شيوع كمردرد و برخي عوامل خطر آن در كاركنان پرستاري

Low-back pain prevalence and its risk factors in nurses

Introduction: Studies show that low-back pain is one of the most common occupational hazards in nurses. There are multiple physical and psychological risk factors in the work environment for its occurrence and recurrence. Lack of understanding and controlling these factors can lead to disability of professionals, heavy medical costs and absenteeism. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of low-back pain and its risk factors in nurses at teaching hospitals in Zanjan in 2003. Methods: All 296 nurses at different educational levels participated in the study. A questionnaire completed by interview was used for data collection. It consisted of questions regarding demographics, features of the pain and its possible risk factors. Different statistical tests were used for data analysis. Results: Findings showed that the prevalence of low-back pain was %52.7 and the mean of sick leaves was 10.3 days (SD=16.8) over a year before the study. Such risk factors as age, experience, marital status, type of ward/s, duration of housework, frequency of lifting things more than 3 kg, frequency of changing position, frequency of moving patients from bed to stretcher and vice versa, familial history of low-back pain and history of musculoskeletal disorders were effective in the prevalence (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of low-back pain in nurses is significant compared with similar studies in Tehran (%65) and Rasht (%25.7). With respect to multiple risk factors with possible individual and biomechanical effects on the incidence of low- back pain in the subjects, further studies regarding the knowledge of managers and staff regarding preventive principles of low-back pain and identification of effective guidelines in this respect are highly recommended.