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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (5 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Francisco Electronic Theses and Dissertations (1989)

    Cover page: Influences of social relationships, illness characteristics, and personality on chronic pain and depression
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Francisco Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2007)

    BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are a major occupational health problem among nurses. Existing interventions have not totally eliminated the risk for WRMSDs. Safe work behavior and risk perception may play an important role in modifying this risk.

    OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to identify factors influencing safe work behaviors related to patient handling and risk perceptions about risk of musculoskeletal injury among critical care nurses; and examine the relationship between safe work behavior and risk perception.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional national survey was conducted using a random sample of 1000 members of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. A total of 412 registered nurses participated in the study, and 361 subjects served as the sample for the data analysis. Nurses reported on the physical, psychosocial, and organizational characteristics of their jobs and on their work behaviors, musculoskeletal symptoms, risk perception, and demographics using a mailed questionnaire.

    FINDINGS: Multiple linear regressions revealed that significant predictors for safer work behavior included better safety climate, higher effort-reward imbalance, less overcommitment, greater social support, and day shifts (versus rotating shifts). These five predictors explained 20% of the variance in safe work behavior. Significant predictors for greater risk perception of musculoskeletal injury included greater job strain, higher physical workload index, more frequent patient handling, higher musculoskeletal symptom index, and lack of lifting devices or lifting teams. These five predictors explained 23% of the variance in risk perception of musculoskeletal injury. Nurses' perceived risk of musculoskeletal injury showed a weak inverse association with safe work behavior that was statistically significant in bivariate analysis (r=-.13, p=.01), but not in the multivariate model (=-.02, p=.75).

    CONCLUSION: Safe work behaviors and risk perception are best understood as socio-cultural phenomena influenced by organizational, psychosocial, and physical job characteristics. Management efforts to enhance the organizational safety climate and improve stressful job conditions could prove to be crucial in promoting nurses' safe work behavior. Further research is needed to determine the role of safe work behavior and risk perception in nurses' safety and health. The unexpected positive association of effort-reward imbalance with safer behavior should also be further investigated.

      Cover page: Risk perception, safe work behavior, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders among critical care nurses
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2013)

      Background

      Like other types of care for disabled or elderly adults, consumer-directed personal assistance services may present multi-factorial risks for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs).

      Methods

      Using survey data, we compared providers experiencing WRMSDs in the previous year to those who did not, seeking to identify functional, temporal, physical, and relationship risk factors for transient and chronic conditions.

      Results

      Longer work experience with the recipient and more frequent bending increased the risk of being in the most chronic group (≥12 painful episodes), whereas predictable work hours with rest breaks and greater social support from the recipient appeared protective. For transient conditions (one to two episodes), longer work experience with the recipient and predictable hours with rest breaks appeared protective.

      Conclusions

      We offer recommendations to improve hazard assessment as well as training and information distribution related to home care programs. With the population aging, home care jobs require increasing oversight to prevent WRMSDs.
        Cover page: Personal service assistance: Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries in consumer‐directed home care
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2013)

        Background

        Patient handling is a major risk factor for musculoskeletal injuries among nurses. Lifting equipment is a main component of safe patient handling programs that aim to prevent musculoskeletal injury. However, the actual levels of lift availability and usage are far from optimal.

        Objective

        To examine the effect of patient lifting equipment on musculoskeletal pain by level of lift availability and lift use among critical-care nurses.

        Design and participants

        A cross-sectional postal survey of a random sample of 361 critical-care nurses in the United States.

        Methods

        The survey collected data on low-back, neck, and shoulder pain, lift availability, lift use, physical and psychosocial job factors, and sociodemographics. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed by three types of measures: any pain, work-related pain, and major pain. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between musculoskeletal pain and lift variables, controlling for demographic and job factors.

        Results

        Less than half (46%) of respondents reported that their employer provided lifts. Of 168 nurses who had lifts in their workplace, the level of lift availability was high for 59.5%, medium for 25.0%, and low for 13.7%; the level of lift use was high for 32.1%, medium for 31.5%, and low for 31.5%. Significant associations were found between lift availability and work-related low-back and shoulder pain. Compared to nurses without lifts, nurses reporting high-level lift availability were half as likely to have work-related low-back pain (OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.26-0.96) and nurses reporting medium-level lift availability were 3.6 times less likely to have work-related shoulder pain (OR=0.28, 95% CI 0.09-0.91). With respect to lift use, work-related shoulder pain was three times less common among nurses reporting medium-level use (OR=0.33, 95% CI 0.12-0.93); any neck pain was three times more common among nurses reporting low-level use (OR=3.13, 95% CI 1.19-8.28).

        Conclusions

        Greater availability and use of lifts were associated with less musculoskeletal pain among critical-care nurses. These findings suggest that for lift interventions to be effective, lifts must be readily available when needed and barriers against lift use must be removed.
          Cover page: Musculoskeletal pain among critical-care nurses by availability and use of patient lifting equipment: An analysis of cross-sectional survey data
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          California Agriculture, Volume 60, Issue 1 (2006)

          Hand-harvest work in wine grape vineyards is physically demanding and exposes workers to a variety of ergonomics risk factors. Analysis of these exposures together with data on reported work-related injuries points to the risk of back injury as a prevention priority, in particular the lifting and carrying of tubs of cut grapes (weighing up to 80 pounds) during harvest. Our study evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention — the use of a smaller picking tub — on the incidence of musculoskeletal symptoms among workers during two harvest seasons. Reducing the weight of the picking tub by 19% (to below 50 pounds) resulted in a five-fold reduction in workers’ post-season musculoskeletal symptom scores, without significant reductions in productivity.

            Cover page: Smaller loads reduce risk of back injuries during wine grape harvest
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