This study aimed to evaluate the association between psychological demands and control on work and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders among nursing workers. This cross-sectional study involved 491 nursing workers from a University hospital in Rio Grande do Sul. Brazilian versions of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and the Job Content Questionnaire were used. Among the participants, 96.3% reported some pain in any given part of the body last year, 73.1% in the last seven days and 65.8% reported difficulty in their daily routine. The chances of shoulder pain (OR=1.97; CI95%=1.07-3.64), in the thoracic spine (OR=1.83; CI95%=1.02-3.35) and in the ankles (OR=2.05; CI95%=1.05-4.02) were higher in the high work demand quadrant when compared to the low demand quadrant, after adjustments for potentially confusing factors Intervention measures in the organizational structure are needed, redefining demand levels and control at work.
Aspectos psicosociales del trabajo y disturbio músculo-esquelético en trabajadores de enfermeríaEste estudio tuvo evaluar la asociación entre demandas psicológicas y el control sobre el trabajo y la ocurrencia de disturbio músculo-esqueléticos en trabajadores de enfermería. Magnago TSBS, Lisboa MTL, Griep RH, Kirchhof ALC, Guido LA. nature of work itself and its organization, as evidenced by non-specific and psychic signs and symptoms (2) .Among health workers, research (1,(3)(4) appoints nursing as one of the occupations with high risks for exhaustion and illness. The hospital environment can cause stress and physical problems among these workers, as work demands arise in this place, in which professionals experience different degrees of control over the activities they perform (1) .Among occupational illnesses, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are an important public health problem and one of the most severe conditions in occupational health (5) . The main risk factors include: work organization, environmental factors and possible overload on body segments when making certain movements, for example: excessive force to perform some tasks, repetitiveness and inadequate postures (6) .To understand these disorders, besides ergonomics issues, the psychosocial dimensions of the labor context are being analyzed, mainly in Europe, based on a model proposed at the end of the 1970's (3,(7)(8) . That is the twodimensional Demand-Control Model -DCM. In the DCM, it is considered that exhaustion at work is produced by the interaction between high psychological demands and workers' low control over their job activities (1) .Control over work covers issues related to skill use (learning new things, repetitiveness, creativity) and decision authority (ability to make decisions about one's own work, influence in the work group and in management policy) and psychological demand refers to the psychological requirements workers face while performing their tasks (time pressure, concentration level demanded while performing activities, task interruption and need to await activities performed by oth...