Prevalence of Low Back Pain Among Nurses in Sylhet District of Bangladesh

Low back pain (LBP) is a very common health problem worldwide and a major cause of disability - affecting performance at work and general well-being. LBP also is a common cause of morbidity in healthcare providers because of the nature of the work. A nurse is usually the first person a patient interacts with. Nurses play a dynamic and crucial role in healthcare. Nurses are among the occupational groups within the health service that are vulnerable to low back pain. This study was conducted to find out the prevalence of low back pain among the nurses working in Government and PrivateMedical College Hospitals in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The study type was cross-sectional survey. A total 753 participants formed the survey sample, chosen for the study. Data were collected by using the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and the nurses who reported LBP last for 12 months was selected for the study. After screening by NMQ, low back pain intensity was measured by using the standardized Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Then the nurses were given the Oswestry Disability Index to measure the disability levels due to low back pain. Mean age of the respondents was 29.18+4.12 years. Female was triple fold (77%) than male (23%). About 92.40% nurses did not carry out normal activities such as job, housework, hobbies because of this trouble in lower back. About 55.8% had low back pain whereas 44.20% did not have. Minimal, moderate, severe disability and crippled were 66.0%, 31.0%, 2.0% and 1.0% respectively and no bed-bound nurse was found. Statistically significant association was found between LBP and nutritional status of the respondents (p=0.03<0.05).

Keywords: Prevalence, Low Back Pain, Disability, Nurses.