Health care system changes and reported musculoskeletal disorders among registered nurses.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the impact of health care system changes on nurses' health, and we studied reported musculoskeletal disorders associated with these changes.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study (n = 1163) defined a musculoskeletal disorder case as moderate pain that lasted at least 1 week or occurred monthly during the past year. Nurses were asked about changes in the health care system in the past year, and responses to 12 changes were summed and were categorized as low, moderate, or high changes.


RESULTS
When the changes were summed, the adjusted odds ratios for musculoskeletal disorders for more than 6 versus 0 to 1 changes were (1) neck: 4.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.97, 10.08), (2) shoulder: 2.63 (95% CI = 1.17, 5.91), and (3) back: 3.42 (95% CI = 1.61, 7.27).


CONCLUSIONS
The adverse impact on health caused by the changing health care system must be addressed to prevent further injuries among nurses.
Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Nursing, USA. lipscomb@son.umaryland.edu
Jane
J
Lipscomb
Alison
A
Trinkoff
Barbara
B
Brady
Jeanne
J
Geiger-Brown
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D017770:Lifting / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016272:Occupational Health; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data