# Exposure Time to Work-Related Hazards and Factors Affecting Musculoskeletal Pain in Nurses
## 3 Results
### Musculoskeletal Plains and Exposure Times to Hazards  
#### 3.2.1 Comparison of Exposure Time to Hazards by Back Pain  
Table 3 shows the mean comparison test results for exposure times of physical, chemical, or ergonomic hazards between nurses with and without back pain complaints.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c} \hline \hline
**Hazard Factors** & **Initial Items** & **Removed Item** & **Final Items** & **Cronbach’s Alpha** \\ \hline Physical hazards & 4 & 0 & 4 & 0.831 \\ Chemical hazards & 5 & 0 & 5 & 0.706 \\ Ergonomic hazards & 6 & Sitting posture & 5 & 0.627 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Results of reliability analysis for hazard factors.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Factor**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Hazard**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Exposure Time**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Exposure Time Distribution**} & **Ratio** \\ \cline{3-7}  & & **Mean** & **SD** & **\textless{}2 h** & **2-4 h** & **\textgreater{}4 h** & **\textgreater{}2 h** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Physical hazards} & Vibration & 0.947 & 0.699 & 93.9\% & 3.9\% & 2.2\% & 6.1\% \\  & Noise & 0.894 & 0.564 & 95.5\% & 3.2\% & 1.3\% & 4.5\% \\  & High temperature & 0.840 & 0.391 & 98.5\% & 0.6\% & 0.9\% & 1.5\% \\  & Low temperature & 0.823 & 0.331 & 99.4\% & 0.6\% & 0.6\% \\  & Fumes/dust & 0.800 & 0.093 & 100.0\% & & & 0.0\% \\  & Vapor & 0.808 & 0.180 & 99.6\% & 0.2\% & 0.2\% & 0.4\% \\ Biological hazards & Chemical contact & 0.911 & 0.665 & 96.3\% & 2.2\% & 1.5\% & 3.7\% \\  & Tobacco smoke & 0.812 & 0.259 & 99.8\% & & 0.2\% & 0.2\% \\  & Infection & 1.230 & 1.287 & 87.4\% & 5.8\% & 6.7\% & 12.6\% \\  & Awkward posture & 2.163 & 1.961 & 60.6\% & 13.6\% & 25.8\% & 39.4\% \\  & Patient lifting & 1.352 & 1.150 & 73.2\% & 20.6\% & 6.3\% & 26.8\% \\ Ergonomic hazards & Load handling & 1.124 & 0.963 & 85.3\% & 10.4\% & 4.3\% & 14.7\% \\  & Standing posture & 4.276 & 1.900 & 12.8\% & 19.5\% & 67.7\% & 87.2\% \\  & Repetitive motion & 3.031 & 2.321 & 45.9\% & 10.6\% & 43.5\% & 54.1\% \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Distribution and mean and standard deviation (SD) of hazard exposure time.  
During mean comparison tests for exposure times, it was observed that there were significant differences in the exposure times for physical hazards such as vibration, noise, and high and low temperatures between nurses who reported back pain and those who did not. On average, nurses with back pain complaints had a higher exposure time to these physical hazards compared to those without any back pain complaints. In addition, it was found that there was a difference in the average between the groups of those complaining of back pain and those not complaining about ergonomic hazards. The average exposure time of those complaining of back pain in awkward postures, patient lifting/carrying, heavy object handling, standing posture, and repetitive motion was higher than in those without back pain. In the case of biochemical hazards, the only difference was in the average exposure time for infection, with nurses with back pain complaints having a higher average exposure time than those without complaints.