Influence of the school furniture design on the body posture of college students

Abstract

This study examined the perceptions of college students regarding body posture (trunk inclination) adopted while using chair with tablet arm and their preference for two chair models (with and without armrest), and also the associations between these variables and sex, age, course shift and school furniture design. Overall, 420 students aged 22.4 ± 5.0 years of different courses and shifts participated in the study. A questionnaire containing identification data and questions about students' perceptions regarding the trunk position leaned over the tablet arm and their preference for the existence of chair armrest was used. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test (p < 0.05) were used. It was found that 63.6% of students mentioned staying more than half the time of a class with trunk leaned over the tablet arm and 67.9% would like to have chair armrest at the opposite side of the tablet arm. There was association between body posture and sex (p = 0.003), in which women mentioned leaning more the trunk laterally and/or anteriorly than men and with the current school furniture design (p = 0.003), i.e., chair without armrest, the proportion of students who leaned the trunk over the tablet arm was greater.

Keywords: Posture, School Furniture, Ergonomics

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001250