Prevalence and perceived factors for lower back pain among nursing officers at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most serious work-related health problems among healthcare professionals around the world. This problem is associated with major consequences, including disability, activity limitation and frequent sick leave. Nurses are at a higher risk for developing LBP compared to other health professionals. The study aimed to assess the prevalence and perceived factors for LBP among nursing officers at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 218 nursing officers at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. A pretested self-administered questionnaire which was developed by the researchers was used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of three parts profiling demographic data, assessing LBP and perceived factors for LBP. The severity of LBP was assessed by using a numeric pain scale (0-10). A systematic random sampling method was applied to select the study sample. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics and SPSS version 25.0 was used as an analytical tool. Of 218 nurses, the majority of nurses (95%) were females and belonged to the age range of 24-55 years. Only 40% of nurses were within the range of normal BMI (18.5-24.9 kg/m²). It was reported as a rare practice among nurses (14%), to use a sliding board to transfer patients. The prevalence of LBP over the last twelve months was 59% and 54% of the nurses have reported this pain with moderate severity. The majority of the nurses (86%) who suffered from LBP used pain medications. The most-reported perceived factors for LBP were long-standing hours (44%), not having enough rest (42%), and heavy lifting (37%). Prevalence of LBP among nurses is high. Therefore, an effective management strategy for LBP should be implemented.