[COMMUNITY: project proposal for a multicenter study on musculoskeletal comorbidity among nursing staff].
BACKGROUND
While a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) has been registered among nurses, little is known on the prevalence of musculoskeletal comorbidities and their effect on the natural history of spinal diseases. Here we present a project called COMMUNITY (COMorbidities of MUsculoskeletal disorders among Nurse in ITalY) which is aimed at: 1) studying the prevalence of musculoskeletal comorbidities; 2) investigating the aetiology of MSDs; 3) investigating the aetiology of lumbar or cervical disk herniation; 4) evaluate the natural history of spinal disk herniation and its effect on work ability.


METHODS
COMMUNITY will be a multicentric study conducted in participating Italian hospitals and articulated in 3 phases. Phase 0 will be a preliminary cross-sectional study conducted in one hospital and aimed at collecting basic information for further studies. Phase 1 will be a multicentric cross-section study enrolling a sample of nursing population. A self-administered questionnaire will be used to collect data concerning exposures and MSDs. The nurses studied during Phase 1 will be followed up in a cohort study (Phase 2). The follow-up will be based on at least 2 questionnaire administrations (at 2 and 4 years) and the use of data collected during health surveillance.


CONCLUSIONS
COMMUNITY is aimed at increasing knowledge in a field of occupational medicine that is still largely uncovered. Phase 0 will provide the essential information necessary to prepare the protocol for the subsequent phases.
Sezione di Medicina del Lavoro, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, dell'Invecchiamento e Malattie Nefrologiche, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Italy. s.mattioli@unibo.it
Stefano
S
Mattioli
Andrea
A
Farioli
Stefania
S
Curti
Vittorio
V
Lodi
Francesca
F
Zanardi
Roberta
R
Bonfiglioli
Francesco S
FS
Violante
D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000379:methods; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009740:Nursing Staff; D015995:Prevalence