Safe work behaviors are best understood as socio-cultural phenomena influenced by organizational, psychosocial, and job factors but, counter to extant theories of health behaviors, do not appear to be related to personal risk perception. Management efforts to improve working conditions and enhance safety culture in hospitals could prove to be crucial in promoting nurses' safe work behavior and reducing risk of MS injury.

Study findings indicated that most critical care nurses were concerned about their ergonomic job risks. Their risk perceptions about musculoskeletal injury risk were affected by physical work exposures, psychosocial job stressors, and experience with musculoskeletal symptoms, but not by perceived workplace safety climate. The findings underscore the need for management efforts to improve physical and psychosocial working conditions and create a safe work environment.