Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in professionals of nursing in an academical hospital

Abstract

The work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) represent the principal group of health problems among the occupational diseases. This was a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. The data were collected through a questionnaire with open and closed questions. The nursing team of an Academical Hospital was formed by 61 nurses, 46 technicians, and 204 nursing assistants. The objectives were: to estimate the rate of WMSD among the nursing team members; to identify the symptoms of more frequent WMSD among them and the areas of the body that are more frequently affected; to verify the absenteeism index, due to WMSD in the period from January of 2005 to October of 2006; to identify characteristics (sex, professional category, and work section) of those who have gotten sick. The study sample was composed by 21 workers with musculoskeletal complaints, in the period between January 1^st of 2005 and October of 2006. They were selected based on the data supplied by the nursing chief. Out of this total, 6 didn't want to participate in the study. The results showed that the categories of assistants and technicians were the ones mostly affected by WMSD, being that all of those who have gotten sick were females, 8 assistants and 7 technicians.