Prior depression and incident back pain among military registered nurses: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Occupational back pain rates are substantial among registered nurses, and nurses also report high rates of depression. The role of depression as a potential predictor of back pain among nurses appears understudied.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine whether a history of depression predicted incident back pain in a population of military registered nurses when controlling for relevant risk factors.

Low Back Pain in Student Nurses: Literature Review and Prospective Cohort Study.

There is consensus that registered nurses worldwide have a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, particularly of the back. Patient handling activities such as lifting present the highest risk of injury, activities that begin in nursing school. A literature review identified 21 studies of back pain in nursing students, indicating a wide range of prevalence rates.

Implementation of Health Information Technology in Routine Care for Fibromyalgia: Pilot Study.

Fibromyalgia management remains complicated and challenging. Health information technology is an evidence-based, nonpharmacological self and symptom management strategy, but few studies have evaluated its feasibility for managing fibromyalgia patients in clinical practice. FibroGuide is an example of an evidence-based, interactive, and computer-based program comprised of 10 educational modules on fibromyalgia.

The relationship among playground areas and physical activity levels in children.

Introduction: Almost 20% of American children aged 6 to 11 years are obese. A decrease in physical activity has been associated with an increase in obesity. The school environment is one place where many children can be reached.

Effectiveness of a poverty simulation in Second Life®: changing nursing student attitudes toward poor people.

Social justice is a fundamental value of the nursing profession, challenging educators to instill this professional value when caring for the poor. This randomized controlled trial examined whether an interactive virtual poverty simulation created in Second Life® would improve nursing students' empathy with and attributions for people living in poverty, compared to a self-study module. We created a multi-user virtual environment populated with families and individual avatars that represented the demographics contributing to poverty and vulnerability.

Hispanic construction workers and assertiveness training.

Background: Hispanic (Latino) construction workers experience disparities in occupational death and injury rates in the United States. The cultural value of respect for those in authority may hinder these workers from requesting safe working conditions from supervisors.

Objective: To evaluate whether Hispanic construction workers in Las Vegas, Nevada found assertiveness training more useful than non-Hispanic trainees and whether or not they practiced this behavior at work after the training.

Social marketing to plan a fall prevention program for Latino construction workers.

Background: Latino construction workers experience disparities in occupational death and injury rates. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration funded a fall prevention training program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in response to sharp increases in fall-related accidents from 2005 to 2007. The grant's purpose was to improve fall protection for construction workers, with a focus on Latinos.

Nursing's leadership in positioning human health at the core of urban sustainability.

The United Nations predicts that by 2050 nearly three fourths of the world's population will live in urban areas, including cities. People are attracted to cities because these urban areas offer diverse opportunities, including the availability of goods and services and a higher quality of life. Cities, however, may not be sustainable with this population boom.

Latino worker perceptions of construction risks.

Background: Construction is a hazardous occupation, with Latino (Hispanic) workers at a greater risk for death than other ethnicities/races. Latinos accounted for over half of construction injuries involving days away from work in Nevada in 2006.

Methods: This study recruited 30 Latino construction workers from three Southern Nevada trade unions to participate in four focus groups conducted in Spanish to determine their perceived risks for injury.

Patient satisfaction with nurse practitioner and physician services in the occupational health setting.

The purpose of this research was to determine if patient satisfaction differed when clinical services were provided by nurse practitioners versus physicians in the occupational health setting. This convenience sample included 129 patients visiting community-based occupational medicine clinics for evaluation of a new work-related injury. There was high satisfaction with both nurse practitioner and physician providers.

Underreporting of musculoskeletal disorders among health care workers: research needs.

Extensive evidence suggests that the numbers of workplace injuries and illnesses reported annually by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, are underestimated for all private employers.

Effectiveness of an evidence-based curriculum module in nursing schools targeting safe patient handling and movement.

Nursing schools in the United States have not been teaching evidence-based practices for safe patient handling, putting their graduates at risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The specific aim of this study was to translate research related to safe patient handling into the curricula of nursing schools and evaluate the impact on nurse educators and students' intentions to use safe patient handling techniques. Nurse educators at 26 nursing schools received curricular materials and training; nursing students received the evidence-based curriculum module.

Ergonomic assessment of a critical care unit.

Although direct patient care providers in all settings suffer musculoskeletal injuries at unacceptable rates, high-risk tasks in nursing homes are the most frequently researched. Less is known about the high-risk tasks performed by critical care nurses. To identify the tasks in critical care that differ from those in nursing homes, this qualitative study used the Ergonomic Workplace Assessment Protocol for Patient Care Environments to assess a medical ICU.

Psychosocial factors in musculoskeletal disorders.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) have a multifactorial etiology that includes not only physical stressors but also psychosocial risk factors, such as job strain, social support at work, and job dissatisfaction. Once an injury has occurred, psychosocial factors, such as depression and maladaptive pain responses, are pivotal in the transition from acute to chronic pain and the development of disability. Interventions to prevent MSD incidence and address psychosocial risk factors for delayed recovery are described.

Preventing musculoskeletal disorders in nurses: a safe patient handling curriculum module for nursing schools.

Nursing educators who teach outmoded manual patient handling techniques contribute to the widespread problem of musculoskeletal disorders in student and practicing nurses. The authors discuss the development and implementation of a new safe patient handling curriculum module, which was pilot tested in 26 nursing programs. The module changes the focus of patient handling education from body mechanics to equipment-assisted safe patient lifting programs that have been shown to protect nurses from injury and improve care.

Back pain in direct patient care providers: early intervention with cognitive behavioral therapy.

Back pain and injury are a widespread problem for direct care providers and can lead to disability and job loss. Although most intervention studies focus on the number of reported injuries as the outcome variable, pain is a leading indicator of impending injury. More secondary prevention interventions focusing on early detection and treatment of pain are needed to reduce injuries.

The physical workload of nursing personnel: association with musculoskeletal discomfort.

Direct care-nursing personnel around the world report high numbers of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This cross-sectional study examined the association between the performance of high-risk patient-handling tasks and self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort in 113 nursing staff members in a veterans' hospital within the United States. Sixty-two percent of subjects reported a 7-day prevalence of moderately severe musculoskeletal discomfort.

Back pain prevalence in nursing personnel: measurement issues.

1. The problem of work related musculoskeletal disorders of the low back in nursing personnel has been well documented in the literature by cross sectional studies showing high prevalence rates in licensed nurses and nursing aides. However, it is difficult to compare findings among these studies because of the use of nonstandardized symptom surveys, variations in case definitions, and other methodological inconsistencies.

Preventing nursing back injuries: redesigning patient handling tasks.

The researchers identified nine patient handling tasks that place nursing staff at high risk for musculoskeletal injuries. An expert panel redesigned these tasks using new patient handling technologies and work practice controls. The key objective was to evaluate the biomechanical benefit of the redesigned tasks.