Low back pain among hospital nurses: the interplay of underlying factors

Abstract

Background. Low back pain (LBP) is a wide-reaching phenomenon among nurses. In a country like India, the scenario is not different although the prevalence of multiple causal factors and their consequences on nurses has yet to be convincingly demonstrated. Objective. This study examined the relationship between LBP and other causative variables in female registered nurses in West Bengal, India. Methods. With the multiphase sampling method, subjects with LBP and subjects without discomfort were chosen using the Modified Nordic Questionnaire. Among the final study subjects the Physical Activity Level (PAL) and Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) were performed. The daily nursing activities were analysed using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool. The correlation analyses and χ2 tests were performed using SPSS version 23 software. Results. Few Demand scales and Role Conflict scale were found to be strongly related to LBP. Among the daily tasks analyzed two activities showed high-risk scores, indicating immediate investigation and ten activities showed medium risk. Conclusion. This study showed the connection between various psychosocial variables and LBP as well as the risk-prone body postures that nurses adopt when performing routine jobs. Investigating the intricate interaction of variables that may impact or promote LBP in Indian nurses is crucial.