Iran Occupational Health

Background and aims: Nursing job requires significant physical and psychological activities, thus, it is considered as a high risk occupation for developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aims of this study were to Evaluation and effectiveness of MAPO and PTAI methods in estimation musculoskeletal disorders risk among hospital nursing staff of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 randomly selected nurses from 75 wards of 11 hospitals of SUMS. Data were collected by demographic, Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaires and MAPO and PTAI indices checklists. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, version 16.

Results: Prevalence rate of MSDs among the subjects was found to be 88.2% during the last 12 months. The results of MAPO and PTAI index assessment revealed that more than 80% of subjects were at MSDs risk. The results indicated that MAPO and PTAI indices scores were significantly associated with musculoskeletal disorders occurrence (p>0.001).

 Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, both MAPO and PTAI methods are appropriate tools for musculoskeletal disorders risk identification and assessment due to patient transfer in nursing staff.