School furniture and work surface lighting impacts on the body posture of Paraiba's public school students

Objective: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of school furniture and work surface lighting on the body posture of public Middle School students from Paraiba (Brazil). Participants and methods: The survey was carried out in two public schools and the target population for the study included 8th grade groups involving a total of 31 students. Brazilian standards for lighting levels, the CEBRACE standards for furniture measurements and the Postural Assessment Software (SAPO) for the postural misalignment assay were adopted for the measurements comparison. The statistic analysis includes analyses of parametric and non-parametric correlations. Results: The results show that the students' most affected parts of the body were the spine, the regions of the knees and head and neck, with 90% of the total number of students presenting postural misalignment. The lighting levels were usually found below 300 lux, below recommended levels. The statistic analysis show that the more adequate the furniture seems to be to the user, the less the user will complain of pain. Conclusions: Such results indicate the need of investments in more suitable school furniture and structural reforms aimed at improving the lighting in the classrooms, which could fulfill the students' profile and reduce their complaints.