A Study of the Physical Status of Emergency Wards’ Personnel in Hospitals Affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences through REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) Method and Its Relation with Muscular and Skeletal Disorders in Qazvin, Iran

• Published in: Majallah-i dānishgāh-í ulūm-i pizishkī-i Qum Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 32 - 39
• Main Authors: M Hosseini, S Varmazyar, A Safari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Persian
• Published: Qom University of Medical Sciences 01.05.2009
• Subjects: emergency medical services; musculoskeletal diseases; nurses; rapid entric body assessment
• ISSN: 1735-7799

Background and Objectives: Since occupational hazards are prevalent in emergency wards’ personnel due to occupational stresses and nonstandard work facilities and equipment, and any negligence as to these personnel may reduce the quality of nosocomial services, to improve the quality of the hygienic and therapeutic services provided by this ward, the physical status of emergency wards’ personnel including physicians, nurses, workers and administrative personnel should be assessed as the first step. For this purpose, it was the goal of this project to assess the physical status of the personnel of the emergency wards of hospitals affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, in Qazvin, Iran, and discover the relation it had with muscular-skeletal disorders. Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytical one. The participants included all personnel of the emergency wards of Shahid Rajaei Hospital and Bouali Hospital and were selected from the four educational hospitals affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. The occupational-bodily status of the subjects was first assessed by Rapid Entire Body Assessment Method. To study the muscular-skeletal disorders, Nordic’s Standard Questionnaire was used. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by SPSS/win 16 software, and statistical tests including Chi-Square and Coefficient Correlation Tests. Results: In this study, the maximum amount of prevalent pain was found to be 51%, occupational accidents (6.7%) and the longest period of pain was found to exist in the waist area. In most cases, “pain in the neck” was the factor limiting the work activities, and it was also the reason for most cases of absenteeism and referring to physician during the last year. The body status score of most personnel was in the range of 4 to 7 according to REBA method. The risk proved to be at an average level and a corrective action in this regard seemed to be essential (71%). Ultimately, the results revealed that no significant relation existed between REBA score of each member of the body and the pain felt in the same body part (P>0.05). The total REBA scores of each individual proved to have a significant reverse relation with the education level, while it had a significant direct relation with stress intensity (P<0.05). Conclusion: The research findings revealed that in 71% of work stations of the emergency wards in the above said hospitals, the need for taking corrective measures is essential, in 9% of these work stations, such corrective measure should be taken immediately and in 9%, these corrective measures are deemed very necessary. Thus, the current condition has led to the intensity of muscular-skeletal disorders, mostly in neck area.