Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Personnel of Health Centers in Babol, Iran

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most important cause of lost workdays and inefficiencies, medical costs, and workforce injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the musculoskeletal disorders in employees of Babol health centers in 2017. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 210 employees of Babol health centers. A questionnaire including demographic information and the Standard Nordic Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test in SPSS 22 software. Results: The mean age of the personnel was 40.07 ± 8.46. The highest prevalence of disorders was reported in the waist (58.9%) and neck (54.1%) in the last year, and the lower back (46.9%) and neck (44.9%) in the last seven days. In the last year, 25.7% and 15.5% of the staff required the use of medical and physiotherapy services, respectively, due to disorders. There was a significant relation between behind-the-desk hours with neck (P= 0.002) and knee pain (P= 0.049). Conclusion: In order to prevent and control musculoskeletal disorders, regarding the high prevalence of them, it is necessary to program for educational workshops to increase personnel knowledge, as well as ergonomic interventions, redesigning the workplace, and using appropriate anthropometric equipment. Keywords: Musculoskeletal Disorders, Nordic Disease Questionnaire, Personnel of health center