TY - JOUR
T1 - The prevalence of work-related neck, shoulder, and upper back musculoskeletal disorders among midwives, nurses, and physicians
T2 - A systematic review
AU - Long, Maryann H.
AU - Bogossian, Fiona E.
AU - Johnston, Venerina
PY - 2013/5
Y1 - 2013/5
N2 - With the global shortage of health care workers predicted to worsen, attrition from the work force must be minimized. This review examined the incidence or prevalence of neck, shoulder, and upper back musculoskeletal disorders, a possible source of attrition, among midwives, nurses, and physicians. Four electronic databases were systematically searched for publications meeting inclusion criteria. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand searched for additional articles. After eliminating articles that did not meet inclusion criteria, the remaining articles were assessed for quality and prevalence or incidence data were extracted. Twenty-nine articles published between 1990 and 2012 were included and assessed for quality. Median annual prevalence rates were 45% (neck), 40% (shoulder), and 35% (upper back). Methodological concerns included small sample size, inconsistency of outcome measures, likelihood of non-response bias, and low response rates. Midwives, who have not been well studied, demonstrated prevalence somewhat lower than that of nurses and physicians.
AB - With the global shortage of health care workers predicted to worsen, attrition from the work force must be minimized. This review examined the incidence or prevalence of neck, shoulder, and upper back musculoskeletal disorders, a possible source of attrition, among midwives, nurses, and physicians. Four electronic databases were systematically searched for publications meeting inclusion criteria. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand searched for additional articles. After eliminating articles that did not meet inclusion criteria, the remaining articles were assessed for quality and prevalence or incidence data were extracted. Twenty-nine articles published between 1990 and 2012 were included and assessed for quality. Median annual prevalence rates were 45% (neck), 40% (shoulder), and 35% (upper back). Methodological concerns included small sample size, inconsistency of outcome measures, likelihood of non-response bias, and low response rates. Midwives, who have not been well studied, demonstrated prevalence somewhat lower than that of nurses and physicians.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879935838&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3928/21650799-20130426-38
DO - 10.3928/21650799-20130426-38
M3 - Review Article
AN - SCOPUS:84879935838
SN - 2165-0799
VL - 61
SP - 223
EP - 229
JO - Workplace Health & Safety
JF - Workplace Health & Safety
IS - 5
ER -