Relationship between Musculoskeletal Disorders and Work Performance of Nursing Staff: A Comparison of Hospital Nursing Departments

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and the work performance of nursing staff. This cross-sectional study used the Checklist for Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), and the Work Ability Index to survey the prevalence of MSDs, as well as to determine the impact of MSDs on 117 nursing staff working in an emergency department, an intensive care unit, and general wards. The findings indicate that the nursing staff were exposed to a workplace environment with a high risk of MSDs. Nursing staff in the emergency department were at a particularly high risk of MSDs in their upper and lower limbs, while those working in the intensive care unit had a particularly high risk of injuries caused by manual material handling. Analyzing the relationship between MSD risk factors and NMQ scores showed a 6 times, 3.25 times, and 2.28 times increase in MSD conditions with a high workload compared to a low workload in the hand and wrist, the lower back or waist, and the knee, respectively. Medium and high workloads were found to increase the risk of MSD, which in turn affected the work ability of the nurses.

Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

“…Usually, scales and questionnaires such as REBA, RULA, SI and the OCRA checklist are used for risk evaluations since they can be administrated quickly on a large cohort of participants and they do not need specific architectures and equipment. However, some studies employed instrumental techniques, such as EMG, for the evaluation of the muscle activity during work and its correlation with MSD development [ 185 ]. Almost all the working activities analyzed resulted in having a high risk of MSD development, from industry and manual workers to office works, since these activities lead to high effort and strain.…”

Accidente laboral y estresores de la organización del trabajo en el personal de salud: una mirada desde la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo: revisión narrativa

“…lesiones musculoesqueléticas, consideradas como una lesión ocupacional costosa en el personal de salud. Por esto, es necesario realizar una división del trabajo para generar un alivio subjetivo en la situación laboral [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] .…”

Work Ability and Psychosocial Factors in Healthcare Settings During COVID-19 Pandemic – Specific Focus on Ageing Workers

“…Studies conducted among ageing HCWs demonstrate the high prevalence of poor and moderate WAI (Monteiro et al, 2006;Mateo-Rodríguez et al, 2021b). While exposure to physical hazards is a common contributor to HCWs' poor health and decreased work ability (Cotrim et al, 2011;Ou et al, 2021), research illustrates that psychosocial workrelated factors are also influential (Francisco et al, 2012;Rongen et al, 2014;Freimann & Merisalu, 2015;Mokarami et al, 2020). The psychosocial conditions of workers are connected to the company's economic outcomes, above all, to the increasing costs due to accidents at work (Nielsen et al, 2010;Torá et al, 2015;Hassard et al, 2014).…”