BACKGROUND: Nurses constitute a professional group associated with
a high risk of work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). Several
studies concerning to nurses reveal that they have high prevalence rates of
injuries and also of symptoms associated to WRMSDs, mainly in the back.
Tasks involving patient handling are those which most often arise associated
to back pain. There is a scarcity of studies on WRMSDs in home care nurses.
OBJECTIVE: Based on these concerns, the main goals of the present
study were to identify the main risk factors of WRMSDs for home care nurses
and to perform an objective assessment of the risk for these professionals.
METHODS: Two methods to quantify the risk of WRMSDs associated with
nursing activities were applied: REBA - Rapid Entire Body Assessment and MAC - Manual Handling Assessment Charts. REBA and MAC methods were applied to
patient handling activities and to tasks involving manual material handling,
respectively.
RESULTS: The results indicate the presence of multiple risk factors
and their important contribution to the risk level obtained: generally
moderate but considered high for some activities.
CONCLUSIONS: Home care nursing has specific characteristics, which
clearly influence the adoption of risk behaviors by the nurses.
