Evaluation of the Back College for nursing staff

Abstract

BackgroundWork-related musculoskeletal pain- particularly back pain - is an important individual and socioeconomic problem. The Back College for the insurance holders of the Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW) is based on a multimodal concept and has been evaluated with respect to pain relief and continuing in the nursing profession.MethodsIn a retrospective cohort study, the participants in the Back College from 2009 to 2011 were surveyed in writing. Besides demographic data, the survey covered information on qualification, length of employment, institution, employment status, periods of inability to work, applicability of working techniques and continuation in the profession. Back pain was recorded at three time points - T1 (before the Back College), T2 (directly after the Back College) and T3 (at the time of the survey). Pain changes were submitted to tests for paired samples. Multivariate logistic analysis was applied to determine potential factors influencing unfavourable changes in pain or leaving nursing due to back pain.ResultsThe survey covered 1,282 insurance holders, with a response rate of 80%. Statistically significant reductions in pain were found for the whole group and for all subgroups. For persons who predominantly worked in old people’s homes and who did not take part in refresher services, an increased odds ratio was found for unfavourable changes in pain (OR: 1.9 or 1.4, respectively). Persons with a qualification in geriatric nursing or in intensive care/OP/anaesthesia had an increased risk of leaving nursing due to back pain (OR: 2.5 in each case). An increased risk of leaving was also found for persons who did not take part in workplace support (OR: 2.9).ConclusionWithin the context of the study design, the multimodal concept of the Back College is clearly related to relief of back pain. The Back College appears to be less successful for geriatric nurses and persons with qualifications in intensive care/OP/anaesthesia. Further studies are needed to ascertain why some participants experience less relief in stress from the working techniques they have learnt.

The Back College for nurses – an evaluation of intermediate effects

“…The participants reported a high satisfaction with the Back College. This was also demonstrated in an earlier study [23].…”

“…The aim of improving physical fitness is not only to reduce back pain but also to enable participants to adopt spine-friendly ergonomic movement habits in their occupational as well as their daily routines. The application of this was shown by earlier studies [23, 43] and the current study also demonstrates a high application rate. However, changes in muscle strength were not assessed in our study.…”

“…This result is consistent with earlier evaluation studies of the Back College. An improvement and reduction in pain intensity during the survey period was observed in studies by Kromark, Rojahn & Nienhaus [43] as well as Koch et al [23]. A possible explanation for this result could be the individual increase in the level of activity as well as the appropriate application of knowledge acquired during the Back College about physical activity, effects and background information.…”

“…As described earlier [23], the program is designed to increase physical fitness, including muscle strengthening exercises and cardiovascular conditioning, as well as to improve postural control. In addition, training is given occupation-specific practices.…”

Sekundäre Individualprävention bei Rückenschmerzen

“…Im Zusammenhang mit mechanischen Überbeanspruchungen gelten wirbelsäulenstrapazierende Berufe aus dem Gesundheitswesen als besonders prädisponiert. Mobilisation, Transfer und Unterstützung von Patienten verursachen bei Pflegepersonal in Krankenhäusern und Altenheimen sowie in der ambulanten Pflege hohe körperliche Belastungen, die mit einem erhöhten Risiko an bandscheibenbedingten Erkrankungen der Lendenwirbelsäule einhergehen [12,15,16].…”