Risk Factors Associated with Lower Back Pain among Nurses: A Case of National Rehabilitation Centre in Ruwa, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Health care providers are exposed to a myriad of occupation safety and health hazards both in the private and public sector. Nurses and other health professional are exposed to awkward postures, repetitive movements, force exertion and manual handling for prolonged periods. Low back pain (LBP) is a public health problem worldwide and is a common cause of work-related disorder among workers, especially in the nursing profession.  The objectives of the study were to ascertain the prevalence of lower back pain among nurses at National Rehabilitation Centre and identify and assess risk factors associated with back pain among nurses at National Rehabilitation Centre. The research was carried out using a cross sectional study design. A total of 100 nurses were randomly selected. A Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to assess prevalence, interference and physician visits by nurses. A predesigned questionnaire was used to assess risk factors. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's Chi-square tests were used to analyse data. All data was analysed using SPPS version 25. Results show that the age of nurses ranged between 26 and 64 years (42±9.2) and majority of them (64%) were married. Very few nurses (6%) were male which means that the rehabilitation nursing field is female dominated. The highest reported pain was in the lower back in the past 12 months which was 72% with 12% in the past 7 days. This was followed by upper back which recorded 32% in the past year and 13% in the past week. Age and having chronic conditions were significantly associated with lower back pain among nurses with p = values of 0.031 and 0.020 respectively. Results also indicate that there was a significant association between lower back pain with environmental factors (χ² = 9, p = 0.014), job-related factors (χ² = 26, p = 0.000) and physical factors (χ² = 18, p = 0.020). In conclusion, there is high prevalence of lower back pain among nurses. Lower back pain was associated with age, environmental factors and job-related factors. There is need for training, exercises, and assessment of individual capacities to prevent lower back pain among rehabilitation nurses.