Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Interventions in a Seasonal Work Context: A Scoping Review of Sex and Gender Considerations

Many industry sectors that involve a large proportion of seasonal workers are characterized by working conditions that are demanding from a musculoskeletal perspective and by a gendered and sex-based division of labor. This paper aims to address the important issue of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among seasonal workers by examining recommendations and interventions undertaken to prevent MSDs within a context of seasonal work and by assessing how sex and gender are considered. A scoping review was conducted in seven scientific databases and into ergonomics and occupational health and safety websites using descriptors and keywords (English and French). A total of 16 documents were included. Findings show six main categories of transformation targets, with the most reported category being the one on technical devices/physical environment. Only a few studies incorporated a sex/gender analysis and considered the influence of the seasonal context in the intervention-research study design. Indeed, the few studies that did investigate sex/gender mainly approached the idea in terms of inter-individual differences between the workers when designing an intervention to meet physiological needs. Only a few studies also looked at how sex/gender exposed workers differently in terms of working activity or other related dimensions in these types of atypical working contexts. Our study illustrates the need to address occupational health inequalities in a seasonal work context to better design interventions for this underserved and understudied population.