Work-Related Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorder among Nurses in Indian Hospitals

Background. Due to the difficulties of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) that are common worldwide, medical personnel have been recognized as high-risk groups.Objective. To evaluate the work-related risk factors that affect musculoskeletal disor-der among nurses in Indian hospitals.Methods. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, data were collected from 200 nurs-ing staff working in Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, India. A self-management modified musculoskeletal ques-tionnaire (Nordic questionnaire) was used to assess the occurrence of WMSD in the past 12 months.Results. Lower back pain (79%) followed by the right shoulder and neck (67%) and knee pain (63%) was highest among female nurses in past 12 months. The prevalence of MSD in past 12 months was highest in dentistry (81.25%), followed by orthope-dics (62.5%) and surgery (57.78%) department. For tasks that require sitting, lower back pain is highest (49.4%, n = 45) followed by neck (40.6%, n = 37) and elbows (38.4%, n = 35). The lower back discomfort was highest who worked more than 6 hours (76.1%, n = 35), followed by neck (60.8%, n = 28) and right shoulder (56.5%, n = 26). Unexpectedly, 53.5% of nurses believed that the manual patient transfers leads to MSD on their body parts. In addition, 63.5% of nursing staff across all depart-ments unexpectedly report that they agree they are under work pressure/stress and have experienced MSDs.Conclusions. Nurses often have a high risk of WMSD in the lower back and neck; therefore, special measures should be taken to ensure that they work in an ergonomic setting, and appropriate body mechanics should be applied to limit the likelihoods of facing WMSD.