Haemodialysis nurses' occupational health and work-related musculoskeletal hand pain after work: A cluster analysis.

Aim: To identify clusters based on haemodialysis nurses' self-rated work ability, work engagement and self-reported work hours and to compare the identified clusters regarding hand pain after work.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: Data based on the Work Ability Index, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and hand pain severity after work were collected through a web-based survey among 503 haemodialysis nurses working in Sweden and Denmark. A two-step cluster analysis was used to identify homogenous groups of cases within the dataset, followed by comparative analyses of the clusters.

Results: Four distinct clusters were identified, illustrating differing profiles of haemodialysis nurses' work ability, work engagement and working hours. Nurses who worked part-time and reported moderate work ability and average work engagement had significantly higher ratings of hand pain after work.

Conclusions: Haemodialysis nurses are a heterogeneous group as regards work ability, work engagement and self-reported work hours. The four distinct clusters of nurses indicate a need for customized interventions for retaining each subgroup at work.