Psychosocial Factors Related to Musculoskeletal Disorders in Academicians (MSDs)

April 27, 2026 updated by: ERDİ KAYABINAR, University of Yalova

The Investigation of the Effects of Academic Stress and Burnout on Musculoskeletal Disorders in Academicians

the prevalence of occupational stress and burnout is very high among academicians. Previous studies examining MSDs in academicians have focused more on physical factors such as physical activity levels and ergonomics, while interest in psychosocial factors has been limited. To our knowledge, there is no study in the literature that evaluates both MSDs, work stress, and burnout in academicians. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the relationship between MSDs and academic stress, burnout, and work-life balance among academicians.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

The study aims to investigate psychosocial factors such as academic stress and burnout, which are thought to influence musculoskeletal disorders among academics. As part of the research, data will be collected through questionnaires from volunteer academics at a selected university who have at least six months of teaching experience at the institution. The questionnaire will gather information on musculoskeletal pain, demographic characteristics, stress levels, burnout levels, and work-life balance. After entering the data into the SPSS software, statistical analysis will be conducted. Categorical variables will be presented as numbers (percentages), and numerical variables will be reported as means and standard deviations. To assess correlations, Spearman or Pearson correlation tests and regression analyses will be used. The Chi-square test will be used to compare categorical variables between male and female academics, while the independent samples t-test will be applied for numerical variables if normality is assumed; otherwise, the Mann-Whitney U test will be used. The Shapiro-Wilk test will be conducted to assess the normality of the data. A significance level of p<0.005 will be considered statistically significant.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

99

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Yalova
      • Yalova, Yalova, Turkey (Türkiye), 77100
        • University of Yalova

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Academicians who worked as academic staff at Yalova University for the past six months

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • volunteering to participate,
  • having worked as academic staff at Yalova University for the past six months,
  • being able to understand and speak Turkish

Exclusion Criteria:

  • who wished to withdraw from the study,
  • those with a history of fracture or soft tissue injury in any body region within the past 12 months,
  • congenital spinal disorders, scoliosis, rheumatoid diseases, cancer, surgery, chronic internal organ pain, long-term use of analgesic or psychiatric medications, - those working in departments without students

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Academicians
Academicans with muscoloskeletal disorders

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire
Time Frame: All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
Dawson and colleagues developed an extended version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to obtain more detailed data on the prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal disorders. It includes general questions about the history of problems in nine body regions, such as the neck, upper back, shoulders, elbows, hands/arms, lower back, hips, knees, and feet/ankles. The questionnaire was provided along with a body diagram to help participants indicate areas of pain or discomfort. The response options are limited to "yes" and "no." A Turkish cultural adaptation and validity study of the questionnaire has been conducted.
All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
University Academic Staff Work Stress Scale
Time Frame: All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
University Academic Staff Work Stress Scale, developed by Balcı in 1992 and validated for reliability and validity, was used. The scale contains 24 items. The total scale score ranges from 0 to 120, with higher scores indicating lower job satisfaction. The questionnaire has high validity and reliability.
All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory
Time Frame: All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory was developed by Maslach and Jackson in 1981. The inventory has also been validated and tested for reliability for use in Turkish among academicians. The inventory consists of 22 items and assesses burnout across three subscales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The emotional exhaustion subscale includes nine items related to fatigue, boredom, and reduced emotional energy. The depersonalization subscale consists of five items concerning detached or impersonal behavior toward care and service recipients. The personal accomplishment subscale comprises eight items and reflects an individual's sense of competence and achievement. Items on the scale are rated on a Likert scale from 0 to 6. Separate scores were obtained for each of the three subscales. High scores on the emotional exhaustion or depersonalization subscales, or low scores on the personal accomplishment subscale, indicate a high level of burnout.
All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Work-Life Balance Scale
Time Frame: All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.
The scale, developed and tested for reliability by Taşdelen-Karçkay and Bakalım, evaluates the balance between work and life. It consists of 8 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with each item scored from "Strongly Disagree -1-" to "Strongly Agree -7-." Low scores indicate a disruption in work-life balance.
All participants will be assessed only once on Day 1.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Yalova

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Erdi KAYABINAR, PhD, University of Yalova

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 2, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 20, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

July 20, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 28, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 28, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 11, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024/292

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The researchers do not plan to share the data due to concerns about data confidentiality.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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