#0062 Low back pain prevalence and risk factors among health workers in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Prevalence and risk factors of lower back pain in health care workers across Saudi Arabia
Lower back pain (LBP) is a common heath issue worldwide and can affect well-being and work productivity. Health care workers are likely more susceptible to LBP due to the nature of their work, and have reported to avail extended sick leaves, lose out on productive time, and limit their daily activities.
Although considerable data regarding the prevalence and risk factors associated with LBP in health care workers of Saudi Arabia has been reported, these studies and variables have not been systematically analyzed.
To understand the broader scenario, we comprehensively reviewed the available literature from sources including MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, and Saudi peer reviewed journals. We then assessed the quality of the literature and finally selected 18 studies with a total of 5345 health workers from seven different occupational categories for our analysis.
We found that prevalence period was most commonly reported in terms of years, weeks, and career (defined as the presence of LBP at some point of professional career) and that the combined prevalence of LBP for these periods was 40.8%, 65.0%, and 81.4% respectively. Moreover, the prevalence rate of LBP by year in Saudi Arabia was much higher than that reported in health care workers from other countries.
Nurses and physical therapists were more susceptible to experiencing LBP than other healthcare professionals. The most frequently reported individual risk factors were age, high body mass index, and female gender while occupational risk factors included posture and work-related activities such as bending and twisting the back, lifting objects, and manually handling patients. Prolonged periods of standing were also associated with developing LBP. The pain episodes were found to be more acute in physicians, dentists, and physical therapists while nurses reported longer periods of pain.
Overall, our meta-analysis reports a number of factors associated with the development of LBP in healthcare workers along with potential interventions for minimizing its long-term impact. Adopting better work practices and redesigning the work setup can help reduce the occurrence of LBP in health care professionals thereby ultimately improving patient care.
Link to the original journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/1348-9585.12155
Title of the paper:
Low back pain prevalence and risk factors among health workers in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors:
Hamad S. Al Amer
