Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Low back pain (LBP) is yet the persistent public health challenges around the globe. It substantially affects quality of life and poses disability, particularly to the global working population. The profound losses in productivity and compensation premiums due to the condition have also been a challenge to contemporary occupational health. As such, it no doubt demands informed management and due response. The objective of this research was therefore to investigate the prevalence and work-related factors associated with low back pain among nurses in public hospitals in western Ethiopia. METHODS: A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2017. A sample of 422 nurses was selected using systematic random sampling technique. The standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal survey was interviewer-administered for data collection. The association of different explanatory variables with LBP was explored using a binary logistic regression analysis. The significance of associations was ascertained at a p value of < 0.05 and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The response rate was 99% (N = 418). The mean age was 31.39 (standard deviation ± 7.01) years. The prevalence of LBP in the past 12 months was 63.6% (N = 266) [95% CI (58.9, 68.2)]. About 34.2% (n = 91) of the victims had sought medical care. The prevalence in the last 7 days was 53.4% (n = 142). The majority, 72.2% (n = 192), indicated that their activity was limited. Work experience [AOR 4.332; 95% CI (2.550, 7.360)], shift work [AOR 2.118; 95% CI (1.165, 3.850)], and health and safety training [AOR 2.058; 95% CI (1.127, 3.063)] were significantly associated with low back pain. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of low back pain was high, as in many other studies. The finding implies that practices and implementations that focus on the prevention and control of back pain injuries should target proper management of workplace conditions, like shift work and provision of health and safety training.