Low Back Pain and Its Associated Factors among Nurses in Public Hospitals of Penang, Malaysia

Mohd Ismail Ibrahim, Izani Uzair Zubair, Najib Majdi Yaacob, Mohd Izmi Ahmad and Mohd Nazri Shafei
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Mohd Ismail Ibrahim: Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
Izani Uzair Zubair: Penang Health State Department, 33 Pengkalan Weld, George Town, Penang 10300, Malaysia
Najib Majdi Yaacob: Statistic and Research Methodology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
Mohd Izmi Ahmad: Hospital Pulau Pinang, Jalan Residensi, George Town, Penang 10990, Malaysia
Mohd Nazri Shafei: Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: Objectives: To determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and its associated factors among the nurses working in the public hospitals of Penang, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on nurses, aged 25–60 years, who had been working for at least three months at six public hospitals of Penang. A proportionate stratified random sampling method was applied to select 1292 respondents. The Malay-validated BACKS Tool questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was used to obtain data. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: A total of 989 (76.5%) nurses suffered from LBP at a point of time. The factors significantly associated with LBP among the nurses included working more than seven hours [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) 1.48 (1.06, 1.98)], twisting of the body while working [AOR (95% CI) 1.60 (1.13, 2.26)], manual handling of patients in wards [AOR (95% CI) 1.44 (1.08, 2.07)], and fatigue [AOR (95% CI) 2.63 (1.94, 3.58)]. Conclusion: The prevalence of LBP among the nurses in the public hospitals of Penang was relatively high. The factors predicting LBP included working more than seven hours a day, twisting of the body while working, manual handling, and fatigue. The findings from this study may better enable policymakers to devote resources to minimize low back pain among nurses. The nurses should be encouraged to comply with safe working procedures.

Keywords: low back pain; nurses; public hospitals; Malaysia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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