Musculoskeletal disorders among nurses in high acuity areas in a tertiary hospital in South Africa

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among nurses at a tertiary hospital in South Africa. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 125 nurses. The mean age of the nurses was 42 years. A high proportion of the nurses reported experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort and related disorders. Most (80.8) worked 12 hour shifts and 84 experienced some form of musculoskeletal discomfort (related to MSDs) in the past year. The lower back was the most commonly reported body site (58); followed by the shoulder (21); and neck (20). Logistic regression analysis showed that nurses working 12 hour shifts had an increased risk of MSD of 14.17 (OR= 14.17; 95 CI 4.586; 43.766) when compared to those working 8 hours shifts. The number of working hours per shift needs to be reduced to prevent MSDs in nurses. One way of doing this is to increase nursing staff numbers