Computers and health—issues and protective measures

Within the past year, substantial media attention has been directed at the potential adverse health effects of long-term computer use. Unfortunately, long-term effects require long-term studies, and much research in this area is either incomplete or inconsistent. Nevertheless, because so many Penn staff, faculty, and students are spending an increasing amount of time---both on campus and at home---working with keyboards and video display terminals (VDTs), and because some health effects are thought to be cumulative, we believe it is important for all computer users, lab managers, and supervisors to be aware of these issues and the protective measures that can be taken "while the jury is out."