Abstract
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are responsible for morbidity among many health professionals. To establish the prevalence of self-reported WMSDs among health professionals. Descriptive and exploratory study with health professionals at a hospital in northern Portugal. Data were collected in December 2017 by means of an electronic questionnaire applied to the total target population (n=435). We applied instruments for sociodemographic characterization, perception of knowledge on ergonomics and manual mobilization of loads, the Patient Handling Burden Scale (PHBS) and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for self-reporting musculoskeletal symptoms. The sample comprised 105 professionals, mainly nurses and nursing assistants, who exhibited high frequency of symptoms in several body areas, mainly the spine. WMSDs involving health professionals should be considered a problem for health institutions which do not implement interventions beyond traditional training programs, especially multifactorial programs of systemic nature.
Highlights
Activities involving manual handling of loads might result in a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders
In their review of 27 studies, Anderson and Oakman predicted that most health professionals will experience Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) throughout their careers
The global morbidity associated with WMSD involving the lower back is estimated as 0.8 million disability-adjusted life years (DALY) and represents the main cause of absenteeism
Summary
Activities involving manual handling of loads might result in a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) represent a significant burden for society at large, organizations and the workers themselves. Health professionals suffer musculoskeletal injuries more frequently than other professional groups[2]. They constitute a vulnerable group, with 4 times higher risk than workers in the industrial sector[3,4]. In their review of 27 studies, Anderson and Oakman predicted that most health professionals will experience WMSDs throughout their careers. As risk factors they identified being young, having less years of experience and being exposed to high levels of manual and repetitive tasks[5]
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