Proceedings of the 14th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering Theory, Applications and Practice Anaheim, California October 18-21, 2009 550 © International Journal of Industrial Engineering ISBN # 97809652558-5-1 MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN AND DISCOMFORT SYMPTOMS IN HOSPITAL NURSE PERSONNEL IN JUAREZ, MEXICO Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia 1, 2 , Brandy F. Ware 3 , Jorge A. Garcia 1 , and Robert J. Marley 4 1 Department of Health Promotion University of Texas at El Paso 1101 North Campbell El Paso, Texas 79905 Corresponding author’s email: gabmejia@utep.edu 2 Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez Avenida del Charro 450 Norte Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua, México 3 JFAssociates, Inc. Fairfax, VA 22031 4 Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department Montana State University 212 Roberts Hall, P.O. Box 173820 Bozeman, MT 59717-3820 Abstract: Information on musculoskeletal pain/discomfort over a past 12-month period was collected from 387 nurses from a hospital in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico using a modified version of the SNQ questionnaire. Results showed high incidence of pain/discomfort with more than half of the participants referring complaints in more than one body part. Higher percentages of complaints were registered for legs, lower back, neck, and upper back regions. Overall, registered nurses and those working on night shifts had the highest percentage of pain/discomfort complaints. Increased risk for musculoskeletal pain/discomfort was associated to smoking (OR=2.6), history of any type of disease (OR=2.8), and working in the morning shift (OR=1.63). The overall 12-month incidence of musculoskeletal complaints was comparable to that of nurses in other countries. It is necessary to further evaluate tasks involving manual load handling, prolonged standing, and static postures and its possible role in causation of pain/discomfort among this worker population. 1. INTRODUCTION The overall relative high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in nursing personnel reported in several past studies may by an indicator of the physical demand and musculoskeletal strain this particular occupational groups is exposed to. In the United States, since 1994, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identified the nurse and personal care profession as the group with the highest incidence of injuries and illnesses (318.0 per 10,000 workers) as a result of overexertion in the workplace (BLS, 1994). Similar high prevalence of MSDs among nursing personnel in other countries has been extensively documented (Trinkoff et. al, 2002; Gurgueira et. al, 2003; Alexopoulus et. al 2003; Smith et. al, 2004; Tezel, 2005; Smith et. al, 2006). Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), as defined by the US Department of Labor (USDL, 2001), are those injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. Its association with exposure to risk factors in the workplace has been documented since the 18 th century. However, it was only until de 1970’s when an epidemiological approach to its association to work-related risk started to get a noticeable attention as a research issue, although these studies have not always yielded a causal relationship between workplace risk factors and MSDs. Risk factors typically associated to MSDs are posture, repetition, force exertion, however other risks could have an effect in the generation of MSDs, for example an intense workload, monotony, ambiguity, and lack of job control and social support (NIOSH, 1997).