THE PREVALENCE OF LOW BACK PAIN AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG STAFF NURSES AT SULTAN AHMAD SHAH MEDICAL CENTRE@IIUM, KUANTAN PAHANG

Abstract

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is the most common complaint among health care workers such as nurses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and the associated factors of LBP among staff nurses at Sultan Ahmad Shah Medical Center@IIUM (SASMEC@IIUM), Kuantan Pahang. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 102 nurses working at the SASMEC through convenient sampling method. Data was collected via questionnaire and was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12.0.1 for Windows. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the prevalence of LBP and to describe the demographic data of the staff nurses. Chi-square test was used to find the association between the factors and LBP. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of LBP was 58.8% among staff nurse. Pre-nursing LBP was the personal factor found to be significantly associated with LBP (X² = 13.442, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, the work-related factor which related to LBP were total patients in one shift (X² = 9.409, p = 0.009). Conclusion: The prevalence of LBP among staff nurse is quite high. Hence, preventive measure such as ergonomic awareness programme can be done to promote awareness on proper ergonomic technique in reducing the risk of LBP among staff nurses at SASMEC@IIUM.