{"title":"The prevalence, risk factors and coping strategies of low back pain among nurses in public hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"A S Perumal, K Awang Lukman","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Healthcare workers are recognised to have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and nursing profession are well known with high prevalence of low back pain (LBP). There is a widespread consensus that low back discomfort is a major contributor to both inabilities to work and illness. Absenteeism is frequently employed as a proxy for the presence of a handicap.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of LBP among nurses in six different wards in three general hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as well as the associated workplace risk factors and coping strategies implemented by nurses in ward.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study involved 420 nurses from three public hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, was carried out. The respondents were carefully selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method. Nurses sociodemographic and occupational details, occupational health in nursing practice, seventeen work risk variables and nine coping techniques were collected via a selfadministered questionnaire.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the 420 participants, 57 did not report any discomfort. In the previous 12 months, 44.5% (95.0% CI: 39.74,49.25) of nurses experienced low back discomfort lasting longer than three days. The results of a simple logistic regression analysis revealed that gender and years of working experience were significantly associated with LBP. The department of intensive care unit nurses had the highest OR value of 2.4 (p = 0.03). There were no statistically significant association with age, marital status and body mass index (p > 0.05). Adjusting plinth or bed height (68.4%) was the top coping mechanism cited by respondents in the clinical context to reduce the risk of LBP, and working with perplexed or agitated patients posed the greatest occupational risk.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>LBP is still a major work-related issue among nurses, with a high prevalence rate. To mitigate these impacts, multidisciplinary efforts are required. The outcomes of this study may help policy makers to allocate resources to reduce LBP among nurses.</p>","PeriodicalId":39388,"journal":{"name":"Medical Journal of Malaysia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical Journal of Malaysia","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Healthcare workers are recognised to have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and nursing profession are well known with high prevalence of low back pain (LBP). There is a widespread consensus that low back discomfort is a major contributor to both inabilities to work and illness. Absenteeism is frequently employed as a proxy for the presence of a handicap.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of LBP among nurses in six different wards in three general hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as well as the associated workplace risk factors and coping strategies implemented by nurses in ward.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involved 420 nurses from three public hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, was carried out. The respondents were carefully selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method. Nurses sociodemographic and occupational details, occupational health in nursing practice, seventeen work risk variables and nine coping techniques were collected via a selfadministered questionnaire.
Results: Among the 420 participants, 57 did not report any discomfort. In the previous 12 months, 44.5% (95.0% CI: 39.74,49.25) of nurses experienced low back discomfort lasting longer than three days. The results of a simple logistic regression analysis revealed that gender and years of working experience were significantly associated with LBP. The department of intensive care unit nurses had the highest OR value of 2.4 (p = 0.03). There were no statistically significant association with age, marital status and body mass index (p > 0.05). Adjusting plinth or bed height (68.4%) was the top coping mechanism cited by respondents in the clinical context to reduce the risk of LBP, and working with perplexed or agitated patients posed the greatest occupational risk.
Conclusion: LBP is still a major work-related issue among nurses, with a high prevalence rate. To mitigate these impacts, multidisciplinary efforts are required. The outcomes of this study may help policy makers to allocate resources to reduce LBP among nurses.
期刊介绍：
Published since 1890 this journal originated as the Journal of the Straits Medical Association. With the formation of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Journal became the official organ, supervised by an editorial board. Some of the early Hon. Editors were Mr. H.M. McGladdery (1960 - 1964), Dr. A.A. Sandosham (1965 - 1977), Prof. Paul C.Y. Chen (1977 - 1987). It is a scientific journal, published quarterly and can be found in medical libraries in many parts of the world. The Journal also enjoys the status of being listed in the Index Medicus, the internationally accepted reference index of medical journals. The editorial columns often reflect the Association''s views and attitudes towards medical problems in the country. The MJM aims to be a peer reviewed scientific journal of the highest quality. We want to ensure that whatever data is published is true and any opinion expressed important to medical science. We believe being Malaysian is our unique niche; our priority will be for scientific knowledge about diseases found in Malaysia and for the practice of medicine in Malaysia. The MJM will archive knowledge about the changing pattern of human diseases and our endeavours to overcome them. It will also document how medicine develops as a profession in the nation. We will communicate and co-operate with other scientific journals in Malaysia. We seek articles that are of educational value to doctors. We will consider all unsolicited articles submitted to the journal and will commission distinguished Malaysians to write relevant review articles. We want to help doctors make better decisions and be good at judging the value of scientific data. We want to help doctors write better, to be articulate and precise.
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