Hospital physical demands and non-specific low back pain

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Hospital low back pain (LBP) is a common cause of Occupational Health Department appointments. Physical demanding tasks at hospitals frequently give rise and/or worsen preventable occupational LBP episodes. 153 healthcare workers filled out a questionnaire gathering data on socio-demographic, work-related characteristics, general health, and LBP (LBP episodes in the last 12 months, pain severity, disability, and other occupational factors (DMQ)). Among these healthcare workers, 34% reported physical demanding jobs with a low physical intensity and 27% a moderate/highly physically demanding job. Results showed that, after adjusting for gender, two variables were associated with a decreased odds of having 3–6 LBP episodes per year; “sedentary work” (vs “work with high physical demands”) (OR = 0.18; 95%CI 0.04–0.88), and “work with light or moderate physical demands” (vs “work with high physical demands”) (OR = 0.20; 95%CI 0.06–0.67). These findings suggest that moderate physical demands at work and sedentary work, are associated with a lower frequency of LBP episodes.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHealth and social care systems of the future
Subtitle of host publicationdemographic changes, digital age and human factors: proceedings of the Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety, HEPS 2019
EditorsTeresa Patrone Cotrim, Florentino Serranheira, Paulo Sousa, Sue Hignett, Sara Albolino, Riccardo Tartaglia
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages56-62
Number of pages7
ISBN (Print)9783030240660
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2019
EventInternational Conference on Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety, HEPS 2019 - Lisbon, Portugal
Duration: 3 Jul 20195 Jul 2019

Publication series

NameAdvances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
Volume1012
ISSN (Print)2194-5357

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety, HEPS 2019
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisbon
Period3/07/195/07/19

Keywords

  • Ergonomics
  • Occupational health
  • Patient safety

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