Analysis of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Nursing Occupation: A Comparative Assessment between Shift and Day Workers

The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing profession has been high reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders as well as to analysis the risk factors associated with it in the nursing community.

This cross-sectional study was performed in seven hospitals in Khuzestan province in 2020. The study population and sample included nurses working in these hospitals (652 people). Data collection tools included the Nordic questionnaire and the questionnaire evaluating the outcomes related to the shift work of Choobineh et al. Analysis of data was performed using IBM SPSS 22.0, and independent t-test, chi-square and logistic regression.

The findings showed that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in shift work nurses (58.23%) was significantly higher than day work nurses (38.89%) (p <0.05). The results showed that the variables of nurse to bed ratio, shift work system, means of body mass index, working hours per week and work experience with odds ratio of 3.45, 2.19, 1.69, 1.38, and 1.25 have the highest impact on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the nurses (p <0.05).

The findings indicated that various variables, especially the nurse to bed ratio and working in the shift work system have been evaluated as the main risk factors associated with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in nurses. Therefore, in managing and controlling these disorders, the effective role of all risk factors should be considered to design a comprehensive risk management program for the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders.