Volume 3, Issue 3 (July 2024)
Health Science Monitor 2024, 3(3): 234-242 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Farrokhi F, Ghahramani A, Orujlu S, Hajaghazadeh M. Evaluation of time spent in high strain postures among nurses and laboratory technicians: implications for ergonomic interventions. Health Science Monitor 2024; 3 (3) :234-242
URL: http://hsm.umsu.ac.ir/article-1-123-en.html
URL: http://hsm.umsu.ac.ir/article-1-123-en.html
Associate professor, Department of Occupational health, Public health school, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Abstract: (427 Views)
Background & Aims: Musculoskeletal problems can develop due to the work conditions of nurses and laboratory technicians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how much time nurses and laboratory technicians spent on high strain postures.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 32 nurses (from internal medicine and general surgery wards) and 20 laboratory technicians in a hospital located in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. The Nordic questionnaire and the rapid entire body assessment (REBA) method, with a new scoring algorithm, were used for ergonomic assessment. The 90th percentile was calculated for REBA components to determine the time spent by participants working in stressful postures in the upper extremity, upper quadrant, and trunk/lower extremity. One-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck (63.5%) and back (55.8%) were the most common. The time spent in high strain postures of upper extremity and trunk/lower extremity was statistically different between nurses and laboratory technicians. Internal medicine nurses and laboratory technicians were observed in high strain postures for 11% and 8% of their work hours, respectively.
Conclusion: Internal medicine nurses are subjected to more biomechanical stress than general surgery nurses, particularly in the upper body. On the other hand, laboratory technicians work with biomechanical stress on their trunk and lower extremities. Ergonomic interventions are proposed to correct nurses' upper body postures and laboratory technicians' lower body postures.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 32 nurses (from internal medicine and general surgery wards) and 20 laboratory technicians in a hospital located in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. The Nordic questionnaire and the rapid entire body assessment (REBA) method, with a new scoring algorithm, were used for ergonomic assessment. The 90th percentile was calculated for REBA components to determine the time spent by participants working in stressful postures in the upper extremity, upper quadrant, and trunk/lower extremity. One-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck (63.5%) and back (55.8%) were the most common. The time spent in high strain postures of upper extremity and trunk/lower extremity was statistically different between nurses and laboratory technicians. Internal medicine nurses and laboratory technicians were observed in high strain postures for 11% and 8% of their work hours, respectively.
Conclusion: Internal medicine nurses are subjected to more biomechanical stress than general surgery nurses, particularly in the upper body. On the other hand, laboratory technicians work with biomechanical stress on their trunk and lower extremities. Ergonomic interventions are proposed to correct nurses' upper body postures and laboratory technicians' lower body postures.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Occupational Health
Received: 2023/05/11 | Accepted: 2024/05/6 | Published: 2024/07/8
Received: 2023/05/11 | Accepted: 2024/05/6 | Published: 2024/07/8
References
1. Soroush A, Shamsi M, Izadi N, Heydarpour B, Samadzadeh S, Shahmohammadi A. Musculoskeletal disorders as common problems among iranian nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis study. International journal of preventive medicine. 2018;9. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
2. Control CfD, Prevention. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders & ergonomics. 2016. [URL]
3. Bhattacharya A. Costs of occupational musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the United States. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2014;44(3):448-54. [DOI]
4. Choobineh A, Rajaeefard A, Neghab M. Association between perceived demands and musculoskeletal disorders among hospital nurses of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: a questionnaire survey. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2006;12(4):409-16. [DOI] [PMID]
5. Ramadan PA, Ferreira Jr M. Risk factors associated with the reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms in workers at a laboratory of clinical pathology. Annals of occupational hygiene. 2006;50(3):297-303. [Google Scholar]
6. Karki P, Joshi YP, Khanal SP, Gautam S, Paudel S, Karki R, et al. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Nurses of a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health. 2023;13(3):375-85. [DOI]
7. Attar SM. Frequency and risk factors of musculoskeletal pain in nurses at a tertiary centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study. BMC research notes. 2014;7(1):1-6. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
8. Chiwaridzo M, Makotore V, Dambi J, Munambah N, Mhlanga M. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among registered general nurses: a case of a large central hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. BMC research notes. 2018;11(1):1-7. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
9. Saberipour B, Ghanbari S, Zarea K, Gheibizadeh M, Zahedian M. Investigating prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Iranian nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2019;7(3):513-8. [DOI]
10. Ryu E, Ye B, Yi Y, Kim J. Risk factors of musculoskeletal symptoms in university hospital nurses. Annals of occupational and environmental medicine. 2014;26(1):1-8. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
11. Alam MM, Ali AM, Rafey M, Sufyaan M, Ahmad I, Zarrin S. Work-Related Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorder among Nurses in Indian Hospitals. Muscles, Ligaments & Tendons Journal (MLTJ). 2023;13(2). [DOI]
12. Wang H, Feng D, He Y, Jin X, Fu S. Comprehensive interventions to reduce occupational hazards among medical staff in the pathology department of five primary hospitals. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):2136. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
13. Maulik S, Iqbal R, De A, Chandra AM. Evaluation of the working posture and prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among medical laboratory technicians. Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. 2014;27(4):453-61. [DOI] [PMID]
14. Ribeiro AF, Monteiro MVB, Silva-Júnior REC, Silva RR. Assessment of biological hazards in a laboratory in Boa Vista, Roraima. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho. 2023;21(1). [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
15. López-González MJ, González S, González-Menéndez E. Prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in laboratory technicians. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2019:1-12. [DOI] [PMID]
16. Sadeghian F, Kasaeian A, Noroozi P, Vatani J, Hassan Taiebi S. Psychosocial and individual characteristics and musculoskeletal complaints among clinical laboratory workers. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics. 2014;20(2):355-61. [DOI] [PMID]
17. Maulik S, Iqbal R. Occupational health and musculoskeletal symptoms among Indian Medical Laboratory technicians. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology. 2013;2(3):82-92. [DOI]
18. Carneiro P, Martins J, Torres M. Musculoskeletal disorder risk assessment in home care nurses. Work. 2015;51(4):657-65. [DOI] [PMID]
19. Shankar R, Kalappa S. Practice patterns and their influence on prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Indian dentists. Int J Res Med Sci. 2015;3(12):3459-64. [DOI]
20. Kim T, Roh H. Analysis of risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders in radiological technologists. Journal of physical therapy science. 2014;26(9):1423-8. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
21. Janowitz IL, Gillen M, Ryan G, Rempel D, Trupin L, Swig L, et al. Measuring the physical demands of work in hospital settings: design and implementation of an ergonomics assessment. Applied ergonomics. 2006;37(5):641-58. [DOI] [PMID]
22. Arora A, Uparkar SM. Ergonomic risk assessment in pathology laboratory technicians. Can J Med Technol. 2015;32:95-100. [DOI]
23. Carvalho F, Martins R, Melo RB, editors. Occupational Hazards in a Pathological Anatomy Service. International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics; 2020: Springer. [DOI]
24. Penkala S, El-Debal H, Coxon K. Work-related musculoskeletal problems related to laboratory training in university medical science students: a cross sectional survey. BMC public health. 2018;18(1):1-9. [DOI] [PMID] [PMCID]
25. Dias N, Nunes IL. Analysis and risk assessment of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in a physical rehabilitation unit. International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics. 2012;1(4):318-32. [DOI]
26. Asghari E, Dianat I, Abdollahzadeh F, Mohammadi F, Asghari P, Jafarabadi MA, et al. Musculoskeletal pain in operating room nurses: associations with quality of work life, working posture, socio-demographic and job characteristics. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2019;72:330-7. [DOI]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
