Frequency and severity of low back pain in nurses working in intensive care units and influential factors

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research was to determine the frequency and severity of low back pain and influencing factors in nurses working in intensive care units. Methods: This research was conducted as a cross-sectional study with 114 nurses working in the intensive care units in the province of Gaziantep, Turkey. Study data were collected using a questionnaire form and visual analogue scale. Results: It was found that 84.2% of the nurses experienced low back pain, and 66.7% of the nurses evaluated this pain as “a pain with moderate severity”. It was determined that nurses who had not received any education on low back pain, who remained standing for long periods of time, who performed interventions that required bending forward, who lifted and repositioned patients, and who did not use any aiding equipment during interventions, experienced more pain and had higher average pain scores. In addition, average pain scores were higher among nurses with master’s and doctorate degrees, and those working in internal medicine and pediatric intensive care units and working in shifts. Conclusion: It was observed that many of the nurses working in intensive care units experienced low back pain, and especially those working in internal medicine and pediatric intensive care units and working in shifts had higher average pain scores.

Prevalence of low back pain among female nurses working in secondary and tertiary healthcare, kingdom of Bahrain

“…[9] It also differed from that of a study conducted among nurses working in Gaziantep, Turkey, as the prevalence of LBP in their study was estimated to be 84%. [12] Although other researchers [2,8,10,19] have suggested many causes and risk *Pediatrics, †obstetrics and gynecology, ‡internal medicine, §emergency medicine, **main theater and surgery † †intensive care unit (includes neonatal, pediatric and adult's ICUs), ‡oncology, ***body mass index (categories: Normal between 17 and 25, overweight between 25 and 30, obese more than 30). SMC: Salmaniya medical complex, ICU: Intensive care unit factors of LBP, not all of which were found to be significant in the studied population (e.g., Trauma history, frequent bending, frequent carrying of patients, and standing for long periods).…”

“…[11] In Gaziantep, Turkey, it was found that 84% of nurses experienced LBP. [12] Fewer studies were published from Gulf countries; however, in Saudi Arabia, LBP among nurses ranged between 48% and up to 85%. [6,13,14] In 2015, at Hamad General Hospital in Doha, a study was conducted on 254 nurses from different departments, and it concluded that the prevalence of LBP was high among them.…”

“…[10] Other studies revealed that nurses who remained standing most of the workday (97.9%), participated in activities that required lifting, repositioning patients (83.3%), and bending forward (95.8%), and those who did not use any aiding equipment, experienced more LBP. [12] Moreover, a study was conducted among nurses working in Taiwan revealed that the severity of LBP was directly related to the career length. [16] Because of the fact that nurses play an important role in the workplace and that they constitute approximately one-third of the working force at any hospital, LBP is believed to have a substantial impact on their attendance and work restrictions.…”

The influence of sleep disorders on the quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain

“…Junke and Cho (21) showed that 90.3% of nurses in mean age 27.2 had back pain at least once a month (21.9% always, 40.7% once a week and 27.7% once a month). Also, Ovayolu et al (22) found that 84.2% of the nurses experienced LBP of which 66.7% evaluated this pain as 'a pain with moderate severity'. Moreover, Abedini et al (23) concluded that studied nurses believed that LBP had a negative influence on their job security and on their lives.…”

Frequency of Low Back Pain among Nurses Working in Jinnah Hospital Lahore

“…Supporting results have been found in another crosssectional study conducted in 2015 which found the intensity of low back pain to be 30.4% Mild, 34.8% Moderate and 34.8% having severe pain 12 . A similar study estimated severity of low back pain to be 26.0% mild, 66.7% moderate and 7.3% with severe or very severe intensity pain 13 . 53.7% of nurses with low back pain took medicines (prescribed or self-medication), 20.4% were relieved by physiotherapy while 25.9% were relieved by taking rest.…”