The association between job type and ward of service of nursing personnel and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders are considered as the most common cause of absenteeism and impaired work performance of employees in workplaces. This study was designed to evaluate the association between job type and ward of service with musculoskeletal disorders among nursing personnel. In this cross-sectional study، 477 health care workers including nurses، nurses'' aides and nurse technicians of two general hospitals in Tehran were included. Wards of service were categorized to: internal، surgery، pediatrics، operating room and «emergency and ICU». The Nordic musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to consider the prevalence MSDs in past year. The prevalence of MSDs was compared between groups in terms of job type and ward of service. Regression analysis was used to adjust for confounding factors and to investigate the associations more precisely. Nursing job and surgery ward were considered as the reference groups for analysis. Low back disorder with the prevalence of 56/8% was the most prevalent disorder among subjects. Logistic regression analysis showed that employees of pediatrics ward were in higher risks to be affected by low back (odds ratio 4/43 and P=0/014) and knee disorders (odds ratio 2/94 and P=0/013). Working in «emergency and ICU» wards with odds ratio of 2/05 had a significant association with back disorders (P=0/021). Knee disorders were more common among nurses compared to nurses'' aides (P=0/039). No significant relationship was found in terms of other disorders and jobs. The results of this study indicate that working in pediatrics and «emergency and ICU» may have associations with increased prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. To reduce such disorders in nursing personnel، appropriate planning and paying more attention to high risk groups is recommended.