The prevalence and influence factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders of dental nurse

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and Influence factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among dental nurses in tertiary stomatology hospitals. Methods: From June to July 2020, 1321 dental nurses from 18 tertiary stomatology hospitals in 18 provinces of China were enrolled as research subjects through a phased sampling method. The cross-sectional study was performed with validated instruments including the basic information questionnaire, Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, Nurse-Physician Collaboration Scale, and Chinese Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, so as to get the information about the social demography information, nursing-physician cooperation, work stress and the incidence of WMSDs. The influenang factors of WMSDs was analyzed. Results: The past prevalence, annual prevalence, and weekly prevalence of WMSDs were 80.8% (1067/1321) , 68.7% and 43.7% (575/1321) . 58.4% (771/1321) of nurses had WMSDs in three or more body parts. Neck (51.4%) , waist (42.2%) and shoulder (41.6%) were the top three body regions in the past year. The absenteeism rate due to musculoskeletal disorders ranged from 3.5% to 9.0%, waist (8.9%) and neck (8.0%) were the top two body regions. Working more than 40 hours per week (OR=1.74, P<0.001) and effect/reward>1 (OR=1.50, P=0.002) were risk factors of WMSDs (OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.32~2.30; OR=1.50, 95%CI: 1.17~1.92, P<0.05) , while regular physical exercise every week (≥30 min per times) was the protective factor (OR=0.74, 95%CI: 0.56~0.97, P=0.030) . Conclusion: The prevalence rate of WMSDs of dental nurses in China was high, and most of the nurses suffered with many body parts. Thus, we should reduce controllable occupational stresso, ensuring adequate rest and strengthening physical exercise to reduce the incidence of WMSDs.