Potential health problems related to the prolonged use of IT equipment

Because causes and prevention are paired, candidates answer with the wrong half — describing how to stop a health issue when asked what causes it, or vice versa. Underline the command word. "State the cause" wants what leads to the problem (sitting in one position too long); "suggest a way to prevent" wants the fix (an adjustable chair). Give both only if both are asked.

A general strategy scores nothing, however sensible. "Sitting away from the screen" gives no distance and no link to what it prevents; "take breaks" and "use a comfy chair" fail too. The credited form names the strategy and the risk it removes: take breaks looking away from the screen because continuous close focus causes eye strain.

Some candidates describe RSI as sore eyes from looking at the screen. That is eye strain, a different named issue with its own cause and strategies. RSI affects the fingers, wrists and hands and is caused by repeating the same small movement — never the eyes. An anti-glare filter or an eye test does nothing for it; breaks, a wrist rest or an ergonomic keyboard do.

Others wrote about RSI as though it were a fault in the equipment — the computer overheating, breaking down or slowing from heavy use. RSI is an injury to the user's own body: pain, swelling or stiffness caused by repeated movement over a long period. Nothing is wrong with the machine, so an answer about hardware failing or wearing out misses the point entirely.

Asked to name a health issue from prolonged IT use, candidates give electrocution, fire, tripping over trailing cables or falling equipment. Those are physical safety hazards — immediate accidents — and are a different topic. Health issues build up gradually from how the equipment is used over time, and only RSI, back problems, eye problems and headaches count here.

When a question asks for two strategies to reduce a worker's risk of health problems, giving two ways to prevent the same issue — a wrist rest and an ergonomic keyboard, both for RSI — usually earns one mark, not two. Pick strategies addressing different health issues in the scenario, one for RSI and one for back problems, and link each to its own cause.