ABSTRACT
While the contributions of individual nonpsychological risk factors to the problem of musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing profession have been extensively studied, the published reports demonstrate inconsistent results. As discussed by Sherehiy et al. (2004b), among a large group of individual risk factors that were investigated, only the “age” and “prior history of musculoskeletal symptoms” presented sufficient evidence to establish their relationship to the risk of MSD. However, these results have not explained whether the risk of musculoskeletal complaints in nursing is increasing or decreasing with age. Most of the studies stated that the prevalence of the low back pain is the highest in the youngest age group. The higher prevalence among younger groups of nurses is usually explained as a result of lack of experience, while the lower prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders in the older nursing group — as healthy worker effect. Some studies that examined several risk factors suggest that the pattern of the relationship between age and MSD depends on the nursing grade and category, as well as on the type of the ward and institution (nursing home, hospital, home care). The association between age and musculoskeletal symptoms within the nursing profession is also likely to be confounded by such factors as bearing children and employment duration.
