Abstract
There is a lack of consistent and comprehensive questionnaire forms for the studies of factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders at the European level. One of the results of the EU-funded project, neuromuscular assessment in the elderly worker (NEW), is a set of questionnaires for the screening of musculoskeletal status and the studies of factors that are believed to affect musculoskeletal health. The questionnaires have been used among elderly women (45+) in different occupations and organisations in Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The aim of this short communication is to present the questionnaires used in the NEW study and to evaluate the appropriateness of pooling data gathered in each participating country into a common database. It is concluded that although differences exist among the study samples, these are not of such a magnitude or pattern that data from the four groups cannot be pooled. The questionnaires are available in Danish, Dutch, English, German and Swedish.
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Acknowledgements
This work was undertaken within the project Neuromuscular assessment in the elderly worker (NEW), with partial financial support from the EC within the RTD action QLRT 2000 00139. The authors want to thank Hanne Christensen and Helena Franzon for their contribution during the early stages of this study.
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Sandsjö, L., Larsman, P., Vollenbroek-Hutten, M.M.R. et al. Comparative assessment of study groups of elderly female computer users from four European countries: questionnaires used in the NEW study. Eur J Appl Physiol 96, 122–126 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-005-0041-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-005-0041-4