TITLE:
Low Back Pain among Nurses: Prevalence, and Occupational Risk Factors
AUTHORS:
Wided Boughattas, Olfa El Maalel, Maher Maoua, Iheb Bougmiza, Houda Kalboussi, Aicha Brahem, Souhaiel Chatti, Fethi Mahjoub, Néjib Mrizak
KEYWORDS:
Low Back Pain, Prevalence, Nurses, Physical Factors, Psychosocial Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine,
Vol.5 No.1,
February
22,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objectives: Low back pain is a major occupational problem especially among nursing
staff. The objectives of our study are to evaluate the prevalence of low back
pain among nurses and to look for physical and psychosocial risk factors. Methods:
It is a cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire destined for all nurses
working in Farhat Hached
Teaching hospital of Sousse (Tunisia). Results: Our study included 203
nurses with an average age of 39.8 years. The prevalence of low back pain over
the last twelve months was 58.1%. The factors that are significantly associated
to low back pain were: high BMI, number of pregnancies, arthritis, poor physical condition, daily frequency of
inappropriate posture for the activity being performed, and the layout of
materials in the workplace. Conclusion: Our study evidenced the high
prevalence of LBP among nurses and allowed bringing to light the role of
individual and ergonomic physical factors in the genesis of LBP. Such
identification permits to undertake targeted preventive actions. The association between psychosocial
factors and LBP was not emphasized.