Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders Using the Quick Exposure Check Technique among the Nurses

Nurses due to poor ergonomic conditions and postures are at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) more than other jobs. This study aimed to carry out the ergonomic risk assessment of MSDs using the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) technique among the nurses working in educational hospitals of Sari city.
In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 nurses were selected from educational hospitals of Sari city using the stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the Nordic questionnaire of MSDs and quick exposure check technique (QEC). Data were analyzed using Chi-square, t-test and Pearson's correlation with the SPSS 18 software.
The results showed that low back disorders (55.8%) were the most prevalent disorders among nurses. The results of the QEC technique showed a high and very high risk of exposure to MSDs in 84.8% of the nurses. A significant relationship was found between MSDs and total risk of QEC (P = 0.001). Also, there was a significant relationship between work experience, sex, age and body mass index with MSDs (P In this study, the prevalence of MSDs was relatively high among the nurses and the most important reason was awkward postures during the work. So, any intervention for preventing MSDs should be focused on promoting the body posture during work and ergonomic interventions should be performed to reduce the risk level in the units with a higher risk.