Assessment of perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of parents regarding children’s schoolbags and related musculoskeletal health

BACKGROUND: Heavy schoolbags and their adverse musculoskeletal effects are a cause of great concern. Parents’ awareness and knowledge about this are crucial to prevent such health problems. Thus, this study aimed to assess parents’ perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes regarding children’s schoolbags and related musculoskeletal health. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted targeting parents with children of school age. In January 2015, a self-administered, validated questionnaire was distributed to all participants, consisting of questions about their awareness, knowledge, and attitude regarding the negative effects of carrying inappropriate schoolbags on children’s musculoskeletal health. RESULT: A total of 616 parents (284 fathers and 332 mothers) completed the questionnaire (response rate of 100%). A total of 247 (87.3%) fathers and 301 (90.9%) mothers knew that carrying heavy schoolbags produces back problems. However, only 105 (36.9%) fathers and 107 (37.6%) mothers knew that incorrect schoolbag weight and inadequate way to carry it may impede the normal alignment and growth of the spine. Only 107 (37.6%) fathers and 96 (28.9%) mothers knew the ideal weight of the schoolbag, while 49.6% of fathers and 42.8% of mothers did not check their children’s schoolbags for unnecessary contents. CONCLUSION: Awareness of parents about the consequences of heavy schoolbags and correct use is still limited and suboptimal. Educational sessions for parents and awareness campaigns may help to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal health problems among children. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13018-019-1142-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.