Quality of work life among surgeons and its association with musculoskeletal complaints

Quality of Work Life (QWL) can affect health and safety of individuals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QWL among surgeons and investigate its association with musculoskeletal complaints. This cross-sectional study was conducted among surgeons working in hospitals located in Zahedan, Iran. QWL was assessed using the Walton’s 35-item questionnaire and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used for assessing musculoskeletal complaints. The effects of age, gender, BMI, working hours, and working posture were adjusted. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions and independent T-test were employed for analyzing data. Seventy-four surgeons participated in this study. They were mostly male (60.8%) and married (73.00%) with the mean age of 37.9 years (±5.3) and the mean experience of 7 years (±4.23). Most of them (87.8%) had a moderate level of QWL and 90.6% of them had musculoskeletal complaints in at least one part of their body. “Development of human capacities” and “the total life space” had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. QWL was a significant predictor of pain and discomfort complaints in the neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows and legs. Alongside improving workstations and tools used by surgeons, interventions aimed at promoting QWL may be necessary to reduce musculoskeletal complaints among them