275 WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY vol. 67 ■ no. 6 ARTICLE Abstract: This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among intensive care nurses in the Hunan Province of China. Nurses working in mixed intensive care units of 20 tertiary hospitals in this province participated in an online survey regarding work-related musculoskeletal injuries. The seven-part questionnaire included basic demographics; job and workplace characteristics; risk perception; physical, psychosocial, and workplace organizational factors; and musculoskeletal symptoms. The response rate was 70.7% (702 of 993 nurses). Approximately 97% of the respondents reported experiencing at least one work-related musculoskeletal disorder within the previous year. Low back pain was the most commonly reported musculoskeletal disorder (80.1%), followed by neck (78.6%) and shoulder pain (70.4%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that work-related musculoskeletal disorders were significantly associated with female gender (odds ratio [OR] = 0.115), unmarried status (OR = 0.136), a greater perception of risk (OR = 2.352), and lack of a safe work environment (OR = 1.056). These findings underscore the need for nurses and managers to reinforce risk awareness, improve physical and psychosocial working conditions, and promote a safer work environment. Keywords: occupational injuries, disease prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), work, workforce, occupational health and safety team Introduction Work-related injuries are defined as bodily injuries that occur at the job site (Gossman & Knoblauch, 2017). Factors contributing to work-related injuries may be poor ergonomics, misuse of equipment, or inadequate safety training (S. J. Lee, Lee, & Gershon, 2015; Tinubu, Mbada, Oyeyemi, & Fabunmi, 2010). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) are common (Bai, Wang, & Yue, 2009) and can involve muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and intervertebral disks (Freimann, Coggon, Merisalu, Animagi, & Paasuke, 2013; Wang, Yan, Huang, & Dai, 2017). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are seldom life threatening but do cause loss of labor time, lower the quality of life, increase financial burden, and are a major public health problem. For example, in the state of Washington from 1999 to 2013, WRMDs accounted for more than 40% of all workers’ compensation claims (Marcum & Adams, 2017). In Great Britain in 2016-2017, ~8.9 million working days were lost due to WRMDs. For nurses, musculoskeletal disorders are a major occupational health problem. Worldwide, the annual prevalence of WRMDs among nurses is 40% to 85%, as reported by studies from Brazil and Italy (Carugno et al., 2012), Estonia (Freimann et al., 2013), Uganda (Munabi, Buwembo, Kitara, Ochieng, & Mwaka, 2014), Nigeria (Tinubu et al., 2010), and California (S. J. Lee et al., 2015). In China, the prevalence of WRMDs among nurses is 56% to 92% (Cheng, Wang, Wu, Shen, & Jing, 2017; Liu et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2017; Zhang, Li, & Gui, 2016), most commonly affecting as pain of the lower back, neck, and shoulder. In China, the patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are often immobile with severe physical weakness and little ability to care for themselves (Gao & Zhang, 2008; Sun, 2012). Nurses in the ICU have a heavy burden of care. Compared with other wards, the stressful environment of the ICU demands greater physical strength and mental stability of the medical staff (Kong, Liu, & Chen, 2016; Liu, Huang, & Chen, 2016). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are very common among ICU nurses in China (Sezgin & Esin, 2015), with an estimated prevalence of 95% to 98% (Zhang et al., 2016). 809107WHS XX X 10.1177/2165079918809107Workplace Health & SafetyWorkplace Health & Safety research-article 2018 Prevalence and Risk Factors of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Intensive Care Unit Nurses in China Shuai Yang, RN 1 , Jingmei Lu, RN 1 , Jiaqi Zeng, BA 1 , Liqian Wang, BA 1 , and Yinglan Li, RN, PhD 1 DOI: 10.1177/2165079918809107. From 1 Central South University. Address correspondence to: Yinglan Li, RN, PhD, Professor, Department of Nursing, Xiang Ya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China; email: [email protected]. For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGE’s Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s)
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