Determining the Relationship of Working Posture Risks of Nurse Academicians with Pain and Fatigue
Project no. 20120 · Status: Kapanmış · 2015
Summary
Background: Minimizing posture, stress and discomfort felt during work and providing healthy work are as important as the value of work performance. If the posture is not right, it will lead to stress, fatigue and pain for employees. This study was planned for the purpose of determining the relationship of working posture risks of nurse academicians with pain and fatigue. Methods: Sample of the study which was planned as a descriptive study consisted of 270 nurse academicians. It was intended to reach the entire population without using sample selection. The data were collected using “Employee Questionnaire”, “Quick Exposure Check”, “Visual Analog Scale”, and “Fatigue Severity Scale”. The data were collected from the employees using the survey and observation methods at their institution. Results: Among the nurse academicians who participated in the study, 93.22% were female and 6.78% were male. It was determined that 38.3% of the nurse academicians had a chronic health problem. When examining pain levels of the nurse academicians who mostly complained about neck and lumbar pain, it was determined that 11.86% expressed no pain, 47.46% mild pain, 25.99% moderate pain and 14.69% severe pain. According to the observer evaluation, it was found that 48.59% of the nurse academicians were exposed to high risk for lumbar area, 20.34% were exposed to high risk for shoulder/arm area, and 57.63% were exposed to moderate risk for hand/wrist area. It was determined that 82.62% of the academicians who had a moderate work rate had moderate level of pain and there was a statistically significant correlation between them (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant correlation between hand/wrist exposure risk levels and fatigue severity scores (r=0.183). There was a statistically significant correlation between neck exposure risk levels and fatigue severity scores (r=0.207). Conclusion: It was determined that as the employees’ exposure risk levels concerning Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMD) increased especially in hand/wrist and neck areas, fatigue severity scores increased. It is recommended to apply exercise programs regularly in order to arrange the working environment of nurse academicians according to ergonomic conditions and increase the strength and endurance of muscles while working at certain intervals in protection from WRMD. Key Words: Nurse academician, working posture, working risk factors, pain, fatigue.