Knee and low back complaints in professional hospital nurses: Occurrence, chronicity, care seeking and absenteeism

Publié le 11 mai 2011 • Catégorie(s) : Troubles musculo-squelettiques • Mot(s) clef(s) : personnel infirmier

Auteur     Evangelos C Alexopoulos
Auteur     Dimitra Tanagra
Auteur     Ioannis Detorakis
Auteur     Panagiota Gatsi
Auteur     Antigoni Goroyia
Auteur     Maria Michalopoulou
Auteur     Eleni Jelastopulu
Résumé     Objective: To investigate the relationships between physical, psychosocial, and individual characteristics and occurrence, chronicity, care seeking and absenteeism due to musculoskeletal complaints of the lower back and knee. Methods and Participants: This was a cross-sectional study among 350 nursing personnel in six hospitals in South-West Greece. Data related to physical and psychosocial workload, need for recovery, perceived general health and other risk factors for occurrence of low-back and knee complaints were collected. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated for all relevant risk factors. Results: Low-back and knee pain were reported by 51% and 23% of the subjects, respectively. A high perceived physical exertion and a moderate/bad perceived general health were the strongest risk factor for low-back and knee pain. With regard to care seeking a moderate/bad perceived general health was risk factor for both, low back and knee pain (OR=3.45 and OR=2.28; respectively). Perceived moderate/bad general health (OR=2.90) and high need for recovery (OR=2.78) were risk factors for absenteeism due to low-back pain, whereas organizational factors, high job demands (OR=4.60) and low co workers support (OR=3.13) for absenteeism due to knee pain. Age exhibited a positive relation with the disability and care seeking for both complaints although far stronger for knee. Conclusions: Compared to the well-studied work related low back pain, knee complaints have been shown to cause significant burden in nursing staff. Besides general health status of individual workers, work-related psychosocial factors, like support and demand, are related with the disability and care seeking for knee complaints.
Publication     Work (Reading, Mass.)
Volume     38
Numéro     4
Pages     329-335
Date     Jan 1, 2011