Musculoskeletal Disorders among Group-D Staff in Government-Aided Hospitals in Aurangabad City, Maharashtra

Abstract

Background: Group-D (attendants) employees are subjected to significant workload due to the constant demand for their services in hospitals.Objectives: To discern distribution of work-related musculoskeletal diseases (WMSDs) among the Group-D staff according to their work responsibilities and its effects on their Activities of Daily Living (ADL).Methods: A study was conducted among Group-D staff from five government-aided general hospitals, using customized questionnaires including pre-validated Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) to measure the MSDs and associated inefficiencies in ADL. Results: Our results showed the MSDs as Low Back pain (LBP) affecting 76.67% of total studied population followed by pain in the wrist/ hands (45%), shoulders (43.33%) and knees (35%). There was a significant difference in the MSDs according to the work; where, among Dhobis (Wrist/ Hands), Office Attendants (Knees and Wrist/ Hands), OPD attendants (Knees, Hip, Upperback and Wrist/ Hands), Ward Attendants (Upperback) and Sweepers (Shoulders and Wrist/ Hands) respectively were affected alongside prevalent MSD. LBP restricted 31.67% of the studied population from performing their ADL. Conclusion: A high proportion of Group-D staff reported MSDs which were directly related to type of work. However, the number of people who were unable to conduct ADL due to MSD was small. The study highlights the need of ergonomic training among Group D hospital employees.