بررسي عوامل مرتبط با كمردرد در پرستاران شاغل در بيمارستان هاي استان مازندران

Risk factors for low back pain in nurses

Background and purpose: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and costly work-related conditions and nursing profession has one of the highest rates of back injuries (more than 50%) among all occupations. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for back injuries in nursing personnel. Materials and methods : Following ethical approval, 1226 nurses were randomly recruited from 13 hospitals in North of Iran. Different questionnaires were designed to cover a) personal and professional data; b) the prevalence of back pain and; c) possible causes and their effects on nursing activities. Results : LBP was reported by 51.5%, 56.3%, 58.9%, 59.6% and 62% of nurses indicating point, last month, 6 month, last year and lifetime prevalence of LBP respectively. There was a correlation between LBP and age, BMI, number of pregnancy and delivery, socio-economical class, anxiety and depression (p<0.01). There was also a significant correlation between duration of work, nursing post, ward and job satisfaction (p<0.01). Lifting was the most common mechanism for back injury (30.4%). Prolonged standing and rest were found to be the significant aggravating and relieving factors (57.6% and 59.2% respectively). Absenteesm due to LBP in the last month was reported by 33.7% of the sample with an average of 79 days/year. Conclusion : The results demonstrate that the magnitude of LBP amongst nursing personnel appears to be high and therefore more resources should be allocated to prevent such an injury in nursing profession. However, further research is certainly needed to evaluate the effects of different prevention strategies.