An investigation into factors associated with the development of lower back pain in nurses in the Durban metropolitan area, with particular reference to manual work
Authors:   , Dasappa Rozanne 
Published: May 2022

The objectives of this study were: To determine how the frequency of manual work contributes to low back pain in nurses in state versus private hospitals in the Durban area. To determine how the frequency of manual work contributes to low back pain in nurses in state versus private hospitals in the Durban area. Hospital nurses have a high prevalence of low back pain (LBP) (Smedley et al., 2003). It has been found that nursing personnel ranked fifth in occupations claiming worker compensation for low back injuries (Owen and Garg, 1994). A number of studies have also indicated a strong association between musculoskeletal disorders and work related factors (Maul, 2002). An epidemiological study by Smedley et al (1997) has suggested that repetitive lifting, frequent bending and twisting play a role in the development of LBP, and that heavy physical workload has played a major role in the development of LBP in nurses. LBP is therefore a serious problem in the nursing field with a relatively high prevalence worldwide. It causes increased absenteeism from work and could impact on patient care. This study was a survey, which was quantitative in nature. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaires were handed out in randomly selected hospitals in the Durban Metropolitan area. The names of all state and private hospitals in the Durban Metropolitan area were put into two boxes and three names were picked from each box. A letter requesting permission to carry out this research was sent out to each hospital and a positive response was received from one state hospital, R.K Khan Hospital and two private hospitals, Westville and Entabeni hospitals. Questionnaires were handed out to the nurses by the researcher, as requested by the hospitals, and collected at a later time by the researcher. Questionnaires were handed out at each ward in the hospitals to nurses who met the criteria for the study and agreed to participate in this study. Questionnaires were also handed out to nurses in the nurses lounge during lunch breaks. The questionnaire was developed as combination of; a pre-validated questionnaire made available by Yip (2001), questions on socio-demographic data, work history, patient handling activities and LBP. The compiled questionnaire was tested for face and construct validity through a focus group, and piloted before being used in the study. A total of 500 questionnaires were handed, 250 to state hospitals and 250 to private hospitals. Participants consisted of nurses (registered, enrolled and student) between the ages of 18 and 45 years, both male and female. Nurses from all hospital wards were allowed to participate in this study. A total of 124 questionnaires were received back, ( 50 from private hospitals and 74 from the state hospital), from the nurses in all the hospitals. Data was then collected from these questionnaires and was analysed using the statistical package SPSS version 13 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois, USA). A p value of <0.05 was considered as significant. The data collected from the questionnaires was analysed and the results obtained were as follows: The prevalence of work related LBP in this study was 59.7%. Of the 74 nurses with LBP, only 7 (9.5%) reported having LBP before working as a nurse. 35.1% of participants reported that they experienced pain on a daily basis while 62.2% described their LBP as moderate and 27% described their pain as severe. The median duration of LBP was 3.5hours per episode. Of all the participants in this study, 64,9% had needed bed rest due to their LBP with 43.2% having taken sick leave from work for LBP. Back pain in nurses has been found to be a major cause of days lost due to sickness (French et al., 1997). The majority of nurses (93.2%) reported lifting to be the cause of their LBP, standing and bending were also found to be important causes. Low Back injury was reported in 31.1% of participants with up to 51.4% receiving treatment for their injuries, the main choice of treatment was from a hospital or General practitioner. With regards to the frequency of manual work on LBP, there was found to be a slight tendency toward LBP with more frequent manual activity, however this was viii found to be non significant. In those respondents with LBP, the activity associated with the most intense LBP was carrying or lifting patients. Time spent; standing, holding up hands and bending were found to be higher in the group which reported LBP. Having 1-2 children was also associated with increased LBP. The prevalence of LBP was found to be higher in the state hospital (67.6%) than in the private hospitals (48%). The aim of this study was to determine the association between frequency and intensity of manual work on LBP in nurses. The results showed that frequently performed manual activities were associated with LBP but not significantly. In terms of intensity of manual work, carrying or lifting patients was found to be most associated with LBP, standing and bending were also significantly associated with LBP. This study also aimed to determine any difference in LBP between state and private hospitals and a significant difference in LBP prevalence was noted between state and private hospitals. The findings of this study suggest that LBP is a common problem among hospital nurses. The results of this study were also found to be within the same prevalence rates of international studies, which ranged from 35.9% in New Zealand to 66.8% in the Netherlands (Nelson et al., 2003). As was found in the literature (French et al., 1997 and Smedley et al., 1997), lifting was reported to be a major cause of LBP.