9 years (±5.3) and the mean experience of 7 years (±4.23). Most of them (87.8%) had a moderate level of QWL and 90.6% of them had musculoskeletal complaints in at least one part of their body. "Development of human capacities" and "the total life space" had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. QWL was a significant predictor of pain and discomfort complaints in the neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows and legs. Alongside improving workstations and tools used by surgeons, interventions aimed at promoting QWL may be necessary to reduce musculoskeletal complaints among them.

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BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common disorder among occupations where upper extremities are actively involved in. Many occupational and non-occupational risk factors may contribute to this disorder. Knowledge regarding occupational risk factors can guide us to implement interventional programs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and severity of CTS symptoms among butchers and their association with several occupational and non-occupational risk factors. METHODS: In this study, 152 butchers in Hamadan, Iran, were examined. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ) was used to investigate the severity of CTS symptoms among the individuals. Several risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), wrist ratio, active working hours per day, working experience, and the ergonomic quality of hand tools used by butchers were also investigated. Statistical tests such as the crude and robust regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The prevalence of moderate and mild symptoms of CTS were 7% and 54%, respectively. Moreover, 39% of the butchers were free of CTS symptoms. Crude regression analyses showed that the severity of CTS symptoms had a significant relationship with age, work experience, active working hours per day, working hours per week, and ergonomic quality of the hand tools (p value <0.05). There was no significant relationship between the severity of CTS symptoms and wrist ratio and BMI. Results of the robust regression analysis showed a significant relationship between the severity of CTS symptoms with experience, active working hours, and quality of the hand tools. CONCLUSION: Occupational risk factors such as working experience, active working hours per day, and the ergonomic quality of hand tools are significant risk factors of CTS symptoms among butchers. Slippery handle is the main non-ergonomic feature of knives and cleavers used by butchers. There was no association between BMI and wrist ratio with CTS symptoms.