The relationship between psychosocial factors and work-related musculoskeletal disorders in hospital nurses in Wisconsin

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between perceived psychosocial factors (PSF's) and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD's) that hospital nurses experience in Wisconsin and to present initiatives that hospital nurses felt their employer could take to improve PSF's in their work environment. Based on the findings, several areas for future research were also considered. Results of this study examined multiple psychosocial factors that presented a relationship between PSF's and WRMD's in hospital nurses in Wisconsin. Specifically, PSF's related to workload, resources (lack of staff), direct bullying and gender inequalities were found to be associated with neck and low back pain in study participants. Some strategies to reduce PSF's in a hospital environment included improvement of organizational factors (e.g. staffing, workload), training for new supervisors to improve employee engagement and productivity, addressing gender inequality issues, and improving the quality of on-the-job training.