The Effect of Education by Means of a Digital Multimedia Program in Changing the Seating Position Template of School-age Children, During the Use of Pc

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of teaching by means of a digital multimedia
program in changing the seating position template of school-age children during the use of PCs. The Educational Software (ES) entitled: “Do I sit correctly before the PC?” was created for the purpose of the research and presents basic anatomical elements of the spine (CS), musculoskeletal disorders caused by prolonged and improper posture while using PCs and ergonomic recommendations for the improvement of posture in the seated position during the engagement with the PC. The sample was selected by random multistage cluster sampling and by means of a specifically formatted questionnaire, so that the familiarization of the individuals of the sample with the use of PC could be assessed. The sample consisted of 31 children, with mean age ΜAge.=10.29 (±1.371) years. A custom workstation was made to fit the children physique. Stickers were placed in specific points of the CS (C7, T2, T5, and T12) in order to evaluate the sitting posture of the children, by means of photo shooting and processing. The whole process involved two measurements before and after tuition with the ES and led to pairs of observations for each person of the sample. The average values of the matchpaired observations were examined via Paired Samples T-test. The recorded differences in the average values of the spinal level traces examined to the vertical axis before and after the intervention with the ES, was statistically significant, which in turn meant that the tuition with the ES helped children to significantly improve their sitting posture during working with the PC.