Factors related to musculoskeletal disorders in nursing workers

This cross-sectional study identified factors associated to musculoskeletal disorders in nursing auxiliaries and technicians in Salvador - Bahia. Three hundred and eight randomly selected female workers answered a questionnaire administered by an interviewer, with questions related to physical and psychosocial demands at work, individual characteristics and activities outside work. Multivariate analysis revealed that musculoskeletal disorders in neck, shoulder or upper back and musculoskeletal disorders in low back are associated to physical demand (material handling, poor back posture and work repetitiveness), psychosocial demand and precarious physical fitness. Musculoskeletal disorders in distal upper extremities are associated to physical demands (repetitiveness and force) and years of work (> 19). The results appoint the need for intervention strategies, incorporating both the organizational aspects of work and adaptations in the physical environment and in the characteristics of tasks.