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Musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers: An exploratory study on gender differences
Author(s) -
Barbosa Rose Elizabeth Cabral,
Assunção Ada Ávila,
de Araújo Tânia Maria
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22215
Subject(s) - medicine , musculoskeletal pain , physical therapy , poisson regression , upper limb , musculoskeletal disorder , health care , cross sectional study , physical medicine and rehabilitation , environmental health , human factors and ergonomics , population , poison control , pathology , economics , economic growth
Background Musculoskeletal disorder rates among healthcare workers are high compared to other occupational groups. Studies indicate a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in women as compared to men in most productive sectors. The objectives of our study were to assess the prevalence of upper‐limb musculoskeletal pain in male and female employees of the Belo Horizonte municipal Health Department, and to identify associated factors, considering individual and occupational characteristics, by gender . Methods This cross‐sectional study of a proportional sample of 1,721 subjects from a universe of 13,602 workers in the municipal health system evaluated the prevalence of self‐reported upper‐limb musculoskeletal pain. The magnitude of the associations was estimated by Poisson regression . Results The prevalence of upper‐limb musculoskeletal pain was 24.1% among women and 11.0% among men. Women who had high domestic workloads, and performed tasks under high strain showed high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain. For women and men, a high prevalence of upper‐limb pain was reported by those who performed highly physically demanding tasks, and those exposed to poor environmental conditions . Conclusions The findings suggest gender differences in the distribution of upper‐limb musculoskeletal pain across occupational groups. It also support initiatives that focus on the need to give visibility to the different effects of working conditions on the health of occupational groups and suggest the importance of developing specific measures to promote women ' s health. The higher prevalence of pain observed among women with high domestic workloads suggests the importance of these activities when evaluating workload in occupational studies . Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1201–1212, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.