A survey of eye-related complaints among call-center agents in Metro Manila
S. Richard G. Cabrera III, MD, Ruben Lim-Bon-Siong, MD
Objective
This study determined the most common eye-related complaints among call-center agents in Metro Manila.
Methods
A survey was conducted among agents employed in a call center in Metro Manila. The questionnaire used categorical scales to measure the prevalence, frequency, diurnal occurrence, duration, and intrusiveness of common eyerelated symptoms. The eye-related symptoms were: dryness, redness, eye strain, blurring of vision, doubling of vision, headaches, eye pain, watery eyes, slow focusing from near to distance or vice versa. Descriptive statistics, measures of frequencies and percentages were derived for demographic characteristics.
Cramer’s V coefficient was calculated to detect relationship between variables, and p values <0.05 were considered significant.
Results
Two hundred seventy-seven (277) respondents with a mean age of 24.56 ± 4.14 and consisting of 130 (47%) males and 147 (53%) females participated in the study. The top three eye-related complaints were eye strain or tiredness (68%), headache (66%), and blurring of vision (53%). The symptoms lasted less than an hour, except for headaches that persisted for 1 to 2 hours and had the highest mean severity of 2.31 ± 1.24. The duration of computer use was strongly correlated with the severity of the eye complaints, except for blurring of vision. The duration of employment was also strongly correlated with all the symptoms except for doubling of vision.
Conclusion
Ocular symptoms were prevalent among call-center agents. The severity of the symptoms was correlated with the duration of computer use and employment as a call-center agent.
Keywords: Call center, Computer, Eye, Vision, Work-related symptoms