# Exposure Time to Work-Related Hazards and Factors Affecting Musculoskeletal Pain in Nurses
## 3 Results
### Factors Affecting Musculoskeletal Pains
#### 3.3.2 Factors Affecting Upper Limb Pain  
Table 7 displays the proportion of nurses experiencing pain in their upper limbs for different variable levels, and the overall prevalence of upper limb pain was 26.0%. Notably, upper limb pain prevalence rates were relatively higher for nurses with shifts and those exposed to specific hazards for more than 2 h, such as repetitive motion or handling heavy objects.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Variables**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Prevalence Rate (\%)**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**B**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(p\)**-Value**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**OR**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**95\% C.I. for OR**} \\ \cline{3-10} \multicolumn{1}{c}{Occupation} & & & & 0.067 & & & **Lower** & **Upper** \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{Nurses (ref)} & 19.1\% & & & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{Nursing assistants} & 18.9\% & 0.522 & 0.067 & 1.685 & 0.964 & 2.947 \\ Working experience (Years) & & & & 0.002 * & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(<\)3 (ref)} & 15.5\% & & & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{3–6} & 13.6\% & \(-\)0.198 & 0.573 & 0.820 & 0.412 & 1.634 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\geq\)6} & 27.1\% & 0.809 & 0.010 * & 2.245 & 1.218 & 4.136 \\ Establishment type & & & & 0.001 * & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{Clinics (ref)} & 13.4\% & & & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{Hospitals} & 24.8\% & 0.927 & 0.001 * & 2.526 & 1.446 & 4.412 \\ Vibration & & & & 0.029 * & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(<\)2 h (ref)} & 19.1\% & & & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{2–4 h} & 5.6\% & \(-\)1.956 & 0.070 & 0.141 & 0.017 & 1.174 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\geq\)4 h} & 40.0\% & 1.433 & 0.052 & 4.192 & 0.987 & 17.813 \\ Awkward posture & & & & \(<\)0.001 * & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(<\)2 h (ref)} & 13.9\% & & & & & & \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{2–4 h} & 12.7\% & \(-\)0.029 & 0.945 & 0.971 & 0.420 & 2.247 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\geq\)4 h} & 34.5\% & 1.245 & \(<\)0.001 * & 3.473 & 2.034 & 5.931 \\ Constants & & & \(-\)2.852 & \(<\)0.001 * & 0.058 & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* significant at 0.05, ref = reference, OR = odds ratio, C.I. = confidence interval.  
\end{table}
Table 6: Results of binary logistic regression analysis with back pain.  
The binary logistic regression model with upper limb pain showed good explanatory power (Nagelkerke value = 0.210). The Hosmer and Lemeshow test demonstrated a satisfactory level of goodness of fit for the model (\(\chi^{2}\) = 9.763, \(p\) = 0.282). Additionally, the model had a high prediction accuracy of 79.7%. In Table 7, factors significantly associated with upper limb pain included the type of shift work (\(p\) = 0.013), handling heavy objects (\(p\) < 0.001), awkward posture (\(p\) = 0.033), and repetitive motion (\(p\) = 0.002).  
Permanent shift nurses are 2.872 times more likely to experience upper limb pain than day duty workers. In the case of manual handling of heavy objects, nurses exposed to it for 2-4 h have a 3.276 times higher likelihood of experiencing upper limb pain than those exposed for less than 2 h. Similarly, those exposed for 4 h or more have a 7.224 times higher likelihood. Repetitive motion is linked with a 4.181 times higher likelihood of upper limb pain in workers exposed for 2-4 h and a 1.885 times higher likelihood in those exposed for 4 h or more compared to workers exposed for less than 2 h. On the other hand, standing posture is associated with a 2.890 (=1/0.346) times lower likelihood of upper limb pain in workers exposed for 2-4 h as compared to those exposed for less than 2 h.