Table 1.
Sample characteristics by country.
| Costa Rica (n = 224) | Nicaragua (n = 285) | Spain (n = 438) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||||
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 84 | 37.5 | 78 | 27.4 | 72 | 16.4 |
| Female | 140 | 62.5 | 207 | 72.6 | 366 | 83.6 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 20-29 | 73 | 32.6 | 95 | 33.3 | 73 | 16.7 |
| 30-39 | 64 | 28.6 | 100 | 35.1 | 165 | 37.7 |
| 40-49 | 56 | 25.0 | 63 | 22.1 | 152 | 34.7 |
| 50-59 | 31 | 13.8 | 27 | 9.5 | 48 | 11.0 |
| Employment-related characteristics | ||||||
| Contract type | ||||||
| Permanent | 189 | 85.1 | 279 | 98.9 | 352 | 80.4 |
| Temporary | 33 | 14.9 | 3 | 1.1 | 86 | 19.6 |
| Any other job(s) | 17 | 7.6 | 10 | 3.5 | 19 | 4.3 |
| Working conditions | ||||||
| Physical demands of the job | ||||||
| Use of a keyboard > 4 hours | 215 | 96.4 | 256 | 89.8 | 424 | 96.8 |
| Lifting 25 kg (56 lbs.) by hand | 12 | 5.4 | 38 | 13.3 | 9 | 2.1 |
| Psychosocial demands of the job | ||||||
| Time pressure | 175 | 78.1 | 228 | 80.0 | 238 | 54.3 |
| Lack of support | 60 | 26.8 | 115 | 40.4 | 94 | 21.5 |
| Incentives | 141 | 63.2 | 74 | 26.0 | 115 | 26.3 |
| Health-related variables | ||||||
| Adverse health beliefs LBP | ||||||
| Poor prognosis | 54 | 24.1 | 27 | 9.5 | 97 | 22.2 |
| Awareness of RSI, WRULD or CTSa | 61 | 27.4 | 97 | 34.0 | 262 | 59.8 |
| Know someone at work with LBP | 137 | 61.2 | 197 | 69.1 | 348 | 79.5 |
| Know someone outside work with LBP | 137 | 62.0 | 172 | 60.4 | 363 | 82.9 |
| Somatizing tendency (number of distressing symptoms) | ||||||
| 0 | 46 | 20.7 | 76 | 26.8 | 145 | 33.1 |
| 1 | 40 | 18.0 | 43 | 15.1 | 118 | 26.9 |
| ≥2 | 136 | 61.3 | 165 | 58.1 | 175 | 40.0 |
| Mental Health | ||||||
| Good | 156 | 70.0 | 183 | 64.4 | 331 | 75.6 |
| Poor | 67 | 30.0 | 101 | 35.6 | 107 | 24.4 |
a
RSI = Repetitive strain injury; WRULD = Work-related upper limb disorder; CTS = cumulative trauma syndrome.