The association between adverse ergonomic factors and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among medical staff in China: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT

We investigated the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WMSs) among medical staff and evaluated the associations of different levels of adverse ergonomic factors with WMSs. A total of 6099 Chinese medical staff were asked to complete a self-reported questionnaire to assess the prevalence and risk factors of WMSs from June 2018 to December 2020. A prevalence rate of 57.5% was observed for WMSs among overall medical staffs, which mainly affected the neck (41.7%) and shoulder (33.5%). 'Keeping sitting for long hours very frequently' (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.04, 1.53) was positively associated with WMSs in doctors, while 'keeping sitting for long hours occasionally' (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85, 0.97) was identified as a protective factor of WMSs in nurses. The associations of adverse ergonomic factors, organisational factors, and environmental factors with WMSs were different among medical staff in different positions.Practitioner summary: We conducted a multi-city study concerning the risk factors of WMSs by carrying out a face-to-face one-to-multiple questionnaire survey among medical staff in China. As a risk factor of WMSs in medical staff, adverse ergonomic factors should be paid more attention by the standard setting department and policy makers.Abbreviations WMSDs work-related musculoskeletal disorders; WMSs work-related musculoskeletal symptoms; MSDs musculoskeletal disorders; NMQ Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaires; DMQ Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaires; NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; ORs odds ratios.