Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and in Finland. The overall aim of this project was to develop a tool for estimating physical and psychosocial exposures to be used in large-scale epidemiological studies on musculoskeletal disorders. 

Job exposure matrices (JEM) provide systematic collections of job-related exposures, including detailed information on exposures in individual occupational titles. The matrices can be used by the social insurance system and employment offices to provide data on job specific work requirements. The matrices may also be used vocational rehabilitation. Furthermore, they can be used to define priorities for workplace interventions and to identify high-risk target groups.