Risk of musculoskeletal disorder among Taiwanese nurses cohort: a nationwide population-based study

Abstract

BackgroundMusculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent the leading causes of occupational injuries among nursing staff. This population-based study was designed to assess the incidence and age-specific incidence of MSDs among a Taiwanese nurse cohort compared with non-nurses.DescriptionData from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were used to identify MSDs in the study population. A total of 3914 nurses with a diagnosis of MSD were included, together with 11,744 non-nurses as a comparison group. The comparison subjects were randomly selected at a ratio of 3:1 relative to the nurse population and were matched by gender and age. The incidence of MSDs was calculated for the study group, with nurse-to-reference risk ratios presented as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). During the period 2004–2010, 3004 MSDs occurred among the nurses (76.24%) and 7779 (65.79%) in the non-nurses. The annual incidence of MSDs for the nurses increased from 28.35% in 2006 to 33.65% in 2010. The nurse-to-reference risk ratio was 1.27 (95% CI 1.19–1.35) in 2004 and 1.46 (1.37–1.55) in 2010. Herniation of intervertebral disc, lumbago, rotator cuff syndrome, medial epicondylitis, trigger finger and carpal tunnel syndrome were the most common problems.ConclusionsNurses are at higher risk of MSDs and the trend is increasing. Incorrect work-related posture/movement, psychological issues and the rolling shift system may be the major causes of MSDs among nurses in Taiwan.

Evaluation of the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in nurses: A systematic review

“…Some study samples included small proportions of nurses such as 42, 58, 76 nurses [18,30,40], some included large samples 5187, 3914 and 2851 nurses [14,22,47]. Many studies examined the all risk factors for MSDs, a few studies addressed only psychosocial factors for MSDs.…”

“…The age-specific occurrence of MSDs aligned from 56.0% to 85.6% among the nurses [22]. It is reasonable that because higher administrative nurses are older and have longer histories of employment as nurses [27].…”

“…Perceived physical demands common in nurses i.e., moving objects pulling/ pushing machines, lifting patients, recurring motions and extreme flexion, bending, twisting and sudden movements [18,19]. These physical demands increased the risk of complaints in different body regions [13,[20][21][22].…”

Musculoskeletal disorders among first-year Ghanaian students in a nursing college

“…This prevalence rate is in general agreement with the prevalence rates reported in the literature for college students which vary between 32.9% and 89.3% [6][7][8][9][10][11][13][14][15][16]18,19 . It is however higher than the 32.9% 8 and 36.9% 9 reported among nursing students in Japan, and lower than the 73.3% 18 and 80.0% 19 reported among nursing students in Korea and Australia respectively, as well as the reported prevalence among nurses at the workplace (i.e 78-84.4%) [30][31][32][33] .…”

Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nurses: Systematic Review

“…Chung et al 2013 [26] Risk of musculoskeletal disorders among Taiwanese nurses cohort: a nationwide population based study…”