Ergonomic Evaluation of Job Performance and Investigation of the Impact of Corrective Exercise Training on Reduction of Musculoskeletal Complaints Among Operating Room Nurses in Iran

Abstract

BackgroundOperating Room(OR) nurses are at risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders(MSDs) due to the nature of their job and performance of non-ergonomic activities. The present study aimed at ergonomic evaluation of the workplace and investigation of the impact of corrective exercise training on reduction of musculoskeletal complaints among OR nurses.Materials and MethodsThis educational intervention study was conducted on 46 OR nurses in an educational hospital in Fasa city in Iran. who were selected through census. Data were collected via demographic information form, body map, and Rapid Entire Body Assessment(REBA) method. After three months, the effects of ergonomic principles training and intensity of disorders were evaluated by the REBA method and body map respectively. After all, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon test, and marginal homogeneity in SPSS20 software. Resultsmean age and mean job tenure of the nurses were 28.93(6.47) and 6.02(5.62) years, respectively. 78.3% of the participants were male, 38%, were single, and 91% were shift workers. a significant decline was observed in disorders in all body regions, except for the head and neck(p=0.293), three months after the educational intervention. The mean score of the REBA test was 5.58+1.146 after the intervention(p=0.000). Additionally, the mean level of risk was 2+1.89 after the intervention(p=0.000). the mean level of corrective priorities was 1.0+89.314 after the intervention(p=0.000). the corrective actions reached levels 1 and 2 after the intervention. Accordingly, the highest percentage of actions for reduction of injuries were at the necessary (soon) level before the intervention, but at the necessary level after that(89.1%).Discussion and ConclusionThe results indicated that training ergonomic principles, correct goods transfer methods, and corrective exercises has been recommended to be effective in decreasing the risk of MSDs in this profession.