Work - Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Female And Male Nursing Personnel In Greece

Tsekoura Maria, Koufogianni Andrianna, Billis Evdokia, Tsepis Elias

Background. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have a significant impact on nurses worldwide. However there is limited information on its prevalence in Greece. Objectives. To explore: (1) lifetime, annual and weekly prevalence rates of WMSDs in nursing personnel and (2) the perceived (according to the nurses) risk factors for WMSDs and (3) the inter-gender differences. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 randomly selectednurses across 15 hospitals in Greece. Data was collected via the Nordic questionnaire asking for lifetime, annual and weekly prevalence of WMSDs and a self-administered questionnaire for obtaining the socio-demographic variables and the risk factors. Conclusions. Questionnaires were completed by 278 nurses (response rate 92,7%). Musculoskeletal symptoms were experienced by 84% of the participants at least once in their lifetime. The most prevalent area among nurses was low back pain (lifetime prevalence: 59,15% annual prevalence: 39,6% and weekly prevalence: 34,2%). Of the most important perceived risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders were lack of ergonomic knowledge and training as well as shortage of staff amongst nursing personnel in Greek hospitals.