¹Univ Angers, Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail)-UMR_S 1085,SFR ICAT, Angers, France
²Santé publique France - Direction santé environnement travail, Saint-Maurice, France
³Département des relations industrielles, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
⁴Univ Angers, CHU Angers, Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail)-UMR_S 1085, SFR ICAT, Angers, France

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Introduction: Occupational wear and tear (OWT) is defined as a process of deterioration in health resulting from prolonged exposure to work constraints. The 2023 pension reform in France created a fund (“Fonds d’investissement pour la prévention de l’usure professionnelle” - FIPU) to prevent OWT and related disability. The FIPU targets exposure to manual handling of loads, strenuous postures and mechanical vibrations, all three of which are risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The concept of OWT, a major issue in a context of career lengthening, is poorly documented in the literature. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant questions in a large-scale French epidemiological study (Constances cohort) in order to create a typology of musculoskeletal OWT syndrome among French workers.

Methods: The Technique for Research of Information by Animation of a Group of Experts (TRIAGE) was implemented. An initial list of 55 questions from the Constances cohort was established from the literature. The experts selected for the consensus exercise first individually indicated their threshold of agreement for each of the 55 questions, via an online questionnaire (individual consultation). Questions reaching the predefined threshold of agreement (≥ 85.7%) were retained without further deliberation, whereas the others were subsequently discussed during a collective consultation conducted via an online meeting. During this second phase, experts give a summary opinion on each question, and an online vote was used, immediately after each one, to select (or not) the questions that had obtained a sufficient threshold of agreement. Based on the questions selected, a typology of musculoskeletal OWT syndrome will be developed.

Results: Eight experts participated in the study. Of the 55 questions on the initial list, 39 were selected during the individual consultation of experts. Among the 16 remaining, 7 were retained after discussion in the collective consultation. In total, 46 questions were selected to create the typology.

Discussion: The final list of questions, based on literature and on a consensus of experts, ensures relevance and completeness. Although there may be group influence, the collective phase enables a consensus to be reached reflecting all the experts’ opinions, by alternating speaking turns and with a final individual vote.

Conclusion: The selection of these questions could be useful for epidemiological research, in particular for the early identification of people at risk of musculoskeletal OWT syndrome, and to better guide the development of appropriate preventive measures.