Ergonomic practices within patient care units are associated with musculoskeletal pain and limitations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Hashimoto DM ; Hopcia K ; Kenwood C ; Sembajwe G ; Sorensen, Glorian ; Stoddard AM ; Tveito TH
• Description:
  Background: With the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) for patient care unit workers, prevention efforts through ergonomic practices within units may be related to symptoms associated with typical work-related MSDs. Methods: We completed a cross-sectional survey of patient care workers (n = 1,572) in two large academic hospitals in order to evaluate relationships between self-reported musculoskeletal pain, work interference due to this pain, and limitations during activities of daily living (functional limitations) and with ergonomic practices and other organizational policy and practices metrics within the unit. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses tested the significance of these associations. Results: Prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms in the past 3 months was 74% with 53% reporting pain in the low back. 32.8% reported that this pain interfered with their work duties and 17.7% reported functional limitations in the prior week. Decreased ergonomic practices were significantly associated with reporting pain in four body areas (low back, neck/shoulder, arms, and lower extremity) in the previous 3 months, interference with work caused by this pain, symptom severity, and limitations in completing activities of daily living in the past week. Except for low back pain and work interference, these associations remained significant when psychosocial covariates such as psychological demands were included in multiple logistic regressions. Conclusions: Ergonomic practices appear to be associated with many of the musculoskeletal symptoms denoting their importance for prevention efforts in acute health care settings. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Musculoskeletal Symptoms Back-injuries Health-care Health-care-personnel Health-surveys Health Care Injury-prevention Low Back Pain Medical-services Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Nurses Organizational Policy And Practice Pain-tolerance Statistical-analysis Total-Worker-Health Work-analysis Work-capability Work-organization Work-practices Worker-health

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  107-116
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040239
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2012 Feb; 55(2):107-116
• Contact Point Address:
  JackT. Dennerlein, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
• Email:
  jax@hsph.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0682430238d9b026a5f9575c82c612a89a1b7390b8f00daec02a2d4e27a138e852b2f1ccf0a2e0f3f27beb14933cb8b491e95176155e6f1ac841937d122eb159
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193181/cdc_193181_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 177.26 KB ]