Musculoskeletal pain in operating room nurses: Associations with quality of work life, working posture, socio-demographic and job characteristics

Publication date: July 2019Source: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Volume 72Author(s): Elnaz Asghari, Iman Dianat, Farahnaz Abdollahzadeh, Fariba Mohammadi, Parinaz Asghari, Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi, Héctor Ignacio CastellucciAbstractThis cross-sectional study evaluated the association of socio-demographic and job characteristics as well as quality of work life (QWL) and working posture with the presence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among 144 operating room (OR) nurses in Iran. A questionnaire (including the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire [NMQ] and the QWL questionnaire) and direct observations of working postures using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method were used. A high prevalence of MSP, particularly in the low back (61.9%), knees (60.5%), ankles/feet (55.8%) and neck (44.9%) were found. The overall mean REBA score of 7.7 suggested that most OR nurses (with posture assessed at action levels 3 and 4) needed an immediate investigation and changes in their working habits and workstations to reduce the risk level. Work-related factors including type of operating room, work shifts (rotating), feeling pressure due to work, total QWL and its dimensions (particularly health and safety, knowledge and esteem needs) and working postures were associated with the presence of MSP in different body regions. Socio-demographic factors including gender (being female) and little or no involvement in sport/physical activity were also independently associ...
Source: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research