Musculoskeletal Pain and Associated Factors Among Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors in Northwestern Nigeria

Background: Pain is an important clinical factor that limits movement and functions. Informal caregivers of stroke survivors are primarily involved in providing care and assistance and may face musculoskeletal problems. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) and associated factors among informal caregivers of stroke survivors in northwestern Nigeria. Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study performed among 218 informal caregivers of stroke survivors. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, nature of caregiving, and duration of caregiving were collected using researcher-designed data forms. A 12-month prevalence of MSP in different body regions was obtained using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data at an alpha level of 0.05. Results: The majority of the caregivers were females (60.6%) within the age range of 18 - 27 years old (50.9%) and engaged in full-time caregiving (63.8%). The overall prevalence of MSP among the caregivers was 16.5%. The most common MSP was low back pain (28%) and was found to be associated with age, gender, body mass index, marital status, educational level, occupational status, duration of caregiving, and nature of caregiving (all P 0.05). Conclusions: Low back pain is the most common occurring MSP among informal caregivers of stroke survivors and is associated with duration of caregiving, nature of caregiving, and several sociodemographic characteristics. It is recommended that physiotherapists and nurses in northwestern Nigeria should educate informal caregivers of stroke survivors on proper ergonomics and other MSP preventive strategies.