Musculoskeletal complaints among nurses related to patient handling tasks and psychosocial factors--based on logbook registrations

TY - JOUR

T1 - Musculoskeletal complaints among nurses related to patient handling tasks and psychosocial factors--based on logbook registrations

AU - Warming, S

AU - Precht, D H

AU - Suadicani, P

AU - Ebbehøj, N E

N1 - Keywords: Adult; Back Pain; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denmark; Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Low Back Pain; Male; Middle Aged; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Nursing Staff, Hospital; Occupational Diseases; Task Performance and Analysis; Workload; Young Adult

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - The aims were to evaluate the inter-method reliability of a registration sheet for patient handling tasks, to study the day-to-day variation of musculoskeletal complaints (MSC) and to examine whether patient handling tasks and psychosocial factors were associated with MSC. Nurses (n=148) fulfilled logbooks for three consecutive working days followed by a day off. Low back pain (LBP), neck/shoulder pain (NSP), knee pain (KP), psychosocial factors (time pressure, stress, conscience of the quality of work) and patient transfers and care tasks were reported. The logbook was reliable for both transfer and care tasks. The numbers of nurses reporting MSC and the level of pain increased significantly during the three working days (15%-30% and 17%-37%, respectively) and decreased on the day off. Stress and transfer task were associated with LPB and transfer tasks were associated with KP. Our results confirm a relationship between work factors and MSC and indicate that logs could be one way to obtain a better understanding of the complex interaction of various nursing working conditions in relation to MSC.

AB - The aims were to evaluate the inter-method reliability of a registration sheet for patient handling tasks, to study the day-to-day variation of musculoskeletal complaints (MSC) and to examine whether patient handling tasks and psychosocial factors were associated with MSC. Nurses (n=148) fulfilled logbooks for three consecutive working days followed by a day off. Low back pain (LBP), neck/shoulder pain (NSP), knee pain (KP), psychosocial factors (time pressure, stress, conscience of the quality of work) and patient transfers and care tasks were reported. The logbook was reliable for both transfer and care tasks. The numbers of nurses reporting MSC and the level of pain increased significantly during the three working days (15%-30% and 17%-37%, respectively) and decreased on the day off. Stress and transfer task were associated with LPB and transfer tasks were associated with KP. Our results confirm a relationship between work factors and MSC and indicate that logs could be one way to obtain a better understanding of the complex interaction of various nursing working conditions in relation to MSC.

U2 - 10.1016/j.apergo.2008.04.021

DO - 10.1016/j.apergo.2008.04.021

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 18789431

SN - 0003-6870

VL - 40

SP - 569

EP - 576

JO - Applied Ergonomics

JF - Applied Ergonomics

IS - 4

ER -