title: Hospital nurses tasks and work-related musculoskeletal disorders symptoms: A detailed analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hospital work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) symptoms are highly prevalent and nurses are considered the health care professional group more often affected by WRMSDs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Understanding the effects of nursing tasks on WRMSDs symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Portuguese nurses answered to a modified Nordic Musculoskeletal symptoms Questionnaire. The increased likelihood of having WRMSDs symptoms was estimated from a daily working task schedule and the probability of suffering from lumbar WRMSDs symptoms intensity was also estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hospital nurses studied (n= 1.396) were mainly females (75.8%), and most of them reported more than 1 symptom (88%). Low-back pain was the most prevalent complaint (60.9%). Tasks performed more than 10 times a day, such as invasive procedures (OR = 2.142); care of hygiene and patient comfort in bed (OR = 2.484); patient mobilization in bed (OR = 2.022); and patient feeding (OR = 2.186) had an effect on dorsal and lumbar symptoms (p< 0.05).Those tasks involving invasive procedures were just the only ones producing symptoms simultaneously on every studied body part, such as lumbar, dorsal, wrist/hand and ankles/feet areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tasks with a greater effect on low-back pain intensity were patient bed feeding and patient hygiene and care. We found, when analysing simultaneously the effects of every task on the likelihood of having low-back symptoms, that involving invasive procedures were that only ones affecting simultaneously the presence of almost all WRMSDs symptoms studied.
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.|Centro de Malária e Doenças Tropicais - Saúde Pública, Lisbon, Portugal.|Centro de Investigação em Saúde Pública, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Florentino
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serranheira
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mafalda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sousa-Uva
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.|Centro de Malária e Doenças Tropicais - Saúde Pública, Lisbon, Portugal.|Centro de Investigação em Saúde Pública, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sousa-Uva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055805:Moving and Lifting Patients / Q000009:adverse effects; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D011187:Posture; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Nursing; low-back pain; musculoskeletal symptoms; occupational health; patient lifting