Computer vision syndrome in healthcare workers using video display terminals: an exploration of the risk factors

Eva Artime-Ríos; Ana Suárez-Sánchez; Fernando Sánchez-Lasheras; Mar Seguí-Crespo

doi:10.1111/jan.15140

Computer vision syndrome in healthcare workers using video display terminals: an exploration of the risk factors

J Adv Nurs. 2022 Jul;78(7):2095-2110. doi: 10.1111/jan.15140. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

Authors

Eva Artime-Ríos^{1

2}, Ana Suárez-Sánchez³, Fernando Sánchez-Lasheras⁴, Mar Seguí-Crespo^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Occupational Health Service, Healthcare Area IV, Public Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA), Oviedo, Spain.
² Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
³ Department of Business Administration, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
⁴ Department of Mathematics, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
⁵ Department of Optics, Pharmacology and Anatomy, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
⁶ Public Health Research Group, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.

PMID: 35112736
DOI: 10.1111/jan.15140

Abstract

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS) in healthcare workers and its relationship to video display terminal (VDT) exposure, sociodemographic, optical correction and work characteristics, and to analyse whether there are differences among occupational groups.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A sample of 1179 physicians and surgeons, nurses, and nursing assistants from two hospitals in Spain between January 2017 and February 2018 were invited to participate in this study. Of these, 622 workers from both hospitals were finally included. CVS was measured using a questionnaire, the CVS-Q^© . Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with CVS. All the results were stratified by occupational group.

Results: The prevalence of CVS was 56.75% with nurses being the most affected occupational group (61.75%). It was associated significantly with female sex (aOR = 2.57; 95% CI 1.36-4.88) and morning shifts plus on-call (aOR = 2.33; 95% CI 1.11-4.88) in the physicians and surgeons group. Among the nurses, it was associated with female sex (aOR = 2.35; 95% CI 1.03-5.37), seniority between 10 and 20 years (aOR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.03-4.59), VDT exposure at work of 2-4 h/day (aOR = 6.14; 95% CI 1.08-35.02), VDT exposure at work >4 h/day (aOR = 7.14; 95% CI 1.29-39.62) and self-perception that using the software application was not easy (aOR = 2.49; 95% CI 1.23-5.01).

Conclusions: A high prevalence of CVS among healthcare workers was observed. The risk factors that increased the likelihood of suffering from this syndrome depended on the occupation.

Impact: The findings may be used as a reference for occupational health services to implement specific preventive measures to reduce CVS for each occupational group. Such measures should consider both individual factors and the working conditions.

Keywords: computer terminals; computer vision syndrome; health personnel; nurses; nursing assistants; occupational exposure; occupational health; physicians; surgeons; video display terminals.

MeSH terms

Computer Terminals*
Computers
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Personnel
Humans
Occupational Diseases* / epidemiology
Occupational Diseases* / etiology
Risk Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Syndrome

Abstract

MeSH terms

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