Musculoskeletal Pain Among Critical-Care Nurses by Availability and Use of Patient Lifting Equipment: An Analysis of Cross-Sectional Survey Data

Details

• Personal Author:
  Faucett J ; Gillen, Matthew ; Krause N ; Lee S-J
• Description:
  Background: Patient handling is a major risk factor for musculoskeletal injuries among nurses. Lifting equipment is a main component of safe patient handling programs that aim to prevent musculoskeletal injury. However, the actual levels of lift availability and usage are far from optimal. Objective: To examine the effect of patient lifting equipment on musculoskeletal pain by level of lift availability and lift use among critical-care nurses. Design and participants: A cross-sectional postal survey of a random sample of 361 critical-care nurses in the United States. Methods: The survey collected data on low-back, neck, and shoulder pain, lift availability, lift use, physical and psychosocial job factors, and sociodemographics. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed by three types of measures: any pain, work-related pain, and major pain. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between musculoskeletal pain and lift variables, controlling for demographic and job factors. Results: Less than half (46%) of respondents reported that their employer provided lifts. Of 168 nurses who had lifts in their workplace, the level of lift availability was high for 59.5%, medium for 25.0%, and low for 13.7%; the level of lift use was high for 32.1%, medium for 31.5%, and low for 31.5%. Significant associations were found between lift availability and work-related low-back and shoulder pain. Compared to nurses without lifts, nurses reporting high-level lift availability were half as likely to have work-related low-back pain (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.26-0.96) and nurses reporting medium-level lift availability were 3.6 times less likely to have work-related shoulder pain (OR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.09-0.91). With respect to lift use, work-related shoulder pain was three times less common among nurses reporting medium-level use (OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.12-0.93); any neck pain was three times more common among nurses reporting low-level use (OR = 3.13, 95% CI 1.19-8.28). Conclusions: Greater availability and use of lifts were associated with less musculoskeletal pain among critical-care nurses. These findings suggest that for lift interventions to be effective, lifts must be readily available when needed and barriers against lift use must be removed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Lifting Equipment Cross Sectional Studies Lifting Low Back Pain MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Musculoskeletal Pain Neck Injuries Nurses Occupational Health Patient Handling Patient Lifting

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• ISSN:
  0020-7489
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056053
• Citation:
  Int J Nurs Stud 2013 Dec; 50(12):1648-1657
• Contact Point Address:
  Soo-Jeong Lee, Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
• Email:
  soo-jeong.lee@nursing.ucsf.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Nursing Studies
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ffaec0c8fea8cb31c68fbca59015e59bfb5236fd3f4bfe25f5ad442b61a2e3dfbca7f89442d8b4761a37c985e0f21387b391c148118196727ae63411f0710a9c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213750/cdc_213750_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.38 KB ]