Occupation Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nurses at the National Referral Hospital, Mulago in Uganda

Abstract

Background: musculoskeletal disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, present a serious public health problem that affects productivity and work performance. Despite the physical and socioeconomic effects of musculoskeletal disorders, few studies have been carried out among nurses in Sub Saharan Africa and more so in Uganda. Nurses in Uganda are highly vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders given the high workload and working under highly resource constrained conditions that demand a lot of physical and emotional exertion. This study aimed at assessing the prevalence and factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders among nurses at Mulago Hospital. Objective: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders among nurses working in Mulago Hospital the National Referral Hospital in Uganda. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study of 266 respondents from different hospital departments within Mulago National Referral Hospital. Interviews were conducted using a validated questionnaire, data entry done using Epi data and analyzed using STATA 10.0. Results: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among nurses in Mulago hospital was 75%. Low back pain, 58.7% was the commonest musculoskeletal disorders, followed by knee pain, 38.5%. These were associated mainly with work related and factors. Conclusion: Low Back and Knee pain are the commonest musculoskeletal disorders among nurses at Mulago Hospital and are mainly attributed to service/ work related factors and psycho-social stress. Despite the nurses being knowledgeable, musculoskeletal disorders prevention among nurses should largely focus on safe practices and more research regarding the knowledge and practice gap is needed.