Health promotional program to manage the local cleaners' musculoskeletal symptoms: feasibility study

ISRCTN	ISRCTN89426683
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN89426683

Submission date: 20/10/2023
Registration date: 01/11/2023
Last edited: 11/08/2025

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Musculoskeletal Diseases

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Many local cleaners suffer from work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS), like pain, numbness or spasms. However, the public pays little attention to their needs. At the same time, they work with pain instead of requesting sick leave because they do not want to be fired due to absence from work. Their awareness or understanding of their musculoskeletal health was also inadequate.
Moreover, the evidence on the effective intervention to manage the cleaners' WRMS is scanty. A multi-dimensional musculoskeletal health promotion program was suggested for other working populations. However, this strategy has not yet been tested on cleaners and requires further exploration. Therefore, this study aims to explore if the proposed program is accepted and welcomed by the local cleaners, to examine if it is feasible to be applied in workplace settings, and also to look for the preliminary effects of the program.

Who can participate?
Local cleaners aged 30 years or above, working on the street, in public facilities, public or private housing or industrial buildings, with WRMS in at least one body region and physically fit for the exercise training.

What does the study involve?
Cleaners from three districts are grouped by their workplace. They are then randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. The intervention group will receive 8-week health education plus exercise training sessions, while the control group will only receive usual practice. The training sessions will be delivered in the assigned community centres after the cleaners' working hours. The selected centres are located near their working area so the participants can reach the centres immediately after work for the intervention or data collection.
The participants' demographic data and working conditions will be collected at the first data collection time point before the intervention. It provides information about the local cleaners' working situation and allows further correlation analysis. On the other hand, the recruitment and response rates, participants' attrition rate, attendance rate, and satisfaction levels with the intervention will be evaluated. The participants' and stakeholders' acceptance of the intervention and the feasibility of the study in the workplace context will also be explored through focus group interviews scheduled immediately after the intervention.
The preliminary outcomes of the program will also be evaluated. The participants' WRMS prevalence and severity and the impacts on their activities of daily living will be measured before, after and 4 weeks after the promotion program.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The proposed program is believed to have a positive effect on managing the local cleaners' musculoskeletal symptoms and eventually promote their health and working ability.
Also, this small-scale feasibility study allows researchers to examine the feasibility of the research design participant recruitment and explore the challenges during implementing the proposed program in the workplace context.
Moreover, the preliminary results may support future large-scale trials. Finally, it can facilitate strategic planning from the community level to support the cleaners in their occupational health and safety.
The study is believed to cause no harm to the participants. However, accidents or injuries may happen when they practice the exercise without following the instructions or guidelines.

Where is the study run from?
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2023 to July 2024

Who is funding the study?
The research team will provide HK$100 supermarket coupons to each participant when they complete the questionnaires in T0-T2 or join the focus group interview. The Kerry Group sponsored these coupons to the "Labour-friendly community project", which is the community partner of the study. Otherwise, there is no extra funding received.

Who is the main contact?
Elaine Cheung, elaine-sp.cheung@polyu.edu.hk

Contact information

Ms Elaine Shuk-ping Cheung
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator

A109, Block A, School of Nursing
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hung Hum
Kowloon
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong

Phone	+852 (0)34002577
Email	elaine-sp.cheung@polyu.edu.hk

Study information

Study design	Two-armed feasibility cluster randomized control trial
Primary study design	Interventional
Secondary study design	Cluster randomised trial
Study setting(s)	Community
Study type	Quality of life
Participant information sheet	Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific title	Implementing a multi-dimensional musculoskeletal health promotion program (MMHPP) in managing the musculoskeletal symptoms among Chinese cleaners in Hong Kong: a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial
Study acronym	WRMS
Study objectives	Using a multi-dimensional health promotion program can assist local cleaners in managing their work-related musculoskeletal symptoms.
Ethics approval(s)	Approved 01/06/2023, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institutional Review Board (Room GH252, GH Podium Annexe, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, -, Hong Kong; +852 (0)3400 2806; rio.general@polyu.edu.hk), ref: HSEARS20230517008-01
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS)
Intervention	Cleaners from three districts form the clusters by their workplace. The clusters will be randomly assigned to intervention or control groups by drawing concealed envelopes. Each cluster will be assigned a number. An exact amount of envelopes containing a piece of paper with either "intervention" or "group" will be prepared. A researcher will draw an envelope with a number and an envelope for a group assignment simultaneously until all clusters are assigned. Cleaners in the intervention group attend the consecutive 8-week multi-dimensional musculoskeletal health promotional program (MMHPP), which includes health education and physical exercise training. The control group will receive the usual care.
Intervention type	Mixed
Primary outcome measure	The cleaners' satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention measured with a questionnaire and focus group interviews of the participants and collaborative partners after the intervention.
Secondary outcome measures	1. Prevalence and severity level of musculoskeletal symptoms measured with the Standardised Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) at baseline, after the intervention (8 weeks) and 4 weeks after the intervention 2. Health impacts of the WRMS measured with a Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) at baseline, after intervention (8 weeks) and 4 weeks after the intervention
Overall study start date	01/06/2023
Completion date	31/07/2024

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Other
Age group	Mixed
Lower age limit	30 Years
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	10 participants in each cluster
Key inclusion criteria	1. Chinese cleaners aged 30 years old or above 2. Involved in cleaning duties on the street, waste collection stations or public or private housing 3. With a full-time or part-time contract from the cleaning contractors or under government employment 4. Experience with WRMS in at least one body part for at least 1 month
Key exclusion criteria	1. Any co-morbidities or diseases that are contraindicated for physical activities, e.g. stroke, polio, musculoskeletal deformity 2. Pregnant 3. Have severe WRMS, which is not recommended for exercise by medical professionals 4. Participated in structured exercise training (with trainer) in the previous 6 months
Date of first enrolment	01/06/2023
Date of final enrolment	01/09/2023

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Hong Kong

Study participating centres

Caritas Aberdeen Community Center

20-22, Tin WAN Street
Aberdeen
Hong Kong
N/A
Hong Kong

Residents Mutual Help Centre

Room 1C, 1/F, TLP 132
132 Tai Lin Pai Road
Kwai Chung
New Territories
Hong Kong
N/A
Hong Kong

Residents Mutual Help Centre

G/F, 6 Wilmer Street, Sai Ying Pun
Hong Kong
N/A
Hong Kong

Sponsor information

Hong Kong Polytechnic University
University/education

School of Nursing
Hung Hum
Kowloon
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong

Phone	+852 (0)27666773
Email	kin.cheung@polyu.edu.hk
Website	http://www.polyu.edu.hk/web/en/home/index.html
"ROR"	https://ror.org/0030zas98

Funders

Funder type

Industry

Investigator initiated and funded

No information available

Kerry Group, Hong Kong

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date	30/06/2025
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No
IPD sharing plan summary	Data sharing statement to be made available at a later date
Publication and dissemination plan	Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal
IPD sharing plan	The data-sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date

Study outputs

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Results article			11/08/2025	Yes	No

Additional files

ISRCTN89426683_BasicResult.pdf

Editorial Notes

11/08/2025: Basic results uploaded.
30/10/2023: Study's existence confirmed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institutional Review Board (Hong Kong).