Kontakt 2020, 22(3):193-199 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2020.020

Prevalence of musculoskeletal lower back pain among nursesNursing - Review

Andrea Gilchrist1,2 *, Andrea Pokorná3
1 Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
2 University of Ostrava, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Ostrava, Czech Republic
3 Masaryk University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Brno, Czech Republic

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the scientific findings available on the prevalence of musculoskeletal lower back pain among nursing professionals in an inpatient direct care setting. This literature review is baseline research for further analysis on cross-cultural comparisons of the prevalence of lower back pain among nursing professionals in the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

Methods: Rapid literature review - selected keywords according to PICO, using Boolean Allies, were searched in scientific electronic databases (MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINAHL).

Results: A total of 370 scientific sources were found. After being analysed, 15 sources were subjected to a critical analysis and a total of 8 studies that met the study criteria were selected for the final analysis.

Conclusions: The literature review confirmed that despite 21st century modern technology the prevalence of lower back pain in nursing professionals remains a very serious problem among the examined population of nurses. Studies have shown that the implementation of effective preventive measures of occupational safety is not standardized nor widely implemented in the health care industry around the world. The results of the literature review showed that the nurses' working conditions, lack of awareness of occupational risks, and low emphasis on prevention and safe manual handling education may affect the occurrence of musculoskeletal lower back pain in nurses. Chronic musculoskeletal lower back pain in nursing personnel can lead to frequent absences from work, leaving the profession, and early retirement - which in some regions may worsen the nursing shortage.

Keywords: General nurse; Musculoskeletal lower back pain; Prevalence; Prevention; Risk factors

Received: February 24, 2020; Revised: February 24, 2020; Accepted: June 5, 2020; Prepublished online: June 17, 2020; Published: August 28, 2020  Show citation

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Gilchrist A, Pokorná A. Prevalence of musculoskeletal lower back pain among nurses. Kontakt. 2020;22(3):193-199. doi: 10.32725/kont.2020.020.
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