WORK-RELATED RISK-FACTORS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL COMPLAINTS IN THE NURSING PROFESSION - RESULTS OF A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Objectives-To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints o f the back, arms or neck, and legs among nurses, and to investigate th e relation between these complaints and various work related and perso nal variables. Methods-A questionnaire survey was carried out in four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Results-The response was 95% and res ulted in 846 completed questionnaires. It was found that a large propo rtion of the subjects regularly had back complaints (36%) but also had arm or neck (30%) and leg complaints (16%). Almost all respondents (8 9%) considered nursing work as physically strenuous. Most of them comp lained of working under time pressure (69%), increased work pressure ( 70%), and having no opportunity to take a break from the work (70%). T he physical variables which seem to trouble the subjects most were lif ting (65%), working in awkward postures (47%), and stooping (34%). Mor eover, 53% of the subjects responded that the ergonomic lay out of the ward was disagreeable. Most of the work related variables under study seemed to be associated with musculoskeletal complaints. For all type s of complaints the strongest associations were found with having to l ift heavy loads. Apart from physical stress various aspects of work pr essure showed strong associations with the occurrence of musculoskelet al complaints. The variables on the ergonomy of the ward showed less c lear associations with musculoskeletal complaints than were found for physical stress and work pressure. Conclusions-From these results it m ay be concluded that future research of health risks of nursing work s hould have a wider focus than the relation between physical workload a nd low back pain.