The impact of health education intervention on knowledge, attitude, and practice of office workers about office ergonomics: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Ergonomics is fundamental to improving safety and efficiency in offices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a health education intervention on office workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding ergonomics and to determine their predictors. Methods For this intervention study, 230 office workers were split into two equal groups. A validated KAP office ergonomics questionnaire and a health education intervention were given to the intervention group, while the control group only received the questionnaire. Three months later, both groups received a post-test questionnaire. Results The post-test KAP scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than those of the control group (37.2 versus 30.9, 23.4 versus 28.3, and 17.0 versus 10.3, respectively, P < 0.05). Workers’ office ergonomics knowledge, attitude, and practice scores significantly improved following the health education intervention ( P < 0.05). Adequate knowledge and a positive attitude were significantly predicted by being younger (adjusted OR: 7.8 and 10.7), having a high level of education (adjusted OR: 8.9 and 2.5), using a computer (adjusted OR: 7.0 and 5.0), working long hours on a computer (adjusted OR: 3.1 and 3.0), and having a short job duration (adjusted OR: 5.2 and 12.3) within the intervention group. There was a significant positive correlation between the knowledge and practice scores ( r = 0.469, P < 0.05). Conclusions The outcomes of the study demonstrated that office workers who received health education had significantly enhanced their KAP after a three-month follow-up. This highlights the importance of office workers’ ergonomics education to ensure workplace safety and improve their well-being and productivity. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered at the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) (ID: PACTR202604893125732) on 29 April 2026.